Leviticus 19:34 (NIV)
34 The alien living with you must be treated as one of your
native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD
your God.
As a pastor I have had the occasion to speak on a variety of contentious
topics, ranging from divorce and homosexuality to adultery and
pornography. But the most vocal responses and negative criticism I have ever received from any message I ever gave in the pulpit came when I spoke about the
immigration issue several years ago and advocated for the humane treatment of all, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status.
At the time, the State of Georgia, where I reside, was proposing a law similar to one that had recently passed in Arizona, which would make it a crime to aid or assist an illegal immigrant in any form or fashion. As the law read at the time, if I stopped to assist someone on the side of the road with a flat tire and that person turned out to be an illegal immigrant, I could be charged with a crime in the State of Georgia, which I thought was unjust on many levels, both to those seeking to be good Samaritans and to the recipients of their actions.
When I spoke out against this law from the
pulpit, I was harshly criticized by some in the church for this stance, and was told that all illegals should be deported or jailed immediately.
That message was preached almost 15 years ago, and without a doubt, the issue of immigration in the United States has gotten
more contentious since I preached that message back then. If you doubt that, then just look at the news and the current focus of the Trump administration. And while these are the most recent events to draw attention to the question of immigration in our country, they are not the first. This issue has been at the forefront of our country's attention since 9-11, when the threat of terrorism within our borders caused this issue to
become a rallying cry for some in our country, and rightly so.
It continued on through the subsequent administrations, with Obama passing the Dreamer executive order to provide protection for those immigrants who were brought into the country as children. Immigration laws and policies have changed with each subsequent change in party governance, with each party reversing the policies of the previous, until we have reached the point we are today, with the Trump administration enforcing mass deportations of illegal immigrants.
As I said in my
earlier sermon, I favor strong borders and the process of legal
immigration. But, at the same time, I recognize that we have a responsibility as
Christians to minister to all in our country, whether citizens or not. I
have been disappointed in the lack of Christian response and discussion on this
issue from the prominent Christian leaders in our country, and I have been
disappointed in how love of country has been so intertwined with Christianity
in this regard.
So I'm asking this question to generate thought and discussion. Put aside partisan politics. Put aside the rhetoric that your particular tribe or political party espouses. And consider this topic as a believer in Christ. How should we respond
to the issue of illegal immigration and illegal immigrants from a Christian perspective?
Here are a few thoughts of my own:
1. We need to separate nationalism from Christian faith.
There is a tendency in the United States to intertwine our religion with
nationalism, meaning we equate being a United States citizen with
Christianity. In other words, we equate loyalty to the state synonymous
with loyalty to Christ, but that is not the case. Supporting a particular
country's political doctrine runs counter to the Bible's message that we are
aliens and strangers in this world. Our loyalty should be first and
foremost to the Kingdom of God and not to our country, any political system
or political party, and certainly not to charismatic politicians. Jesus' actions on earth were an affront to the
religious and political leaders in His day, and the church has historically
stood against the policies of political leaders when they were deemed
incongruent with God's law or they were viewed as unjust or inhumane. We must do the same and divorce our
political stance and rhetoric from our faith
in Christ if we seek to be obedient to His commands in regards to our relationships with immigrants.
2. We need to search God's word and seek His guidance on our interactions
with illegal immigrants.
It is one thing to support securing the borders of our country and mandating
legal immigration (which I do) versus withholding basic human care of people
within our borders. The Bible clearly tells us we have a mandate to
minister to the poor, the widows, the orphans, and the aliens and strangers
living in our land. Leviticus 19:34 (NIV) says,
"The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born.
Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your
God." No amount of political spin can change the basic meaning of
this verse, and this is not the only verse in the Bible where we are commanded
to love and take care of aliens and strangers.
This is where nationalism and Christianity diverge, for if we are Christians,
we are also aliens and strangers in the land in which we live. Our home
is not of this world, but of the Kingdom of God, and we are commanded to love
our neighbors as ourselves, regardless of who they are or their legal status in
our country. To demand the withholding of basic human rights from an
illegal immigrant by a Christian is the same as saying we will love our
neighbors, but only those neighbors we like, not the Samaritans in our midst.
And yes, I am well aware of Jesus' words in Matthew 22:21 to the Pharisees when they were testing Him and trying to undermine His ministry in hopes of having Him arrested, "Render unto Caesar the things of Caesar and unto God the things of God." I have heard this verse thrown at me enough over the last few weeks. And I would counsel those who are holding onto this verse to read it in context and to read it within the entire scope of Jesus' ministry and example to us of the way of God. This verse does NOT mean that we are to follow the laws of the land above the laws of God, so please stop using it that way.
So, should we should expect our country to take care of illegal immigrants? No.
Does that mean we should mandate our taxes pay for the college tuition of illegal immigrants? No.
But the commands of God to consider and take care of widows, orphans, and strangers does mean the church of Christ in this country has a mandate to take care of the basic human needs of those who live with us within the borders of our country: food, water, clothing, and housing.
Should we expect the Government to take
care of it? No. That is not the Government's responsibility or
their mandate -- the Bible's commands are not to a political state. The
Bible's commands are to Christians, and it is our responsibility to follow God's commands in this regard.
3. We need to question the reason for the increase in immigration, both legal and illegal.
Brother Andrew preached a message about the Russian invasion of Poland.
As many fled the country to the west, Brother Andrew drove into the nation
carrying a carload of Bibles. When he visited a church in that country to
address their concerns over the occupation, he pointed out the occupation may
be a result of their own disobedience. It may be, he said, your failure
to go into Russia and evangelize the Russians that led God to allow them to
come here. If you wouldn't go to them, God would send them here so they might
hear the good news of Jesus Christ.
Why are our borders busting with immigrants? Is it only the
promise of material and financial wealth and freedom? I think not.
I truly believe God is drawing people to this country to allow them to hear the
good news of Jesus Christ from the people in this country who have refused to
minister to those outside our border. Certainly, the people streaming
across our border are not coming to America because of the gospel. That is not what is drawing them here. But I do believe
God is allowing this immigration pulse to occur in order to reach people with
His word. God's focus, first and foremost, is eternal and not
temporal. Ours should be as well.
There is an economic term called "remittances" -- this is the
transfer of money from one country to another through individual workers. One of the criticisms of an immigration Executive Order issued by President Obama was that it allows the flow of resources from our country to transfer from illegal
immigrants working here back to their native country. But I contend there
are also spiritual remittances. In other words, spiritual resources
obtained in the United States can also transfer back to the illegal immigrants
native country.
For instance, let's say I minister to an illegal alien working at a job here in
America. I give them clothing and food and assistance in living in
Christ's name. And I share with them the gospel of Jesus Christ, leading
them to receive Jesus' offer of forgiveness and eternal life through His
atoning death on the cross. That illegal alien is now a brother in
Christ. Now let's say this illegal alien has family members in his native
country. As he works and lives here, he sends home money and other
resources he obtains here. But as he speaks with them and shares with
them about his life here, he also shares the life-changing power of the gospel,
and through his witness, his family comes to true faith in Jesus Christ.
A spiritual remittance has taken place.
What impact can the presence of illegal immigrants have on the kingdom of
God? It can be enormous, IF the church steps up and fulfills our mandate
to minister to the aliens and strangers among us and share with them the love
of Christ. Our simple witness to a foreign neighbor, whether a legal or illegal immigrant,
can result in a ripple of salvation and life-transforming grace through an
entire nation. Revivals have started with less than this.
So here's where I stand on the issue of illegal immigration:
1. I believe we should secure our borders to minimize the risk of
terrorism and the importation of crime.
2. I believe we should allow legal immigration to occur in accordance
with the policies of the United States. Our country was built through
legal immigration, and we should continue to support the immigration of people
to our great land.
3. I do not believe it is feasible or even humanly possible to deport all
of the illegal aliens currently in America. It just can't happen.
It makes good political rhetoric, but it is an impossibility.
4. Given we will always have immigrants in this country in some
form or fashion, I believe it is time for the Christian community to stand up
and be obedient to the call of Christ to minister to them, as well as the poor,
the orphans, and the widows in our midst. It is not the job of the nation
to do this. It is not their responsibility to take care of
non-citizens. But it is the responsibility of Christians to minister to
our neighbors, regardless of race, class, gender, or national status.
5. Our focus in ministering to strangers and aliens should ALWAYS have a
spiritual component. True, we must help take care of their basic human
needs, but their greatest need is salvation through Jesus Christ.
6. We must submit to the authority of our country to the greatest extent
possible and support political leaders whose views we ascribe to, but we must
never compromise our spiritual beliefs to nationalism. In other words, we
follow the law as far as it is possible without violating the commands of
God. If the law of the land says you cannot hire an illegal immigrant,
then I don't believe Christians have a mandate to do so. However, this
law does not preclude us from assisting them by providing basic human needs and
helping them to move from being an illegal to someone with a legal status, even if that means
temporary deportation to allow for a return through legal channels.
I am certainly not an expert on immigration or immigration policies. But I believe the word of God is clear on how we are to respond to the foreigners and aliens in our midst. He tells us to remember them and to take care of them. Let us not lose this basic truth and call of God in the midst of the harsh political rhetoric that is filling our country today. Let us show the love of Christ to all, and pray for God to lead us and to lead our elected officials in carrying out His commands in this country, including those having to do with immigration.
