There’s no such thing as a Christian nation
If you’re familiar with the content of this site, today’s blog won’t cover new ground. But it needs to be said as long as many Christians continue to believe in the idea that the United States is, was, and/or should be a “Christian nation.”
To determine whether that’s true, one must first determine whether there can be such a thing.
To determine whether there can be such a thing, should not our sole authority be the Bible? Should not Christ get to decide and define what’s Christian? Is it really wise to invent an institution and attach His name to it?
The Bible doesn’t help
When searching the New Testament for such a definition, I find nothing that could possibly apply to a geopolitical nation. Neither Jesus nor the apostles ever tried to establish any kind of civic government, and they never left instructions on how to do that for future generations of Christians. They never even set foot in the halls of power unless they were compelled to.
Some Christians point to the great commission as recorded in Matthew 28:
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you …
Aside from the glaring quandary of how an entire nation is baptized, we should remember that in the Bible, disciples always referred to individuals, and “nations” (ethne) can also be translated “peoples” or “Gentiles.” It seems obvious that the Lord meant people in all nations, as opposed to just Jews.
Related: Can a nation be saved? What Jesus sent us to ‘disciple’
Some Christians use Old Testament Israel as their model. But how much like them can we possibly be? Would we re-institute the Levitical priesthood and all its sacrifices? Would we build a temple with an ark of the covenant? Would we follow all of the law of Moses? If not, then they’re not our example.
But the biggest question we should ask of that nation is, how did it work out for them? Despite the law, presence, anointing, and glory of God, they failed spectacularly. They fell into apostasy, and were divided and conquered. Even their best kings, enforcing God’s laws, could not prevent that. Why would we want to go back to something that doesn’t work?
Related: The godliest nation of all time failed
Any attempts throughout history to establish a Christendom have fared no better than ancient Israel. Where are they now? As I wrote last week, institutions that call themselves Christian — which in the Bible is only a noun, never an adjective — tend to become less Christian over time, often to the point of rejecting the faith altogether. They cannot sustain themselves.
They all failed because in this life, men are fallen and corrupt. We can try to fabricate a civic religiosity, we can pass moral laws, but that’s just whitewashing a graveyard. The paint will always wear off. Any “Christian” kingdom in this world is nothing but a sand castle.
With no help from the Bible, history, logic, or human nature, we’re on our own if we want a “Christian nation.”
The only Christian nation
What we can learn from Scripture is that with the coming of Christ, God shifted His work in the world from kings, nations, and wars to a ragtag gathering of fishermen and peasants. The weak and lowly. Nobodies who never sought political might.
After Christ rose from the dead, He and His disciples could have appeared at the temple, publicly and triumphantly, to overthrow the Romans. They could have raised a Jewish army to march on Rome, take over the empire, and send converted Roman legions to Christianize the world’s nations.
But instead, Jesus sent out His small following to do nothing but preach. The only power they had was the Holy Spirit; the only weapon they used was the word of God; their only resistance to the tyranny they lived under was the good news of forgiveness and eternal life; and their only victories were the salvation of souls. That was more than enough to turn the world upside down.
Related: Why God no longer works through nation-states
The church is the nation the Lord is building. That’s what Peter called it in his first letter:
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)
God’s holy nation has no borders, no armies, no capital, no official language, no ethnic heritage. His people are of all nations, tongues, and tribes, and our unity and identity are in Him alone. We the church are more than conquerors, even in death. Our prayers alone make us the most powerful nation the earth has ever seen. The gates of hell shall not prevail against us. We are the kingdom of God, the only kingdom that will last forever.
If anything can be called a Christian nation, it’s that.
See also:
