Listen to the Word of God: 62 Scripture passages that refute 'Christian' Nationalism - #7: Zechariah 4:6

 

Zechariah 4:6     New International Version

So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.

Speaking to the generation that returned to Jerusalem from Exile, the prophet Zechariah rebukes the timidity of the people, encouraging them to finish the work on rebuilding the Temple.  From a practical standpoint, the Israelites were a shell of their former might and glory.  No longer an independent kingdom, no longer the possessors of a beautiful city with mighty walls and a magnificent temple.  And yet, and this is the key, the LORD Almighty sees no reason why the Temple cannot be rebuilt.  

God does NOT calculate possibilities based upon human power; period.  Why?  Because he's God!!

The advancement of the Kingdom of God is likewise NOT based upon the availability and use of human power.  Laws, armies, wealth, privilege, status, none of them are necessary for God to fulfill his purpose in this world.  Why?  Because his purpose is a spiritual purpose, first and foremost, the saving of the Lost by the effective sharing of the Gospel and the transformation of the redeemed into Christ-likeness.  In the end, human power is not only unnecessary to advance this agenda, history has demonstrated time and time again that it is often counter-productive.  In other words, a Church with power, by this world's way of defining it, is typically less effective at its spiritual mission than a Church without power in this world.  The classic example of this is the Early Church.  Prior to Constantine, the Church was a minority in its culture, without status, without wealth or coercive power.  And yet, growth was explosive, and importantly, when martyrs were made it was being done to the Church not by the Church. 

'Christian' Nationalism, in a sharp contrast that ought to be a massive warning sign, is focused primarily upon earthly power, as if this is a path toward achieving God's will.  To that end, a slogan like, "Take America Back for God" employed by politicians for political ends, is not only disingenuous {Are they actually planning on giving America to God should they win power?  Really??}, but also blasphemous.  The power they seek is not God's power but their own, the purpose to which they will put power when they achieve it are not God's purposes but their own, and an America wholly under their control would NOT be more honoring and pleasing to God simply because politicians who claim to represent God wield earthly authority.  As Han Solo frustrating says in The Force Awakens, "That's not how the Force works!"

Recognizing this dangerous contrast, between the power Christians are called by God to wield (spiritual: serving and sacrificing) and the power that 'Christian' Nationalism grasps after (earthly: dominating and self-advancing), Calvin College historian  Kristin Kobes Du Mez wrote, Jesus and John Wayne How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation.  Her premise in a nutshell is that Evangelical (and also Fundamentalist) Christians prefer John Wayne to Jesus.  Rather than a humble servant willing to forgive his enemies, they prefer a hard charging tough guy ready to destroy them.  Unfortunately, her analysis is all too accurate.  Just this past week the YouTube channel, When We Understand The Text, whose content is written and narrated by a pastor, fully embraced 'Christian' Nationalism, mocking the weakness of those who warn against its dangers (i.e. wimps like me).

In the end, "thy Kingdom come, thy will be done" is our daily prayer, and as the prophet Zechariah made clear to those willing to listen, it won't be by might or power, but by God's Spirit.

Sermon Video: Jesus Christ: A Sacrifice of Atonement, Romans 3:25-26

On one level, the Gospel is as simple as knowing and accepting that Jesus Christ did for your sins, it is a message that a child can grasp and accept.  On a deeper level lie the questions about how this works and why it was necessary.  The Apostle Paul explains that the sins (rebellion against God) committed by those who have, or one day will, believed in Jesus are paid for by his shed blood on the Cross.  Jesus was a sacrifice of atonement, a substitution taking our place whose death satisfied the full and permanent cost of our sins, because Jesus was both God and Man, and because his life was without sin, his one sacrifice can cover multitudes beyond counting.

Listen to the Word of God: 62 Scripture passages that refute 'Christian' Nationalism - #6: Isaiah 1:11-18

 

Isaiah 1:11-18     New International Version

11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—

    what are they to me?” says the Lord.

“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,

    of rams and the fat of fattened animals;

I have no pleasure

    in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

12 When you come to appear before me,

    who has asked this of you,

    this trampling of my courts?

13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!

    Your incense is detestable to me.

New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—

    I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.

14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals

    I hate with all my being.

They have become a burden to me;

    I am weary of bearing them.

15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,

    I hide my eyes from you;

even when you offer many prayers,

    I am not listening.

Your hands are full of blood!

16 Wash and make yourselves clean.

    Take your evil deeds out of my sight;

    stop doing wrong.

17 Learn to do right; seek justice.

    Defend the oppressed.

Take up the cause of the fatherless;

    plead the case of the widow.

18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,”

    says the Lord.

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

    they shall be as white as snow;

though they are red as crimson,

    they shall be like wool.

As someone who has belonged to and served only small churches (yes, the building we have here is huge, the congregation hasn't been big since the 1970's), I can attest to the desire and hope for growth coupled with the insecurity about the future that typifies small churches and their pastors.  We want our churches to grow, and we want the Church in America to grow.  What I don't want, and what I hope most of my fellow pastors can see to be for what it is, is insincere or coerced growth.  What is the value of a church bursting at the seams if the Gospel is not preached, if lives are not being transformed by the Spirit, and if the prayers offered up are not sincere?

As the prophet Isaiah made clear, God is not impressed with acts of worship from hearts that are far from him, even multitudes of them.  When it seems that everyone in a community is a Christian, the pressure to fit in can result in people being along for the ride, enjoying the benefits (economic, cultural) of belonging to the group without any of the personal sacrifice and commitment demanded of disciples of Jesus.  Bonhoeffer railed against this shallowness in the German Lutheran and Catholic Churches, calling it "cheap grace."  Such a scenario existed in America during the 1950's, for example, often seen as the Golden Age that 'Christian' Nationalists are hoping to bring back, but outward conformity does not guarantee a healthy Church, Jim Crow's power among millions of 'Christians' made that clear enough.

Now, however, with Church attendance declining, the temptation offered by  'Christian' Nationalism is to compel various forms of participation on behalf of an unwilling population, to fill our churches again with the stick since the carrot is not longer available.

One of the clearest example of this type of mandatory participation would be the reimposition of prayer in the public schools.  While millions of American Christians would cheer this as a victory, the cost to future evangelism would be high, and the result far less than what is promised.  Would God suddenly bless America's geopolitical position in the world and economy because school children are required to say a prayer written by a government official?  Isaiah knew the answer to that one.  In fact, God would be angry rather than impressed with such empty gestures.

{The theology of mandated/compulsory prayer in public schools is atrocious, its implementation would be worse.}

In the end, the path that 'Christian' Nationalism offers is a worldly solution (ironic isn't it) to a spiritual problem, both our theology derived from the Bible, and our knowledge of Church History assure us that it won't work.  The Church's ultimate victory will not be won at the ballot box, by legislation, or as has been tried far too many times, by the sword.  

What should the Church be doing instead of scheming to wield political power?  As vs. 16-17 explain, what God actually wants from his people is a (1) rejection of immorality, (2) an embrace of righteous living, (3) and a genuine commitment to work on behalf of those facing injustice and oppression.

Listen to the Word of God: 62 Scripture passages that refute 'Christian' Nationalism - #5: Psalm 82:3

 

Psalm 82:3  New International Version

Defend the weak and the fatherless;

    uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.

This verse is among numerous similar portions of scripture that encapsulate what the people of God should focus their energies upon in one simple sentence.  The Kingdom of Israel during the Old Covenant, and the Church during the New Covenant, has a God-given obligation to those on the bottom of society's social hierarchy.  

How then does this verse offer a refutation of 'Christian' Nationalism?  One aspect of that criticism would be the need for Christians who honor the Word of God by taking this obligation seriously to push back against the policies and structures of their society that marginalize and disadvantage the poor.  In other words, American culture, the laws and policies of the American government, and even Capitalism itself must be examined for how they are contributing to the misfortune of our neighbors.  Is a democratic government better than an autocratic one?  Virtually always, but that doesn't make it flawless, and that doesn't make it beyond criticism when 'our team' is in the White House or controls Congress.  Likewise, is capitalism the best economic system of those humanity has tried thus far?  Hard to argue from either history or statistical analysis that it isn't, but capitalism has inherent flaws of its own, ones that favor the rich and powerful and disfavor the poor and weak (as does every governmental and economic system created by man), these need to be confronted and countered, even if it clashes with the politics of 'our team'. 

Because of the deep identification of 'Christian' Nationalism with the society it seeks to control, the prophetic voice of the Church is muzzled, recent history has shown that those within the Church who speak up for the poor are dismissed, often with vitriol, as 'woke' or 'liberals'.  Why the hostility toward those who point out the clear and ongoing flaws in the system?  During a war you don't criticize your own team, supposedly.  And make no mistake, 'Christian' Nationalism sees itself at war, always.  "America, love it or leave it" is a sentiment at home within 'Christian' Nationalism, but if I listen to God's Word as a Christian, I will be called, 

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8b, NIV)

In all honesty, I love America, I consider myself blessed of God to have been born here, but I reject in its entirety the demand of 'Christian' Nationalism that I "root, root, root for the home team".  When America is wrong, morally, we are blessed with the right to say so, even when that criticism needs to be aimed at 'our team'.  The people of God are called to defend the weak and uphold the cause of the poor, no matter who bears responsibility for that plight, thus silence to protect the (unholy) marriage of Church and State is dereliction of duty.

Listen to the Word of God: 62 Scripture passages that refute 'Christian' Nationalism - #4: Psalm 47:7-8

Psalm 47:7-8     New International Version

7 For God is the King of all the earth;

    sing to him a psalm of praise.

8 God reigns over the nations;

    God is seated on his holy throne.

God as "King of all the earth" is a foundational aspect of the Judeo-Christian worldview.  God has no rivals and certainly no equals.  The position and dominion of God is secure, always has been, always will be.  And yet, 'Christian' Nationalism brings the Kingdom of God down into the trenches, pitting nation against nation, viewing the rise of America (or England, the Holy Roman Empire, Rome, etc. before us) as the flowering of God's purposes, and the potential fall of the favored nation as the withering of God's will.  How can this be?  Does God not rule the whole earth?  Is his purpose not accomplished in every nation?

One of the reasons why 'Christian' Nationalism fails to see the big picture is egocentrism, the belief that God's will must revolve around us and our nation because we're just that important (as compared to other peoples and nations of the world, whom God evidently cares much less about).  This was, at times, a flaw of ancient Israel as well, one that Holy Scripture punctures in the story of the prophet Jonah.  The entire book of Jonah is a withering rebuke of Israelite nationalists whose concern about humanity stopped at the boundary of their own ethnicity.  God's concern did not end there, however.  As the prophet Jonah throws a tantrum while watching God's mercy against Nineveh unfold, the book ends with this line:

Jonah 4:11     New International Version

And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

The view of Jonah was far too narrow for God, spending three nights in the belly of the great beast of the sea didn't cure him of his folly, so the book ends with us wondering if he hardened his heart following God's rebuke, or repented.

Likewise, the Gospels contain numerous examples in the actions and words of Jesus that refute the notion that God's focus on one nation means that others fall through the cracks.  Two prime examples being Jesus' discussion with the Woman at the Well and the Parable of the Good Samaritan.  

Lastly, there is one caveat to this discussion, one that will be dealt with numerous times in the texts yet to come in this series: Israel had a covenant with God.  Abraham's descendants did have a relationship with God that held promises of great favor AND a stricter level of scrutiny regarding their actions.  Israel is the exception to the rule, but as Jonah learned the hard way, the special status of Israel did not remove the other nations of the world from God's concern.

In the end, the Church is NOT Israel, and America is NOT Israel.  Whatever promises God made to Israel remain with them, they are not transferable.  'Christian' Nationalism fails, in part, because it seeks to focus God's concern on one nation (the one we happen to live in, imagine that), viewing the world in terms of power politics and national rivalries as they impact that one nation.  God's concern is higher, deeper, and much broader.