America Belongs to Christ, not to Christians

One of the great pitfalls for Christianity in America, and one of the great dangers of particular expressions of Christianity for America, is the failure to distinguish between what it means for a nation to belong to Christ and what it means for a nation to belong to Christians. The first concept is very basic biblical truth. Despite lots of historical and theological complexity in navigating the relationship between church and state, every Christian confesses that Jesus is Lord, that he is Lord of all, and that he is King of Kings – no person, and no nation, exists outside of his sovereignty. But personal possession of our nation seems to be true desire of the loudest proponents of “Christian Nationalism” – a movement now gaining mainstream media attention and showing the world an unbiblical understanding and application of the essential Christian confession of Christ’s lordship over all nations. Before we can dive into the aforementioned complexities (which this article won’t do), we need to come back to biblical basics on evaluating any movement claiming Christ’s approval – and in particular, on evaluating the primary movers. These are basics that, in the panic and press of the culture wars, we seem all too willing to forget as we seek the political empowerment of our faith.

First and foremost, the Bible makes it abundantly, jubilantly clear that the resurrected Jesus claims personal power and authority over all nations – and indeed, over the whole created order (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 2; Daniel 7; Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 11:33-35; Philippians 2). And that’s precisely why we should be so concerned about the loudest church leaders calling for Christian dominion of America: Their doctrine and ethics mark them out as precisely the kind of preachers and teachers that the Lord, through his written Word, tells us to mark and avoid. When we examine the Bible’s basic standards for belief and practice, to which church leaders are held with special strictness, we can recognize counterfeit representations of Christ’s claims of kingship (Romans 16:7; 1 Timothy 3:1-5; James 3).   

In terms of any supposed Christian conquest of this or any land, Scripture tells us that the weapons we are to fight with are not the weapons of this temporal world (John 18:36; 2 Corinthians 10:1-6; Ephesians 6:11ff). King Jesus does his conquering of sinful darkness in this fallen world through his people’s preaching of his gospel and their ministry of the tangible touch of his mercy. The captain of the armies of heaven has issued written orders for his soldiers: they must contend for the faith once and for all entrusted to the saints and defend their personal faith in him. They must boldly and unequivocally proclaim and preserve his true gospel, and with gentleness and respect, always be ready to reasonably explain the hope they have in him. The resurrected King has also commanded his servants to faithfully, actively attend to the “weightier matters” of the law by caring for those whom society considers “least.” In fact, a pervasive reason for God’s anger and judgment against his own people throughout biblical history was their harsh and merciless treatment of the stranger and sojourner among them. As we serve our Sovereign in society and face hostility for his sake, we are to be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. (Exodus 22:21; Leviticus 19:34; Psalm 45; Isaiah 49:1-7; Malachi 3:1-5; Matthew 10:16; 2 Corinthians 10:1-6; Galatians 1:8-9; Ephesians 6:11ff; Hebrews 4:12; James 2 and 5; 1 Peter 3:15; Jude; Revelation 19:16).

The complexities of Christian cultural engagement are myriad, but Scripture declares very clearly and specifically the qualities of personal character that mark Christ’s true advocates. Those who would advance the kingdom of God must demonstrate the character of its citizenry (Matthew 5:1-12). Further, those who press the claims of Christ in society must be crystal clear on the content of his gospel, and very careful to keep his moral law. Those in our day who would fly the banner of Christ the King, but whose (mis)handling of the gospel and methods of ministry characteristically and continually defy his standard, reveal that they do not know the Lord. Therefore, we should not receive them as his emissaries – much less applaud and support their quest for power (Galatians 1:8-9; Matthew 7:15ff; 25:31ff).    

Scripture warns us that essentially anti-Christ movements can have beguiling power – even, and sometimes especially, among Christians. This is partly because the movers, like wolves smelling blood, sense fear and thus vulnerability in Christ’s sheepfold. In our day, fearful evils abound in our culture. But it is panic, and perhaps our own unrecognized desire for self-exalting power, that moves us to give at least passive approval, or more, to those who promote heretical doctrine and practice scandalous personal ethics. We cannot fight against pervasive societal sin by attempting to mainstream other violations of our Lord’s law. We must neither return evil for evil, nor attempt to fight evil with evil. We must therefore judge the would-be conquerors for Christendom with righteous judgment. We must recognize that while their ostensible efforts to secure biblical notions of family, church, and state might have the appearance of godliness, they lack the true power thereof. (Romans 12:17; John 7:24; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; James 2).

Jesus says you will know false disciples and teachers by their fruit. If we’re willing to look carefully, we’ll that the present-day peddlers of “dominion” manifest essentially the same teaching and characteristics that marked Jesus’s chief antagonists in the gospels and the other wolves in sheep’s clothing the later epistles tell us about: legalistic perversions of the gospel, as well as legalism-fueled additions to what Scripture labels as sin, to their characteristic dehumanizing words and actions toward others, especially women and ethnic minorities (in addition to their sexually perverse rhetoric and writing) and their obvious greed for public attention. Whatever we protest otherwise about loyalty to the Lord, egregious violations of the second table of the law reveal lack of true loyalty to the first. When those who preach Christ’s lordship over the nation also trip every alarm the Bible sets to warn of false prophets, it becomes clear that the dominion they promote is not Christ’s, but their own. (Matthew 24:24; Mark 9:42; Luke 10:25ff; 18:9ff; John 4, 7:24, 12; Acts 20:29; Romans 1:32, 12:17; Galatians 1:8-9; Ephesians 4:14ff; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; James 2; 2 Peter 2; Jude).

My fellow believers, when it comes to matters of faith and politics, let us mine more deeply the true treasure of Scripture’s teaching on Christ’s sovereignty over the nations. (An excellent place to begin for a historical, theological deep dive into Scripture is William Symington’s Messiah the Prince). Let us recognize and reject the Pharisaical fool’s gold that’s being marketed as biblical faith in action for the family and state. Let us decry, in our politics and in the pews, the anti-Christ ideas and practices being promoted so blasphemously in the name of our Savior. Let our warfare as Christians consist in contending uncompromisingly for the faith and being actively about the weighty, neighbor-loving works of mercy that prove we possess it.

And let us pray! Pray that the Lord would bless and prosper professing believers in office who truly fear the Lord and serve their citizenry well.  Pray that those in church and state who claim Jesus as Lord for the sake of their own power and glory would be exposed, and that that they would repent, and thus truly submit to and promote Christ’s Lordship. Pray for healing and help for individuals, families and churches that have been savaged by those now seeking to exert national influence.  

Finally, precisely because Christ is king, let us pray fervently for all who are currently in positions of civil authority, whatever their religious status, that we as believers may live peaceable and quiet lives in godliness and holiness.  Where it is necessary to cry out against our civil leaders, as American citizens but most fundamentally as Christians, may our words lifted up in public criticism never exceed, but always be attended by, words lifted in humble prayer for them. And where civic and ecclesiastical leaders continue unrepentantly in committing abominable evil, let us remember that our King has equipped his church with the worded-weapons – the imprecatory Psalms – to call upon Him for their judgment (Psalm 129; 141; 1 Timothy 2; Ephesians 5:18-19; Colossians 3:16; 2 Timothy 3:16).

Whatever the Lord’s purpose and plan for America in light of His kingdom, let us as American Christians labor for her true prosperity and welfare. A good place to begin is by reembracing biblical doctrinal and ethical basics, and this means rejecting those who seek an anti-Christian dominion of a nation that, like all others, belongs to Christ alone (Jeremiah 29; Psalm 22; 145; Philippians 2).