Part 1: Calling 911 Is Not a Lack of Faith: What Churches Need to Stop Saying to Abuse Survivors
There is a statement I’ve heard in various forms over the years; sometimes spoken bluntly, sometimes implied through spiritual pressure:
“If you really trusted God, you wouldn’t involve the police.”
It’s usually aimed at women and children seeking safety after being harmed, and sometimes terrorized, in their home. Some are trembling with fear, unsure of whom to trust. Then a church leader tells them that calling 911 somehow dishonors the Lord.
Let’s be clear: telling a victim that seeking protection reveals a lack of faith is neither biblical nor pastoral. It is spiritual malpractice.
Seeking Protection Reflects God’s Heart
From the beginning, God reveals Himself as a defender of the oppressed. He does not bless violence; He opposes it.
God speaks against oppression in general over 150 times in Scripture, plus specifically condemns interpersonal oppression 84 times. The only thing God speaks against more in Scripture than oppression is idolatry.
“The Lord tests the righteous, but His soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.” — Psalm 11:5
For someone suffering domestic oppression, calling for help does not oppose God; it aligns with His character. Protection is not a worldly concession; it is a reflection of God’s care for His image-bearers.
“Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men; preserve me from violent men.” — Psalm 140:1
David wasn’t rebuked for seeking rescue. Crying out for protection was part of his faith. When we tell victims they lack faith for seeking help, we rebuke what God commends.
God Ordained Civil Authorities to Restrain Evil
Romans 13 describes the civil government as: “the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” — Romans 13:4
Here’s a truth worth memorizing: Calling 911 doesn’t replace prayer; it may be God’s answer to one. The Lord, in His sovereignty, entrusted the sword of justice to civil authorities, not to individual spouses and not to pastors.
God’s providence includes His ordaining of civil authorities. To reject their protection is to reject His appointed means of restraining evil. The church was never authorized to handle crimes privately behind closed doors. When leaders discourage reporting violence, they are not protecting a marriage; they are interrupting God’s provision of justice.
Important Note: In many states, pastors are mandatory reporters. Failing to report known abuse is not just unbiblical; it may also be illegal. Shepherds who hide wolves among the sheep will answer both to law and to the Lord.
“But What About 1 Corinthians 6?”
Some pastors weaponize 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 to pressure victims against involving authorities. This reflects dangerous mishandling of Scripture that ultimately protects oppressors:
- Paul addresses civil property disputes between believers, not criminal violence
- The passage assumes both parties are believers acting in good faith, not one terrorizing another
- Violent abuse breaks both covenant and criminal law simultaneously
- The context is lawsuits for financial gain, not seeking protection from bodily harm
Using this passage to silence victims protects criminals and perverts Paul’s intent. Violence is not a “dispute”; it is a crime. A believer who batters his wife has already taken her before the “court” of his fists. She’s not initiating legal action; she’s responding to criminal action.
God Holds Shepherds Accountable When They Fail to Protect the Vulnerable (Ezekiel 34:1–10)
When church leaders pressure a victim to “trust God” instead of seeking protection, they echo a very old and very serious sin. In Ezekiel 34, God rebukes shepherds who used their authority for control rather than care.
His accusation is painfully specific: “You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured… but with force and harshness you have ruled them.” — Ezekiel 34:4
These leaders left the wounded exposed and protected those who did harm. God’s response is direct: “I am against the shepherds.” — Ezekiel 34:10
The Lord promises to remove their authority and rescue the oppressed Himself (Ezekiel 34:11–16). When a pastor discourages a victim from calling for help, he doesn’t merely make a poor pastoral decision; he stands in opposition to God’s heart for His people.
A shepherd who won’t protect sheep from wolves has become a co-conspirator with the wolves.
Wisdom Does Not Walk Into Harm
Some confuse trusting God with remaining in danger. Proverbs speaks clearly: “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.” — Proverbs 22:3
Choosing safety is not unbelief; refusing safety is described as foolishness. Jesus Himself avoided violent threats until His appointed hour (John 7:1). Even the Son of God exercised prudent withdrawal from danger when it wasn’t His time to suffer. Safety, when possible, was wisdom, not fear.
Faith is not walking into the fist of a violent person. Faith responds wisely to evil. Presumption puts God to the test; faith takes refuge in Him—sometimes through a shelter’s doors.
Reporting Abuse Is a Form of Confronting Sin
Domestic oppression and abuse are not merely “marital conflict.” They are destructive, serially unrepentant sin. Scripture commands us to expose such deeds: “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” — Ephesians 5:11
A victim who calls the police is not abandoning biblical reconciliation; she is exposing evil so that righteousness can prevail. Sin hidden in darkness only breeds more darkness, while exposure to light is the beginning of redemption.
Remember: Secrecy is the sanctuary of abuse. When we tell victims to “keep it quiet,” we build walls around sin instead of tearing them down.
Church Discipline Must Follow Biblical Order
Abusers who refuse to repent must face church discipline (Matthew 18:15-17). Yet too often, churches protect abusers while disciplining victims for “breaking up the family.” This inverts biblical justice and makes the church complicit in oppression.
Consider:
- Violence against family members disqualifies church leadership (1 Timothy 3:3)
- A man who terrorizes his family while claiming faith “has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8)
- Churches that shield abusers while silencing victims participate in, even co-sign, their evil deeds (2 John 11)
The man who brutalizes his wife on Saturday night has no business serving communion on Sunday morning. Hands that strike the vulnerable should not distribute the elements of grace.
What Faithful Care Looks Like
Churches are called to walk in God’s justice and compassion, not denial and fear. Faithful pastoral care will:
- Believe the victim without interrogation (Prov. 12:17)
- Protect the vulnerable immediately (Prov. 31:8–9)
- Name violence as evil, not “communication problems” (Psalm 37:12–15)
- Support reporting crimes to civil authority (Rom. 13:1–4)
- Value a life more than an image, reputation, or marriage
A Note on Proverbs 18:17: Some Christians (pastors and elders included) weaponize “The first to state his case seems right, until another comes and examines him” to interrogate victims and to say, “We’d better get his side of the story before we take any action.”
But the oppressor has been stating his case all along—through fists, threats, verbal assaults, and terror. The victim bringing testimony is not “the first to state their case”; they are the cross-examination Proverbs 18:17 calls for. The bruises—visible or invisible—were his testimony; her words are the rebuttal.
No victim of domestic oppression should ever hear that trusting God means leaving themselves or their children in danger. God never calls His people to make peace with violence.
We are called to shepherd souls, not send lambs back to wolves. The next time a trembling victim sits in your office, you will face a choice: Will you stand with God as a defender of the oppressed, or will you become another obstacle to their safety? There is no neutral ground. Silence protects abusers. Truth protects victims. Choose this day whom you will serve.
Soli Deo Gloria
Words Matter: Refining the Conversation 