Sermon Video: "justified freely by his grace" - Romans 3:21-24

After establishing that the Law is incapable of saving those who have broken it, as all of humanity has, Paul then begins to explain HOW the righteousness of God, as revealed through the Incarnation, can be applied to humanity.  How can the righteousness of Jesus save us?  The answer is faith.  Faith, belief, trust, hope, in Jesus...From here the Good News gets better, everyone who believes in Jesus can be "justified freely by his grace."  What does this mean?  It means that God, as the judge of the living and the dead, will declare sinners 'innocent', not because of anything we have done, but because we have faith in what Jesus has done for us, taking our sins upon his shoulders while on the Cross.

Listen to the Word of God: 62 Scripture passages that refute 'Christian' Nationalism - #3: Psalm 33:16-19

Psalm 33:16-19

New International Version

16 No king is saved by the size of his army;

    no warrior escapes by his great strength.

17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;

    despite all its great strength it cannot save.

18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,

    on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

19 to deliver them from death

    and keep them alive in famine.

Another failure of the worldview behind 'Christian' Nationalism is that it assumes that human power structures (from elections and lawmaking, on up to political violence and armies) are the key to advancing the Will of God.  Scripture proclaims the opposite: No human power, no matter how sizeable, can stand against God, AND God is not dependent upon any human source of power to fulfill his will.  In other words, when 'Christian' Nationalists proclaim that their team must win the next election in order to 'save the Church' or 'protect Christianity' (more on why those are red herrings in later texts) they are making a false assumption about God's power that shockingly limits the ability of God to work out his will in our world when 'our team' isn't in control.  

Likewise, when 'Christian' Nationalists begin to talk about the need to utilize violence, perhaps even civil war, to accomplish these supposedly necessary ends, they are not only attempting to overcome evil with evil, or turn two wrongs in to a right, but also proclaiming that God's Church, people, or nation (we aren't a Christian nation, but that argument for another text) will lose if we don't shed blood to protect it!!  God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, is supposedly incapable of advancing his Kingdom if this nation or this culture are not what 'Christian' Nationalists proclaim that they must be.  Is God so weak?  Is his will so fragile?  Not at all.

What are Christians called to do?  

Titus 2:12-13  New International Version

12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

I must have missed the part where God commands us to conquer in his name.

Listen to the Word of God: 62 Scripture passages that refute 'Christian' Nationalism - #2: 2 Chronicles 19:7

2 Chronicles 19:7

Now let the fear of the Lord be on you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.”

Among the ways in which 'Christian' Nationalism damages the Church is by compromising its moral authority.  When the Church (or segments of it) ally themselves with worldly (political) power, it creates an incentive to criticize 'them' for moral failings and a disincentive to criticize 'our team' for those same moral failings.  In our own setting, we have seen this play out time and time again since the rise of Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority.  In addition to giving 'our' politicians and pundits a free pass while lambasting those of the opposition, 'Christian' Nationalism also encourages the defending of organizations and institutions (See: Clergy Sex Scandal, Catholic, Protestant, etc.) because they are part of that same team effort and if their moral failings were made known, if a reckoning and justice were to be pursued, it would be seen as a win for the other side.  When the nation or world is divided in this way into two camps competing for worldly power (as opposed to Paul's theology of worldly vs. spiritual), moral authority diminishes to a tactic, a cudgel, for the bashing of one's enemies, justice is denied, and the Church becomes complicit, at the least, in it.

How do we know God doesn't operate in this fashion?  The case of King David is illustrative.  Despite being the man hand-picked by God to rule Israel, and having been given the title, "a man after God's own heart", God didn't hesitate to send the Prophet Nathan to excoriate David and pronounce a hard judgment against him (2 Samuel 11-12).  God didn't look the other way, and he didn't engage in the repugnant 'what about' moral equivalency that seems to be the go-to response anytime a member/institution on 'our team' commits moral evil (hint: we'd call it a sin if they did it).  That King David was on his own side didn't pervert God's justice, let alone stop it.

How does this use of morality, as a tool for our own power rather than a standard to live by, affect our Gospel presentation?  How does perverting Justice advance the Kingdom of God?  These are questions that 'Christian' Nationalism has no answer for, and as God's Word makes clear, that's a problem.  

Listen to the Word of God: 62 Scripture passages that refute 'Christian' Nationalism - #1: Genesis 25:29-34

There was a commercial that aired when I was a kid that asked the philosophical question, "how many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?"  After three licks the wise old owl gives up and bites the sucker.

I thought of that when compiling my list of scripture passages from my seminar on The Church and Politics which is largely built upon Pastor Gregory Boyd's book, The Myth of a Christian Nation (click for my response to the book).  How many passages of scripture would it take to refute 'Christian' Nationalism?  If God had given us two or three such admonitions, would it be enough to sway those infected with this heresy?  This is the first post in a (intended) series of 62 such passages.  Some of them will be redundant, but that too adds strength to the case against this ideology.  This is not an exhaustive list, other portions of scripture could be cited, but in the end the question remains: Are 62 passages of the Word of God enough?

Note: History refutes 'Christian' Nationalism.  Any non-jaundiced look at history will show time and time again the danger to both Church and State when the two are melded together, but people have an amazing ability to ignore history (See: The Puritans in England under Cromwell) or rewrite it to suit their agendas (See: the Lost Cause in the South after the Civil War).  The Word of God is supposed to be different for Jews and Christians.  It is supposed to have an authority greater than that of philosophers, historians, politicians, and even pastors.  Are those who call themselves Christians in America today willing to listen to God's Word?

Genesis 25:29-34

29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.)

31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”

32 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”

33 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.

So Esau despised his birthright.

At first glance one might wonder what this passage has to do with 'Christian' Nationalism, but it offers up two powerful moral lessons: (1) Perspective is important: Esau overvalued his immediate hunger and undervalued his birthright.  In so doing he placed the fear/worry of now above concern for the future.  'Christian' Nationalism does the same by proclaiming that Kingdom of the World (human nations) cares and concerns are greater than Kingdom of God (The Gospel, the Church, Spirit) commands.  It is an imbalance in priorities, the putting of that which is essential below that which is temporary.  This is a theme we will see repeated in many of the passages to come. (2) God decides who we are supposed to be: 'Christian' Nationalism fails to appreciate the reality of what the Church is supposed to be, i.e. its birthright.  Why are we here in this world, what are we to strive for, and how are we to go about it?  All of these questions are answered in detail in the biblical texts (again, themes we will be returning to) and all are under-represented, if not outright ignored, when following the path of 'Christian' Nationalism.

Lastly, a definition that will help bring this ongoing discussion into focus:

What is 'Christian' Nationalism?  "Christian Nationalism is an ethno-cultural ideology, that uses Christian symbolism to create a permission structure for the acquisition of political power and social control." - Jemar Tisby, author, historian, and committed Christian

Note: The use of 'air quotes' around the term 'Christian' is on purpose.  It is not the generally accepted usage, but one that I will endeavor to remember to always use that signifies my deep felt conviction that there is nothing historically, theologically, or biblically Christ-honoring about 'Christian' Nationalism.  As such, I choose to use the air quotes as a reminder of the danger of allowing people (especially non-believers) to believe that Christians in general support this aberrant heretical position.

Sermon Video: Nobody is Good Enough for God - Romans 3:9-20

Before offering hope in the subsequent verses, the Apostle Paul emphasizes the conclusion that ON OUR OWN nobody is good enough for God.  All, both Jew and Gentile alike, are "under the power of sin" therefore tainted and corrupted by it, unable to keep the whole Law of God.

Why the emphasis on the negative?  Stark reality is needed to overcome human pride and pave the way for people to seek God in repentance and by faith.