Listen to the Word of God: 62 Scripture passages that refute 'Christian' Nationalism - #12: Matthew 16:21-23

 

Matthew 16:21-23     New International Version

21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Why the picture of Shaq throwing down a dunk?  What's this got to do with 'Christian' Nationalism?  The average Joe off the street, probably at least a foot shorter and a hundred pounds lighter, has a better chance of blocking Shaq's dunk attempt, let's say a 0.0001% chance, than 'Christian' Nationalists do of having either their goals and especially their tactics, in alignment with God's Will.

Afterall, it is not God that must conform to our will, but we that must conform to his.  That being said, Jesus repeatedly declared what his purpose for his followers was: to constitute a Church (the Body of Christ), what its goal would be, to make disciples in every nation, and how they must conduct themselves to do this, through sacrifice and a servant's heart while utilizing the Fruit of the Spirit.  

What Jesus did not declare is that his followers would hold dominion over others, would subjugate the unwilling at the point of the sword, would gain and hold power by any means necessary, and would turn a blind eye to evil among them in the name of pragmatism in the process.  Not one of these goals or methods is acceptable to the will of God, and yet, throughout Church History we have seen them embraced, first on a grand scale with the Crusades {adding the blasphemous cry of, "God wills it!" to the folly of it}, then on a national one with the Spanish Inquisition, and sprinkled throughout were torture, imprisonment, and burnings at the stake.  All in the name of God, all supposedly to help God 'win' here on earth.  Tragic, foolish, unnecessary, and ultimately evil.

The current movement of 'Christian' Nationalism may be, thus far, less violent than the defenders of Christendom in the past.  And even though the trend is toward encouraging and accepting more coercion, less democracy, and violence, with some supposed 'prophets' even calling for a new American Civil War, 'Christian' Nationalism does not need its own Timothy McVeigh to prove that this path is fraught with peril.  One need only look to the Word of God to see if this is what God called his Church to do or how he commanded them to do it.

It is popular to declare the need to, "Take back America for God", but making the claim does not answer the questions: Is this God's will?  How do you know this is what God wants?  Even if this is God's will, would he sanction going about it like this?

 

Listen to the Word of God: 62 Scripture passages that refute 'Christian' Nationalism - #11: Matthew 7:1-5

 

Matthew 7:1-5     New International Version

7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

One of the most damaging aspects of 'Christian' Nationalism with respect to evangelism and the integrity of the Gospel is its built in tendency to shout from the rooftops about the sins of 'them' (the political enemies of 'our team'), and at the same time downplay or even cover-up the sins committed by 'us' (the political allies of 'our team').  This rank hypocrisy isn't fooling anyone, and both other Christians who disagree with the favored political stance of the 'Christian' Nationalists and non-believers can readily see it.

The question then becomes, "Why?"  Why are 'Christian' Nationalists so concerned with the sins committed by people they don't want to be a part of their group {either because they're Christians who don't think like them about politics, and therefore in their minds not Christians at all, or they're non-believers who aren't acceptable partners in such a 'holy crusade'}, and so unconcerned about the sins committed by the people that belong to their group?  The only possible answer is that this is being done in the pursuit of worldly power {and its unholy partners, fame and money}.  In order to 'win', morality must be set aside.  This not only applies to employing tactics and strategies that would otherwise be called evil {more on that with other texts}, but in this case being hyper-partisan in the use of the moral authority that they supposedly wield on God's behalf.

One of the key things to look for when this is happens is 'what-about-ism'.  When a person on 'our team', especially a powerful political leader or influential religious figure, is credibly accused of a deeply disturbing sin, even a heinous crime, the immediate response is to say in essence, "What about that person on the other team who did something else that isn't right?!?!"  This of course is a way of avoiding accountability and facing the hard truth that political allies not beholden to the demands of Christian discipleship are only playing lip service to the morality that 'Christian' Nationalists proclaim is essential to the future of America.

In the end, such hypocrisy may help win some elections, but the cost is always high, not only fostering schism and animosity within the body of Christ, but showing non-believers that to 'Christian' Nationalists at least, the sharing of the Gospel and the call to righteous living are commands of less importance {since they're willing to compromise them so thoroughly} than gaining and maintaining power here on earth.  Why would they seek salvation from such a Gospel?

Sermon Video: Even Abraham was saved by grace through faith, Romans 4:1-12

Having established the theological position that salvation can only come by grace through faith in Jesus, the Apostle Paul now turns to the ultimate example of this truth in action: the Patriarch Abraham.  If even Abraham was justified by faith, surely the rest of us would be fools to trust in ourselves.  By quoting Genesis 15:6 Paul demonstrates his point, heaven doesn't have a superhero exception to the rules, even the best among us needs grace.

Listen to the Word of God: 62 Scripture passages that refute 'Christian' Nationalism - #10: Matthew 6:33

 

Matthew 6:33     New International Version

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

When Peter Jackson adapted one of my favorite books, the LOTR, he and his screenwriters kept a line from Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring uttered by Frodo Baggins when he chooses to accept the burden of seeking the ring's destruction in the fires of Mt. Doom: “I will take the Ring", he said, "though I do not know the way.”  Frodo was willing to attempt the quest, but he admitted up front that he would need guidance if he had any chance of getting there.  The movie version adds a comical note when Frodo leads the Fellowship out of Rivendell asking at the very first fork in the road, "Mordor, Gandalf, is it left or right?"

What has this to do with 'Christian' Nationalism?  Everything.  As Christians, we already know our destination AND unlike Frodo we know the way to get there.  When God established the New Covenant, appointing the Church to be its steward and sending his Spirit to empower it, he also explained in more than sufficient detail how the journey from Dark to Light, Death to Life, Wickedness to Holiness, Fallen Humanity to Christ-likeness, had to be conducted.  God's kingdom has to come first, and it has to be pursued with righteousness.

'Christian' Nationalism has this wrong on both fronts.  It offers the siren's call of earthly power, of 'winning' here and now, instead of the far more impactful, and difficult, commitment to the Kingdom of God.  In fantasy terms, 'Christian' Nationalism is distracted by a side quest, not the true hero's journey, they've embraced Boromir's suggestion to go to Minas Tirith instead of Mordor.  In addition, 'Christian' Nationalism subsumes methods beneath goals, embracing such lies of the Devil as, "might makes right", "the ends justify the means", and "fight fire with fire."  In nerd terms, they think they can master the Ring and use it for good.  Tolkien new better than such nonsense, and so should we.

In the end, the focus of Christians, and the Church MUST be first and foremost the Kingdom of God, the kingdoms of this earth will come and go, but God's kingdom is forever.  The means of advancing and supporting that Kingdom MUST be righteous, or they will fail.  Any other goal, and any other method is a fool's errand.  

For a recent essay on this twisting of both goals and methods see: Christian Political Ethics Are Upside Down We’re adamant about politics and flexible about virtue. - by David French in The Dispatch

Listen to the Word of God: 62 Scripture passages that refute 'Christian' Nationalism - #9: Matthew 5:43-44

 

Matthew 5:43-44     New International Version

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

How does the Kingdom of God advance?  By doing exactly what is contrary to fallen human nature.  Our natural response to having an enemy in life is to seek to crush that enemy, but disciples of Jesus Christ are called to a far more difficult and radical commitment: love our enemies and pray for them.

'Christian' Nationalism, by immersing itself in the fight for control of the kingdoms of this world, and the fights among those kingdoms (i.e. geo-political rivalries and wars), has chosen to live according to realpolitik rather than the commands of Jesus.  How can we love our enemy, they say, when we're at war with them for control of America?  The stakes are too high to trust lover over power is the lie they're telling themselves.  How can we pray for our enemy, they say, when they are a rival to our nation?  We are God's chosen nation, his instrument in this world, is the lie their pride is telling them.

Lip service that 'Christian' Nationalism may pay to Jesus' teaching and attitude aside, the reality demonstrated again and again is that the struggle for societal/governmental control and domination inherent to 'Christian' Nationalism's ethos has already concluded that what Jesus taught his followers is unrealistic, if not outright naïve.  In fact, one recent political figure mocked Jesus' command to 'turn the other cheek' at a gathering of supposedly Christian political operatives.  {Donald Trump Jr. tells young conservatives that following Jesus’ command to ‘turn the other cheek’ has ‘gotten us nothing’ - Baptist News Global, by Mark Wingfield}.  That gathering was sponsored by Turning Point USA whose website (at the time) proudly proclaimed: “We play offense with a sense of urgency to win America’s culture wars.”

Here's the thing, Jesus didn't call us to "play offense...to win America's culture wars."  Jesus called us to live self-sacrificially while praying for our enemies.  Will this strategy 'win' in this world?  Probably not, but that's not where our priorities are supposed to be as Christians.  'Christian' Nationalists may have a long and bitter list of enemies, people and organizations they're willing to fight to the death (sometimes literally) to defeat, but followers of Jesus Christ have been forbidden, by God, from indulging our sinful nature in this vain pursuit.  Our calling is higher, purer, and far more difficult: "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."