Last Sunday hundreds, if not thousands, of churches celebrated the Fourth of July as a part of their Sunday morning worship. Hopefully, I will convince you that this is anti-biblical!
In April at the Together for the Gospel conference Thabidti Anyabwile spoke a sentence that, I believe, will shape 21st century western ecclesiology. He said, “the church is not mono-ethic but it is mono-cultural.” In essence, he means that all nations, tribes, and tongues will represent the Kingdom of God, but the Kingdom of God is a unique culture that transforms the nations represented.
Ephesians 2:13-15 says 13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah. 14 For He is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In His flesh, 15 He did away with the law of the commandments in regulations, so that He might create in Himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace.
Michael McKinley, in his lecture Unity and Diversity, observes three avenues of truth that Paul speaks to in this section of his letter to Ephesus.
- Progress in Redemptive History. In Jesus, no longer were the promises of God maintained in Israel, but broke through for the nations to inherit.
- Missiological. The church, unlike Israel is not homogeneous. A part of the Gospel’s power is to unite cultures, nations, and tongues under the centrality of Jesus’ reign. Therefore, the church must reach out to all nations.
- Ecclesiological. Again, the church is not homogeneous. Where there is political, economic, or cultural diversity in an area; there is still only to be one church bringing together the backgrounds of all peoples through the common foundation of partaking in the Gospel of Christ. The church that reaches one type of person isn’t exhausting the full meaning of the Gospel.
Why is this important? When the church gets together and any agenda takes precedent over the common foundation of Jesus Christ (or implies a common bond apart from that foundation) should be thrown away like yesterday’s trash.
For instance, how would a member differing in nationality or political interest feel if you implied that praising God would involve praising Him for America? Is this not extra-biblical legalism? The hostility Paul addressed in Ephesians was Jew/Gentile relationships and he said that Jesus created one new man. By implication, if the Gentile held on to his rights, preferences, or needs as a Gentile he would abandon the sufficiency of Jesus’ gospel to bring him near to God. But also, if the Jew held onto his rights, preferences, or needs as a Jew he would also abandon the sufficiency of Jesus as well.
Likewise, if we celebrate our patriotism inside the church are we not alienating those who Jesus brought near to God? I say we forget the praise of Independence Day (or any other national observance) because God has given us a better freedom by making us a new citizen in the Kingdom of Christ!
July 6, 2010 at 9:06 am
Ben,
I heartily agree. We are first and foremost citizens of the Kingdom of God, and only secondarily citizens of America. We can be thankful for the opportunity America has provided for the church to flourish, but we should vigilantly guard against conflations or confusions of the heavenly and worldly kingdoms. You helpfully point out one of the dangers of erring in this matter: alienating persons from the Kingdom of God.
July 6, 2010 at 10:44 am
Ben,
I’m so glad you wrote this article. I was really struggling with the thought of feeling “proud to be an American,” I can’t say that I necessarily am. I am glad we have the freedom to worship every Sunday, but we can’t forget our brothers and sisters around the world who are united with us in Christ. My Father and I were having this conversation on the way to Atlanta after church Sunday. Our citizenship is not here, it is in heaven. When we think America is heaven and we think this is it, we’ve lost it. I appreciate your article and thought it was neat that I was thinking about this same topic recently.
July 6, 2010 at 11:49 am
Ben,
Interesting article. I agree that we do place to much emphasis on solely being an American. However, I do not think it is a problem when we do say we are “Proud to be an American”. I completely agree that we need to realize that the gospel and the church is not just for Americans and God does not just simply bless Americans. I agree that the reign of Jesus Christ obviously will include every tongue, nation, and tribe. I am proud of the freedom we have, but not in the sense of of we are better than any other country. I am proud of the people who fought and died for our freedom. I do think churches can go over board in celebration Independence Day in a service. Interesting article though. It makes you think a little bit. Hopefully, I didn’t come across as some overboard patriotic myself. Just wanted to try to express what I was thinking in words. Thanks for the post.
July 6, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Randy,
I was reading my comment and realized that I did not specify why I said I am not “Proud to be an American.” I totally agree with why you are proud to be an American, I am not anit-American at all and I am proud of the great men who have fought for this country. I actually love America and am proud to live in a country with much freedom. I also remember being on a mission trip in Mexico with the college group, actually ministering to college students there and hearing their perception of America. They all considered America to be a Christian nation, and then watch shows on MTV, VHI, etc and seeing what college students participate in (Spring Break, etc.) They couldn’t understand why we were their and not at a beach living it up. So at that point I was not proud to associate myself with that perception of what the average American college student looks like. I should have left that part our of my first comment because it does not portray how I feel as a whole.
July 6, 2010 at 7:05 pm
On every 4th of July, Christians will worship God and celebrate being Americans. We must be sure not to confuse the two in worship!
July 6, 2010 at 9:30 pm
Ben,
In the church where I grew up there was always a bit of tension between patriotic church members and the pastoral staff regarding American holidays and where/if the American flag should be placed. I think many felt the church to be a safe haven for patriotism as opposed to the liberal “outside” but I agree the church and Christianity is way bigger than that.
I think the best perspective is for us to take advantage of our current state of religious freedom to further the Kingdom. Even in the book of Acts it mentions a time of peace without persecution when the church continued to grow.
Most importantly, we should never forget that nations rise and fall and but our eternal hope never will.
July 7, 2010 at 7:58 am
All,
Patriotism within the church, particularly around Independence Day, often revolves around the goal of “Taking America Back for God.” If this phrase meant sharing the gospel with Americans, I would be all for it. Unfortunately, it often means something quite different. It means culture wars (e.g. Christian music vs. secular music), it means moralism (e.g. “Can you believe what they show on TV these days?”), it means pursuing Kingdom ends (like a respect for God’s image) through worldly means (like elections, laws, etc.), and usually it means voting for Republicans.
And I think it would be helpful for us to remember that our Sovereign God never “lost” America. This country has been a part of His redemptive plan every step of the way, and will be until the Kingdom comes.
July 7, 2010 at 11:32 pm
Absolutely agreed with this blog 100%. The other day I heard someone state it plainly: “Jesus was not an American”.
Thanks for these thoughts.
July 9, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Does this imply removing Christmas and Easter from the church as well?