What is “Christian Nationalism”? Some might say it’s that this nation was founded by educated adults who, for the most part, believed in the God of the Bible, even if they did not hold a monolithic view of what his nature, personality, and characteristics were. Some may have been deists; some may have been predestinationists; others may have been open theists. Regardless, some have the view that our nation should “get back to its Christian roots,” that our laws should reflect the moral and ethical principles defined in the Christian Scriptures. But apart from a mention of “the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God” and the phrase “endowed by their Creator” in the Declaration of Independence, that document doesn’t mention anything about any church, worship, or religion. We never see our founding fathers arguing too much about specific religions or religious viewpoints, at least not in our founding documents.
But that doesn’t mean their ideas about freedom, the free will of man to determine his own destiny apart from political or governmental overreach didn’t come from the Bible. It’s entirely possible that such a worldview was (and is) an underlying assumption supporting the principles of freedom they put forth. Many of the founding fathers had a classical education and had read some of the great works of Greeks and Romans, especially from the last half of the first millennium before Christ and a few hundred years after that. That would have included an education in Scripture as well, because the Greek and Roman material provided the sociocultural background for the growth and expansion of the early church. Their ideas about the best form of government to establish came from a wide variety of religious and secular sources full of stories about the ups and downs of ancient democracies, republics, monarchies, and so forth.
Another view that might be seen as Christian Nationalism is a little more generic. It’s not one that would seek to impose a strictly Christian or Judeo-Christian viewpoint be a test for government service, but one that expects a government and its servants to live up to the principles it has outlined in its founding documents. If the government says people should be free to worship as they choose and to associate with those they agree with, and for that matter free to not associate with those with whom they disagree if they so choose, then the expectation would be that the government should distance itself from any kind of religious disputes or regulations and truly allow people to be free in that regard. The moment the government says “You can’t express that view,” “You can’t associate with one another,” or “You must allow your enemies and detractors to associate with you,” they have crossed the line, and the people whom they govern have every right to call the government out on such interference.
I think for the vast majority of Christians, however, Christian Nationalism means you recognize that you are both a citizen of heaven the heavenly kingdom (John 18:36; Ephesians 2:19; Philippians 3:20) and a resident in the earthly kingdom (John 17:6–18, esp. vv. 11 & 16–18) doing your best to live out your heavenly purpose in the eyes of God. Each of us is responsible for our own salvation and our own relationship to God, but we also want to share the hope of Christ and eternal life with those around us. We have influence one person at a time. This is why Jesus said in John 17:9: “I pray for them [believers]. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.” Jesus is most concerned about individual hearts, not about a world that will pass away.
Even though we live in a world that will one day pass away (some of us may be thinking that will happen sooner than later at this point), we still have concerns about the larger issues of oppression and corruption, a fair justice system, and care for the indigent and infirm, just as Jesus did in his day. While Jesus never once criticized the Roman government, he was not afraid to speak to Pilate or Herod in the hours leading up to his crucifixion. The most popular thing Jesus ever said about the Roman government was his response when asked about paying taxes: “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” Here’s the question for believers, then: How do we give back to Caesar while we’re still citizens in an earthly kingdom? I want to spend the rest of this article looking at Bible passages that have to do with our relationship and responsibilities with government and justice.
Old Testament
To lay a foundation, let me first start with Proverbs. While the Proverbs are not commands, they still reflect profound truths about life on earth. Proverbs 20:23[1] says, “The Lord detests differing weights, and dishonest scales do not please him.” This is primarily a reference to economic transactions, but the general principle behind it is to treat everyone fairly, to apply the same standard regardless of any social, economic, ethnic, or religious background. It’s no accident that “Lady Justice” wears a blindfold and holds a scale: that image comes from the underlying principle of this passage. When we see an injustice, it is up to Christians, and indeed all decent people who have a sense of fairness, to speak out in opposition to it and do what they can to seek its correction.
Perhaps the most popular verse that Christians like to turn to is 2 Chronicles 7:14, which is one line from the prophecy (vv. 12b–22) the Lord gave to Solomon after he finished building the temple and the royal palace. The Lord promised that after a time of catastrophe,[2] “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Obviously, we cannot underemphasize the power of prayer for a nation, both individually and corporately wherever a body of believers is gathered. But the word to Solomon at this time was for him to walk faithfully as well. In that context, they were primarily governed by God’s decrees and laws.
In the American context, we would expect the rulers of America to abide by the decrees and laws on the books as well, otherwise, there will be trouble for those who don’t. We can already see, for example, how America is becoming “a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples” because our leaders are not following and upholding the long-held tenets of the U.S. Constitution. It really doesn’t matter whether we think the Constitution contains religious or Judeo-Christian principles: the Constitution is the foundation for our laws and rights as citizens, but if it’s not upheld, the leaders should expect trouble and blowback. We can see the warnings of this prophecy beginning to manifest themselves even today. There is nothing wrong with Christians using the power of their voice in a society that claims to respect the right to freedom of speech to call for political or spiritual “righteousness” in their leadership.
We see the prophecy of 2 Chronicles fulfilled in the story of Isaiah and Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 32; par. Isaiah 37), where they prayed to God for deliverance from Sennacherib’s siege. God heard their prayer and wiped out all 185,000 soldiers with his mighty hand. I’m not saying that’s how God would handle it in every situation, but if we don’t pray and do our part, would God think we’re not really invested in and reliant on his mighty power? Ephesians 1:19 says the power we have as believers “is the same as his mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead.” That power, at least in large part, is represented by the Holy Spirit in our lives. We can be bold because we have that power. Let us not shrink back!
New Testament
As I said in the introduction, Jesus never once offers any commentary, positive or negative, on the form of Roman government he was living under. He’s just not concerned about that because that’s not his focus. His focus is establishing the kingdom of God. That is evidenced by his statement of giving back to Caesar what is his (Luke 20:25). In other words, he fully supported paying taxes. It is interesting, then, that just a few chapters later, in Luke 23:2, the mob accuses Jesus of opposing payment of taxes to Caesar! The old dipsy-do flip-a-roo, as Dan Bongino says. Some people might see Jesus’s response to Pilate in that setting as off-handed snark: Pilate asks Jesus if he’s the king of the Jews, and Jesus replies, “You have said so,” as if he’s accepting Pilate’s confirmation of that grant of royalty!
Before looking at Paul’s interaction with Roman rulers in Acts, I want to look at the book of Romans itself, namely the passage in Romans 13 where Paul directly addresses what the believers’ attitude should be toward governing authorities. Here’s 13:1–7 in its entirety:
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. [3]
The beauty of the American republic (and it is a republic, not a democracy according to the Constitution) is that our public representatives govern with the consent of the governed. As such, the founding fathers intended to be a mutual sharing of this power for which the people, if they so choose, could withdraw their consent at any time: the power to elect in most cases resides with the people, while the power to enact laws lies with the representatives so elected. The Constitution also states that the people in each State do NOT elect the president directly by virtue of the aggregate popular vote across all States, but that they elect electors dedicated to vote for the candidate who, in 48 States at least, wins the popular vote in each State.
By the time Christ was born, the Roman republic had been overthrown in favor of the autocracy of the Caesars. Rome still had the Senate as an artifact of the republic, but it had no real representative power. So when Paul writes Romans, he’s writing about an autocratic government under the rule of Caesar with regional governors or kings established in various localities. We see this hierarchy in the latter part of the book of Acts as he goes through his appeal process to Caesar.
In Paul’s day, then, Roman rulers feared wrongdoers because they could cause disruption in the empire. But they had no fear of the population generally because their tenures were not necessarily dependent on the consent of the governed. But as we’ll see when we look at Acts, they did have some fear of Roman citizens, who had special rights in Roman law, especially a right to a fair trial, so I believe we can offer a caveat here on Paul’s words: rulers and their enforcers do seem to have a certain level of fear of potentially mistreating a citizen. Having said that, let’s look at Paul’s interactions with Roman law enforcement and rulers in the book of Acts.
Acts: Paul’s Defense
The story of Paul’s arrest and subsequent appeals begins in Acts 21:27, where some Jews have Paul arrested by stirring up the crowd against him with, you guessed it, false charges that he had brought a Gentile into the temple. The Jews dragged Paul out of the temple and began to assault him with the intent to kill him. The Romans came and arrested Paul, not necessarily because of the false accusations, but because the Romans didn’t like unruly mobs and riots. Since Paul appeared to be at the center of the controversy, Paul got arrested, shackled, and carried (literally) off to the barracks amidst the riotous mob.
After a brief attempt to relay his conversion story to the angry mob, the crowd decided they still didn’t like him and resumed their calls to have him executed. At that point, the commander had had enough and ordered that Paul be flogged and interrogated to figure out why he was the main attraction at the riot. It is at this point that things get interesting with respect to Roman law and law enforcement, and we learn quite a bit about how Rome viewed citizens’ rights. Here’s the exchange from Acts 22:23–29:
23 As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. 25 As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”
26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.”
27 The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”
“Yes, I am,” he answered.
28 Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.”
“But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.
29 Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains. [4]
Paul knew his rights as a citizen of Rome, and he “turned the other cheek”[5] by claiming his Roman citizenship and thus de-escalating the situation. He knew he should never have been put in chains in the first place. He also knew Rome shouldn’t flog him unless he’d been found guilty in a fair trial. He wasn’t about to let himself get pummeled by cruel Roman soldiers. We shouldn’t let ourselves get pummeled or walked all over either. We must stand strong and claim our rights.
The commander and his subordinates were “alarmed” (φοβέομαι phobeomai, from which we get “phobia”) that his soldiers had put Paul in chains. The commander knew he could get in serious trouble for that. The same could be said for the interrogators. They withdrew immediately once they heard he was a natural-born citizen of Rome. They could smell the scandal brewing and wanted nothing to do with it. Politicians today are so drunk with power and corruption that they’ve lost their fear of the electorate. Maybe it’s time to change that, nonviolently of course.
After that, Paul was taken to Felix, but Felix took his own sweet time interviewing Paul and trying to figure out what to do with him. At the end of Acts 24, we find out that Felix is interested in Paul because he was hoping Paul would bribe him. Paul, as a citizen, was in prison for at least two more years after that, but was able to have visitors to care for his needs. Felix is replaced by Porcius Festus in Acts 24:27, who seems to want to resolve this situation quickly.
The Jews wanted Festus to bring Paul back to Jerusalem, because they were still committed to ambushing and killing Paul, but instead, Festus invited them to Caesarea where Paul was being held. It is in this exchange where we see Paul again assert his Roman citizenship rights. After more than two years, he must be frustrated with the slow progress of his case, so he’s anxious to move on as well. Here’s what Paul says after Festus asked Paul if he wanted to go back to Jerusalem to stand trial with the Jews:
10 Paul answered: “I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. 11 If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”
12 After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!” [6]
Paul is done playing the Jews’ game at this point. His appeal to Caesar essentially puts an end to the Jews plot to kill him because he becomes a protected prisoner at that point; he knows that they are obligated to get him to Rome alive to make his appeal to the Autocrat Caesar, who is also chief (only) justice of the Roman supreme court as well. Through all of this, Paul never gives up, never gives in, and ALWAYS asserts his rights as a citizen.
Paul has one more appearance before a Roman ruling official, King Agrippa, whom Paul speaks quite convincingly to in his defense of his ministry and the gospel. King Agrippa says to Festus at the end of Acts 26: “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.” In other words, the favorable ruling of a “lower court” was not sufficient to set Paul free. There was no escaping Paul’s appearance before Caesar, which is probably what Paul wanted anyway. He had availed himself of an incredible opportunity to present the Gospel to the highest levels of Roman government.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, the book of Acts ends before we find out what happened to Paul in Rome. But several principles of the believer dealing with government stand out here.
First, for American Christians who live in a society with (supposedly) guaranteed rights, Paul demonstrates that we can and should avail ourselves of those rights to affect our preservation. We should not simply give up those rights or become doormats for the oppressors, but we should be bold in defending our rights and ensure that the government knows they have something to lose if they unfairly or prejudicially deprive us of those rights. We should be the strong ones who take that stand. Otherwise, this would empower the government even more to continue that corruption and take advantage of even “the least of these” who may not have the means, the courage, or the wherewithal to fight back. After all, aren’t “the least of these” special to Jesus? If we fail them, we fail Jesus.
Second, make sure you understand all your rights afforded you by the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the other amendments, and the statutes and ordinances in your own State and town and wherever else you may travel. If you feel like someone is unfairly targeting you about some issue, you ALWAYS have the right to an attorney; and if you’re accused of something, exercise your Miranda rights to have an attorney present if authorities are questioning or interrogating you. Don’t allow warrantless searches of your property or even warrantless “interrogation” about others. Give the government a nonviolent reason to be afraid of how you might respond if your rights are violated.
Third, as much as you can, take every opportunity to share the gospel with those who need to hear or especially those who want to hear. Consider that sometimes, the person you’re talking to may not be the only one listening. Someone else may hear your testimony or message and be moved by it. Keep yourself “prayed up” as well. Make sure you’re faithful with church and group attendance; Bible reading, study, and meditation; and your family and marriage commitments as well. DON’T LOSE YOUR FAMILY!! You’ll need them for support in the tough times ahead.
Finally, much of what is going on in America right now seems to have a spiritual warfare component: good vs. evil; right vs. wrong. “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:10–11). I have already written quite a bit on spiritual warfare,[7] but the important thing to realize is that the “armor of God,” if you look up the references to the individual items in the Old Testament, always refers to armor that God himself wears (figuratively, of course). It’s not from some giant spiritual storehouse; it’s God’s own armor. Knowing you have that defensive protection can give you even greater assurance as you speak boldly in his name.
I’m sure there is much more I could say from a biblical perspective on this matter, but I trust this gives the reader enough to go on and stay motivated to defend your freedoms, your family, and your faith. As for the title “Christian Nationalism,” remember it’s just a title the media likes to use and distort to make Christians look bad. Love your country but remember that your first allegiance is always to God. Peace to all of you, and may God bless the United States of America!
My opinions are my own.
Pastor Scott Stocking, M.Div.
[1] See also Leviticus 19:15, 35–36; Job 31:5–8; Proverbs 11:1, 16:10–15; Ezekiel 45:9–12; Hosea 12:7; Amos 8:5; Micah 6:11.
[2] Although only three catastrophes are mentioned (drought, locusts, and plague), these are merely examples given of natural catastrophes akin to the plagues on Egypt and, by extension, any socio-political catastrophes as well.
[3] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[4] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[5] For a discussion about turning the other cheek as an effort to de-escalate a situation, see my article Getting Naked for Jesus: A Lesson on Loving Your Enemy
[6] The New International Version. Acts 25:10–12; emphasis mine. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[7] Spiritual Warfare in Ephesians; Helmet of Salvation; The Lord’s Prayer: Deliver Us from the Evil One.
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