​Originally written by Dr. Clement Riedner, Shiho Karano Publications
Submitted for this blog post by Kyoshi Frank DeAngelo
________________________________

This article is the fourth and final part of a Bible training program that utilizes the philosophy and principles of the Martial Arts as an illustration of basic Biblical principles of salvation and the Christian life. The first part talked about laying a foundation for beginners in both martial arts and in life. The reader was challenged to examine their faith and see what their foundation is. It is our hope that your foundation is in Jesus Christ. Without a strong foundation, we stand on sinking sand and will be easily swept away. Part two showed a relationship between the principles and attitudes involved in both physical and spiritual warfare. In the third section, we talked about the Principles of Spiritual Warfare that help us to stand firm in our faith. Part four discusses the Code of Bushido.
(**indicates a Bible memory verse).

III. THE ADVANCED – THE CODE OF THE BUSHIDO
This code is required for the advanced student in preparation for the Black Belt level.

The Japanese Samurai Warrior culture developed a very strict code of conduct known as the ‘Code of Bushido’. It was this simple yet strong code which kept the highly skilled Samurai from becoming wanton killers, taking human life at every whim of temper. This code, while originating with the Samurai, was amazingly parallel to that of the European Christian knight as well as with Biblical teaching and principles. Therefore, a study of the ‘Code of Bushido’ from a Christian perspective can be very profitable to the student.

Seven basic tenets of the Bushido have Biblical parallels and applications. They are:

1. RECTITUDE OR JUSTICE: This principle is most important in the Code of the Bushido and closely akin to Bible principles. For the Samurai, crooked dealings, etc., were thought of as going against the ideals of their Code. Justice, meaning being just, and dealing with others honorably. We find many parallels in Scripture concerning honesty, being just, and fair dealings with one’s fellow man. A good biblical example is found in Romans.

**Romans 12:17,18 – Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.

**Romans 12:21 – Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.

**Galatians 5:16,22-25 – I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no Law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

2. COURAGE: For the Samurai, death must be for a just cause to be an honorable death. Courage ties in with the cause of righteousness. A good biblical example of this although speaking of life, gives the courage, the ideal of the Christian.

**Philippians 1:21-24 – For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard pressed from both, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

Life must be godly and thus our death a gain for Christ, not a thing to be feared as if our life had been wasted.

​6. DUTY OF LOYALTY: In both ancient Japan and medieval Europe, loyalty to one’s master was deemed the most noble quality of both the Samurai and the Knights of Europe. Loyalty to one’s Master, and in the spiritual realm, to Christ, is most certainly a Biblical concept and admonition. Directly tied in with loyalty is the quality of Faithfulness and Service. The Samurai and Knight were  servants, serving their master with full and complete loyalty. The same is expected of the Christian.

**1 Kings 8:61 – Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His Commandments, as at this day.

**Ephesians 6:5-9 – Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; not by way of eye service, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing  that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. And Masters, do the same things to them, give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in Heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

7. HONOR: Honor was very important to the samurai, both in his external bearing and personal dignity. Honor was an attitude of being. Perhaps this concept of honor might be best described in scripture in terms of our self-worth in relation to God, i.e., as how God views us. To God we have honor, and self-worth…

**1 Peter 1:18,19 – Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile ways of life inherited from your forefathers, but with the precious blood as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

Honor also includes all the other basic tenets of the Bushido. A person of honor will be Just, will display Courage, is Benevolent, always respects others and is polite, is honest, and loyal.

What person can live up to such a standard? No one can. The best one can do, is to do the best one can do. This is like trying to keep the Old Testament law. It is not possible for man. That is why Jesus died. We must put our faith in Him.

​Originally written by Dr. Clement Riedner, Shiho Karano Publications
Submitted for this blog post by Kyoshi Frank DeAngelo
________________________________

This article is the third part of a Bible training program that utilizes the philosophy and principles of the Martial Arts as an illustration of basic Biblical principles of salvation and the Christian life. The first part talked about laying a foundation in both martial arts and in life. The reader was challenged to examine their faith and see what their foundation is. It is our hope that your foundation is in Jesus Christ. Without a strong foundation, we stand on sinking sand and will be easily swept away. Part 2 showed a relationship between the principles and attitudes involved in both physical and spiritual warfare. This third section, we'll talk about the Principles of Spiritual Warfare that help us to stand firm in our faith.
(**indicates a Bible memory verse).

Photo from wbingram from Wallpapers.com

​
II. THE INTERMEDIATE LEVEL (CONTINUED)

With the 4 elements of the Karate Mind (from the last post) - Humility, Mushin (Mind Like Water), Lack of Prejudice & Action vs. Reaction, one develops their outward mental and emotional character. To develop one’s inner spiritual character there are some things which must take place. As the principles of physical training will help in ‘Killing the Ego’, the principles of spiritual warfare will help us stand spiritually and thus be a complete Martial Artist. These principles are found in Ephesians 6:10-18 and complete the intermediate level of training. There are 10 of them and they will be studied individually.

1. In who’s power or strength should one stand? Of course our strength needs to come from our Lord.

**Eph 6:10 – Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

**Zech 4:6b – Not by might nor by power but by My Spirit says the Lord of hosts.

**Prov 3:5,6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight.


2. In the Martial Arts without the basic principles of training the individual has no real foundation to perform or execute successful technique. Even so, in the spiritual realm the individual must have a sound foundation of spiritual truth to carry him/her through, and the Whole Armor of God can provide the solid foundation that is needed.

**Eph 6:11 – Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.


3. To successfully defend oneself one must know who and what the enemy is. In the spiritual realm, we battle spiritual foes.

**Eph 6:12 – For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

In a very real sense the principles and training of the Martial Arts in the physical realm should help prepare the individual for the warfare of the spiritual realm. This is further evident in the rest of the passage.


4. A Martial Artist must be fully prepared for warfare as much as humanly possible. Here in Eph 6:13 the apostle Paul is telling us basically the same thing.

**Eph 6:13 – Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

The whole armor of God is needed. The Christian must be complete just as the Martial Arts student must become complete. In the remainder of this passage we see the needed individual elements of that armor.


5. The ‘Truth’

**Eph 6:14a – Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth,

That ‘truth’ is the foundation of the word of God which must be laid. The students memorization of the Bible verses in this program is part of putting on that armor of truth.


6. ‘Righteousness’

**Eph 6:14b – and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

This ‘Righteousness’ is salvation, the laying of the foundation of Jesus Christ in one’s life. This was covered in Part 1 of this series - THE BEGINNER LEVEL - LAYING A FOUNDATION.


7. The ‘Gospel’

**Eph 6:15 – and having shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace;

"From a human perspective, a Martial Artist's peace increases as the lack of peace (fear) decreases due to the growth of one’s Martial Arts ability or skill. One works diligently to obtain this. Spiritually it works differently. All of us before receiving Christ as Lord and Savior were enemies of God in rebellion against our Creator. Upon receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior (the gospel) one has peace with God. And as a result of that growing relationship one works bearing fruit, which is a natural process." - Black Swift


**Zech 4:6b – Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.

**Rom 5:10 – For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shale be saved by His life.

**Rom 10:9,10 – that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

**John 15:5 – I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.


8. ‘Faith’

**Eph 6:16 – In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one.

The student must have faith in his/her instructor and in the validity of what they are teaching. Faith is the key as it is our trust and belief in the validity of the principles of the bible and of Christ

“Faith is an action word. True faith in God brings righteousness. Abraham believed God and acted on it, and thus, it was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness. Gal 3:6. The written law came 430 years latter. Gal 3:17. Faith is a matter of the heart not the intellect. Go back to Rom 10:9,10 with the heart man believes and confesses with his mouth. With our mind we make the decision to believe without seeing it, we choose to believe. In Mark 9:23,24 we see a man tell Jesus “I believe, help me with my unbelief”, this man, I believe is in that very spot, choosing to believe while not seeing. Try studying Gal 2:21-3:19, Heb 11:1-39, James 1:5-2:26.” - Black Swift


**Gal 3:6 – Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.

**Heb 11:1 – Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

**Heb 11:6 – And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

**James 1:6,7 – But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord.

**James 2:21,22 – Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the alter? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected.


9. ‘Salvation’ and the ‘Sword of the Spirit’

**Eph 6:17a – And take the helmet of salvation,

“We have talked of salvation earlier. A helmet protects the head. In the martial arts we would block or redirect a strike to protect. But being saved, in having salvation, we have the Holy Spirit who indwells every believer. It is He that empowers us to live the life God calls us to live. So in having the helmet of salvation our thought processes can be protected. Couple that with the sword of the Spirit.” - Black Swift


**Eph 6:17b – and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.

The Holy Spirit is also our teacher.

**Heb 4:12 – For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

**Rom 12:2 – and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

**John 14:26 – But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.


10. ‘Pray At All Times’

​​“When it comes to listening to music on your device you need to have a power source and then turn it on. Upon accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior from your heart, you are connected to the power source, the Holy Spirit. Prayer is the switch that turns on the music. The word of God is the sword of the Spirit, he is the one who uses it in battle as He works in us and through us." - Black Swift


This passage in Ephesians completes the Intermediate level of Spiritual training for the student. He/she is now ready for the final level of spiritual training and that is for the Advanced student. This final level will prepare the students for Black Belt.

Originally written by Dr. Clement Riedner, Shiho Karano Publications
Submitted for this blog post by Kyoshi Frank DeAngelo
________________________________

This Bible training program utilizes the philosophy and principles of the Martial Arts as an illustration of basic Biblical principles of salvation and the Christian life. There is a direct relationship between the principles of physical and spiritual warfare. The student is required to learn the principles and related Bible verses for belt rank. This program may be applied to any Martial Arts style. (**indicates a Bible memory verse).

I. THE BEGINNER - LAYING A FOUNDATION.

The ‘Even Kill’ approach to physical and spiritual self-defense philosophy states simply that: “the best we can hope in a real life and death encounter is that we will kill our opponent and be killed in the process. While one might ask, “Why then study the Martial Arts”?

The Japanese Samurai warrior was prepared to die whenever he drew his sword for combat. Thus, being prepared and expecting to die, he can commit himself fully to the battle, having settled the question of death. If we enter into real physical combat prepared to die, then we have conquered the fear of death (man’s greatest problem). **Hebrews 2:15 “and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives”. This verse tells us that the fear of death is in fact, man’s greatest problem.

​"Although many have conquered the fear of death through training, discipline, and/or other belief structures, etc… They do not realize or they reject the truth of the existence of heaven and hell. And it is God Who decides who goes where based on the decision each person makes." - Black Swift

The Romans road (a series of verses in the book of Romans) tells us how to lay the foundation of faith in Jesus the Christ in our lives.

**Romans 3:23 – for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

**Romans 6:23 – for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

**Romans 10:9 – That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.

The Assurance of the foundation: for the ‘even kill’ philosophy to be valid for the Christian Martial Arts student, he/she must first of all lay the foundation of Christ in their life. Have you ever laid the foundation of Jesus Christ in your life?  If so, when?

If not, why not at this moment ask Jesus Christ to come into your life to be your savior and be that foundation in your life? If you do not understand how, simply ask your instructor to explain this to you. The Christian can know that he/she has eternal life in heaven. This is not the case with Zen, Taoism, Shintoism, or any other religion for that matter. The following verses help make that assurance clear.

**John 6:37 – All that the Father gives me shall come to Me, and the One who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.

**1 John 5:13-These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life.

​We wear the left flap of our uniform (Gi) over the right to signify life covering death. Even so the person who chooses to believe in what Christ did for us and forsaking their own path to follow the path of Jesus will spend eternity with Christ in heaven. Death is conquered. When the Christian dies in the physical, it is like going through a door way from one room to another. There is only one way to enter that room, ‘Heaven’. The doorway is Jesus. There is no other way. God sets the rules and it is His dwelling place. All are invited but few will except that invitation through Christ. Will you? The alternative is Hell.