A gun instructor is teaching church members across Oklahoma the essentials of armed self-defence, and says his approach is based on the Bible.

Roy Jones, 67 has taught more than 5,000 students the basics of concealed weapons training. Jones' Facebook page describes his training as 'not your typical gun class', and he quotes Psalm 144 in his favour: 'Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.'

He insists that Christian values and Jesus' call to 'turn the other cheek' are not in conflict with the notion of self-defence, especially if others are at risk. He told Fox News: 'We will turn the other cheek. I'm the least likely guy to pull out a gun in a fight. But we will not turn the other cheek if you're going to assault my family or cut off my head in the process.'

Jones' eight-hour class covers the safe handling of a weapon, education on gun laws and legal risks, and practice at his private gun range. He also teaches students how to try and avoid being imprisoned after using a gun in self-defence.

He cited the case of an Oklahoma woman who was mauled to death by two dogs last month, and a woman who was stabbed by a former co-worker in 2014, in defence of his training. 'If they'd had a legal gun and been trained to use it', Jones said, they could still be alive today.

Jones, who has been teaching gun safety for a decade, is not a pastor, but says some have grown interested in religion through his use of Bible verses in class.

He told WQAD: 'The Bible works hand-in-hand with today.

'If you're ever confronted with a situation where you might have to pull your firearm, and you know how to prep that trigger, you're going to be several tenths of a second faster. And in a two second gun fight, a tenth of a second is all day.'