The late Dr. Jack L. Arnold agreed with John MacArthur that the Revolutionary War was a rebellion against God:
“In our own American Revolution, Christians were divided over how to understand their responsibilities to the state and over the right to revolt. Some, especially those of the Church of England, fought on the side of the British in an attempt to be faithful to Romans 13:1. Others fled to Canada. Yet the Reformed Churches, especially the Presbyterians, felt the revolution justifiable. This revolution was somewhat different from others as it did not result in a breakdown of law and order. Political, social, and economic order was maintained. In fact, the Congress of 1774 had no thoughts of revolution and tried for two years to gain equal representation by lawful means. History shows that Britain, not the Colonies, forced the issue. It was in 1776, after much prayer, that the Continental Congress decided to declare its independence. This ultimately led to the formation of our Declaration of Independence, which acknowledges God as the Creator of all men. Our Constitution and form of government were set forth to a nation that was God-fearing, Christ-living, and biblically oriented. However, this does not prove it was biblically correct to revolt …. To resist government is to resist God because the government is merely an instrument of God.[1]
The Founding Fathers had a starkly different view of the American Revolution. The Founding Fathers believed and preached two theological positions to justify their civil disobedience.
1. Rebellion against tyranny is not disobedience to human government.
The Fathers agreed that citizens should obey God-ordained government but not tyrants. They cited Biblical examples: Daniel, the three Hebrew children, etc., and others listed in Hebrews 11 who chose to obey God rather than the dictates of tyrants. For example, the three Hebrew children did not bow down and worship the king's idol. Daniel did not obey the law that forbade praying. When the king of Egypt ordered the Jewish midwives to kill male babies, the midwives refused: “But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive” (Exodus 1:17). In 1750, Rev. Dr. Jonathan Mayhew preached a sermon that was summarized in the first national motto: “Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.” Daniel, the three Hebrew children, and the Hebrew midwives illustrated that motto. Some will argue that when Paul wrote Romans 13 and instructed believers to “to be subject unto the higher powers” Nero, who was a tyrant, was “the higher power.” Paul also described “the higher powers” as rulers who “are not a terror to good works, but to the evil.” Nero and, as we shall see, King George III and the British Parliament were a “terror to good works.”
2. Offensive war does not honor God, but defensive war or self-defense does.
Even Dr. Jack Arnold admitted above: “In fact, the Congress of 1774 had no thoughts of revolution and tried for two years to gain equal representation by lawful means. History shows that Britain, not the Colonies, forced the issue. It was in 1776, after much prayer, that the Continental Congress decided to declare its independence.”
America did not fire the first shot. The British did at the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770, where five colonists were shot and killed by the British military who were occupying Boston.
After the Boston Tea Party (December 16, 1773), the London Parliament ordered the naval blockade of the Port of Boston which was, in essence, an act of war.
The colonists sought relief from King George III who could veto Parliament but he did nothing. Quite the contrary, he supported the position of the London Parliament and enforced it.
The colonies had sought reconciliation on numerous occasions, including the “Olive Branch Petition” in September 1775 which was rejected.
Instead, King George III, in whom was vested supreme command of the Royal Navy, in December of 1775 sent 25,000 British troops to imprison colonists which was a violation of British Common Law, the English Bill of Rights, and the Magna Carta. Americans simply defended themselves and their property.
The British marched on Lexington to confiscate colonists’ weapons. The command to the Lexington Minutemen on April 19, 1775, was “Don’t fire unless fired upon!” “Yet, having been fired upon without having broken any law, the Americans believed they had a Biblical right to self-defense.”[2] This was the first battle of the American Revolutionary War.
There is a Biblical basis for “Just War”
In Exodus 22, laws concerning theft were prescribed. One law empowered the homeowner with the right to protect his home and family if a home invasion occurred at night. The homeowner was not guilty if the home invasion took place at night and the intruder was killed. Perhaps, because the homeowner could not see if the intruder had a weapon or not. The law allowed for self-defense. The colonists were defending themselves against the aggressors in Britain. Ecclesiastes 3:8 says there is "a time of war and a time of peace." The colonists had sought peace. But their offers were rejected. Jesus never condemned war and even recognized the inevitability of war (Luke 14:31-33). [3] Jesus established other Just War principles. War should only pursue war if it is believed the war can be won. War is the last resort, only after all other means of reconciliation have been sought. Once those means have been exhausted, then as Jesus said to his disciples in Luke 22:36-38, if they did not have a sword sell their garments and buy one. Swords were for self-defense. Paul recognized the importance of human government in Romans 13:1-7 who does not bear the sword in vain which includes going to war to defend one’s nation in “just war.”
When we wave our American Flags, shoot off fireworks, grill hamburgers and hotdogs, and sing “God Bless America” we are celebrating independence, not insurrection.
1. Jack Arnold, “Dare You Resist Your Government? Romans 13: 2-4”http://cleartheology.com /expo/45Romans/NT.Arnold.Rom.59.html
2. “The American Revolution: Was it an Act of Biblical Rebellion?” at Wallbuilders (https://wallbuilders.com/american-revolution-act-biblical-rebellion/#FN3)
3. “Jesus is not directly offering instruction on how to conduct warfare. Nevertheless, Jesus uses something well known to his audience, warfare, to illustrate his point, and in so doing could be taken as implicitly recognizing not only the reality but also the legitimacy of warfare at times in a fallen world. After all, Israel itself gained its Promised Land by divinely sanctioned and aided warfare. It seems hard to believe that Jesus would use something intrinsically evil (war) to illustrate something good (discipleship and counting the cost) without further clarification (Kenneth Gardoski, “Jesus and War” in The Journal of Ministry and Theology [Baptist Bible Seminary Spring. Vol.14. Number 1], 2010, 34).