Military Service and the New Testament: Should Adventists Serve in the MIlitary

There is an increasing willingness on the part of many Seventh-day Adventists to bear arms in active military service. Should this be so? The purpose of this article is to answer No by affirming our church’s traditional commitment to noncombatancy and the non-bearing of arms. To do this, I will place the issue of military service within the context of different New Testament teachings relating to civil authorities. This is a necessary step in that the Christian community’s attitude toward bearing arms is just one expression of its wider understanding of the relationship between the kingdom of God and the state. I will argue that the New Testament calls the Christians to prioritize their identity as citizens of the kingdom of God over their allegiance to the kingdoms of this world. The Christian is never called to lay down his or her life for the state, a commitment reserved for the kingdom of God.