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A Useful Exploration of Truth about Christian Nationalism (Part Three)
Teach All Nations
Matthew 28:19-20 say:
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
I ask you to notice above, “teach all nations.” The Great Commission requires teaching all nations. We want entire nations to follow Christ. Will that always occur? No, but it is a goal. It is a holy ambition for true churches and believers in those churches following Christ. How does this relate to Christian nationalism?
In verse 20, part of teaching all nations is “teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” Christians should wish the nations in which they live would observe all things Christ commanded. God’s Word is still the standard for all of mankind. God will judge everyone based on His rules or laws.
True Christians and their true churches should repudiate all the ways that a nation does not follow the Lord. They should strive for a nation that follows the Lord. What Christian would not want a “Christian nation”? Would that not be a nation that follows Christ in all things? When Christians go to judge their nation, they should judge it based upon scripture. They should vote for representatives with the greatest opportunity or possibility of their nation following the standards of God.
Imagining a Christian Nation
What I’m writing so far in this essay is not a form of amillennialism or postmillennialism. I’m not talking about someone other than Jesus bringing in His kingdom. Romans 13 says there is “no power but of God” (verse one). It goes on to say that “rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil” (verse three). Good works are not arbitrary. They are only biblical good works. Evil is as God defines it. People have liberty only in the context of scriptural regulation or accurate interpretation and application of the Bible.
Rulers in a Christian United States would terrorize evil and elsewise “minister . . . for good” (verse four) only in a biblical or Christian fashion. Making disciples of the nation requires observing everything Christ wants observed. Right before His commission in Matthew 28, Jesus said that He possessed all authority for all of heaven and all of earth. Jesus will judge the world like He owns it and always has owned it. If we want His judgment to go well for everyone, we must let them know in no uncertain terms.
For sure, Christians of a nation start with the gospel. No one observes whatsoever Christ says without surrendering first to the gospel. A nation won’t be Christian without Christians, but when they are Christians, that means what some people have said, “All of Christ for all of life.” This means Christ rules in the home, at work, and in government. The words of Christ apply to every earthly institution if Christ will rule.
Jesus and the Christian Nation
Will Christ rule over this world? Yes, He will. He will begin a rule with a rod of iron (Psalm 2) when He returns to set up that kingdom on the earth for a thousand years. So is that it? Is that all anyone could hope for? Mainly, yes. Jesus said in Matthew 18:36, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight.”
When Jesus said what He did in Matthew 18:36, one could take it as the following:
Look around. Does this look like my kingdom? Of course, not. This is not anything like my kingdom. My kingdom is not of this world.
Jesus’ plan was not to force everyone into His kingdom. He does not coerce people into His kingdom. His subjects would subject themselves to Him voluntarily. That’s His plan for His kingdom.
Internal Rule First
External rule of Jesus proceeds from internal rule of Jesus. The spiritual precedes the physical. It isn’t mere conformity. It is transformation. If a nation skips this transformation step, it’ll probably get something like the seven demons possessing the swept out house (Luke 11).
Kingdoms of this present world, the one Jesus talked about in Matthew 18, as a whole would not come to Him. That’s why in Matthew 7:13-14, He said the broad road leads to destruction and the vast majority go down that road. Jesus did not since rescind that statement. He has not said: “At some point the broad road would be full of true believers on their way to heaven.” If Jesus said that, then it is true, no matter what your desires.
Yet, anyone following Christ will follow Him in every arena of life. A Christian nation can come, but it will come through faith in Christ. The way to a Christian nation is faith in Christ. Before nations behave in their governments as if He rules, they will receive Him to rule their own personal lives. One should expect that true Christians in a government would function like Christians.
Christians don’t want a pagan government. They don’t want an idolatrous government. True Christians as much as possible want a Christian government. To the degree that it is one, it can be a Christian nation.
How a Christian Nation Might Occur
If churches are barely Christian, and if all of Christ is not even all of the church, no one should expect that of the whole nation. This is a simple less than and greater than — not about what is most important, but sheer population size of the institution. Jesus should rule each Christian — one. Then He should rule each family — two to fifteen (let’s estimate), then each church — ten to five thousand, and then each government or nation — several thousands to a billion. The order matters. The latter won’t occur without the former. You can’t get to a Christian nation without getting to quite a few single Christians, who received a true gospel.
No Christian should hope to see a Christian nation without making one disciple. Yet, Jesus commanded, “Teach (make disciples) all nations.” In other words, “Make all nations disciples.” He didn’t command, “Make disciples of, as in part of, all nations.” The goal is whole nations. BDAG says concerning the Greek term translated “nations”: “a body of persons united by kinship, culture, and common traditions.”
What Christ Would Have It
The goal, all of Christ for all of life for all of the world, must envision whole nations. Scripture must get to every institution God instituted. Scott Aniol, who has written a book on this subject (that I have not yet read), it seems, would call this position, “Christian Faithfulness.” Scripture does envision a kingdom of Christ on earth to come and tells us what it will be. Anything that might call itself a Christian nation should not be something less than what Christ would have it.
Christians can’t skip steps to get to Christian nationalism. It starts with internal rule, spiritual transformation. Anything else would essentially say, “Christians fight.” Get armed and loaded and ready for when the pagans who saturate our government take our power away. Without true Christians, what would that nation or government look like on the other side of that fight? Christ has us here now as pilgrims and strangers. Anything beyond that, that might come before the kingdom Christ sets up, will come in an organic way. It will be obvious, which right now, it’s not even close to obvious.
More to Come
A Useful Exploration of Truth about Christian Nationalism (Part Two)
Seeds of Christian Nationalism
Scripture teaches nothing about anything remotely Christian nationalism for the New Testament church age. Christian nationalism must arise at the most from principles through scripture that permit Christian nationalism. Is that possible? I think a semblance of that is. True believers in Jesus Christ, Christians, could hope for that. However, before I write about that, I will deal with the Christian nationalism movement in the United States, as I see it.
The Christian nationalist movement in the United States arises from the false eschatology of postmillennialism and a false ecclesiology of paedo baptism and communion. I suggest that several factors have contributed to this theonomist style or Christian reconstructionist postmillenial revival.
Recent Embrace of Protestant Theology
Not necessarily in this order, but, one, postmillennialism proceeds from recent new embrace of Protestant theology, some being a new Calvinism, or the “young, restless, and Reformed movement.” Many factors, I believe and have witnessed, led to the attraction to this faction of professing Christianity. The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:22: “For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom.” The latter wisdom, one might also call, “intellectualism.” Perhaps an insipid, superficial evangelicalism swung the pendulum to theological seriousness and the greatest allure to a muscular, Puritanical determinism with heavy historical roots.
Attack on the Male Role in Society
Two, the elimination of and attack on a male role in society and growing egalitarianism pushed young men toward a more masculine view of the world. Postmillennial theonomy embraces not just complementary roles for men and women, but thoroughgoing Patriarchy. This also explains the great popularity of Jordan Peterson, who promotes the significance of the Patriarchy and a unique place for men in the culture.
Other Reasons for the Rise of Christian Nationalism Propositions
Three, men responded to the degradation of the culture. The United States slouches toward Gomorrah. The weakness all around begs for an answer or a reaction. Men don’t like what they are seeing. This corresponds with the decline of the United States on the world stage, a porous border, and decrepit leaders.
Four, the Postmillennials have some effective spokesmen, that contrast with the ineffectiveness of the alternative. I would compare Russell Moore, now editor of Christianity Today, and Douglas Wilson. The former capitulates and whine and the latter puts on the battle fatigues.
Five, even though Trump himself is not a Christian, Christian nationalism dovetails with the rise of Trump. It would take some explaining here, which I don’t think is too difficult, but I’ll leave it at that one sentence.
Premillennialism the Truth
Scripture is plain on the future or how everything will end. It is not postmillennial. Premillennialism represents a grammatical, historical interpretation of scripture. It is how the Bible reads. Premillennialism does not correspond well to a biblical presentation of Christian nationalism.
Based on this understanding of the future, Scott Aniol has written a different position than Christian Nationalism, that he calls Christian Faithfulness (he further argues here). I can’t disagree with anything Aniol says about this and generally agree with his criticism of the positions of Stephen Wolf and Douglas Wilson. I haven’t read Aniol’s new book, Citizens and Exiles: Christian Faithfulness in God’s Two Kingdoms, so I don’t know how far he goes in his vision for the nation.
The Likelihood or Unlikelihood of Christian Nationalism
Without having read Aniol’s book, I’m certain I would go further than Aniol and propose something toward Christian Nationalism without actual Christian Nationalism. I explained some of this in part one. In a refreshing way, Aniol calls himself a Baptist. I am a Baptist. Baptists as one of their distinctives claim the separation of church and state, even if the United States Constitution does not claim that. Baptists have taken strongly a very anti church state doctrine. The Baptists promoted and ratified the first amendment of the Bill of Rights.
Aniol has coined a new position related to the Christian Nationalism debate: Christian Faithfulness. My thinking has not yet congealed into a position. Maybe it won’t get to that and I could hold some version of Christian Faithfulness. I want to and will explain where I am right now.
More to Come
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