Can You Be A Christian Nationalist?
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(16) Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. (17) Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.’ (1 Peter 2:16-17)
Christian Nationalism is one of the new ‘buzzwords’ that is creeping into the mouths of the ‘mainstream media’ more and more. But what does it truly mean, and can one be patriotic and also be a Christian? The answer is of course, yes – especially in the United States. Our Founding Fathers, at the beginning stages of our nation leading up to the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and then the US Constitution in 1787 (ratified 1789), were Christian and believed they were led and inspired by God in the creation of the United States and the writings of our founding documents.
However, they also understood that there was an order of importance, that God came first, then family, then nation. They also understood that while their values were from God, others (as it is today) did not share their values or beliefs. They respected the atheist or those of a different belief system, as God does in giving us ‘free will’; you have the right to be wrong when it comes to God (unfortunately).
The 1st Amendment held that one has the ‘freedom of religion’, to worship ‘who and how’ freely. It can be assumed the Founders were thinking more as inclusion of the various Christian sects (the Quakers, the Anglicans, the Protestants and the Catholics), but they had atheists then as well, and likely knew of other religions such as Islam and Hinduism. In 2 Peter 2:17, we are to treat everyone with respect, even those who are not Believers like us.
2 Peter 2:17 also gives us the order we are to follow; we are to first love Jesus and His bride, the church. It is to Him we must always remain in allegiance to, as He is in us. We are to obey God and do everything in Him, but we are also to honor and respect our nation and its leaders. Be patriotic, but not to the point where our patriotism becomes idolatry, or supersedes God and His Word. We can love our nation, cheer it on, serve it, obey its laws – but never at the expense of or above serving our Lord, Jesus.
Can you be a ‘Christian Nationalist’? Yes, but you cannot be a ‘Nationalist Christian’. You cannot place the US ahead of God or His precepts. God must come first; your nation can betray your trust, your family can betray your trust, your friends and neighbors can betray your trust – but Jesus will never break your trust. I am a patriot who loves his country, and I am one of those who believe the oath I took as a soldier to protect and defend the United States and its Constitution from ‘enemies foreign and domestic’ is as valid today as when I took that pledge 42 years ago.
However, the United States and its government is finite, it will one day be superseded by something else, as all nations before it have had happen. I may not leave my country, but my country may leave me – but I know Jesus will never leave my side. Others can do what they feel is best for them, but ‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!’ (Joshua 24:15)
Pray for the US, its leaders, and its people to return to being a Christian nation, united under God and His precepts, and turn away from the evil that is permeating it and fall prostrate in prayer to our Lord, before it is too late. If this is not God’s will, however, then we may accept His decision and judgement upon us and follow Him through to the end of its existence – and beyond.
