In a recent post, I lauded the Apostle Peter for his response to the question posed by the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 16:15: “Who do you say that I am?”

This is the question to which the Christian faithful have been gifted with the only answer that ensures eternity with the Lord:

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16)

In other words, Christians get the “who.” This defines them as Christians. As Paul assures us in his letter to the Romans (8:1):

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”

All who have been gifted this knowledge are saved.

But once saved by faith through God’s abundant mercy and grace, our work as Christians really begins. Obedience to His will, adherence to His command to love others as we love ourselves, and producing good fruit by turning others to righteousness requires that we not only get the who, but that we also discern the what and why.

Why did God the Father send His only begotten Son to become man, suffer humiliation, crucifixion and, blessedly, resurrection? What does the Lord ask of us as Christians so that we might glorify Him? These are two questions that have flummoxed Christian Nationalists and reveal the misguided foundations of the movement.

The question of “why” is answered throughout the entirety of scripture. The Apostle John, in his first letter, gives a brief but compelling summary of the answer:

“He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” (1 John 2:2)

Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, was the atoning sacrifice for sin for all of humanity. Yes, we sin, repeatedly and often unrepentantly. Our sin is an abomination to the holiness of God. Because of His love for His creation, His mercy and His grace, God sent His only begotten Son to bear our sins on the cross, satisfying His wrath and justice.

So how do the Christian Nationalists mess this one up? Pretty much everywhere.

This movement seeks to remove God-given free will by legislating against sin – as though by doing so sin can be prevented. They fail to recognize that sin is a choice. It cannot be controlled by the head, but it stems from the heart. God desires that humanity hates sin as He does, and that we choose out of love to be obedient to His will – not legislative compulsion.

Christian Nationalists instead seek to remove that choice. In doing so, they diminish the work of Christ on the cross, essentially touting legislation as the path to salvation rather than the mercy and grace of God.

As we are warned by Paul in Galatians 5:4-6:

“You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.”

That is, salvation is not attained by a mindless adherence to legal mandates, but through faith in Christ Jesus and His command to love others as He has loved us.

This is the Gospel message. This is The Way – the only way. It is so crucial to our walk in faith that Paul repeats it throughout the epistles, including Titus 3:4-7:

“But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

But the misconceptions of the Christian Nationalists regarding God’s salvation plan do not end there. Not only do they botch the “why” – but the “what” as well.

What does the Lord ask of us as Christians so that we might glorify Him? The answer is not advocating for laws that compel obedience to holier-than-thou mandates that fail to change hearts. Instead, we are encouraged throughout scripture to produce good fruit, bringing others to faith through love and compassion rather than compelling behavior that is not of the heart.

“Those who are wise shall shine
Like the brightness of the firmament,
And those who turn many to righteousness
Like the stars forever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3)

As noted, Christian Nationalists get the most important question – the “who” – correct. Unfortunately, their efforts to be justified by law are misguided. Rather than producing good fruit – bringing others to Christ as He advocated in His Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) – this movement builds walls around their righteous morality that both discourage and inhibit non-Christians from considering the Gospel.

And while the “who” may be the most important question as implied in John 3:16, the “why” and the “what” are ancillary questions that reveal our knowledge of God’s word and the depth of our faith. As Christians, our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). It is not of this world or this country. “Nationalism” is not in and of itself a bad thing. There is nothing wrong, for example, with celebrating our country’s Olympic Games success. The problem comes when that word is preceded by the descriptor “Christian.” It is anything but.