I want to say a few things at the outset of this post. 1) I
am a political conservative with particular political views. 2) The point of
this post is not to share my personal political views. 3) I am a pastor. As a
pastor, I recognize that political issues can have direct impact on the life
and ministry of the Church and must be attended to gently at times for the sake
of unity within the Body. 4) The issue of immigration isn’t going away.
Regardless of Executive Order, Congressional Mandate, or sweeping legislation,
the issue of immigration is here to stay and will play a significant role in
the future of the Church. 5) It is my goal, in light of recent events in our
country, to examine what the Bible has to say about the issue.
The issue of immigration in the United States is a hotbed of
political and social divisiveness that is poised to have great impact on the
Church and her future ministry. Living, currently, in Arizona, a state whose
Hispanic residents comprise 30% of the total population,[1]
where illegal immigrants comprise 46% of the foreign-born population and 6% of
the total population, where nearly 10% of the total workforce are illegal
immigrants, and where 47% of all illegal border crossings into the U.S.[2]
occur, brings the issue of illegal immigration to the forefront for churches
ministering in this state. Arizona’s demographics serve as a snapshot of the
national issue raised by illegal immigration. Regardless of political leanings,
the Church has a greater issue at stake; how to minister to this growing
population and how to handle the issue of illegal immigration.
Immigration in the Bible
The issue of immigration was completely foreign to first
century Christians; they never imagined dealing with an issue like the one we
deal with today. In the first century Roman Empire, what Rome conquered they
owned. Residents of a conquered land became residents of the Empire whether
they liked it or not. This does not mean that they all became Roman citizens.
Citizenship in the ancient Empire was a prized possession. One was a Roman
citizen if both parents were born citizens, if the father was a citizen and the
mother had purchased the right to marry a citizen. Later, citizenship could be
granted to a soldier who’d completed his tour of duty with the Roman military
(usually 25 years), if one was from an aristocratic family in a Roman province,
or if a person had the wherewithal to purchase citizenship. It wasn’t until AD
212 that the Edict of Carcalla granted citizenship to all free inhabitants of
the empire. If you were a slave, citizenship was not in your future unless you
became a freedman and either purchased or earned it. The issue of citizenship
was a non-issue for the early Church. Some Christians were Roman citizens and
most were not; it wasn’t a known problem.
The social issues the early Church did have to wrestle with were
directly impactful on their life and ministry. One stands out above the rest;
namely, the elimination of a caste system within the Body of Christ. The dichotomy
between the poor and rich was a social issue that had direct import in the life
of the Church. Allowed to infect the Church, it would tear it apart and cause
unnecessary division within the Body. Therefore, the issue is addressed several
times in the epistles of the New Testament (1 Tim. 6:17-18; James 1:10-11;
2:5-6; 5:1). Slavery, and the owning of slaves, was a social issue that caused
a stark dichotomy within the Church. While the New Testament never forbids or
condemns the practice of owning slaves, it does give specific commands to both
slaves and masters regarding their relationship within the Body of Christ (1
Cor. 7:21-24; Eph. 6:5-9) and clearly declares that within the Church slave and
master are brother and on equal footing (Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:11; Phile 1:15-16). These
social issues, among others, had a direct impact on the ministry of the Church.
If allowed, they could have ruined the Early Church through the natural
divisiveness they produce and caused irreparable damage to the Body of Christ.
Of note here is that nowhere in the New Testament does it command Christians to
engage in public debate against such social issues. To be fair, unless one had civitas (citizenship) in the Empire,
public dissension against legal Roman practices was tantamount to treason and
punishable by death.
Lessons on Immigration
Though the New Testament never attends to the issue of
immigration as we know it today, I believe the principles regarding the
relevant social issues mentioned above have bearing on our modern dilemma.
First, the modern Church must do all within its power to prohibit the issue of
illegal immigration from becoming divisive to the Body of Christ. As in
Galatians 3:28 and Colossians 3:11, social standings like citizen, non-citizen,
legal, illegal have no place in the Body of Christ. We are all one in Christ
and should treat one another accordingly. It should not be practice of American
Christians to investigate the immigration or citizenship status of foreign-born
members of our Body. That kind of mentality only serves to divide the Body and
cause harm to our fellow Christians. Secondly, as in 1 Timothy 6:17-18 and
James 1:10-11, 2:5-6, and 5:1, status within the Body of Christ should not be
determined by one’s immigration status or country of origin. In other words, we
must not exclude from life and ministry – the use of one’s gifts and talents to
benefit the whole Body – those who are foreign-born or whose immigration status
is unknown. Not only is it divisive to the Body of Christ, such attitudes and
actions from Christians toward their fellow Christians is morally
reprehensible.
For those who, at this point, would raise the issue of
obeying the laws of the land in Romans 13:1-8, I would remind them of several
things from this passage. First, yes, as believer, we are to submit to and obey
the civil authorities God has placed over us because they are His servants;
ordained and placed by God. That point is without question. Secondly, the Romans
13 passage was written in a time when slavery, prostitution, and open religious
discrimination was legal; illicit personal practices, promiscuity, and
substance abuse were an accepted social norm; taxation without representation
was normal; politics were more corrupt than Washington today; and crucifixion
of those perceived to be disloyal to the king was the preferred method of
punishment for non-citizens. The glorious Roman Empire wasn’t the paragon of
social virtue The History Channel
likes to think it was. It was in this social climate that early Christians were
commanded to submit to and obey their civil authorities. Lastly, nowhere in
this passage are Christians commanded to be legal or social watchdogs or
enforcers. Rather, verse 4 clearly states that it is the civil rulers who bear
the sword for enforcement and punishment of the law. Nowhere in Scripture are
we commanded to police one another regarding social or legal issues. Open sin
and the refusal to repent of it are to be dealt with according to biblical
mandate, but it is never a Christian’s job to investigate or police the immigration
status of his fellow. That believer should allow the Holy Spirit to convict him
personally with regard to obeying the laws of the land in which he resides (which
stand to change in short order) and then act according to his conscience before
the Lord.
It behooves local churches to think strategically about this
issue and gain some counsel on its legalities (e.g. employment) so that
appropriate policies can be enacted for their own protection. Doing so frees
the church from worrying about the issue, protects them from legal ignorance in
ministry, and allows them to minister to people instead.
Conclusion
I’ve only presented above a very basic cry for unity within
the Body of Christ and a plea not to allow the immigration issue in the United
States to become a ministry killer. The issue is obviously much more
complicated than I have time to address and good people within the Body are
going to disagree about it. What we should all agree upon is simple. We have
not been called to be the immigration police for the Church or the world. We
have been called, and commanded, to take the gospel to the ends of the earth
and to intentionally engage in the ministry of reconciliation (Matt. 28:18-20;
2 Cor. 5:18) to all peoples. According to Pew Hispanic, the median age of all
foreign-born immigrants in the U.S. as of 2012 was 42. Of the immigrant
households represented, nearly 60% are married and more than 70% of those
households had children who were born in the U.S.; making them citizens.[3] What
does this mean for the Church? The majority of foreign-born immigrants in this
country, whether legal or not, are young families with children. The majority
of those young families aren’t in danger of going anywhere because their
children are citizens. The modern Church has a great opportunity for ministry
and reaching a demographic we’ve not had before, without having to raise
support and leave our shores to do so. We must think strategically and
creatively about opportunities to reach these people with the gospel of Christ
and see them become a vibrant part of the Body. If we neglect these people
groups we are failing in our Great Commission mandate. If we allow political
and national bias to negatively infect the Church we are poised to harm
ourselves and our future as the Body of Christ.
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