Guest Editorial
So, I’m not sure if I’m a Christian Nationalist myself, but I most certainly understand that Jesus Christ is the Inheritor of the nations, and that His Word is to be taught to all nations: “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, [even] to the end of the age.’ Amen” (Matthew 28:18-20).
Notice that Jesus Christ has no less authority in earth that He does in Heaven. Furthermore, the nations, yes nations, are to be (1) Discipled, (2) Baptized in the name of Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and (3) Taught to observe all that Christ had commanded His disciples.
Taught all that Christ commanded? Like “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6)? Yes, the nations are to be taught that there is only one way to God – through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, not an idolatrous made-up Jesus who never condemns anyone. And certainly not the Buddha, not Mohammed, not any other wannabe fake god, of which there are many.
See also that what the nations are to be taught: Commands. Yes, commands. The nations are to observe what Christ commanded to His disciples. Christ specifically states that it is His commands that are to be taught. What did he teach? He taught the whole counsel of God, Old and New Testaments. Lest we misunderstand, there was no greater advocate of the Old Testament Scriptures than Christ Himself. He validated the authority of the Old Testament over 20 times in the gospels when he stated, “It is written…” Not it was written, but it is written.
Now here is where we have the real problem with those that reject a specifically Christian Nation: they have to agree to commandments from some other source.
Who gets to make law in any nation, and what is the source? Please, name me a better, more loving, more equitable law than the Law of Christ.
But here’s the thing: I don’t have to make the case that the nations are to recognize the authority of Christ. That case has already been made, first of all by David: “Ask of Me, and I will give [You] The nations [for] Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth [for] Your possession” (Psalm 2:8). “All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And shall glorify Your name” (Psalm 86:9).
By Isaiah: “For I [know] their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory” (Isaiah 66:18).
By Moses: “Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should act according [to them] in the land which you go to possess. Therefore be careful to observe [them]; for this [is] your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation [is] a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation [is there] that has God [so] near to it, as the LORD our God [is] to us, for whatever [reason] we may call upon Him? And what great nation [is there] that has [such] statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day?” (Deuteronomy 4: 5-8).
By Paul: “[A]nd that the Gentiles might glorify God for [His] mercy, as it is written: ‘For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, And sing to Your name.’ And again he says: ‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!’ And again: ‘Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!’ And again, Isaiah says: ‘There shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope’” (Romans 15:9-12).
Finally, by Christ: “Then He said to them, ‘These [are] the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and [the] Prophets and [the] Psalms concerning Me.’ And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem’” (Luke 24:44-47).
Of course, there are those “Christians” who will be offended at these words spoken by David, Moses, Isaiah, Paul, and even Christ. And, I get it that they are offended at the idea of Christian nations.
That is their problem, not mine. They must embrace the authority of Christ over the nations. Now. Right now: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, [And] all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17).
Joel Saint
Joel is the Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Reformation Society and the pastor of Independence Reformed Bible Church (www.irbc.church). Joel resides with his wife, Audrey, in Lancaster County, and has 9 grown children and 24 grandchildren (and counting).
