Luke

MAGA Christians: ”Why Do You Call Me ‘Lord, Lord’…”

Tom Ratkovich, , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

“…and do not do what I say?”

In Luke 6:46, Jesus is confronting people who profess allegiance to Him while refusing obedience to His teachings. Is He asking this of Donald Trump?

It would be difficult to argue otherwise.

Trump has frequently proclaimed his faith and engineered his photo shoots with the false prophet pastors of the prosperity gospel. The central issue in the passage, however, is not verbal profession, but obedience and fruit. Consider behavior that is undeniably disobedient:

  • blatant rejection of Jesus’ command to love,
  • public humiliation of anyone who does not bend the knee,
  • hateful rhetoric toward immigrants and non-whites,
  • absolute lack of repentance or humility,
  • prioritization of power and personal loyalty over constituent welfare,
  • deceit and corruption,
  • indifference toward the vulnerable,
  • adultery.

Case closed. No one can consistently display pride, cruelty, dishonesty, vindictiveness, greed and contempt and still credibly present themselves as aligned with the teachings of Jesus. The Lord is clearly asking this question of Donald Trump.

But what about those who enable, endorse and encourage POTUS’ disobedience to God? MAGA Christians…I’m talking to you. Christ’s warning against claiming Christian identity while living contrary to His commands applies to all of us. And while your demigod’s behavior suggests his case is open and shut, I believe that your cheerleading does the same.

Consider the Lord’s teaching:

  • Love your neighbor as yourself – not just those that look or believe as you do (Luke 10:27)
  • Be charitable toward the poor (1 John 3:17)
  • Have compassion for the stranger (Matthew 25:35)
  • Reject cruelty and vengeance (Romans 12:21)
  • Be merciful and you will receive mercy (Matthew 5:7)
  • Obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29)

MAGA, it appears your intent is to reduce welfare to the indigent, take healthcare from the vulnerable, remove anyone who doesn’t look like you from your orbit, and exact retribution from those who see things differently. At the very least, you enable, endorse and encourage an administration that has clearly pursued such intentions.

Again, Jesus asks “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I say?”

Perhaps these words from the epistle of James will resonate:

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.” James 1:22-25

What is your political posture? Does it reflect the character and commands of Jesus to love all others, bless those who curse you, give generously, avoid hypocrisy and bear good fruit?

Asking for a friend.

Jesus’ Rejection of Christian Nationalism

Tom Ratkovich, , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

“Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.” Luke 10:3 (NIV)

Such were the words of Jesus Christ as he sent seventy-two disciples into the world to preach, heal and proclaim the kingdom of God. While at first glance these instructions are about mission and vulnerability, they have important implications that repudiate the core tenets of Christian nationalism.

Jesus is specifically commissioning His followers to go actively into the world to share His message, emphasizing obedience and purpose. In sending the disciples out as “lambs among wolves,” He issues both a warning and a reality check. Lambs are gentle, defenseless creatures, while wolves are dangerous predators. Such imagery reveals that the disciples would face hostility, rejection and danger as they carried out their mission. The world would not always welcome their message.

As “lambs,” the followers were to rely on God’s protection and provision rather than their own strength or cleverness. They were to embody gentleness and purity, responding to opposition with grace and peace rather than hostility.

Moreover, as lambs they were not to gain converts by force. The gospel of Jesus Christ was (and is) to be spread through both the behavioral example they set and preaching the “good news” – inspiring listeners to respond willingly. Faith cannot be forced.

Christian nationalists pursue political power, dominance and cultural control in the name of Christianity. They seek to compel behavior that is consistent with their righteous morality – putting them in the company of Islam, Hinduism and “wolves” by forcing faith upon the cynical and the unenlightened. Such compulsion is far more likely to push people from Christ than to Him.

Jesus explicitly rejects this model. Rather than act as wolves to belligerently compel behavior, true Christians are to build the church through witness, not power; sacrifice, not control; example, not threats; love, not dominion.

Jesus was clear about how to respond to those who were not receptive to God’s word. It was not with worldly punishment:

“If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.” Matthew 10:14

In other words, Christians are not to beat their heads against a wall trying to influence the unbeliever. Nor are they to beat the heads of the unbeliever as the Christian nationalists would have it.

Those who do not choose faith are not to be jailed. Their judgment is coming – as it is for all of us – and it is judgment not of man:

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:46

So let’s pull all of this together.

Throughout His teaching, Jesus was (is) consistent in rejecting political domination as the means of advancing God’s kingdom.

Jesus was also unambiguous that His kingdom was separate from earthly nations:

“My kingdom is not of this world…” John 18:36

God’s kingdom is spiritual, borderless, eternal. Earthly nations, however, are political, temporary, coercive. Christian nationalism merges these into dogma that subverts biblical Christianity.

Jesus defines leadership as servitude, not as control as the Christian nationalists would have it. In Mark 10:42-44, He tells His disciples:

“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.”

Christian nationalists typically assert Christians should be those that establish and enforce the law. Jesus, however, explicitly rejects hierarchy, domination and power-over-others control. His followers lead by serving sacrificially, not ruling ruthlessly over the powerless.

When Jesus sends His followers into the world, He tasks them not with a takeover but with witness. They are to proclaim the Kingdom of God, not to build a political state. When Jesus calls for believers to be “lambs among wolves,” He undercuts the notion that Christians should seize or wield national power to advance their faith. This teaching is coherent and recurring, running counter to the false dogma of Christian nationalism.