Are We Too In Love With A Nation?

Like most of America, I was in front of my TV on Tuesday night. As it became clear that Senator Obama was going to make history as the first minority president, I felt a mix of emotions. I was excited to witness this landmark moment yet slightly disappointed in the outcome because of the potential of certain policy implications. But I was not surprised by his victory. His campaign was near flawless, his strategy shrewd, and his speeches downright inspiring.

What was surprising was the reaction of so many Christians on Wednesday morning. I heard words like “anti-Christ” and “persecution” and “end times” thrown around so much you’d think we were living in a Tim LaHaye-Jerry Jenkins book. The kind of fear, panic, despair—even anger—I saw in some Christians post-elections is a tell-tale sign that they have put too much stock in a government, or even in a nation.

Is it possible to love a nation too much? Is it possible to love a nation so much that we’re confused about our identity?

Don't get me wrong. I love America. I would rather be here than in any other nation in the world. It is a truly beautiful, remarkable nation. So, let me explain. God’s master plan is, has been, and always will be to rescue and redeem all of humanity. His first vehicle was the nation of Israel. Through all of Israel’s difficulty and oppression, they often lost sight of that. In N. T. Wright’s words, Israel asked, “How is God going to rescue Israel?” But Jesus revealed that the question should be “How is God going to rescue the whole world through Israel and thereby rescue Israel itself as part of the process…?” God’s plan was always to rescue and redeem the whole world. That plan began with one nation.

When Jesus arrived, he showed that HE in himself would fulfill all that Israel could not and in himself rescue the whole world. From Jesus onward, God’s vehicle on earth is no longer a nation, but a New People from every nation—the Church.

Another way to say this is that the Church is to the New Testament era what Israel was to the Old Testament era. We know this. Or so we say. And then every time there is a prayer meeting for America, Christians reach for 2 Chronicles 7: 14, claiming that if we humble ourselves, God will hear from heaven and heal our land, i.e. America. Let me point out the faulty logic. If the phrase “My people” is a reference to the Church, then the phrase “their land” must also be a reference to the Church. After all, if you asked an Israelite of Solomon’s day who “My people” or “their land” referred to, they would say, to Israel. So, if we’re going to apply “My people” to the Church, then we must also apply “their land” to the Church and our spiritual inheritance. You can’t keep quoting Old Testament verses about Israel’s rulers and applying them to America. To say it bluntly, America is not the new Israel. St. Paul makes it abundantly clear that that designation belongs to the Church. Neither should we take phrases that were said about the Church and apply them to America. America is not called to be a city on a hill. Jesus said those words to HIS followers—HIS disciples, the men and women who would become the Church.

To me, the debate about whether or not the Founding Fathers were Christians or had intentions of founding a Christian nation is largely irrelevant. Has it occurred to you that even if the Founding Fathers intended to create a Christian nation, that they could have been wrong for trying? The Founding Fathers, after all, for all their faith or lack of it, are not the Holy Apostles of the Church. If their quest was to found a nation on Christian values, they might have been misguided in that quest since God no longer works through one nation.

The Kingdom of God is not advanced by geo-political nation states. The New People of God—the Holy Nation and Royal Priesthood St. Peter refers to 1 Peter 2:9—are no longer people of one particular race or nationality. We are men and women from every tribe and tongue. I wonder if it is to any Kingdom benefit who is in the White House. God does not think in nation-states; he sees individuals.

The Kingdom has been advanced by the Church regardless of what political state the nation was in. After all, as my wife reminded me on election night, for most of my childhood, I grew up in a nation where the Prime Minister was always a Muslim. And the Church in Malaysia rose to the challenge.

I cant’ say whether or not the end is really here. But to say that the end is near just because a leader is in office who doesn’t represent values many Christians hold dear is simply foolishness. By that gauge, the end was nearer in the A.D. 60s when Nero intensely persecuted Christians. We would do well to hear again St. Paul’s words to the Church in Philippi, suffering (most likely) under Nero’s rule:

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (Phil. 3:20-21)

This is not Paul saying the world here and now doesn’t matter and I can’t wait to get out of here. This is Paul using Roman language (like “Lord” and “Savior”, designations Romans used for Caesar, and “citizenship”, which Philippians would have understood, having been colonized by Rome and granted Roman citizenship) to say the invasion of God’s Kingdom has begun. And His vehicle is not an empire or a nation; it is the Church.

We cannot be so in love with a nation that we miss the Kingdom—and the vehicle God has chosen to advance His Kingdom: us, the Church.

Comments

[Carol Prentiss]

Hi Glenn,
Our second President, John Adams said, ‘Our Constititution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholely inadequate for the government of any other.’ Our founding fathers wanted freedom of worship. They wanted to get away from the power of government and start a nation that had public servants as leaders and emphasized the way of the cross as you said--love, death and service. They did not try to create a nation of only Christians but one founded on these principles so there would be freedom of worship. Politics does not always equal power-hungry people. But when a leader is elected who has demonstrated a lack of Christian morals there is cause for concern as to the direction our nation is headed because our nation doesnt work and function as well without morality. In Revelation Jesus speaks to the church, the people of God, in various geographical locations. So Land and People as defined from 1 Chron. are still applicable. It could apply to China, Colorado and yes America. Our founding fathers were the church trying to live out their faith where they were. I think they were led by God and He opened doors for them. Im not going to condemn them for that especially when I live in the benefits of what they established and worked so hard for. Certainly God works through the Christians that are in a location, even as big as a nation. If the Christians in any nation, including its leaders, follow God more, then more blessings will come. These are principles of the Bible. All Scripture is inspired by God. Jesus didnt abolish the OT but came to fulfill it. Its summed up in loving God and our fellowman. So I rendered my vote in favor of the candidate that I felt would do those things--love God and man. Abortion is a very important issue to me because a life ended has no chance to even be poor, to be a minority, to be an orphan or a widow. I believe it is possible to love God and love this nation, meaning its people. There is nothing wrong with having laws that reflect Christian principles because the purpose of the law is to convict of sin. Our message of the Gospel is watered down if it doesnt include why they need a Savior. Electing people who will pass Godly laws is not a danger but a responsibility. God may want to use some Christians in the political realm. I still dont see why you have a problem with that. If our goal is for people to become Christians and our goal is met with success, then someday we may have a Christian nation because Christians live here and what would be wrong with that? I see the Christians in America as a group of Christians who live in a nation. Of course people dont become Christians through laws that are passed but does that mean Im not going to vote for laws and politicians that are Godly? I believe God can heal America as Christians do their job to bring people to Christ and that can include storming the ballot box to elect a Christian. To not vote for the man with more Godly principles is to not be responsible in our faith. Its an opportunity we have in this country that not every country has. Its a privilege to render to Caesar our votes which may expand the Kingdom of God here on earth. When I am asked to bow to Caesar instead of God, thats a situation when my duty to God comes first. Of course being a Christian comes first, but I am not split into a Christian compartment and a citizen compartment. I live as a Christian at all times and when I vote, I vote in a way that honors God and loves people. Im trying to be a Christian in our unique nation--this is USA, not India. Im not trying to create a Christian nation. I dont think they are mutually exclusive is what Im trying to say. We can love God and love our country at the same time and the Kingdom of God can go forth through the people in a nation, including leaders and laws. To say it cant is to limit our God. You are currently able to write this blog because of how our country was established and you are more likely to continue to freely write it when there are Godly leaders in this country. God bless you Glenn.

[Tyler Comfort]

Thank you for posting this Glenn. It seems to me that many of my brothers and sisters are subconciously putting God in the small box of the United States Government and seem to forget that He is bigger and will accomplish His purposes regardless of who is in charge.

I think the church has been in a comfort zone for the last eight years and this might be a good thing for us because it is not about being comfortable in power over a world of darkness but being the light in a world of darkness.

[Glenn Packiam]

to carol: good to see you back...weve got a spirited dialogue here!

1. Let me affirm that i DO think you should vote and that you should vote your values. i never said that you shouldnt. The beauty of democracy is youre being asked your opinion-- so give it. I respect your reasons for voting the way you did. For what its worth, if I could vote, I would probably have voted the same way. I am not suggesting compartmentalizing yourself. But I wouldnt be too quick to assume that there is a SPECIFIC CHRISTIAN way to vote.

2. Your use of Jesuss words in Revelation only further make my point. He spoke not to cities or nations, but to the church. His rebuke was not for cities being ungodly, but for the Church being lukewarm. The Greek for nations means people group not geo-political entities. God wants to reach every people group, not through laws that come from without-- remember, he tried that with Israel and it didnt turn out so good (see Jeremiah for God promising to write a new covenant in their hearts instead)-- but through a rebirth.

3. You say Jesus didnt abolish the OT. True. He fulfilled it, and in fulfilling it did some important things to OT laws. You can take the 612 laws in the Torah and group them in a few ways. One grouping I use is to say that some laws were designed to keep Isreal safe. These are laws like building a wall around your roof so people dont fall and die. Then there are laws that pertain to keeping Israel free-- these would be laws like the ones against intermarriage with other nations. Then there are laws that help keep Israel orderly-- these are laws like the ones that command Israel to go to the bathroom outside the camp. Then, of course, there are laws that specifically relate to keeping Israel godly-- these would be laws like those that prohibit idolatry. Now, surely you dont have walls around your roof or refrain from having beef stroganoff? (OT law prohibits eating meat with milk.)

So, it begs the question, what exactly did Jesus do with OT law? Simply put, OT law kept Israel SAFE, FREE, ORDERLY, and GODLY. No doubt there was overlap where one law served multiple functions, such as the prohibition against murder. What Jesus did was to separate ceremonial law and civic safety laws from moral law. Because of Him, some laws are obsolete to Christians. Unless Im wrong about you, youve already been living this way. So, its a misunderstanding to try to so the OT way of doing things still matters. It ALL must go through the grid of Jesus. And what Jesus did was to say let Rome take care of laws that keep society safe, free, and orderly, and let the Church make men and women-- people groups-- godly through repentance not through laws.

4. I never said that loving America and loving the Kingdom are mutually exclusive. I only said that I wonder if sometimes our love for America and our zeal to make her goldy in her laws and policies has made us miss the mark of our true purpose: the reconciliation of all people to God-- a work that no law or policy can accomplish.

5. You have succomb to the great ethno-centric belief that America came up with the concept of free speech. That, Carol, is the legacy of the Greeks and Romans over 2000 years ago. For the record, I could be writing this blog from scores of other countries in the world. Again, religious freedom or free speech is the not the unique privilege of Americans.

6. Also, for the record: I love America. I am all for making our society better. But the line between political reform and spiritual rebirth has gotten ridiculously blurred in the last few decades, and its not Biblical.

7. I am not from India, Carol. I am from Malaysia. In fact, Ill be back there over the next few weeks...and who knows, I might write a blog from there since they allow such things outside America! :)

[Carol Prentiss]

Hey Glenn,
Im glad you got there safely! India was just the country I chose to use. I didnt think you came from there. I read an interesting statistic the other day. Even though America has only about 5% of the worlds population, the USA has sent out 75% of the missionaries. Thats amazing. Thats all for tonight. Hope your trip goes well!

[Marcia Alverson]

So what does a country do without the compass of right and wrong, lacking any discernable judgement? they vote for CHANGE. I believe Rush Limbaugh said that a exit poll taken stated that most Republicans who voted for Obama did so simply because they didnt want another 4 years of the same...they want a change in the White house.
Did any of these voters actually think about what kind of change they would get by voting Obama into office? Im afraid not..Obamas message was compellingly vague. (And believe you me, there will be a WHOLE lot of disappointed people when he takes office, tries to play the role of the hero, and gets nowhere... Except maybe to appoint 2 new liberal judges in the Supreme Court THATs THE SCARIEST problem for our country, if you ask me!)
The consequences of actions is no longer esteemed as an important gauge of intelligent behavior. We dont take into account what happens afterwards, we simply react to the current circumstance.

Maybe thats why our economy is plunging? Maybe thats why people who bought houses using over 50% of their income to pay mortgages, and then got a rude awakening to an ARM adjustment making payment impossible are foreclosing? Maybe thats why greedy banks who just want money were more than willing to loan money to buy are in huge financial trouble?
Maybe thats why gas prices shoot up when the greedy stock market predicts and then preys on fearful Americans?

A Barna poll showed that over half of the born again (non-evangelical, for classification purposes) Christians actually voted for Obama.
Grant it McCain was not the ideal republican candidate, but as far as overall values, he was clearly the lesser of two evils.
Our last election proved to me that voters should not be taught to vote until they are taught how to think.
And as someone pointed out earlier in a post, The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
NOT having a healthy fear of God is costing this country some of its priceless freedoms.

All that to say...the Churchs mission is becoming clearer: TEACH PEOPLE TO FEAR GOD. We are truly sheep who need a shepherd, and that wont be coming from the White House, esp. over the next 4 years.
The Savior of the World was, is, and always will be JESUS CHRIST. There just isnt any other answer.
While Im proud of America for being very productive in spreading the Gospel globally over the past 200+ years, the purpose of the local church has never changed.
In fact, I think were being poised for the greatest revival on our own soil! For this, American Christians should rejoice! God is setting us for deliverance!
All the doom and gloom prophets need to go ahead and realize their timely message has come and gone. Its time for a new era of the American Church! If need be, under persecution we can find the greatest freedom to be exactly what we are called to be- A Light to the Nations.