Why patriotism and nationalism don’t mix for Christians

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“Jesus 2020” and “Jesus Saves” were just a few of the slogans on display at the Capitol Hill riots. The liberal media has been quick to pounce on these and other Christian symbols seen on Jan. 6 to decry the rising threat of “Christian nationalism.” Christian nationalists, we are told, want to force their Christian views on anyone and everyone, no matter the consequences and even if it takes political violence to do it.

The term Christian nationalism is really just a scare label meant to demonize conservative Christian patriots.

Real Christian patriotism has nothing to do with the political violence we saw on Capitol Hill or with any attempt to make Christianity the law of the land in America. For Christian patriots, America is a blessing. But Christian patriots know that America isn’t a replacement for the church and should never be mistaken for a vehicle of salvation.

Christians have good reason to be proud of America. America has its roots in the quest for religious freedom. Most of America’s Founding Fathers were themselves Christians of different and even competing church affiliations. For centuries, Christians of diverse racial, national, and theological backgrounds have made America their home and helped to build America from the ground up. America’s constitutional commitment to religious liberty sets it apart. In America, every Christian church flourishes freely in spreading the Gospel. With all that America has given to Christians, American Christians should feel a deep patriotism toward their country.

But patriotism is different from nationalism. If Christian nationalism means anything at all, it means taking a particular nation as an instrument of God’s plan and trying to perfect that nation’s government according to Biblical principles. Yet as every Bible-believing Christian knows, that’s simply not how God works.

Since the time of Jesus, God has promised salvation to the world, not through nations, but through his church. God works in and through the church and the people who spread the Gospel; he does not, and never will, rely on political powers, earthly principalities, or national governments. As Psalm 146 says quite clearly, “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.”

That doesn’t mean that Christians don’t or shouldn’t engage in politics. Quite the contrary, every Christian has a God-given calling to enter the public square, bear witness to the Gospel, and fight for justice, moral truth, and respect for life. Christians should never be afraid to speak the truth of the Bible and stand up politically for what they believe in.

But Christians should never mistake their calling to witness for a calling to rule.

Men and women in politics who understand and defend the Christian faith are a blessing. Yet, God does not call for his church to rule on earth as a worldly power. Whatever role Christians play in politics, the primary Christian vocation is to remain faithful to God in heaven above all else. Or, as Jesus instructs his disciples, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17).

Jesus’s words should ring true to us when we look at history. Christianity has endured for thousands of years. During that time, numerous worldly nations and powers have claimed to be instituted or directed by God. But none of these political entities have survived to the present day. What has survived is God’s church.

There’s an important lesson here for Christian patriots. We can love our country, fight for its future, and defend its integrity. But Christians must never pretend that any single nation can or should replace God’s church in the divine plan for salvation. Ultimately, faith is not a political position but a spiritual reality.

Timothy Head is the executive director of the Faith and Freedom Coalition.

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