Guns and the Gospel: Choosing Christ Over Firepower

When Safety Becomes a Substitute Savior

What does it mean to follow Christ in a culture armed to the teeth? America’s love affair with guns isn’t just political—it’s spiritual. Weapons have become icons of security, status, and even faith. But the gospel calls us to something higher.

This reflection won’t be comfortable. At Faith Over Factions, we do not shy away from hard truths—even when they confront cultural idols or offend those living in error. Jesus’ words cut sharper than any blade, and they speak directly into our gun-soaked age.

Anchor in the Word

Key Verses

Key Scripture Context

Matthew’s Gospel places us in the Garden of Gethsemane. Peter reacts to fear with force, swinging his blade to defend Jesus. But Christ commands him to stop. In that moment, Jesus rejects violence and chooses obedience to the Father, even unto death. His words echo down the centuries as a rebuke to every disciple tempted to trust in weapons.

Isaiah gives us the horizon line of God’s vision: a world where weapons of death are transformed into tools of life. It is not a dream, but a promise—a prophetic declaration of what God intends for humanity. Taken together, Jesus’ rebuke and Isaiah’s promise form the framework of Christian nonviolence: reject the sword, and await the day when God Himself abolishes it.

What We’re Facing

When Weapons Become Idols

Gun violence in America is not abstract—it’s daily headlines, grieving families, and fear in our neighborhoods. The United States owns more guns than any nation in history—about 120 firearms for every 100 citizens. The results are plain: higher rates of suicide, homicide, and accidental death than almost anywhere else in the developed world.

But for Christians, the challenge runs deeper. Many have come to treat guns not just as tools but as sacred symbols of freedom, masculinity, and even faith. Churches host “God and Guns” nights. Pastors bless rifles from the pulpit. Entire communities preach “self-defense” as though it were gospel. Yet Jesus interrupts all of this with a single command: “Put away your sword” (Matthew 26:52). The danger is real—when we cling to weapons as our guarantee of survival, we risk turning them into idols that displace Christ Himself.

As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in the shadow of Nazi Germany, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”^[1] Nowhere does He call us to arm ourselves so we may kill in His name. To conflate discipleship with gun rights is not Christianity—it is idolatry dressed up as patriotism.

Then and Now—Drawing Parallels

In Jesus’ day, violence was everywhere. Roman soldiers enforced peace through brutality. Zealots dreamed of liberation by the sword. Crucifixion was the empire’s billboard of power, warning all who dared to resist. Yet Jesus never armed His disciples. Instead, He taught them to bless their persecutors, love their enemies, and carry the cross. His kingdom was not of this world, and His method was not violence but self-giving love.

Our own world echoes theirs. America’s streets are patrolled not by legions, but by the ever-present threat of mass shootings. Instead of Zealots with daggers, we have militias, extremist groups, and online echo chambers preaching salvation through firepower. And once again, the temptation is strong for God’s people to pick up the sword in the name of security. But the kingdom of God never arrives by violence. It breaks in through mercy, forgiveness, and witness.

Theological Truth in Plain Language

Why Christians Don’t Need Guns

The gospel dismantles the myth that violence saves. At Gethsemane, Jesus refused to defend Himself, though He said He could summon legions of angels at a word (Matthew 26:53). On the cross, He absorbed violence instead of inflicting it. Paul reminds us that our struggle “is not against flesh and blood” (Ephesians 6:12)—the true battlefield is spiritual, not ballistic.

The early church took this seriously. For nearly three centuries, Christians refused military service. Tertullian wrote, “The Lord, in disarming Peter, disarmed every soldier.”^[2] Origen declared, “Christians do not fight against their enemies with the sword, but by prayer to God.”^[3] Their testimony was consistent: to follow Jesus meant to reject killing, even at cost to one’s own life.

Later theologians echoed this truth. Augustine wrestled with the tragedy of violence, insisting that Christians must never delight in it.^[4] Spurgeon thundered from his London pulpit, “Christ’s people must not fight, but they must suffer; they are not to kill, but to be killed.”^[5] And Bonhoeffer, facing the armed might of Hitler, warned that “the church can only defend its own existence by ceasing to defend it.”^[6]

Christians do not need guns because we already have Christ. Our safety is not secured by weapons, but by the presence of God. Our identity is not in the Second Amendment, but in the Second Adam. To cling to weapons is to cling to fear. To lay them down is to walk in the courage of the cross.

Practical Moves of Faith

Name the Idol

Be honest about what guns represent for you—security, control, identity. Write it down. Speak it aloud. Idols lose their grip when they are named in the light of God’s truth.

Return to the Cross

Read Matthew 26:52 slowly. Picture Peter’s hand shaking as he holds the sword. See Jesus’ calm gaze as He commands him to put it away. What weapons are you clutching? What fears keep you from letting go?

Choose a Different Safety

Instead of leaning on firepower, cultivate deeper forms of protection. Strengthen community bonds. Build trust with neighbors. Reconcile a strained relationship. These are shields far stronger than steel, and they align with God’s kingdom.

Ask God for Courage

Pray honestly: “Lord, I confess my fears. I admit the ways I try to protect myself apart from You. Teach me to trust Your presence more than any weapon.”

More Light for the Journey

Romans 12:21 (NLT)
“Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.”
→ Reminds us that our victory is not through violence, but through the active goodness of Christ at work in us.

Philippians 3:20 (NLT)
“But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.”
→ Calls us to remember that our ultimate identity and allegiance are not rooted in earthly power but in the kingdom of God.

2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”
→ Reassures us that fear is not from God; instead, He equips us with strength, love, and self-control to live faithfully.

Let’s Walk This Out Together

This isn’t an easy word. It runs against the grain of American culture, and it will offend some. But discipleship often does. To follow Christ is to reject the sword, to resist the idol of safety, and to walk instead in the strange courage of surrender. The kingdom of God is not secured by bullets, but by the blood of the Lamb.

Call to Action: Share your reflections in the comments or on social media using #KingdomOverViolence. Let’s walk forward in faith, unarmed but unafraid.

Journaling Prompt: The Sword and the Cross

• Where are you tempted to trust weapons, politics, or power more than Christ?
• How might laying down the “sword” in your life open space for God’s peace to reign?

Footnotes

1. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (SCM Press, 1959), 79.
2. Tertullian, On Idolatry, ch. 19.
3. Origen, Against Celsus, Book VIII, 73.
4. Augustine, City of God, Book XIX, ch. 7.
5. C. H. Spurgeon, Sermon 2428: The Peacemaker (1887).
6. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Ethics (Macmillan, 1965), 126.