The gospel of Jesus is pure and holy and lovely and eternal. It is the good news of God’s kingdom coming to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, to love and embrace the poor, the downcast, the brokenhearted, and the oppressed. Of course, the invitation for a relationship with God is open to anyone, but Jesus made it a special priority to address the hurting people in his midst, the sick in need of healing, and the impoverished. His church should do the same. “Come, follow me,” he says, “and I will make you fishers of men.” But we can be fishers of men only if we are preaching a pure gospel.
Here are 4 reasons why Christian Nationalism is a contamination of the true gospel:
It is driven by a lust for political power. The true gospel of Jesus Christ is motivated by acts of service and kindness. It has no desire to control or dominate anyone.
Christian Nationalism attempts to force other people into conformance with our religious and political ideologies. It comes from a "superior" mindset, rather than a mindset that understands we are all saved by grace and nothing else.
It promotes an "us v. them" mentality, instead of a "we're all in this together" mentality. The kingdom of God is built on love. It is not built on political attainment. And we don’t change the culture by going to war with it. We change the culture by serving it.
Christian Nationalism places "our rights" first. A pure gospel puts other people first. A pure gospel doesn’t overly concern itself with its own “rights.” A pure gospel relies on spiritual power, not political power, to change the world.
If our idea of what it means to be a Christian in America is that we wave a flag around while banging people over the head with a Bible so they can be "more like us," it could be that our gospel has become polluted by nationalism. A pure gospel cares more for the least of these than it does for itself, and does not stain itself with worldly quests for political gain that may make us feel powerful for a time, but
in the end, will do nothing to prosper the kingdom of God.
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