Chris Ashley
When it comes to the issue of large-scale Muslim immigration many have told Christians that we need to generally adopt the viewpoint of liberal secularism, which regards racial and cultural diversity within a society as the ultimate moral virtue. When churches, however, emulate the political correct orthodoxy of the moment, Scripture-honoring Christians should always be on their guard, because the Word of God warns us, "Be not conformed to this world" (Romans 12:2).
From a Biblical perspective we do have every reason to call into question the great migrant influx into the US. To do this is not remotely to be unfriendly to individual immigrants. All peoples are equal in the sight of God, and the kingdom of God is made up of people of every tribe and tongue. Both as an obligation and as a delight the Christian loves his neighbor, whoever he is and wherever he comes from. Furthermore, the great contribution to the cause of the Gospel in the US by immigrants who are Bible-believing Christians is heartily acknowledged.
Is it God's will that the US abandons border controls, so as to fulfill the goal of an ever more diverse society? Has the US Government become more 'Christian' in its character all of a sudden as they would have us believe?
If that's the case, every nation upon earth should be less and less concerned about high levels of inward migration, because far more important is the high ideal of creating as diverse a society as is humanly possible. That is the logic of the liberal secularist position which has dominated political thinking in recent decades.
There are several points to make here. First, if any group of people, whether they be a religious group, nationality, race or something else, and they wish to do harm to the people of a nation or want to come in to that country with the intent of changing it by force or otherwise, they should NOT be allowed to enter. That is exactly what we find with the so-called “Muslim immigrants”. We even hear from some pastors and Christians that we should know the Bible says “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.” Matthew 24:9. That is not what is happening. These Muslim killers are killing indiscriminately everyone who is not like them. They are killing to bring change and in the end, their evil prophet of the End Times, their Mahdi.
Further, in Deuteronomy 32:8 Moses tells us that, just as the Lord separated the nation of Israel, so He also ordained the independent existence of all the other nations. He declares, "When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel". So God created all the other nations with a view to His specific purpose for the nation of Israel. Let us in particular note the wording here : "The most High divided to the nations their inheritance ... he set the bounds of the people". So here is God's own stamp upon the legitimacy of nationhood and national borders.
In Numbers 20 and 21 we read of the Israelites travelling from the wilderness to the Promised Land. They needed to pass through the territory belonging to the Edomites and the Amorites. So they asked the kings of these two nations for permission to travel through their lands. Moses, led by the Holy Spirit, told the kings that his people would not stray from the main highway, nor touch any crops, because they did not belong to Israel. Moses even offered to pay for any water that Israel's cattle consumed in transit. He thus carefully observed the Edomites' and Amorites' boundaries as being ordained of God, and worthy of all respect.
"Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king's high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders" (Numbers 20:17). Notice here how Moses, led by the Holy Spirit, uses the expression "thy country", when speaking to the king of Edom. He assures the king that the Israelites will behave with a particular deference until such time as they "have passed his borders".
Applying this principle to our own day, we learn that to control a nation's borders, and to respect the borders of other nations, is RIGHTEOUS behavior in the sight of God. It also follows from this that there is absolutely nothing immoral about a nation deporting those who are not entitled to be here. Therefore, Christians should not condone illegal entry into the US. Nor should they call for amnesties for illegal immigrants. Scripture exhorts us to HONOR the laws of the land.
To knowingly break the law by staying in the country without permission is a crime, and governments should not reward such behavior. This needs to be said, because secular political correctness has swamped Christian thinking in recent years.
On the matter of asylum-seeking, it is possible to come to the US, claim asylum, and then to receive financial support and housing, whilst the asylum application is being considered. If the application fails, an appeal can then be made, which of course prolongs the process. Surely, before God, it cannot be right to enter into a foreign country with the intention of staying there, unless one knows beforehand that one has a legal permission to do so.
Many will argue, however, that asylum seekers are refugees, fleeing for their lives, and that this fact alone a creates a moral obligation on the part of the US. In response to this argument, we assert, Yes, there should be a reception to some degree of people whose lives are in genuine and immediate danger and who have nowhere else to go. There are, however, limitations to this principle, limitations which Christians must face up to.
First of all, it must be stated that if a man is fleeing for his life, then he will run to the nearest safe place, but asylum seekers reaching the US will generally have passed through or over many other safe countries in order to reach here. So the destination of the US is by no means the obvious direction of flight. This suggests that there may be other motives for choosing the US.
We as a nation have to exert whatever pressure we can to prevent oppressive regimes from mistreating their populations. But it must also be said, that if we have a moral duty to accept just one person being abused by an oppressive regime, then why not a moral obligation to accept 1000 or 100,000 or half a million? They are all living under that oppressive regime. Where does the obligation end? If say 20 million people live under a persecuting government, how many of those 20 million should be allowed to come and take up residence in the US?
At present all around the world there are some 200 million Christians under some kind of oppression or persecution. Add to that the many being persecuted for political, ethnic and other reasons, and the numbers of people who might wish to leave their present countries becomes even greater. Then again add on top of that those who simply desire a better standard of living, because they live in relatively poor societies, and we are left with unimaginably large numbers which represent vast multiples of the existing population of the US. Are we saying that all these countless millions and millions should have a potential right of asylum in America on the grounds of Christian compassion?
Surely, in the interests of proper and reasonable immigration control, the biased use of expressions such as 'duty of compassion' and 'helping the oppressed' must be challenged. We have to face up to the fact that the political, economic and religious problems of the world cannot be solved by simply permitting vast numbers of people to come and live in our country.
We observe in the New Testament that the apostle Paul, after his conversion, never lost his sense of identity with his own people. He remained a Jew through and through. He declared, "I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart ... for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh" (Romans 9:14). So Paul poured out his heart to God in concern for his own countrymen.
Jeremiah did the same thing. He cried out, “Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!" (Jeremiah 9:1). Our nation, today, needs Christians with a similar Spirit-given burden for their nation such as Paul and Jeremiah possessed.
Let us make no mistake, the Bible plainly teaches that God has ordained nationhood and clearly defined national boundaries. To reject this Divine ordinance because of secular fashion is to promote an anti-God, tower of Babel, New Age world order, and Christians should not be doing that!
As we today look at the godlessness around us, with our society increasingly turning its back upon the one true faith of Christ, and as we look at the indigenous population's appalling descent into unbelief and rebellion against God's word, we desperately need Christians with an unashamedly national perspective, with a burden for their country and for their people's standing before the holy God.
My comments: What many Christians fail to acknowledge is that Islam is an Evil Religion base on the Koran that Incites Violence agaisnt Everyone, including its own. It is Specifically Anti-Christ--Against God and His Word and has been that way since the beginning. The apostle John tells us that by receiving them we will share in their Wicked Work. (2 John 11) The Secularists want them as part of their TRANSFORMATION of America into a godless, Socialist, Secular Humanist STATE.
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