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Surely
you’ve heard the maxim, “A text out of context is a pretext.” How true! And
how rampant! And I have come to think that perhaps the Scripture text that I
have most often heard taken out of context and rendered into a pretext
is this one —
“If my
people who are called by my Name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face
and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will
forgive their sin and heal their Land” (2 Chron. 7:14).
How
often have you heard this verse quoted as if it applies directly to American
Christians and directly to our country, the United States of America? Is not
America a “Christian nation”? And will not the revival of the church and the
political imposition of biblical values save our country? No to the first
question, perhaps to the latter, but in regard to this text, it's not even
the right question.
A more
fundamental question might be — according to God’s Word, is there even such a
thing as “a Christian nation” in the new covenant era? The biblical answer is
“Yes, of course.” But that begs a follow-up question — then, what is it? Is
it a geographical location, or a specific form of civil government, or a
certain set of citizens? No, the only “Christian nation” that exists in the
new covenant era is the “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church;” it is to
her alone that God says, “you are ... a holy nation” (1 Pet. 2:9). The
church is made up of those who have been called out of darkness and into his
marvelous light from many different tongues, tribes, and nations. God
graciously makes them citizens of the heavenly country whose King is the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Accordingly,
it is wrong to apply 2 Chronicles 7:14 directly to any particular
country — even to the United States. That promise applied directly to the
church in its old covenant form — the theocratic church-nation Israel in
the promised Land. But God’s Word makes clear that this old covenant
theocratic national form of his church was a temporary arrangement designed
to prepare the way for and to bring about the coming of Christ and the
promised salvation (Gal. 4:23–26). Our Lord Jesus made clear that, on account
of his saving accomplishment and the outpouring of his Spirit to apply that
salvation, the church would take a very different form in the new covenant—it
would become international rather than national; its power would be spiritual
rather than temporal; it would be spread by gospel witnesses rather than by
soldiers (Acts 1:6–8). Now, rather than inviting the nations to come to the
holy Land to become part of the holy nation there, the one holy nation is
instead to go out into the whole world and make disciples of all nations (Mt.
28:19–20).
As a
result of this new arrangement, God’s people hold a dual citizenship in this
life. Our Lord makes us at the same time citizens of the church—the one and
only “Christian nation”—and citizens of an earthly nation, subject to an
earthly government.
Are
there nations with Christians in them? Of course! Is that a blessing to those
nations? Of course! But to say that any country—even the United States—is a
“Christian nation” is to misunderstand God’s Word. It would be unbiblical to
say that the United States—as a nation—enjoys special favor from God
over and above the other nations of the earth. If the United States has
enjoyed God’s favor then it is not as a nation; rather, it is only so
for the sake of his church (Rom. 8:28). It is true that many of our founding
fathers were Christians, and that brought blessing. But that truth is
tempered by the fact that many were deists, or even irreligious, and that,
alas, some of those Christian founding fathers were not very sound their
beliefs, or faithful in their behavior.
Is it
unpatriotic to say that 2 Chronicles 7:14 does not apply directly to the
United States? If we affirm that it does not, then does it mean that we
should not love our country? Absolutely not. In a real sense, the verse that
better applies to us new covenant saints is Jeremiah 29:4–7 —
“Thus
says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent
into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant
gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take
wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear
sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare
of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its
behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
Under
the new covenant gospel arrangement, we believers are “elect exiles of the
dispersion” (1 Pet. 1:1), scattered throughout the nations. The Lord
tells us that we are to be patriotic. We are to love the land in which he has
placed us. And we are to seek its welfare. However, the overarching reason
why we are to do is not that it is a “Christian nation,” but because we have
an even higher allegiance to the kingdom of heaven and its
King. This higher allegiance to the church and her Head should lead us to
diligently pursue our vocation as citizens in the country where our Lord has
planted us. It should lead us to pray for those whom God has place in
civil authority over us. God commands us to pray “for kings and all who are
in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and
dignified in every way” (1 Tim. 2:2). This higher allegiance to the
church should also lead us to respect and submit to those whom
God has placed in civil authority over us. According to God’s Word, we are to
respect and submit to civil authority because the leaders of the nations of
this earth rule by God’s authority (Rom. 13:1–7).
The
United States is a great nation. She was founded on good principles, and she
has enjoyed wonderful blessings. But she is not a “Christian nation.” The
church alone—whether she is found in the United States or England, or
Eritrea, or Uganda, or Iraq, or Iran, or wherever—is the one and only
“Christian nation” of the new covenant era.
All the
kingdoms of this world will perish—and that includes the United States. But
the church—comprised of people from every tongue, tribe, and nation—will go
on forever. Remember what God says,
“‘Yet
once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” This phrase,
‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is,
things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may
remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be
shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and
awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:26–28).
At the
same time, let us also be active in our vocation as citizens, loving our
neighbors, seeking the welfare of the United States, and of Indiana, and of
Indianapolis, or Ladoga, or Greenwood, or Zionsville, or Sheridan, or
Fishers, or wherever the Lord has providentially placed us to live and serve.
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