Every time there’s a mass shooting, the debate over guns, “red flag” laws, and bans floods back in. I’ve read and heard plenty from both sides. The one thing I almost never hear is what the Bible actually says on the matter — and for a Christian, that’s the standard that should settle it before any of the rest.
The Bible obviously doesn’t mention guns; they hadn’t been invented. But it has a great deal to say about the two questions underneath the gun debate: when is it permitted to take a life, and are God’s people allowed to carry a weapon to defend themselves?
First, a word about Romans 13
Before digging in, one objection has to be cleared. Some Christians wave off the whole discussion with Romans 13 — “the government bears the sword, so leave defense to the state.” But Romans 13 doesn’t teach blind obedience to government, and it doesn’t hand the state a monopoly on protecting your life. It tells us to submit to authority that aligns itself with God’s design for justice. We follow God above all else. That’s the standard we’re looking to here. (For more about Romans 13 specifically, check out this article where I go into this topic in more detail.)
”Thou shalt not kill” — or murder?
The Sixth Commandment is the usual starting point, and the usual place people stop.
“Thou shalt not kill.” — Exodus 20:13 (KJV)
“Thou shalt not murder.” — Exodus 20:13 (NIV)
The word in question is the Hebrew râtsach (רצח, Strong’s H7523). Here’s the problem with settling the argument on this verse alone: râtsach can mean an accidental killing or premeditated murder. A simple word-study can’t resolve it. So the honest thing is to do what the text itself does next — read the passages that spell out how God treated the taking of a life.
What the Law actually distinguished
Right after the flood, God ties the value of human life to His own image:
“Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.” — Genesis 9:6
Then the Law of Moses draws the line that the Sixth Commandment only implied — the line between murder and accident:
“Anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death. However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen, they are to flee to a place I will designate. But if anyone schemes and kills someone deliberately, that person is to be taken from my altar and put to death.” — Exodus 21:12–14
The same body of law (echoed in Deuteronomy 19 and Leviticus 24) puts intent at the center. Pull it together and four things are clear:
- Life is precious to God — it carries His image.
- A person who takes a life with malice is to be put to death.
- A person who takes a life by accident is not.
- Bringing serious harm to others can itself be a capital matter.
So the commandment isn’t “never take a life under any circumstance.” It’s “do not murder.” The Law itself commanded the taking of some lives.
The thief in the night
The clearest self-defense case in the Law is the burglar:
“If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed; but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed.” — Exodus 22:2–3
Why does daylight change the verdict? Because in the light you can tell what you’re dealing with — whether the intruder is only a thief, or an assassin. At night you can’t read his intent, so a homeowner who uses lethal force isn’t guilty. In daylight, when a mere thief poses no mortal threat, killing him is not justified. The standard is proportional: lethal force is for a lethal threat. That’s not a modern legal invention; it’s in Exodus.
”Turn the other cheek” — what Jesus was actually correcting
This is where people are sure the New Testament flips everything. Jesus quotes the very “eye for eye” language we just read:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” — Matthew 5:38–39
Read carefully, this isn’t a repeal of self-defense — it’s a correction of a misuse of Scripture. Notice Jesus opens with “you have heard,” not “it is written” (the phrase He uses when He’s clarifying actual Scripture). The Pharisees had taken the Law’s justice provisions and twisted them into a license for personal revenge, even revenge for insults. And a slap on the right cheek, from a right-handed person, is a backhand — an insult, not a mortal attack. Jesus is forbidding retaliation for personal insult. He is not commanding pacifism in the face of someone trying to kill you.
”Sell your cloak and buy a sword”
If any doubt remains, look at what Jesus told His disciples on the last night He spent with them:
“But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.” … The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are two swords.” “That’s enough!” he replied. — Luke 22:36, 38
Think about what He’s telling them to do. Persecution was coming because they were associated with Him, and He instructs them to arm themselves — even to sell a coat, a basic necessity, to afford a weapon. My understanding is that ownership of swords was illegal for Jews during the Roman occupation. If true, it makes Jesus’ command even more striking — He would be telling them to break the law, a law that most likely would carry severe penalties.
To me it’s plain: Jesus was endorsing self-defense with the most effective weapon available at the time.
From Jesus to the founders
By the time our nation was founded — built largely on Christian principles — weapons had gone from swords to firearms, but the principle carried straight through. It’s worth remembering that the American Revolution started over guns: the “shot heard round the world” at Lexington and Concord came when British troops were sent to seize the colonists’ powder, shot, and arms.
The men who wrote the founding documents understood the right to bear arms as the practical guarantee of every other liberty:
“A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined.” — George Washington, First Annual Address to Congress, January 8, 1790
“No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.” — Thomas Jefferson, draft Virginia Constitution, 1776
They also weren’t fooled into thinking the right expired with muskets — repeating firearms already existed (the crank-operated Puckle gun dates to 1718). And they were blunt about disarmament as the tool of tyranny:
“To disarm the people … is the most effectual way to enslave them.” — George Mason, Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 14, 1788
Bottom Line
- “Do not kill” means “do not murder.” The Law of Moses itself distinguished intentional killing from accident, and even commanded lethal force in some cases — so the Sixth Commandment can’t be read as absolute pacifism.
- Scripture affirms defending your life. The thief-in-the-night law protects the defender; “turn the other cheek” addresses personal revenge, not mortal danger; and Jesus told His own disciples to arm themselves.
- The standard is proportional. Lethal force answers a lethal threat — not an insult, not a mere theft. That biblical principle still maps cleanly onto how a Christian should think about carrying a weapon today.
- The founders inherited the same principle and wrote it into the country: an armed people is a free people, and disarmament is the first move of tyranny.
None of this is a license for aggression — it’s the opposite. Valuing life is exactly why Scripture permits you to protect the innocent, including yourself and your family. If you want a secular look at what gun control actually does to crime, I’d recommend More Guns, Less Crime by John Lott, Jr.
Defense is a layered plan, not a single tool — see how security actually works once you’ve settled the “why.”
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (public domain) and The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.