The Call of Duty

Well, thank you, John and Melody, for the beautiful special music. Appreciate the words and appreciate the sentiment that's contained therein.

Well, brethren, earlier this month, the United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 8070.

It's an almost 1,500-page appropriations bill as a part of the National Defense Authorization Act.

And the bill authorized $895 billion. It's an unfathomable amount of money for national defense initiatives, both at home and abroad. To date, the bill has not yet been signed into law, but it has been passed by the House of Representatives. It now has the hurdle of passing the Senate and ultimately being signed into law by the President. But there's no indication, really, at this point, that it would not be passed at this point in time based upon the amount of bipartisan support, which really brought it to the table. Within the bill is a change to the process by which the Selective Service System of the United States works. Now, some of you are familiar with Selective Service. Those of you that are males of the age of 18, you're very familiar with Selective Service.

Selective Service is a system that was put into place by former President Jimmy Carter in 1980, the most recent iteration of it, at least. Prior to Selective Service, prior to the system that was in place, the United States used a draft system, used a form of military conscription, which required men of a certain age to enlist in the military during very specific times in which additional soldiers were needed. Prior to World War I, the conscription of U.S. citizens was restricted to the states. So prior to World War I, there were state militias, there were a war department during the Civil War that could conscript people to the Union Army, for example. But by and large, it was state by state, and they kept a standard state militia at that point in time.

That changed slightly, again, during the Civil War. And then in the Enrollment Act of 1863, it kind of began to bring people into service in the Union Army. By the time World War I began, a draft law was passed to authorize men between the ages of 21 to 31 to serve in the war. And during the time of World War I, three million citizens were inducted into the war effort and fought in World War I. World War II, the Selective Service Training and Service Act was passed.

45 million men between the ages of 18 and 64 were registered as a part of that selective service, and about 10 million were inducted as part of the draft. The act expired in 1947. A year later, another Selective Service Act was passed to supplement voluntary recruiting to the Korean War, because we had moved from now in from the European and Pacific theaters into Korea.

Drafts were then instituted during the Korean War, the Vietnam War as well, with 1.5 million and 1.8 million drafted respectively. By 1975, the registration for Selective Service was suspended until 1980 when it was reinstated by President Carter. So it's had a history in the United States of Selective Service draft requirements, but since 1980, the Selective Service has been a federal law.

All men ages 18 to 25 have to voluntarily register for the Selective Service, and if a person doesn't register within a certain amount of time from their 18th birthday, there are consequences.

They may not be eligible for federal jobs. They may not be able to receive citizenship. They may not be able to receive federal or state funding for for student aid for college. There's a number of things that take place if that's the case, and in addition, in case that's not bad enough, it's a federal felony. So in case that's, you know, not enough, it's a felony, and it's punishable by fines, and it's also punishable by a prison sentence. But it's important to keep in mind that Selective Service or registering for Selective Service is not the same thing as a draft.

Now it's important to keep that in mind. The Selective Service identifies individuals within that age range, adding their name to a database, and then for a person to be moved from that database of Selective Service into a draft, into military conscription, it requires a draft authorization from Congress and from the President. Now what HR 8 0 7 0 does do, which is different than before, is it automates the registration process.

So on your 18th birthday, you will be automatically added to Selective Service database. Instead of having to voluntarily do so, instead of having to voluntarily go through that process, which has been the way it's been before, you will be automatically enrolled in Selective Service. All male citizens, as of the law, HR 8 0 7 0, from ages 18 to 26, under the passage of this law will now be automatically registered. So while the passage of 8 0 7 0 hasn't changed the current law in that registration is already mandatory, and it has not instituted a draft which would require congressional and presidential authorization, it has whipped up social media into a frenzy.

Those of you that have social media, you may have seen this, people clamoring all week in the last couple of weeks about a reinstatement of the draft due to world conditions. It is not, it's no secret that military enlistment in the United States has been declining since 1954. Actually, a number of soldiers in the U.S. are down a full 40% from the standing force that was in place in 1954.

The U.S. military has admitted in recent years that they face significant challenges in recruiting due to, as they have stated, 77% of young adults in the United States who are unqualified to serve. Based on health, based on behavioral issues, based on substance abuse issues, misconduct, and lack of aptitude, the Navy, the Army, and the Air Force have all missed, all three branches of government have missed, or all three branches of the military, have missed their recruitment goals in the past several years, with an overall decline of a volunteer force in the military of 58% since 2020.

58% since 2020. Now, I don't bring this to bear as a recruitment effort for the U.S. military. I'm not out there selling it. I'm definitely not selling it. In fact, you'll find as we go today quite the contrary. But I am illustrating that our armed services in the United States are hurting for soldiers right now. They are hurting for soldiers. And there have been laws and there have been acts that have been put into place, one of which is the automatic registration of 8-0-7-0 that enables them to fix that problem through conscription should they choose to authorize a draft.

And should that become necessary for, you know, peacetime or wartime. We have a number of young people in our congregations who will soon be of age to be registered for selective service. And assuming the passage of H.R. 8-0-7-0, they'll be automatically registered now to a database. Depending on rapidly shifting world conditions, the possibility of a draft is nearer now than I would argue nearer now than it has been in recent decades.

Again, with these congregational demographics, with the information that's kind of surrounding this appropriations bill, I thought it'd be a good time maybe to take today some time to examine the biblical position on military service. What do we teach? What do we believe with regards to military service and war?

And what I'd like to do is explore what our responsibility is as citizens of the kingdom of God and how to best navigate these waters as Christians. The title of the sermon today is The Call of Duty. Some of you might recognize that term as the name of a video game series that is a first-person shooter video game that is very focused on wartime missions and things along those lines, but the title of the sermon today is The Call of Duty.

And with the time that we have remaining, I'd like to take a look at this topic from Scripture and explore Christian's responsibility to his God and to his nation.

Let's turn to begin today over to Exodus 20 and verse 13, because this particular passage really kind of sets the foundation for where we go when it comes to the argument that is made against military service. So, spoilers, we argue against it. Exodus 20 and verse 13, what we see is a very specific command from God that states, very plain and very simple, thou shalt not murder. Now, for those of you that have studied into this, you know it's anything but plain and simple. There have been all manner of arguments that have gone all different directions with this. Much debate has actually taken place over the years with regards to the differences between murder and killing, that there are some put a delineation between those two things, as though the intent necessarily changes the meaning of the word. The word here in Hebrew, in Exodus 20 and verse 13, is the word Rasha. It's R-A-S-A-H, transliterated, and it translates to murder, to kill, to take a life, or to cause the state of death. So, the word Rasha that is used, thou shalt not Rasha, okay, in this case, is to murder, to kill, to take a life, or to cause the state of death.

This word is used in a couple of other places in scripture, and we've mentioned this before, we've brought this up before. In Numbers 35, and jot this down in your notes, in Deuteronomy 19, this word is used to describe someone who took another person's life without intent.

So, this word is used to describe someone who we might say today was involved in an accidental homicide. Something happened, a person died, it wasn't intentional. In fact, because it wasn't intentional, this person is to flee to a city of refuge to plead their case before the avenger of blood finds them. But in Numbers 35, in Deuteronomy 19, the word that is defined in that scripture as manslaughter is Rasha. It's Rasha. The word in this context then seems to be more connected to the taking of someone's life than the intent behind it. But I will say, it's argued up one side and down the other by scholars today, and if you go out there looking for one side or the other, you'll find it. You'll find it. The argument continues to come up. Scholars continue to argue it, they continue to justify the position. The Hebrew word itself does not appear to make a distinction between intent. Because that is such a contested component, because that is such a hugely debated thing, I'm going to somewhat ignore that argument today. I'm going to come at it from a slightly different angle. And the slightly different angle that I'd like to explore today is to look at what it is that God had as intent for his people overall. What is our responsibility, and what is God's intent for us as Christians today? Let's turn over to the book of James to begin today. The book of James, we'll turn over to James 4, and we'll go ahead and we'll pick it up in verse 1. Verse 1 of James 4. You would turn there, please. We're going to have a few that we turn to today. We're going to have a few that we reference, so if I reference it and I don't turn there, folks at the back table, feel free to pop it up on the screen so folks can see it if it's a little bit easier as we move around. But in this particular book, the author of the book of James identifies the root conflict, or the root cause, rather, of human conflict. He exposes it for what it is. Where does conflict come from? Where do wars? Where do fights come from? James 4 and verse 1.

He says, where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? He says, you lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and you war. Both those words in Greek mean literally that. You battle and you war. You fight. He says, you fight and you war, yet you do not have because you do not ask.

You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss that you may spend it on your pleasures. He says, adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?

Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world, James goes on to say, makes himself an enemy of God. James, in this passage, describes what we might consider to be the human condition.

He describes the carnality of the human heart. He describes the things that exist within our hearts, the desires for the things that we do not have or the things that we cannot have, the lusts that we have for the things that we don't possess, those things that we want with all of our hearts, the pleasures that we seek. And it needs to be noted as we look at this particular section here in James, this is a general epistle. So this is written for a broader church audience, so to speak. So the conflict that James is referring to here is largely spiritual in nature. Maybe we're looking at interpersonal squabbles, we're looking at schisms, we're looking at divisions. It's unlikely that as he references this concept of murder here that he's referencing physical, literal murder. It's unlikely. I suppose it's not out of the question, but it's unlikely. Instead, referencing it figuratively, I think, in the sense that Christ did in Matthew 5 with the hatred and the bitterness that exists in someone's heart, how he likens that to murder. He likens that to breaking of that commandment. But James references a truism of human nature, that covetousness breeds conflict. Covetousness breeds conflict.

You have something that I don't and I want it, so I'm going to take it. That is human history from the beginning to the end. It's been our condition. It's been our experience.

And it was a common theme in Greek thought as well. Interestingly, Plato wrote, the sole cause of — not the dough, but the guy — Plato, the sole cause of wars and revolutions and battles, Plato said, is nothing other than the body and its desires. That's what Plato stated.

Cicero observed, it is insatiable desires which overturn not only individual men, but whole families, and which even bring down the state. Cicero said, from desires, they're spraying hatred, schisms, discords, seditions, and wars. From the desires of our heart, the things we cannot have. Lucian wrote, all of the evils which come upon man — he says, revolutions and wars, stratagems and slaughters spring from desire. He says, all of those things have at their fountainhead the desire for more. The desire for more. If you go back to the beginning of human history, it's a chronicle of human conflict. It's a story of conflict. War after war after war after war. The human experience has been a story of conflict punctuated by periodic times of peace. Very periodic times of peace. Chris Hedges, who's an author, journalist and author, he wrote a book entitled, What Every Person Should Know About War. It's an interesting book. It's an interesting book. He goes through and tells the story of war, not as it's glamorized by movies, not as it's glamorized in the media, but the real story of war, of what it feels like to get shot, what it feels like to have these various things take place, what it feels like to be involved in a bombing. And he interviews people firsthand as a journalist and goes through these things. He said, in the past 3,400 years of recorded human history, only 268 of those years, 8% of human history could be characterized as peaceful, as the absence of war, only 8% of human history. And the reality is that number, he mentions, may not be 100% accurate either because there may have been conflict taking place somewhere in the globe in a regional space that never got recorded. Like we just happened, this is from recorded history, what we know of.

There were wars going on for 3,132 years of the past 3,400. It's been times of war punctuated periodically by times of peace. And that would be human's definition of peace, too, absence of armed conflict. That would be that. He had another statement in the foreword to his book that I found really interesting. Many of you are aware that many of the pantheons of gods in the past, and many of the pantheons of people, had gods of war. There were gods of war in almost every mythological pantheon going back as far as you can go. Chris Hedges had a little quote at the very end of his foreword that he wrote that essentially said, war is the blood-soaked god to which we sacrifice our young men. And he said, beware of that sacrifice. And I thought, wow, I never thought of it that way before. I never thought of it that way before from a standpoint of idolatry.

And from a standpoint, in that sense of how we've gone about these things. Just interesting. It was a, you know, right or wrong, it's an interesting consideration. One of the things that's fascinating about this is that none of these wars in 3400 years have brought lasting peace.

Not one has brought lasting peace. In fact, the war to end all wars, World War One, you know, 20 years later, you know, we're at it again. And in the time since World War One to today, there have been 100 million people, plus, that have died as a result of warfare in the world around us today from just 1918 on. It's incredible. It's incredible to consider. Some have actually quipped that because of this human experience, some have quipped that peacetime only exists to build up and to prepare for the next war. Right? We end up just using that time of peace to be able to build up for the next conflict. In James 4 and verse 4, you're already there, if you would take a look at it. James 4 and verse 4, James goes on to describe the enmity that takes place and that exists with God, between us and God, when we are friends with the world. When we get too close to the world, there begins to be enmity between us and God. When we get too close to the world, when we get too close to its desires, very similar to John's epistles. We see John write this in 1 John 2 and verse 15, if you want to begin turning over there. James identifies this friendship as something that is in opposition to God. 1 John 2 and verse 15, the apostle John identifies these things specifically. What it means to get too close is what John identifies. 1 John 2 and verse 15, he identifies these things as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. He goes on to describe how these things are not of the Father, how these things are not of the Father, that they are of the world. And then he writes in verse 17, notice what he writes.

He says, the world is passing away and the lust of it, that covetousness, the desires of the heart, those things that James identifies as being what causes conflict. He says those things are passing away, but he who does the will of God abides forever. This world we recognize as temporary.

We realize all that is taking place in this world is not permanent. This is a temporary existence that we find ourselves in. And because these things are passing away, because we're called to something different as Christians, our responsibility is not to become involved in these things, not to become involved in these things. Our calling is to come out of the world. It's to come out of this system, to come out of these desires and these lusts and its sins. That is what God has called us to today. You turn over to the book of First Peter, just a couple of pages back here, book of First Peter. In the epistle, the Apostle Peter teaches on this importance of separation from the world while acknowledging the reality of our being in it. Okay, we recognize he teaches that we are to be separated. We are to be apart and distanced from these things within the world. However, he does bring out the idea that we are still here, that we are still here. First Peter 2 and verse 9, I'm just going to get there eventually. I made that joke about not using it at Pentecost. I knew we'd come back to it. First Peter 2 and verse 9 said, then the—oops, that's the wrong Peter. That's the second Peter. First Peter 2 and verse 9 says, but you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness, called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. He goes on to say in verse 10, who once were not a people, but now are the people of God who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. The people of God, those whom he has called in this life, the firstfruits, we might say, they are a chosen generation. Just as God worked very specifically with nations of the nation of Israel at that time to be a holy nation, God is now working with a people that has been called and has been set apart to be different from the nations around them. Just as Israel was to be different from the nations around them, he is at this time calling people to be a part of what we might reference as spiritual Israel. That's what the apostle Paul referenced it in Galatians 6. And it's God's will that those whom he calls are holy, that they are set apart, that they are separate, that they are different. He goes on in verse 11, 1 Peter 2 in verse 11, He says, Beloved, I beg you, as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, when they speak against you as evildoers, that they may by your good works, which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitations. Peter says here that we are sojourners and pilgrims, that we are foreigners, so to speak, and temporary residents, that our time here on this earth is a time of temporary. It's a temporary time period, that we are temporary residents, as the Greek words imply, and that we are to conduct our time here, as he mentions a few passages earlier in 1 Peter 1 and verse 17, that we're to conduct our time here in fear, in reverence of God, of reverence of His instructions, of reverence of His commandments.

And so as foreigners and as temporary residents, Peter's imploring the readers of his epistle to abstain from fleshly lusts, to distance themselves, as that word abstain in Greek means, to distance themselves from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. He's speaking of this in a very spiritual sense, but physically we are to distance ourselves from these things as well, to abstain from fleshly lusts, to abstain from the desires and the conflicts which come from those desires. We're not instructed to align ourselves with fleshly lusts. We're not instructed to align ourselves with the desires of the heart. We're instructed to abstain from these things, to put distance between us and them. And the reality of our Christian calling is that we find ourselves in a very interesting position between two worlds. Find ourselves in a very interesting position between two worlds. Let's go to Philippians real quick. Philippians 3 and verse 20.

Apostle Paul addresses this position that we find ourselves in. Just before verse 20, just as we're going into verse 20 in Philippians 3, Paul begins to address the position that we find ourselves in. He speaks to his example. He speaks to the example of those who walk accordingly.

Then he contrasts that example and the example of those that walk accordingly with those who walk in opposition, those who walk contrary to the word of God, those he says whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, who are focused on temporary things, says those who set their mind on earthly things, those who set their mind on earthly things. Paul frequently admonished in his writings brethren to set their minds on the things that are above, not on the things which are here on this earth, to ensure that they walked in the Spirit, not in the flesh. That was a very common theme among his writings. And he goes on in verse 20, the reason why he brings all of that up, the reason why he brings all of that up. Paul says, for our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to his glorious body according to the working by which he is able even to subdue all things to himself. Some of those things that are wrapped up in all things that God will be subduing to himself are the nations, the kingdoms, and the dominions of this world. They will be taken and they will be subdued to himself as well. He writes in Ephesians 2 and verse 19 that we are no longer strangers and foreigners to the kingdom, but that through the reconciliation of Jesus Christ, we are now fellow citizens and with the saints and the members of the household of God. So in this world, we are sojourners and pilgrims. God called us.

Soon as we committed to him in baptism spiritually, brethren, we renounced the citizenship to our nation. Spiritually, when we were called and we accepted that calling and we submitted ourselves to God in baptism, we took on a new nation. We took on citizenship in the kingdom of God.

We became begotten children of God. We were then reconciled to God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We were given access to God the Father through that reconciliation of peace through Christ. And in doing so, the state of enmity between us and God was removed through that reconciliation of Jesus Christ. Our spiritual citizenship is in heaven as part of the Israel of God, as part of the ecclesia. Why does that matter? Because at this point in time, we recognize too that we are physically residing in a country. We are physically residing in the United States.

We are provided rights. We're provided protections due to being a citizen of the United States.

The Apostle Paul leaned into his Roman citizenship on several occasions, and it's only through those protections that we have that we are afforded as a part of the United States that we enjoy the freedom of religion, that we enjoy the freedom of speech, that we employ to do the work of God in today's day and age. So we reside in two places at the same time.

One is spiritual. One is physical. We are spiritually citizens of the kingdom of God.

We are strangers. We are foreigners. We are pilgrims on this earth.

1 Corinthians 5, Paul speaks to this idea that we are not just citizens, or not just strangers and foreigners. We're actually ambassadors in that sense. He referred to himself in that way, that he was bringing the gospel of the kingdom of God to the world. That is a responsibility that we share as well. And as citizens of the kingdom of God, we cannot allow ourselves to become involved in the physical to the expense of the spiritual.

According to the U.S. State Department, I found this fascinating. I found this really interesting.

According to the U.S. State Department, a person can lose their U.S. citizenship if they perform the following things. If they run for office in a foreign country. It turns out, if you run as a senator or something in another country, they don't take to it kindly.

Enter military service in a foreign country. If you as a U.S. citizen go and you enter military service for another country, you run the risk of losing your U.S. citizenship.

In addition, they say if you apply for citizenship in a foreign country with the intention of giving up U.S. citizenship, if you commit an act of treason against the United States, or if you are a naturalized citizen who faces denaturalization due to your crimes, such as someone who's received citizenship as a result, and then commits crimes which result in deportation. You could lose your citizenship in the United States if any of those things take place. I find it really interesting to consider those through the lens of our calling. Consider those through the lens of our calling and the citizenship which we have in the Kingdom of God, as it describes in Philippians 3 and verse 20. It's interesting to me that in this world, military service is declaring aside, so to speak. It's declaring aside, so to speak, when it comes to our physical citizenship. When it comes to physical citizenship, it's declaring aside that by joining the military of another country, you have stated you are no longer beholden to your country of origin. Let's go to 2 Timothy 2 and verse 1. Again, this is nothing earth-shatteringly new for the vast majority of you. This is a review for the vast majority of you that are in this room today. But for a number of our younger people, this may be the first time that they've heard this in a long time, if ever. And with them entering a point where this is going to become something very serious for them potentially very quickly in the next decade, possibly two decades, I think it's important that we go through these things.

I think it's important that we address them. I think it's important that we realize where we are from and who we belong to. Who do we belong to and where are we from? 2 Timothy 2 and verse 1.

Apostle Paul writes to Timothy, a young man that he cared deeply about, to endure the sorts of hardships that would come up with a life of service to God. He writes in 2 Timothy 2 and verse 1.

He says, You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, he says, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. He says, You, Timothy, he doesn't write Timothy, but he says, You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Paul draws an analogy here to military service, referring to Timothy as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. And this echoes Paul's teachings in a number of other places where he speaks to this war that all of us are engaged in. In 2 Corinthians 10, the Apostle Paul brings about this idea that we walk in the flesh, but we do not war in the flesh. We don't war in the flesh. Our battle is spiritual. The weapons of our warfare, they're not carnal. They are mighty in God, it says, for tearing down strongholds, for the bringing of every thought into captivity. In Ephesians 6, he describes how our warfare is not against flesh and blood. It's not against flesh and blood. It's not physical. It's spiritual. It's against principalities. It's against powers. It's against authorities of the spiritual world. It's against the rulers of the darkness of this age.

As the people of God, we are locked into a spiritual battle against Satan and his demons.

And as a result, Paul's conclusion is that we need to stand strong. We need to take up the spiritual armor and weapons that God provides us and take our fight to the foe. But ensuring that we understand who that foe is, ensuring that we recognize who that foe is. Before the late second century BC, Rome's army was not the powerhouse that it became 300 years later. Rome's army at the time was made up of a bunch of citizens with haphazard amounts of armor, varying levels of training, and everybody kind of said, you, come here, we're going to fight. And that was Rome's army before the late second century BC. Now, it was successful. They had a number of soldiers. They were they were winning battles. But it didn't become the powerhouse that it became until 107 BC. 107 BC, a gentleman by the name of Gaius Marius, made a series of reforms to the Roman army that changed it from the nations around it, largely a citizen-based army in various states of training and equipment, and standardized their military. The men who served in it going forward received pay. They received pay. And a great number of men as a result of that enlisted. A great number of men enlisted as a result of that.

Going forward from the Marian reforms, what we see is that every Roman soldier was equipped the same.

Every Roman soldier going forward had the same breastplate. They had the same sword. They had the same spear. They had the same helmet. They had the same footwear. They had the same shield.

Because their equipment was identical, they drilled the same drills. They studied the same tactics. They used that standardization to their benefit. They trained. They disciplined themselves and learned to fight as a unit. And that training that they underwent focused those soldiers on their task. This was their job. Some people were artisans. Some people were bakers. Some people made candles. Some people were soldiers. And in Rome, that was an equivalent role that paid a salary.

And they became what we would consider to be, for the first time really in history, career soldiers. Some of which rose up the ranks to become centurions, commanding, you know, commanding units and other things. But drilling those same drills, studying and practicing those same tactics, they trained and they disciplined themselves to learn to fight as a unit.

Some of them, again, that career meant earning land when they retired from military service. Some of them had no land holdings going in and were promised land holdings if they served a certain number of years in the military. For others, serving in the military gave them Roman citizenship.

They were able to now have citizenship in Rome with all the benefits that then came from that. For some, it was steady pay. It was steady pay. By 211 AD, Rome had 33 legions of soldiers, hundreds of thousands of auxiliary soldiers for an overall standing army of just under a half a million. Very well trained, very well equipped soldiers. History actually records a number of times in which that massive army of discipline and equipment marched in their marching lines and in their ranks up to the walls of some of the countries that they were going to go in and conquer.

And the opposing force looked over their ramparts and went, no, we're good. How much is the tribute?

And I still get to rule my country? Fantastic. Here's the money. Please leave. And they continued ruling as a regent under the Roman Empire in those cases. Rome was, at one point in time by 211 AD, one of the most fearsome fighting forces the world had ever seen. And they did so largely through their training, largely through their discipline. In fact, Plut, it's the greatest name in the world. I love this guy's name. Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus, dare you name your kid that, says, we find that the Romans owed the conquest of the world to no other cause than continual military training, exact observance of discipline in their camps, and unwearied cultivation of the other arts of war. In other words, as soldiers, they didn't let anything get in the way of their training, their discipline, and their tactics. And that is why Rome, as an army, was successful. Because they were more disciplined, they were better trained, they were better equipped, and they were larger in number than so many of the other enemies that they went up against. Mr. Petty was speaking last week, and he brought up the troubles that Rome had with the Picts. The Picts were a group of tribes up in the Celtic regions. They gave them all kinds of problems because they didn't fight normal. They were individuals that, you know, came running out painted blue and not wearing any armor and just came at them, you know, and it was unexpected.

What do you do with these things? So they had some trouble with the Picts, but overall, they managed to, by and large, take care of this. This is why we see Paul continue in 2 Timothy 2 and verse 4. This concept of training and discipline, the importance of it, is why we see Paul continue in 2 Timothy 2 and verse 4. He says, no one entangled in warfare or engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. It's soldiers who can't let anything get in the way. Brethren, you've not been conscripted into this spiritual battle. You've not been drafted. You enlisted. You enlisted in this army.

You are a volunteer fighting force in that sense. You weren't drafted. You didn't get pulled in against your will. You made the decision. You answered the call of duty. You accepted that calling that was provided to you. You committed yourself to it in baptism. And brethren, in that sense, you volunteered. It's like you went down to the recruitment office and you said, cut my hair, I'm coming in. Same basic principle. And in that sense, that volunteering and that committing of yourself in baptism, the old you died. And with that old you, so went your citizenship, so went your allegiances. The new man that came up was begotten in the Spirit of God dwelling in us.

We receive citizenship in a new kingdom, one which we know is going to come and going to subdue all other kingdoms at the time of the return of Jesus Christ. Brethren, you are a soldier in that army already. And entangling ourselves in another force, willingly enslaving ourselves, so to speak, under another master, their commands, their orders, their objectives, would mean by and large releasing ourselves from the master that we already serve.

Christ stated, point blank, Matthew 6 and verse 24, no one can serve two masters.

Either you will hate the one and love the other, or else you will be loyal to the one and despise the other. The principle stands. The principle stands in so many places in life, so many places in life. Now that's for those of you that have already enlisted. For those of you that are not baptized yet, the younger people in the audience, that choice is set before you.

That's your decision. That is the choice that has been set before you. You are being called to a very specific purpose. You are being called to a purpose that only a select few have been called to in this life. And it is ultimately your choice whether or not that you're going to accept that calling or not. But with that calling, and with the acceptance of that calling, comes a series of conditions. You agree to submit yourself to the rules of that standing force that you have entered. You agree to commit yourself to God, to His laws, ultimately to His commandments.

And the question then comes, what master will we serve? What master will we serve? You know, church has held its official—I'm going to put official position—on military service in war since the early 1960s. I went and did some digging, trying to see if I could find some of the early literature that had come out, just kind of where those were at. What I was able to gather, the teaching's actually been taught since the early 1940s, but it wasn't really put down in print until the 1960s, or at least put down in print that has been preserved for us in the digital age.

I wasn't able to find any written record of it prior to 1960, but in 1960 there were a series of articles that were written by Mr. Leroy Neff in the Good News magazine throughout the early years of the 1960s. The church's booklet on military service and war was published in 1967 in the middle of the Vietnam era draft. That's the copy of the military service and war booklet that I have, is the 1967 copy. That's the one that was published during the Vietnam War.

Our current statement of belief on military service and war reads as follows. This is our current statement in our current fundamental of belief booklet. It says, we believe that Christians are forbidden by the commandments of God from taking human life directly or indirectly, and that bearing arms is contrary to this fundamental belief. Therefore, we believe that Christians should not voluntarily become engaged in military service if they are so not voluntarily engaged in military service, so not enlisting, if they are involuntarily engaged in military service through, say, a draft, for example, conscripted, we believe they should refuse conscientiously to bear arms and, to the extent possible, refuse to come under military authority. That is the official teaching of the church. For those that are not yet baptized and who will be automatically registered for selective service when you turn 18 as a result of H.R. 8070's passage, when you turn 18, you will be automatically registered for selective service. That is the current law as it's in progress of being passed. We do not believe and we do not teach that registration of selective service in and of itself is a problem, so I want to be very clear on that. That's okay. You can register for selective service. We don't teach against that, and we have not taught against that. In fact, we've taught for years that members should register for selective service. So the automation of that process is not an issue. There is some discussion, however, and this is where I wanted to definitely bring this up. There is some discussion, especially recently, that this process may change significantly in that they will now require, potentially going forward, women ages 18 to 26 to register automatically for selective service as well, and that is a big change in the United States. Previously, only men 18 to 26 have had to register, but the discussion that is beginning to take place is that, much like many of the other countries around the world, women are mandatorily brought into military service. So if, however, so being registered for selective service is not the issue necessarily, but if Congress and the president were to authorize a draft, or if they were to authorize something to increase military enrollment during peace or during wartime, or to develop, as some countries around the world do, a period of mandatory military service. Israel, for example, all of their citizens have to serve two years and eight months in mandatory service to Israel in military service, but the church teaches, based on our fundamental belief, that if that were to take place, one should refuse conscientiously to bear arms, and to the extent possible, should refuse to come under military authority.

But I think it's really critically important to note that when it comes to going before a draft board, when it comes to that next step beyond selective service, where you're being called now before a draft board to explain your position, the argument of, my church says, ain't gonna go anywhere. It's not gonna go anywhere. And I need you to know that. That is not going to be a successful argument. Because what that military draft board is going to do is they are going to determine whether or not you truly believe what you say you believe. You are going to need to be able to provide the reasons why you personally, not the church, but you personally are a conscientious objector. Why you refuse to take up a weapon and kill that guy in the foxhole across from you.

You will need to have your ability to communicate those reasons, why you don't believe the taking of human life is acceptable to God, and you'll need to be able to explain and to communicate those reasons well. This they may, as happened with a number of men in the church during the time of the Vietnam War, they may threaten you with jail time. They may hurl accusations against you of being a coward, being craven. They may actually imprison you. They may actually throw you in jail as a result. They might also assign you alternative service, where you would no longer work the job that you have trained for and worked for, but you would be conscripted into service in either national health, safety, or interest. So you might work in education. You might work in health care.

You might work in conservation. You might care for the young and the old during that two-year normal tour that a person would do in the military. And it's in these moments where you determine what you really believe and what you're willing to sacrifice for your principles.

When we went back for the leadership weekend a number of years ago, there was a gentleman there who was imprisoned for a time during the Vietnam War. He took conscientious objector status. They wouldn't do it. They said, we're going to throw you in jail. And he said, do it. Okay. It's in those moments that you find out whether or not your principles and what you're willing to sacrifice for your principles. What that looks like. For those of you that are getting closer to the time when this selective service registration is going to take place, it's really time to start thinking about where you stand on this. It's time to start thinking about where you stand on this. And I would encourage the men especially to do this. But honestly, ladies, I'm going to extend this to you as well. I'm going to extend this to you as well. It is highly likely by the time that some of you are 18 that they will expand selective service to women also. The advice that was provided to me when I was your age was to do the following. To write a series of five letters. You can write one and print it five times. That's fine. But each one needs to be signed personally by you. In those letters, you need to outline your beliefs on this topic. You need to walk yourself through it. You need to take the time to explain it. Go from top to bottom. Sign the letter at the bottom. Put it in an envelope. Address it to yourself. Put a stamp on it. Drop it in a US post office mailbox. They will all five show up at your house. Do not open the envelopes.

Okay? Do not open the envelopes. On the front of that envelope will exist a postmarked date.

And that will serve to show that you held the beliefs contained in that letter as of that date.

Which means that before a draft has been put forth, before any of those things, you know, have maybe been authorized or put in place, it's not as though it's reactive. This is you saying, this is what I believe as of this date. It helps to talk to other people as well, to let them know what your beliefs are on it, because they may have you call witnesses to come before the draft board and explain your position. But those letters serve as proof that you held those beliefs at the time those letters were mailed. Keep them safe. Send a couple to a friend, possibly to keep them safe in the event that something is damaged. Should a draft be called, and should you be found eligible to serve, it is at that point that you would claim conscientious objector status. It would at that point at that point in time is when you would claim conscientious objector status, which is why we believe that registering for selective service is fine. It's okay. It's okay, because it's not until the draft is authorized that we then move into the next step for selective service. According to the Selective Service website, it says as follows, once a man gets a notice that he has been found qualified for military service, he has the opportunity to make a claim for classification as a conscientious objector. A registrant—I think that's somebody outside at the front door.

That's the, hey, someone's at the front door button. A registrant making a claim for CO status is required to appear at his local board to explain his beliefs. So if you claim conscientious objector status and a draft is called up, you will need to go before a draft board.

That'll be made up of three or four people in uniform, and they will be peppering you with questions, just because they're trying to determine whether you truly hold the beliefs that you state you hold. It says he may provide written documentation or include personal appearances by people that he knows who can attest to his claims. His written statement might explain how he arrived at his beliefs and the influences that his beliefs have had on how he lives his life.

The local board will decide whether to grant or deny a CO classification based on evidence a registrant has presented. A man may appeal a local board's decision to a district appeal board, and if the vote is not unanimous, he could take it to a national appeal board. What I want to be real clear on is that the letter in and of itself that is inside of that envelope is not going to be enough for a draft board. It's not going to be enough for a draft board. You need to be personally convicted of your position. You need to be able to articulate it. You need to be able to illustrate how the beliefs that you hold inform your lifestyle, not just in the capacity of conscientious objector status, but in the whole package that goes along with how your life has changed as a result of your beliefs. But what that letter does do is help to establish that those beliefs that are on that written statement that you submit were held before a draft was authorized. It helps to establish the positioning of how long you have been personally convicted of these things.

My advice would be for you, the same advice it was given to me, anyone between the ages of 16 and 30, men and women, you should write these letters.

Should there be a draft authorization? Should there be something of those...

it's not a guarantee they're not going to expand that out further on. At one point, we drafted clear up to the age of 65 in the United States for a couple of different conflicts that we found ourselves in. We know as we get closer to the end that there will be wars and there will be rumors of wars. The United States may well be drawn into larger regional conflicts as we get involved with countries around the world in various ways. Those regional conflicts have the potential to grow into global conflicts. I would argue as a result of world conditions today, the likelihood of a draft is higher today than it was 10 to 20 years ago. As the world order shifts, the fighting strength of the United States military wanes, as the numbers wane, as there's a perception of military weakness, perhaps a perception of weakness of leadership, causes other nations to become emboldened, and causes other nations to do things that they might not have ordinarily done in the past.

Like, I don't know, sale submarines into Cuba. You know, it has been a long time since that's happened.

Brethren, we need to be prepared for these things. We need to really think these things through, consider these things up front, and to ensure that we have these concepts in hand so that if and when it comes to be, that we are prepared and we are ready to give an answer.