THOUGHTS ON A CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO IMMIGRATION

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.


On Thursday, 20 November, President Obama announced his intent to sign an Executive Order authorizing sweeping changes in the United States policies towards illegal immigrants, primarily by granting a waiver of deportation for certain categories of immigrants.  This move, he said, was precipitated by the lack of Congressional action on the issue.  Not surprisingly, Republican leaders in the country lambasted the President's actions as unauthorized and damaging to the country.

As a pastor I have had the occasion to speak on a variety of contentious topics, ranging from divorce to homosexuality to adultery and pornography.  But the most vocal responses and negative criticism I received from any message I ever gave in the pulpit came when I spoke about the immigration issue several years ago.  The State of Georgia, where I reside, was proposing a law similar to that 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.  When I spoke out against this law from the pulpit, I was harshly criticized by some in the church for this stance.

From my perspective, the issue of immigration in the United States has gotten more contentious since I preached that message several years ago.  The events of 9-11 and the threat of terrorism within our borders has caused this issue to become a rallying cry for some in our country, and rightly so. As I said in my earlier sermon, I favor strong borders and the process of legal immigration.  But, at the same time, 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 discussion:  How should we respond to the issue of illegal immigration 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 or any political system or political party.  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 injust.  We must do the same and divorce our political stance in the case of strong borders and immigration from our faith in Christ if we seek to be obedient to His commands in this case.

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.  

Does that mean 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 it 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.

3.  We need to question the reason for the increase in illegal immigration.

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 illegal immigration?  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 because of the gospel.  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.  It is one of the criticisms of President Obama's recent Executive Order since 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 neighbor, although an 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 illegal 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 illegal 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 an illegal to a legal status, even if that means temporary deportation to allow for a return through legal channels.

How do we respond from a Christian perspective on this issue of illegal immigration?  You've heard my thoughts.  Now what are yours?