“The plain fact is that the church since the first century and with few exceptions has never, despite its protestations, taken Christ with complete seriousness…‘Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus’” (Charles E. Raven, The Theological Basis of Christian Pacifism, p. 22).

These words challenge every Christian to reconsider the depth of their allegiance to Christ. How far does our commitment to his teachings go—especially when it conflicts with the powers, ambitions, and wars of this world?

History provides a sobering perspective.

The Early Church: A Community Set Apart

From the beginning, Christians were politically neutral. Geoffrey Nuttall notes that before the fourth century, Christian participation in war or political life was nearly nonexistent.

“In the first century there is no evidence of any Christian taking part in political life; and even in the third we still have a profession of entire unconcern in the matter of political ambitions and interests…The early Christian attitude to war was more like that of the people who call themselves Jehovah’s Witnesses than it is comfortable for us to suppose” (Christian Pacifism in History, p. 5–12).

Similarly, Ernst Troeltsch emphasizes that “sect-type” Christian groups, living apart from worldly affairs, embodied the essential fundamentals of early Christianity:

“The ‘sect-type’ Christian groups represent an awakened community of believers, living apart from the world. This presents in a very direct and characteristic way the essential fundamentals of Christianity” (Social Teaching of the Christian Churches, p. 725).

Bertrand Russell affirms “Christianity was, in its earliest days, entirely unpolitical. The best representatives of the primitive tradition in our time are the Christadelphians, who…refuse to have any part or lot in secular affairs” (Power, p. 83).

And G.C. Field further notes that obedience to the original Christian model means living as a small, distinct community, consciously separate from a world that has not embraced Christ. And how this separation naturally encompassed refusal to engage in warfare.

“If we are to obey in detail the injunctions that were given to the first Christians, we must put ourselves in the same position as the first Christians, and regard ourselves as a small band of believers, living in a world that as a whole has not accepted Christ, following the path of separation…This is the line actually followed by some of the smaller Christian sects, such as the Christadelphians and the Plymouth Brethren…I feel little doubt that their attitude is much closer to the attitude of the earliest Christians than that of the larger religious bodies” (Prof. G.C. Field, Pacifism and Conscientious Objection, p. 78).

The Biblical Basis for Pacifism

Central to Christian obedience is the recognition that our ultimate loyalty is to Christ and his teachings, not to any nation or earthly authority. The Apostle calls the Christian Church the international Israel of God without national distinctions (Gal. 6:16; cf. Col. 3:11; Gal. 3:28).

This allegiance extends to all the members of the Messiah:

“Unless we deny our Lord, our loyalty to Christ’s worldwide body of brothers and sisters must far exceed any loyalty to nation or country…European Christians have slaughtered their brothers and sisters in Christ by the millions” (Sider & Taylor, Nuclear Holocaust and Christian Hope, p. 84–85).

Christians are called to live as resident aliens in this world (1 Peter 2:11; John 17:16), representing Messiah as ambassadors only (2 Cor. 5:20), not as warrior-kings/queens, let alone politicians. Jesus himself taught contrary to the mindset:

• “If my Kingdom belonged to this world system, my servants would fight” (John 18:36).
• “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Do not resist an evil person” (Matt. 5:44, 39).
• “Do not avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God” (Rom. 12:19).
• “Everyone who picks up the sword will perish by the sword” (Matt. 26:52).

Even in moments when his disciples sought violent retaliation, Jesus corrected them (Luke 9:54–55), modeling a pacifist ethic grounded in love (John 13:35).

The Ethical Imperative Today

These teachings confront Christians with the following urgent questions:

• Will God welcome into His kingdom those who bear the blood of fellow Christians or enemies on their hands?
• Can maiming, killing, especially unborn children ever be an expression of love?
• To whom does vengeance belong? (Rom. 12:19)

We are called to make our position unmistakably clear, as with other moral issues like abortion. Our hope is not in world leaders, power, or military might, but in the sustaining grace of God:

“But we had the sentence of death within ourselves, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God, who raises the dead” (2 Cor. 1:9).

The early church’s example reminds us that Christian obedience often requires a countercultural witness, a deliberate refusal to participate in worldly violence, and a total reliance on God’s justice and peace.

History and Scripture together make clear that the Christian vocation is one of peace, separation, and love—a radical commitment that refuses to join the cycle of violence. True obedience to Christ demands a totally non-violent stance, rooted not in fear, but in love for God, self, neighbor, and this present evil age.

As one anonymous poet reflects:

“The world made a lovely beginning,

But was spoiled at the start by man’s sinning.

We know that the story

Will end with God’s glory

But at present the other side’s winning.”