I was asked recently what "Christian Nationalism" means.
Well, for me, to be fairly simplistic, it means we want God's law/righteous government in our nation(s). God has ordained civil magistrates, per Romans 13, 1 Peter 2, and other passages, to promote/praise what is good and punish what is evil. It has been given the sword of justice by God to do this, not the keys of the kingdom of heaven. But just as the rod of correction is given by God in the home to the parents and father especially, and is used by God and conducive to the child's learning of the dangers of sin/law-breaking, pointing to the need of redemption as the Gospel is taught in the home, so even civil government can be used by God to not only curb evil to uphold justice in a land, but by that very action, also point the people of a nation toward righteousness, by deterring them from committing crime/evil and praising those who do good (who worship God, repent and believe in Christ, who honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy, who do not murder, steal, covet, commit adultery, etc., the 10 commandments). To be abundantly clear, government, even a righteous government upholding God's law, cannot save sinners, nor can it compel repentance and faith at the point of the sword. Faith is an inward matter of the heart and mind, and because of our sinfulness, God by Christ and the Holy Spirit must renew our hearts so that we embrace Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ preached, and that calling and duty is left to the Church, and the Ministers and Missionaries in particular. Further, Christian Nationalism requires that we actually believe that a nation is a particular people in a particular place, who have been there for an extended period of time/many generations. These people have a claim to that land/nation as their own, for it is their particular history and heritage, and God Himself views them as part of these people/this given nation. They have the right to control immigration as suits their own best interests, or to not have immigration at all. Mercy to legitimate refugees, as able, should be shown, as Scripture commands. Our nation historically has been White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP), and that should be prioritized still today. Prioritizing such does not imply by any means a sinful hatred or evil treatment of any other peoples/races or religions. To help us understand this, consider that loving your neighbor as yourself does not mean you must love your neighbor as if he or she were your own flesh and blood, or of your own religion/Christian faith. To love your enemies certainly does not require that you treat them like a member of your household. Foreigners of course should be treated well and loved, but that does not mean they are treated as if they were natives and of our own national people. Those of different ethnic backgrounds that have long been here and have assimilated and have legitimately been granted citizenship (or even if they have not been granted such) and behaved respectfully and abided by the law, etc., are of course in a favorable category as well. So, ordered loves and distinctions must be made, according to common sense, natural affection, and the clarity of God's perfect Word. The laws of our nation must uphold the truth of God's Word, but cut along the grain, not against the grain, of the particular people in the particular nation. To be very simplistic, God's law does not require that you have monarchical government rather than oligarchy or a constitutional republic or a democracy or whatever. But, sometimes changes to the form of government will be necessary when the prior form has been broken or abandoned. More could be said, but I wanted to keep this fairly simple.
By: Thomas F. Booher I can't think of a better way to get labeled a legalist than to title a post like this. Hopefully by the end you will not see this as legalism and will see this as what it is- my attempt at describing what I believe is proper ecclesiology as defined by God in Scripture. So then, what is church? What does Scripture say we should be doing and not doing on Sunday mornings? That's what I want to explore. The Bible says to gather together in Christ's name; to teach, encourage, and admonish one another; to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in our hearts to God (Heb. 10:24-25; Mat. 18:20; Col. 3:16). There are to be deacons (Acts 6:1-6) and elders (Ti. 1:5) in the church who act as overseers, and in the case of elders, are the shepherds of the flock who teach the word and rebuke with authority (Ti. 1:9). God must call one to be a pastor/elder (Eph. 4:11). As such those who are called by God to preach the word are held to a ...
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