Many self-professed Christians continue to believe that serving in the Military is consistent with NT teaching. 

In the book How Christians Made Peace with War, Prof. John Driver observed that “the early church in general understood well that it was not the duty of Christians to fight in the wars of the empire.” And that was because “early Christians interpreted the whole Bible in light of the law of love which they found most clearly revealed in the Gospels. The NT writers “could read the military narratives of the OT without justifying Christian participation in war. By experience, [early Christians] understood that their battle with evil was a real one. It was to be waged, however, on a different level, and with different weapons from the battles of the empire.” 

Now this is not just history for history’s sake. The good Professor Driver is obviously echoing, first, the famous love your enemies command of Jesus in Matthew 5:44. And then followed by other NT commandments from the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6. 

I like this paraphrase from the J.B. Phillips NT on vv.10-18: 

“In conclusion be strong—not in yourselves but in the Lord, in the power of his boundless resource. Put on God’s complete armour so that you can successfully resist all the devil’s methods of attack. For our fight is not against any physical enemy: it is against organizations and powers that are spiritual. We are up against the unseen power that controls this dark world, and spiritual agents from the very headquarters of evil. Therefore you must wear the whole armour of God that you may be able to resist evil in its day of power, and that even when you have fought to a standstill you may still stand your ground. Take your stand then with truth as your belt, righteousness your breastplate, the Gospel of peace firmly on your feet, salvation as your helmet and in your hand the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Above all be sure you take faith as your shield, for it can quench every burning missile the enemy hurls at you. Pray at all times with every kind of spiritual prayer, keeping alert and persistent as you pray for all Christ’s men and women.”

Now some might ask: Then why didn’t the Baptist tell the soldiers when they asked him “what shall we do?” to leave the army (in Lk 3:12-13)? 

Or, Why did Jesus praise the faith of a Roman Centurion and healed his servant (in Mt 8:5-13; Lk 7:1-10)? 

Or, Why is Cornelius, another centurion, called a God-fearing man (in Acts 10:22, 34-35)? 

Well, the fact is that all these are arguments from silence. In other words, they neither endorse nor condemn military involvement. So we must look elsewhere, i.e., more specifically to those teachings we just read from Jesus and his Apostles in the NT. And then you must research your own early Christian history to get a perspective of how early churches understood and practiced said teachings.

Let me recommend another such book which gives Four Christian Views on WAR: 

“To affirm that one is a member of the kingdom of Christ now means that loyalty to Christ and his kingdom transcends every other loyalty. This stance goes beyond nationalism. This is not a position which can be expected of the world nor asked of the government. The Christian can only encourage the government to be the government and to let the church be the church.”

So once again I implore you to educate yourself, readjust your Christian focus and mind. And consider those who came before us. Like the story of Marcellus, a 3rd century Roman centurion who converted to Christianity. Who is said to have cast away his sword during a festival in honor of the Emperor with the words:

“It is not fitting for a Christian man who serves Christ the Lord to serve human powers.”

Although Marcelus was promptly beheaded the very same day. So let me once again encourage you to simply pray for all those in authority and let the government to be the government of Caesar so we can continue to be the church of God. After all, this is the only direction given by the NT.

In 1 Timothy 2 Paul says the first thing we must always do is pray. 

“Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living peaceful lives in all godliness and honesty.”