Wednesday, October 19, 2016

October 20, 2016

"For I was hungry, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in" Matthew 25:35

One of the contested issues of this 2016 Presidential election is Immigration. 

Secretary Clinton is a globalist and as such supports open borders. Open borders is actually a contradiction of terms. 

Donald Trump promises to protect the borders by building a wall and enforcing existing immigration laws.

Author and talk show host, Dr. Michael Savage, often says, "A nation is defined by a language, a culture and its borders."

Dr. Jim Garlow, in his book "Well Versed", writes about national borders in Chapter 24, "National borders help governments establish who is a citizen and who is a visitor, and who should not be permitted through the door. This process is similar to church membership. The pastors need to be able distinguish who needs to be shepherded and who is just passing through. It doesn't make visitors less important, but membership establishes clear expectations concerning how authority applies, what resources are available for whom, what privileges can be expected and where attention is to be concentrated. Like a church, a nation has the right to enforce borders and having no borders means it is no longer a nation!

If someone comes into your home, even someone without a penny to his name, so they have a right to stay indefinitely and take whatever they want? You know the answer. But if you were to leave your windows and doors wide open all day, leave money and fresh food lying around, hang the keys to the car in plain sight and ignore everyone coming in and out, your home would be packed (and sacked) in no time!

With penalty-free access to open borders, sanctuary cities, unenforced federal laws, driver's licenses, in-state tuition, free medical care, welfare, and any number of entitlements - even amnesty - what's the incentive to respect our laws, our values, and our heritage? In fact, lawlessness and the abuse of compassion actually breeds a contempt for authority and broad-based resentment toward each other.

Having said that, what kingdom issues are at stake? My own denomination, the Wesleyan Church, has processed eight difference principles that form the framework we use to choose a biblical response.

1) The Creation Principle: All persons are created equal and are of equal worth in their Creator's eyes.
2) The Great Commandment Principle: Christ commands us to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and our neighbors as ourselves.
3) The Sovereignty Principle: God is sovereignly at work establish His kingdom in heaven and on earth. He determines the times and places where people will seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him.
4) The Submissive Principle: Christians possess dual citizenship, one heavenly and the other earthly. Christians should respect and submit to the laws of the land, except when they are contradiction to biblical principles.
5) The Hospitality Principle: Christ's love compels us to be kind and compassionate and to offer hospitality, especially to those in need, including strangers, windows, orphans, aliens, and immigrants, regardless of their legal status.
6) The Great Commission Principle: Jesus Christ brings good news and has commissioned us to make disciples of all peoples, including citizens and aliens alike.
7) The Grace Principles: All have sinned and deserve God's judgment and punishment. Yes, He is a merciful God and seeks to reconcile us to Himself by grace.
8) The Justice Principle: God's people are called to seek justice for all persons proactively by calling for just, fair, reasonable, and humane laws and serving as advocates and defenders for those who are powerless, disenfranchised, and marginalized.

Everyone understands this is a complex issue and every compassionate person wants to find a way to protect our national sovereignty while writing just laws that will open our borders to those willing to abide by those laws. 

But compassion should be guided by these Scriptural principles lest we be led astray by misguided compassion.