Question:
We live in an era where criminals and criminal activity are increasing; this is a reality. My question is, should a Christian own a gun as a form of protection against crime?

Answer:
A few verses that apply generally are: “Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7). “My [the Lord’s] strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted [or tried] above that ye are able; but will with the temptation [or trial] also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). “A prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself; but the simple pass on and are punished” (Proverbs 22:3).

In contrast, a person with a gun may tend to be more careless and self-confident, and less dependent upon the Lord for safety and protection. More specifically, in Ezra 7:6, 21, 22 and 8:21-23, 31 we find Ezra leading a group of Israelites back to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity. He reports, “I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way [that is, highway robbers], because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him, but His power and His wrath is against all them that forsake Him.” As a result, he later reports, “The hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.”
Two modern day illustrations of depending upon the Lord in a time of danger were presented. A Christian man, when confronted on the street by three men who stuck a gun in his ribs and demanded his money, calmly said, “I am a child of God and you can’t touch me.” The three men fled without the money. Two Christian teenagers who were sisters were jogging in a park in Minneapolis, Minnesota when a man came out of the bushes and grabbed one of them. While the other sister ran off to get help, the endangered one, with a knife held to her throat, said to the attacker, “The Lord is protecting me: Jesus loves you.” The man released her unharmed.
It was mentioned that we (men especially) might tend to fantasize about being a hero or responding in a “macho” kind of manner in such situations. But it would be far better to fantasize about praying for help, calling upon the Lord Jesus, or finding a way to escape when confronted with such danger.As a final point, loaded guns in the home have been the cause of all too many accidental deaths and injuries to family members–probably a far greater number than the number of robberies prevented by such guns.