Does Gun Control Curb Gun Violence?

Does gun control curb gun violence?  That is a good question.  There are many different ways to look at this issue.  Some choose to look at the issue politically and come up with solutions that are based on their political party platform.  Others, answer the question of gun control by looking at the statistics of cities where guns are controlled strongly, and other places that are not, and compare the violence stats. There is also the judicial side of this issue concerning the meaning of the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights' statement that "the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

All in all, I am sure there are other ways to look at the issue of gun violence, but for me there seems to be one part of the issue being ignored: what is the root cause of gun violence.  A "root cause" is the source of the problem.  If you can eliminate the "root cause" the other issues associated with the problem will either go away all together or become a lot more manageable to fix.  This principle is a great way to solve problems without wasting a lot of time looking at side issues. If you find the source of the problem and fix it, then you should be able to develop a plan to manage everything else.  The only problem with trying to find the root cause of a problem is you must be willing to to accept the truth of what you find.  So you may ask me, "What is in your opinion the 'root cause' of gun violence?"  I believe the "root cause" of gun violence is an evil heart.  You may ask me "how do I know?"  I know because this is what the Bible teaches.
 The Lord Jesus Christ states this in the Gospel of Matthew:

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. Matthew 15:19

Gun violence is the result of people thinking evil in their heart.  Once they decide to do evil, then they use the vehicle of a gun to put their evil plan into action.  The gun itself is not an issue, it is the person who has a wicked heart.  This is why the Lord Jesus is stating very plainly that evil comes out of the heart in Matthew 15:19 (see also Mark 7:21; Luke 6:45; Luke 12: 34 ).  The Lord knows that if a person has a heart that is righteous then that  person would no longer desire to do evil. 

You may ask, what is the solution to an evil heart? The only real solution to an evil heart is to place your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior (Romans 10:8-13).  If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you will become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).  You will have a new heart--a heart that is able to love God and love your neighbor (Luke10:27).  Without the salvation from sin that God provides in Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; 2 Corinthians 5:14-15; John 14:6; Romans 5:8-9), you will stand condemned before the Lord for your wicked heart (Romans 3:10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23).  New hearts are only available through faith in God.  All other ways to correct an evil heart are only ignoring the root cause and will ultimately fail.

So, in conclusion, is gun control the best way to curb gun violence?  Nope.  The best way to control gun violence is for every American to place their faith in Christ for salvation from sin and receive a new heart that loves the Lord their God (Deuteronomy 6:3-5; John 3:16).  The more people who are  in Christ, the fewer evil actions will occur.  In other words, when a society is dominated by those who love God, the society will out of love keep the 10 commandments (Exodus 20:3-17; Deuteronomy 5:7-21; Romans 13:8-10) and life would be better for all.

Pastor Steve
Psalm 119:89