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A Sobering Passage

If you want to be sobered up real quick, read Matthew 25:31-46 where Jesus talks about Judgment Day. There is a pastor on Facebook who I respect in many ways, but it was shocking the way he responded to my questions about this passage.

He posted about how supposedly the cops tricked protesters into protesting in the wrong place while ICE deported people without oversight from the protesters. I asked him what the definition of strangers was in Matthew 25:35 & 43, which say:

35: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me…”

43: “ I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.”

Here’s what I said, “Hi Steve. I was wondering who you think Jesus was referring to when he said we are to welcome “strangers” in Matthew 25:35, 43. Strangers in some Old Testament translations is referring to immigrants to Israel. If Jesus was referring to immigrants, would advocating for government to deport immigrants be a violation of the principle Jesus was getting at?
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Here’s his first response, “there is a wall around the heavenly Jerusalem. Not everybody gets in unless they qualify.

While the illegal immigrant is here we must treat them with respect and deport them respectfully
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My response:
I guess, from your response, you believe that Jesus is referring to immigrants in Matthew 25. Is advocating that they be respectfully deported obedient to Jesus commanding us to welcome strangers?

I’m not sure how to apply the architecture of heavenly Jerusalem to immigration policies.

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His response:
There is a law. If they are here illegally, then they are lawbreakers. They must be deported respectfully, courteously and quickly. And I’d be happy to give them a cup of cold water in Jesus name if they ask.
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Good laws have to be enforced and criminals must be punished according to God’s wrath (Romans 13:4). However, Jesus’ didn’t say welcome a stranger even though God’s wrath abides on them. He wouldn’t say welcome someone you know to be a murderer, kidnapper or thief who is a fugitive. Jesus was speaking to an audience who knew that foreigners and downtrodden people were welcome in Israel, even though it was a country surrounded by hostile neighbors.

Men don’t get to make up whatever laws they want, but carry out justice according to God’s Word. Moving isn’t a sin or a crime. What is a crime is government forcing citizens to pay for immigrants to be on welfare. Don’t blame immigrants for what is actually caused by government.

Here’s the standard. Deuteronomy 23:15-16: You shall not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you. 16 He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.

That is what Jesus was talking about when he said to welcome stangers. If you’re advocating that people be deported, you’re in violation of what He was saying and you might think you’re a sheep, but if you are doing the things goats do, you’re going to end up in hell.

I can’t believe a pastor was so flippant about that passage when it’s so sobering to me.

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Scoffers

I’ve been thinking about what the best way to spread the gospel and how to teach the nations to obey all that Christ has commanded. I recently left a comment about what God’s law teaches about immigration, and 39 people left likes or laughs–mostly laughs. I could go somewhere and pass out tracts, and I think that’s a good thing to do. I posted that comment and I consider it to be equivalent of passing out 39 tracts. Probably more, because all the people who read it didn’t necessarily react.

The comments under it have started to fizzle out as the post ages, but this morning there was one more comment.

Imagine someone being given a paraphrase of Scripture about what people going to heaven ought to be doing (with the verse reference) and then laughing at it. If you read this passage, this seems to be exactly what the goats would do. I guess all we can do is pray for her. Our job is to tell people what the Bible says, and leave the results to God.

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Dumb Open Borders Objection

Objection:

Heaven has borders. Not everyone gets in.

Response:

All people are commanded to repent and trust Jesus so that they will end up in heaven. The gates of heaven/New Jerusalem will remain open forever (Revelation 21:25). It’s hell that prevents people from leaving.

The whole analogy is false, but even if it were true, it’s not applicable. We know that government isn’t to harass people who aren’t committing a crime as defined by God (Romans 13:3-4).

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Congress is This Guy’s God

The author of the ridiculous graphic above is an idolater. The Bible nowhere indicates that crossing a border or getting a job in a foreign country are sins, much less crimes. If you think men get to make up crimes, then you believe that men define good and evil and that means that you idolize men. The Bible says that only God determines good and evil and God is the only lawgiver (Isaiah 33:22, James 4:12). Law giving is a job reserved for God. If you think there is some other source of law, that is your false god.

Here’s your homework. What does the Bible call people who move to a foreign country in your favorite translation? After you figure that out, it’s easy to search that word for the 20 or so Bible verses that mention them. What does the Bible say about how to treat them? If you’re a Christian you better know the answer to those questions, and you better advocate for what it says and be teaching the nations to obey what He has commanded (Matthew 28:18-20).

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The Five Points of Christian Reconstruction

The 5 Points of Christian Reconstruction

  1. Calvinism
    From our perspective, it seems like we choose to submit to God and get saved. But the Bible says that God is in control of everything. We will someday see that God worked our lives out to His glory and we receive no credit for our salvation. We all deserve hell. God chooses to save some people out of His mercy. No one can choose God apart from Him enabling us to do so (Romans 3:10, John 6:44). Good passages about this are John 6, 8, 10, 17 and Romans 3, 8 and 9.

Here’s a video I made on this topic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGieiIai98k

2. Presuppositional Apologetics

Presuppositional apologetics is examining the presuppositions of unbelieving worldviews and showing that none are adequate to explain the world we see. This is as opposed to evidential apologetics where we offer evidences for the faith and hope that unbelievers eventually decide in favor of Christianity. Here’s why:

  1. People who are dead in their sin can’t reason their way out of being dead (Calvinism).
  2. We are commanded to not put the Lord to the test (Matthew 4:12, Deut. 6:16). Applied to apologetics this would mean that we ought not lead unbelievers to think that they have the freedom to weigh evidence and decide a verdict for or against God.
  3. Those who are humble and seeking should be given the gospel. Those who are fools should be answered according to their folly (Proverbs 26:5). This means that we apply their worldview to their claims using presuppositional apologetics, leaving them without a leg to stand on.
  4. Everyone knows the God of the Bible is the true God and they suppress that knowledge in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18-19). Since the Bible says they all know God, we ought not pretend that they don’t really know or attempt to convince them that God exists.

Presuppositional apologetics is striving to do apologetics the way Scripture says it ought to be done, and doing it consistently with what it says about unbelievers. Christians love evidence for the faith and evidence is great for believers.

3. Theonomy

Just as presuppositional apologetics teaches that morality, the laws of logic and truth are absolutes (the standards for these things have always been true for all times and people because they are part of God’s character), justice and freedom are absolutes in the same way. Is theft a crime? What is the punishment? If Scripture defines what justice is in that case, anything other than that would be injustice. If we don’t answer questions like those from Scripture, we are left with men deciding those things. Romans 13:4 says that government’s only job is to carry out God’s wrath on evildoers. In that passage, God decides what actions make a man evil and earn His wrath. Governments only carry out what He says. The New Testament doesn’t go into great depth on those topics because it’s assuming that we know the Old Testament.

Christ fulfilled the ceremonial law, but not one jot or tittle of the civil law and the moral law, will pass away (Matt. 5:17-19). Our job is to teach then nations to observe all that Christ has commanded (Matt. 28:18-20). Christians alone know what justice and freedom are and our job is to spread that knowledge.

4. Covenantalism
Covenantalism means that God deals with people through covenants. This is as opposed to dispensationalism.

Scripture presents God’s dealings with humanity through covenants that provide the framework for redemption and history. In Genesis 17, God established an everlasting covenant with Abraham and his offspring, tying covenant promises to households. Exodus 19-24 describes God making covenant with Israel as His “kingdom of priests,” while Jeremiah 31:31-34 promises a New Covenant that continues God’s redemptive structure rather than discarding it. Ephesians 2 and 3 portray Gentiles as grafted into God’s covenant people. These passages support the idea that God works covenantally with families, nations, and history, and that His covenants define responsibilities, blessings, and sanctions.

  • 5. Postmillennialism

Premillennialists believe that the Church and the gospel is pretty much defeated by the end of history. At that point Christ returns and kills His enemies. This is as opposed to postmillennialism where the gospel slowly spreads and God’s kingdom grows to fill the whole earth through peaceful means. The church will be victorious by the means given in Scripture.

The gospel isn’t accepted and spread by the sword but by God’s mercy, grace and truth. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Christ and He commands us to disciple the nations. Psalm 110:1 is the most-quoted verse in the New Testament, and it declares that Christ will reign until all His enemies are made His footstool. 1 Corinthians 15:25–26 says this footstooling happens happening before the end of history. Parables such as the mustard seed and leaven (Matt. 13:31–33) depict the kingdom growing gradually until it permeates the whole world. These passages teach an era of gospel-driven cultural transformation prior to Christ’s second coming.

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Idolatry Exposed

How idolatrous can a Christian be before you have to doubt their salvation? The authority you use to determine right and wrong is your god. If the source of your morality is Jesus Christ, you’re a Christian and you are almost certainly a Christian and will go to heaven. If your moral authority is anything other than Christ, such as the U.S. Congress, then you’re not a Christian and you’re headed to hell. This conversation exposed this guy as an idolater.

Here’s the conversation:

Donald said this in response to an original post trying to apply Scripture to politics:
More twisting of the scriptures to fit your social justice false gospel. A sovereign nation enforcing its immigration laws is not oppressing the poor. Your mind is just as twisted as your interpretation of scripture.

ME:
Donald McGinnis by what standard do you discern what is a just or unjust law?

Donald says:
God’s word is the standard, Hebrews 4:12.

ME:
Good. Can you be more specific? How do you know if an immigration law is just or unjust?

Donald says:
Romans chapter 13.

ME:
Romans 13 teaches you that US immigration law is just or unjust?

Donald says:
So, you didnt read it or is it that you’re just not very bright?

ME:
If you’re saying that Romans 13 gives a blank check for governments to do whatever they want, that is the complete opposite of what it’s teaching. Romans 13:3-4 places strict limits on what government can do. But maybe you can explain it better.

Donald says:
Governments make just laws as to who can enter the sovereign nation that they are. They have rules of entering according to their laws. Illegal aliens broke those laws and are now experiencing the consequences of their illegal actions. It’s really that simple. It’s just like your home. you determine who is welcome and who is not. If they break in, you call the police and they get arrested. No difference. Do you really have a problem with that?

ME:
This exchange started by me asking you how you discern what a just or unjust law is. I don’t think you’ve answered clearly in regards to immigration. If I had to guess what you’re getting at so far, it seems you believe government can regulate immigration however it wants. Is that correct? How do you square that with Romans 13:3-4?

Donald says:
You have nothing to teach anyone. And your opinions don’t make any sense. You are just another social justice libtard masquerading as a Christian who twists scripture and tries to apply those twisted scriptures to your false narrative. And yes, the govt which is our duly elected representatives does have the right and the authority to regulate immigration policy and laws, whether you like it or not. If you don’t like it, go move somewhere where your wacky imagined legal system actually exists.

ME:
you’ve provided no scriptural basis for anything you’ve said. If you believe government determines good and evil, your god is the government. Thanks for the conversation.

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So this guy thinks that Romans 13 means that government can do almost whatever it wants. It would be preposterous if I hadn’t heard that taught from more than one pulpit. Is the twisting of Romans 13 this way what is causing Christians to idolize the government? Would a campaign to teach the proper interpretation of Romans 13 help solve that? What would such a campaign look like?

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Who Is the Enemy?

Millions of American Christians have no idea who the real enemy of the kingdom of God is: the U.S. government.

They send their kids to the government for 8 hours per day for 13 years to be discipled by God-hating liberals in socialist-funded indoctrination centers. The kids learn that government giving people things and taking care of them is just fine. Spending more and more money and even government taking on debt and raising taxes to spend on schools is just fine.

When the local police don’t lift a finger to stop abortion in your city, Christians don’t bother to teach the cops that Scripture says that government’s only job is to carry out God’s wrath on evildoers (Romans 13:4).

When the federal government/the Federal Reserve print money and mail out checks causing rampant inflation, no pastor says anything from the pulpit. Rampant theft of the money in people’s savings via inflation is just fine, because Trump and Biden sent out checks I guess.

When government takes over the job of individuals and churches of charity and taking care of our parents and grandparents via socialist redistribution schemes (theft), we’re content to ignore our family members.

When a Republican is in office, even if it’s a whoremongering scumbag New York liberal who makes Bill Clinton look conservative, Christians call for loyal obedience to the government and even demand their children pledge allegiance to our wicked government thousands of times over the course of their socialist education.

“But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:14).

Christians are woefully unable to distinguish good from evil to the point that they unwaveringly support the biggest enemy of the kingdom of God.

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Bootlicking Christians

I speak to a lot of Christians who don’t understand this. It seems so simple.

Here’s the premise: 

Men don’t determine good and evil; God does. Christians are to advocate that government not harass people who aren’t sinning.

If I stated this in the context of gun control or something consistent with what Trump is teaching, Christians would agree. However I’ve been starting it in regards to immigration, and you should see how many fuses it blows. 

The completely predictable  response people have over and over is to quote Romans 13 and say everyone should obey the law. If you read what I said, you’ll notice that isn’t even really a response to what I said. I didn’t say anything about what immigrants should be doing. I said that Christians shouldn’t support the government when they are committing injustice.

If they can get move on from there, which they rarely can, the question would be: what is a just or unjust law? I could probably write a book on that where I would explain that justice is defined in the Old testament civil law and how it teaches that moving isn’t a sin. Fortunately for the little Facebook comment box, an essay isn’t required. I can use Romans 13, which they’ve often helpfully copy and pasted. Verses 3 and 4 say that those who do good have nothing to worry about and that those who commit a crime that earns them God’s wrath are to come under jurisdiction of human government. 

Moving to a new country is not a sin, so how can men try to make it illegal? If men  do try to make it illegal, it’s the job of Christians to teach the government that they have no right to make something that’s not a sin into a crime.

For a Christian to advocate for anything other than that reveals that they’re actually idolaters who think that men can define right and wrong.

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Biblical Limitations On Government

I had this conversation on Facebook with a pastor, Kevin. What he believes and teaches is absolutely false. Here’s the conversation. His first comment is in response to me saying that anyone who votes in favor of taxation to fund a swimming pool is committing the sin of covetousness.

As a Christian, you might believe that you have a biblical duty to pay every dime you owe in taxes, and I have no problem with you if you believe that. I can see how you’d arrive at that conclusion.

However, Romans 13:4 gives government its mandate, which is to carry out God’s wrath on criminals as His Word defines criminality. They aren’t allowed to collect taxes for schools, roads, swimming pools, or anything other than criminal justice. That means any taxes they attempt to collect other than for criminal justice are theft.

My ending question was, “What is the biblical penalty for not paying taxes?” The answer is there was no penalty in ancient Israel under God’s law for not paying taxes. You not paying taxes was between you and God. It would have been a sin to not pay proper taxes. But there weren’t tax courts or people going to jail or receiving any other punishments for not paying their taxes.

So anytime the US government tries to force you to pay a tax you’d rather not pay, other than criminal justice, they are stealing from you. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pay it, but it does mean the people participating in that theft will face God on Judgment Day.

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Definition of Conservative

Joe Hinson says:

Just FYI: “Conservative” and “the Right” are not necessarily synonymous. Edmond Burke defined conservatism as the idea that the wisdom that led our forefathers to create Western society is still just as applicable to the modern era as it was back then. The source of that wisdom is the Bible, and a true conservative is someone who adheres staunchly to the doctrines of God’s Word.  

This can be contrasted with “the Right” in the sense that the Right is merely the opposition of the Left. There is no set of guiding principles that establishes what it means to be “the Right” other than the principle that the Right is always opposed to the Left. Thus, there are many areas in which those who claim to be the Right are significantly different from true conservatives.