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A Bible Believer Responds To John Piper’s Call For Christians To Not Be Armed

Now to me, the son of a WWII and Korea vet, and the brother to a United States Marine, this sounds like perfectly sound and rational thought processes coming from the desk of Mr. Falwell. And certainly, as a parent, taking every precaution we can to keep our kids safe I am all in favor of both as a Christian and as an American citizen. But John Piper sees it otherwise.

Published

10 years ago

December 23, 2015

Geoffrey Grider

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So John Piper says it’s a sin to call the police when we are being threatened? I say that’s absolute hogwash, and so should you

“Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” Romans 14:4,5 (KJV)

Yesterday the chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary, John Piper, published an article entitled “Should Christians Be Encouraged to Arm Themselves?” In the article he takes issue with Jerry Falwell, Jr. telling his students to go out and get their gun permits. Falwell said this:

“As the president of this university community of nearly 15,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, I take very seriously my responsibility to keep you safe in an increasingly dangerous world. That’s why in 2011 I asked our Board of Trustees to consider a concealed carry policy. It wasn’t because of Islamic terrorism, it was because what happened (just) up the road at Virginia Tech. More than 30 innocent students and faculty were murdered viciously and none of them had the ability to protect themselves. The day that happened, I thought we needed to do something different here at Liberty. We needed to have a way to protect our students, our faculty, so we instituted this free course in 2011. We were part of only a handful of schools in the United States that had taken that position at that time. Now many schools have followed suit. There are dozens and we have had 1,600 people take that course, 950 here now with concealed carry permits, and after I made those remarks on Friday we had 240 sign up for a course tomorrow night. I want to applaud you and thank you for taking steps to make our campus more safe. I recognize that not every one of you will (carry); it’s only for students 21 years and older.” source

Now to me, the son of a WWII and Korea vet, and the brother to a United States Marine, this sounds like perfectly sound and rational thought processes coming from the desk of Mr. Falwell. And certainly, as a parent, taking every precaution we can to keep our kids safe I am all in favor of both as a Christian and as an American citizen. But John Piper sees it otherwise. Here is an excerpt from his anti-gun article:

“As chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary, I want to send a different message to our students, and to the readers of Desiring God, than Jerry Falwell, Jr. sent to the students of Liberty University in a campus chapel service on December 4. The apostle Peter teaches us that Christians will often find themselves in societies where we should expect and accept unjust mistreatment without retaliation. The early church, as we see her in Acts, expected and endured persecution without armed resistance, but rather with joyful suffering, prayer, and the word of God. A natural instinct is to boil this issue down to the question, “Can I shoot my wife’s assailant?” source

That, in brief, is the essence of Piper’s position, and you can read the entire article here. So let me just add a few brief points from the Bible believer position that I think will help to shed some additional light on the matter.

John Piper’s misapplication of scripture: All through his article, he constantly says things like “Peter never fought back when mistreated”, and “the apostles endured persecution without retaliation”, and so on. Yes, those thing are true, but they need to be read in context. The reason why the apostles never fought back was because the punishments and afflictions they received were because of preaching the gospel specifically, and the Bible does say that in the course of witnessing for Jesus Christ hardships, perils and afflictions certainly will come. When we preach on the street, I have never hit back at any of the mistreatment we have received because when were are ministering we are specifically engaged in preaching the gospel. But I find no verses in the Bible that advise me to just “sit back and take it” when walking down a crowded city street and someone tries to mug me. So based on Piper’s misapplication of scripture, his advice to his daughter would be to “just take it” when attacked by a predator on a college campus or other gathering of people. See how silly his position suddenly becomes? No, the apostles, as seen below, suffered for a very specific cause, for the gospel’s sake, and as such took it without rebuttal. But I dare say that if some crazed lunatic tried to sexually assault Peter’s wife, the tough-as-nails Galilean fisherman would have thrust him through with his sword, and rightly so.
“And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” Acts 5:40 (KJV)
John Piper is not rightly dividing the Bible: Paul commands Timothy to “rightly divide” the scripture so that he will not make the mistake of trying to apply Bible verses written to the Jews and place them on the Church. In his article, Piper talks about “enduring to the end” from Matthew 24, a passage specifically written to Jews in the time of Jacob’s trouble. But Christians don’t “endure to the end” because we are 1). sealed until the day of redemption as found in Ephesians 1 & 4, and 2). we will not go through the time of Jacob’s trouble otherwise known as the Great Tribulation. “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,” 1 Thessalonians 5:9 (KJV)
Many of his points are just ridiculous: One of his main theme points is that the christian should just “trust God” and everything will work itself out. The Bible believing Christian does trust God with the most important thing we have, and that is our souls. We trust Him to take us home to Heaven when we die, we place our eternal destiny in His hands alone. But until that day arrives, we live in a sin-cursed world that currently is ruled by the Devil! God gave us a brain for a reason, He wants us to do some thinking with it. Whenever we travel anywhere in a car, we always ask God to guide our path and get us to and from safely, right? But we also wear our seatbelts! I highly doubt that Piper and his whole family ride around in cars at high speeds unbelted. If Piper’s logic was followed to it’s natural conclusion seat belts would no longer be used because when using them our “faith would be in the seat belts” and not in God’s power to keep us safe. That’s just plain crazy. But yet Piper goes further still when he says that even calling the police when you are in danger “comes from a heart that is out of step with the mind of Christ. If one’s heart is controlled mainly by fear, or anger, or revenge, that sinful disposition may be expressed by using the police as well as taking up arms yourself.” So now it’s a sin to call the police when we are being threatened? Hogwash, and dangerous hogwash at that. “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” 1 Timothy 5:8 (KJV)

Conclusion: I honestly don’t know much about the ministry or beliefs of John Piper, I run in Bible believing circles and have not come across much if any of his work. But going on this particular article he has written, he comes across as an anti-gun liberal to me. God calls us to trust Him in all we do and with all we have, yet at the same time it is not a lack of faith to exercise and eat right to stay healthy. And it is not a lack of faith when we take common sense precautions to keep our loved ones safe in a sin-cursed world.

Famous media liberal, Geraldo Rivera, who almost always advocates for pacifism, nearly had a thermonuclear meltdown last month when his own daughter was near the Paris Muslim terror attacks. This is what he said:

“We need to respond by declaring war on them… if we don’t kill them, they’re going to kill us.” He offered specifics, calling for Russia, the U.S. and our Middle East Allies to join forces in a war against ISIS– even if have to drag the latter in “kicking and screaming.” “I want a massive ground campaign to conquer ISIS once and for all,” Rivera said. source

Lol, every liberal is a pacifist until the day their loved ones are threatened, then they want blood. John Piper is no different. If the evil he so carelessly tells us to “not worry about” and just “trust God” with ever came to land at his doorstep you can best believe his tune would change. Quickly.

If you try and make the Bible say Christians can’t have guns, then we can’t have seat belts either. If you were to ask my opinion on whether or not a Christian should buy a gun, I would give you the same answer I would give you with any other question you might ask. I will tell you to pray about it, and let God do the deciding.

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:” Ephesians 1:17 (KJV)

Related Topics:Bible Believer Jerry Falwell Jr.John Piper Second Amendment

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Donald Trump

The Normally Pro-Trump Sky News Australia Blasts The Iran Peace Deal Calling It “A Tragic And Expensive Waste Of Time” As The President Returns In Failure

Published

8 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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Trump’s Iran War Was Supposed To Show Strength But It Ended With Dead Soldiers, Dead Children, A Surviving Regime, And A ‘Paper Peace’ No One Can Explain

There it is, Donald Trump’s war with Iran has ended, but not with victory, regime change, the destruction of Iran’s wicked influence in the Middle East, or some grand masterstroke of “peace through strength,” but with a bewildering memorandum of understanding that leaves the Iranian regime standing, breathing, boasting, and preparing for whatever comes next. Trump’s Iran war should sober up every Christian who still believes that political power can save a collapsing world. It absolutely cannot. The old world system is not being restored. It is being prepared. Prepared for the revealing of the man of sin.

“Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.” Jeremiah 7:8 (KJB)

Iran is no innocent victim, the Iranian regime is wicked. It hates Israel, exports terror, persecutes its own people, arms proxies, and dreams of dominance in the region. But acknowledging Iran’s wickedness does not require pretending that every American military adventure is wisdom from above. Two things can be true at the same time: Tehran is evil, and Trump’s Iran war was a disastrous mistake. According to Sky’s Mark Stone, the White House announced that Trump had signed a memorandum aimed at ending the war with Iran, Iran’s foreign minister confirmed Tehran had signed it as well, and yet the whole thing was wrapped in confusion, contradictory timing, remote signatures, Versailles theatrics, and another expected signing still to come. That is not statesmanship, that’s diplomatic vaudeville with piles of dead bodies in the background.

Trump’s signing of the Iran Peace Deal is a slap in the face to the memory of the 13 United States soldiers who gave their lives in the war he started

The most haunting line in the Sky News analysis is this: “So many school children died in Minab. For what?” Sky reports that Trump still would not admit the strike was America’s mistake, while Stone says sources told him that it was. That cuts through all the campaign slogans, all the phony tough-guy branding, all the red MAGA hats, all the applause lines, and all the cable-news spin. Children died, teachers died, and families were shattered. And for what? A paper agreement that does not end Iran’s malign influence, does not make America great again, and does not appear to have solved the thing the war was supposedly fought over.

For years, conservative Christians were told that Trump was the master negotiator, the consumate dealmaker, the man who alone could command the world stage. But this Iran episode reveals something far more sobering: the world stage is not a boardroom, the Middle East is not a casino development, and the enemies of Israel and the West are not impressed by branding. You do not bomb your way into clarity, stumble your way into a memorandum, and then call the rubble you created “peace.”

This is why NTEB has always warned you against confusing politics with prophecy and politicians with deliverers. For the past 17 years, we have been giving you the headlines through the filter of the King James Bible, but we never confuse the two. God is not working through the Republican Party to ‘bring in the kingdom’. God is not waiting for a MAGA foreign policy to fulfill His promises to Israel. Israel would absolutely still exist without Donald Trump, no matter how many times Trump says the opposite. God is not dependent on Trump, Macron, Netanyahu, the G7, NATO, the UN, or the Department of War. The Lord has His own calendar, His own covenants, His own prophetic program, and His own King coming back to rule and reign. Until then, the nations will continue doing what the nations do: wars, rumours of wars, making deals, breaking promises, burying victims, and calling it progress.

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Donald Trump

Under The Watchful Gaze Of Emmanuel Macron, President Donald Trump Signs Memorandum Of Understanding Effectively Ending The Iran War

Published

23 hours ago

June 17, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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Tonight Emmanuel Macron was a witness to history, and perhaps even prophecy as he witnessed Donald Trump sign Iran War MOU preserving Persia

There are moments in history that do not merely happen, they announce themselves. They come dressed in symbolism so thick, so unmistakable, so prophetically loaded, that only the willingly blind could miss what is taking place. Donald Trump signing away the U.S.-Iran War would have been shocking enough. But Donald Trump doing it at Versailles, with Emmanuel Macron standing there as the European prince in the room, blows the lid clean off the whole end times setup. Do you realize what just happened?

“For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” 1 Thessalonians 5:3 (KJB)

America goes to war with Iran, the terror regime survives, the mullahs remain in power, the Strait of Hormuz becomes a bargaining chip, sanctions relief enters the conversation, and the whole thing is served up beneath the royal chandeliers of Versailles on a golden platter. And there, in the middle of the frame, stands Emmanuel Macron — polished, prepared, globalist, European, Roman, and just waiting for his time to come. We told you years ago to watch this man.

BREAKING NEWS: Under the watchful eye of Emmanuel Macron, US President Donald Trump signed the Memorandum Of Understanding that will preserve the Iranian terror regime in power. Wow, if only you had a King James Bible, you would know what just happened. https://t.co/kjJ6Z68I22

— Now The End Begins (@NowTheEndBegins) June 18, 2026

We told you Emmanuel Macron was not like the others. We showed you the strange prophetic markers gathering around him. We showed you the Assyrian trail. We showed you the revived Roman Empire architecture. We showed you the Vatican flavor, the Charlemagne language, the European sovereignty doctrine, the militarized Europe agenda, and the way this man seems to appear whenever the world stage starts bending toward Bible prophecy.

And now here he is again. Not off to the side. Not in the shadows. Not as a footnote. But standing right there as America signs terms with Persia.

Christian, don’t miss what just happened. Iran was not defeated. Iran was preserved. The terror regime was left standing. The mullahs were not dragged out. The nuclear question was not finally buried. The proxies were not erased. Instead, the world was given another “framework,” another “process,” another “window,” another globalist peace package that manages evil instead of destroying it.

That is how the coming kingdom of Antichrist is being built. It is being assembled piece by piece, treaty by treaty, summit by summit, war by war, crisis by crisis, and signing ceremony by signing ceremony. Each deal teaches the world to think globally. Each crisis teaches the world to surrender sovereignty. Each war teaches the world to beg for a savior. Each peace agreement teaches the world to accept the man who can make the madness stop. That man is coming. Versailles wasn’t just a dinner, a signing, or another diplomatic photo-op. It was a prophetic snapshot of the world that is coming. America weakened, Iran preserved, Europe elevated, and the man from France standing in the frame like the Assyrian waiting in the wings.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

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“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

Headline News

THE PROPHECY NEWS PODCAST: As America Celebrates 250 Years, She Has Quietly Surrendered Herself To Debt, Surveillance, Digital Money And Global Control

Published

1 day ago

June 17, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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It’s ‘Bread And Circuses’ At The White House As America Celebrates Liberty While Surrendering To Surveillance, Debt And End Times Global Control

A nation celebrating liberty while surrendering itself to surveillance, debt, biometric control, digital money, artificial intelligence, and global governance is not a free nation. It is a nation living off the fumes of a freedom it no longer understands. The flags, the stirring songs, the speeches and fireworks are still there, but underneath all that patriotic pageantry is a people being quietly trained to accept chains, so long as those chains are presented as convenience, security, progress, and innovation. Founding Father Benjamin Franklin said “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” 267 years later, those words applied to America ring truer in our day than when Franklin first said it. We just don’t see it because we’ve become spiritually blinded.

“The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” Psalm 9:17 (KJB)

On this episode of the Prophecy News Podcast, America is turning 250 years old, and instead of finding her on her knees in repentance before the God who has so richly blessed her, we find her cheering cage fights on the lawn of the White House. That is not merely entertainment, that is a parable. The same nation that once sent missionaries around the world with a King James Bible in one hand and the gospel of the grace of God in the other is now staging the modern equivalent of Roman spectacle at the very seat of executive power. Juvenal called it “bread and circuses,” the tragic condition of a people who had traded duty, virtue and liberty for amusement, appetite and distraction. Rome didn’t know she was dying while the games were playing, and America seems to be oblivious to that fact as well. Today we bring you the hard truth of America in her last days, and what you can expect to see if the Lord tarries.

GRADY NAILS IT WITH HIS TAKE ON HOW SATAN TURNED AMERICA AGAINST GOD, CLICK TO ORDER!!

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