The Bible clearly speaks of the authorities having the right to protect the nation and for individuals to defend others, but as to self-defense, it is a little less clear. In order to discover the answer, we must rely on principles found in Scripture. There is one direct statement regarding this issue and that is “if the thief is caught while breaking in, and is struck so that he dies, there will be no blood on his account” (Exodus 22:2). Therefore, if someone breaks in to your home and you kill that person in self defense, then you are to be guiltless. There are few if any other direct statements approving of self defense. However, having this verse and an indirect principle revealed in the rest of Scripture of defending life in general, a person can have a clear conscious about defending themselves. Some of the verses that indicate the general principle of defending human life are Genesis 14:1-16; Numbers 25:16-18; Deuteronomy 19:11-12; Judges 3:15-30; Romans 13:1-5.

Now there are the instances that seem to imply we should not defend ourselves. First there is the comment by Jesus that, “those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52). However, if you read further you will see that the issue is “that it must happen this way” (Matthew 26:54). Peter was attempting to use the sword to prevent the crucifixion. Had the crucifixion not happened salvation would not have been made available to any of us. You may say, but it still says “those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.“ True and Jesus also says, “whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:39). We have a clear principle above that we are aloud to defend ourselves and use of violence to protect human life is considered just by God. There are numerous Scriptures that teach that. Yet there are these two that almost seem to contradict. First of all, if all those who live by the sword die by the sword then why didn’t Jesus confront the sin of a military officer, but commend him for his faith (Matthew 8:5-10)? If someone has a sin issue and are asking Jesus for help, he always confronts them. Why not here? When it seems that the Bible is contradicting itself, you must accept what the majority of Scripture says over the few verses that seem to contradict. There is likely something we are missing in those few verses.

When Jesus said, “those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword,” that idea is tied to the context of preventing the will of God. We can only say with certainty that this passage teaches us that we should not attempt to use force to prevent the will of God. Also, in general the person who performs an act of violence, even justly, likely will have someone desiring to commit violence against him. Perhaps this is what Jesus means.

Also, regarding the issue of turning the other cheek, I still have not entirely figured this one out. Now this can only apply to private individuals, because that is who He is speaking to. Throughout the Bible it is obvious that the authorities have the right to use the sword. But in regard to if we have the right to protect ourselves, this verse still seems to be a bit contradictory to the rest of the Bible. We must accept the whole message of the Bible over one verse. Again, there is something we are missing in this verse, because Jesus would not contradict the principles of Scripture. Perhaps it is explained in Ecclesiastes. There is “a time to kill, and a time to heal…a time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones…a time for war, and a time for peace (Ecclesiastes 3:3, 5, 8). Perhaps Jesus is speaking of the instances that we should show mercy. The general principle is that when being attacked and individual has a right to defend themselves, but we must do so with great caution. There can be consequences for our just actions. We should consider what the laws of the nation we life in are also. While actions may be just to God, they might not be to the earthly authorities. Not that we don’t obey God’s laws over mans, but we must be prepared to face consequences if this is the scenario.

Resource tip: In order to discover the answer to a question like this it is good to have an exhaustive concordance. Also, a Bible Dictionary would be very helpful as well. First consider the words the Bible may use for this topic, even related words. Some of the words would be war, attack, sword, fight, stone, etc. Look up these words in a concordance to find the verses that contain these words. Add those verses to your study. Upon reading those verses, use your cross-reference (the numbers generally in the middle column of your Bible, that connect related verses to a verse on that page) to find related verses. Add those to your study. Then look up war, self defense, etc. in a Bible dictionary and see if it gives any more verses to your study that you have not found yet. Study all these verses and remember to get the context in which they are in. Once you have done this you should find the biblical principles as well as an answer to a question like this.