Jesus' Moral Ideology

In the United States today, there is much dispute between "Conservative" and "Liberal" politics and with them are equal Christian positions—both politically and religiously. Both positions are based on Biblical theologies, and so both sides pull out Bible verses that place their positions in the best light. However, these Biblical theologies aren’t the heart of the conservative or liberal dualism that is at the heart of the divide within the country, within denominations or within churches. Both the conservative and liberal positions are based on a moral stance that are so based in one’s cultural understanding that it is difficult to separate the truth out and understand another’s position. And these positions have developed in such antagonism, that they have anathematized the other position, growing away from each other as time goes on.

What both moral positions, and the theologies they are based on, have missed is that they are each only one part of a whole. Both sides are a simplification of the complex Christian moral message, as taught by Jesus. Christianity is a religious moral system, based on the life and teaching of Jesus, empowered by the death and resurrection of Jesus. Neither position is a full representation of Jesus’ moral ideal, but each is a bastard born of a union of the New Testament and modern American ideals. Both positions have been created by lopping off parts of Jesus’ body of teaching, idealizing a part and trashing the rest as "unworthy" of God.

Below are the five principles of morality that Jesus held to. Admittedly, the moral position of Jesus is not complete without the worldview and eschatology of Jesus, which is not included below. But this list is sufficient to indicate that Jesus’ moral position is only inadequately represented by the liberal or conservative moral positions. I hope this will move us toward a completely Jesus-based moral position, which could be called truly Christian.

Purity
"Evil thoughts, sexual immorality, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness—All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man." Mark 7:21-23

The one moral principle found in all the Bible—both Old and New Testaments, no matter which book you choose—is that God will judge everyone based on what they do. People’s actions can be neutral, but there are certain actions that if one does them, it negates their ability to enter into God’s presence. Among the actions that Jesus says negates one’s ability to approach God or have God listen to one’s prayer are: worship of false gods, dishonoring authority, oppression of the weak (such as abortion), sexual immorality (including sex outside of marriage and homosexuality), stealing, acts of hatred and others.

This principle is central to the conservative moral position, and it is at the heart of what they call "family values". However, we must also recognize that Jesus’ answer to one breaking this very firm moral position is not punishment or ostrization, but is repentance. Jesus commanded people to regret their sin, admit it openly to God and to do all they could to change the action, and God would forgive them and welcome them back. Repentance from sin is the center of Jesus’ teaching.

"Unless you repent, you will all perish." Luke 13:5

Love
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 19:19
"Love your enemy" Luke 6:27

In response to those who would like to take moral purity laws and use them for punishment, Jesus upheld an overall principle of love as the context of morality. Jesus definition of "love" is "to act for the benefit of the another, no matter what they have done." Jesus’ most radical statement is to apply this moral principle of beneficence to everyone, without exclusion. Thus, if one is acting in a manner to harm another, or acting in an impure way, or even acting against one’s culture or one’s personal family or life, the need to act in accordance of the benefit of all still applies.

This principle is central to the liberal moral position, and with it they see a necessity to weaken the principle of purity. They want to say that if an action does not harm another, then it is not evil. However, Jesus did not pit these two principles in opposition to each other, but sees them as being complimentary. Purity communicates the moral line over which one may not cross, or else one is excluded from a relationship with God. However, a loving human may cross the line that God might not be willing to. For Jesus, this means that representatives of God might go to the impure and draw them back to God, gently coaxing them to repent, and so be restored to God. Love is not in opposition to purity, but it is the principle in which impurity can be overcome.

"The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." Luke 19:10

Faith
"The greatest law is this: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength." Matthew 27:37-38

The basis of all morality in Scripture is not the conscience of man, but the justice, authority and mercy of God. God is the ultimate authority, so his law is the first command above all human law. God is ultimately just, so his morality is right for everyone, in all societies. God is the most merciful, so his principles are for the benefit of all people, especially the lowly. In order to take advantage of God’s morality, one must be more devoted to God than to oneself, than any earthly authority, or than anything that might give you benefit apart from God.

The political positions of the liberals and conservatives forget the basis of faith in their moral position, and instead adopt a position of public pluralism. Even the religious moralists of these positions, however, forget that God is the one and only basis of authority. Many of them think that each person’s heart completely contains God’s will, forgetting that people are rebellious and forgetful. And others think that a greater morality than what God expresses can be gained. However, this only leads to judgmentalism and inconsistent moralities. According to Jesus, we find truth in God and we limit our morals to what God says through Jesus, bringing nothing else to it.

"You have neglected God’s command by upholding human commands." Mark 7:8

Sacrifice
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me." Mark 8:34

To be devoted to God’s morality is not just for times when it is convenient or when society is in agreement with it. Jesus recognized that his moral principles would be rejected by every society that exists in the world. And there is no one that would make it easy to live according to these principles. Thus, living according to Jesus life and teachings is a challenge that is very difficult to achieve. Thus, endurance through difficulties is an essential part of His morality.

An aspect of this challenge is forgotten by the liberal and conservative moral viewpoints. In those moralities, one must maintain ones’ own well being in order to be moral. However, in Jesus, one’s personal well-being must be set aside in order to live according to His moral principles. To do God’s will, one must set aside one’s own and society’s desires. To love others, one must sacrifice one’s own interests and even life. The ultimate act of Christian morality is that of martyrdom for the benefit of others.

"The greatest love is to lay down one’s life for his friends." John 15:13

Spirit
"The Father will send you the Holy Spirit who will teach you all things and bring to remembrance all that I have taught you." John 14:26

God’s command is not limited to the basic principles one finds in the New Testament, however. God has more to say to every person devoted to Him through Jesus. These more individualistic commands are granted through the Holy Spirit, the mystical presence of God in everyone committed to Jesus as Lord.

Christian morality is not complete without the Holy Spirit, for not only does He guide the Christian to do what is right, but he also empowers the Devoted to do even the most difficult task in obedience to God. God understands the weaknesses of human resolve and human limitation, and so offers the Spirit as the ability to act beyond one’s humanity into a fullness of God’s strength and purity and love.

The moral positions of conservatism and liberalism have little use for the mystical power of God through the Spirit, unless it has been transformed into a naturalistic process. Jesus would allow no such limitation to the power of God, commanding exorcisms, healings, meals, speaking unknown languages and unnatural boldness, only accomplished through the Spirit, not flesh.

"The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Mark 14:38

Jesus is neither conservative nor liberal, but greater than either.
Follow Him, not his bastard offspring.

Christian Liberal Moral Ideology

There are a multitude of ways to understand Christianity. Each denomination has a distinctive sense of their focus, and every congregation has a different way of presenting their understanding of the basic truths of Christianity. In the United States, there are two foundational ways to understand the truth of Christianity, which, for convenience’s sake we will call "Conservative" and "Liberal". The liberal understanding of Christianity has recently been called "the new Christian paradigm", but it is at least one hundred years old, has its roots in the enlightenment of the eighteenth century and has it’s own set of traditions and theologies. Some of the basic features of the "new paradigm" are described below.

Denying supernaturalism
The liberal point of view is not that miracles don’t happen, but that miracles occur in the context of everyday, "historic" reality. This means that God is working, but he is working within the confines of material existence. For all practical purposes, the spirit world does not intersect with material reality, except in subtle, mostly unseen ways. They deny the reality of overt supernatural acts such as a six-day creation, fire from heaven and the physical resurrection of bodies.

Jesus as moral example
Jesus is seen in the liberal worldview primarily as a teacher and example of the exemplary way of life. God desires us to live a life of unconditional love and care for others, and Jesus displayed that love in the midst of a culture of rules and separation. Jesus died in a conflict with that culture, and his resurrection—which was spiritual, not physical—was God’s way of showing the superiority of that moral way of life.

Relationships as core responsibility
The central moral concept of liberal philosophy is the nurturance of relationships. To build and establish relationships, we need to display unconditional love, which is seen as full and joyful acceptance of all—no matter how one subverts the traditional moral paradigm— and assistance to those who are weak or marginal in society. Salvation is seen as receiving God’s grace to live according to this way of love, as Jesus himself displayed. To be saved is to live out the principle, "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Sin as systemic
The liberal worldview acknowledges the Bible’s point of view of sin as personal acts in rebellion to God. However, the sins that need to be taken most seriously are those acts that support a system of oppression, in opposition to an ethic of unconditional love. They see the system of the world to be supporting a minority—whites, males, wealthy—while the rest are automatically placed in a secondary role, forced to submit to the oppressive paradigm. Sin, then, is supporting that system of oppression and acting in apathy to those in need. The serious sins are not those of adultery, homosexuality and rebellion, but oppression and its extreme form, violence. Submission to the dominant authority system is a sin, though less serious, for it supports the systemic sin.

Response to sin
Given this point of view of sin, personal sin is usually responded to with acceptance. If a sin is seen as just being in opposition to the primary paradigm, then there is joyful, full acceptance without a call to change. If one sins in a way in opposition to unconditional love, they are encouraged to repent and change, while still being accepted. However, every worldview has lines of acceptance and non-acceptance. Those who are not accepted are those who refuse to refrain from tearing the nurturing community down. Thus, prison is reserved for rapists and child molesters. And the liberal church has no place for those who reject the needy because they are "sinners" or "irresponsible."

Love as Basis of Truth
The truth of the liberal paradigm is not strictly seen in the Bible as a whole. They recognize that the Old Testament does not teach this paradigm, and neither does Paul. However, they understand Jesus as teaching the basis of this paradigm, and the church is growing over time to accept this paradigm. The Bible is not the basis of morality, but unconditional love, which they see is the love of God. The Bible is not full of historic truth, but of deep metaphors that helps one understand God’s love. The Bible is simply a bridge leading from an older moral paradigm toward a new, perfect paradigm of God’s love. The locus of truth is God’s community of love, led by God’s spirit of love. This community may at times be in denial of the old paradigms, such as it was in the Jerusalem council in Acts 15, but the main focus is the display of God’s spirit, not any traditional standards of morality.

Continuity and Discontinuity with Society
They see themselves as being a part of society through tolerance. They hold as a central moral statement the acceptance and care for all people, no matter what religion they believe in or what their personal habits are. However, they also see themselves as subversive and as challenging the dominant authority system. Thus, in practical actions, the liberal church accepts homosexuals who act with unconditional love, for while they might act in opposition to standard morality, they have received God’s grace of love. They often accept abortion as a possible moral decision because a relationship has not been developed with a fetus, thus there is no moral obligation. And they typically support progressive politics which assists those who are marginalized by society.

An Anabaptist Critique of Liberal Christianity
Liberal Christianity focuses much on what has been missing from traditional Christianity. Like Jesus and Paul, they focus on the needs of the marginalized of society, and they accept those who are traditionally seen as "sinners" (Luke 15; Matthew 8:11-12) They also recognize that Jesus spoke of himself as a moral example, which is something much of the church has ignored in their focus on Jesus as the savior from sins and the Son of God (John 13:13-17).
However, there is much that the liberal approach to Christianity has missed in their understanding of Jesus. Liberal Christians deny the very worldview that Jesus held. Jesus did not just practice God’s love, but he practiced God’s love with God’s supernatural power, seeing the spirit world as a real force in everyday life (Mark 1:16-2:10). The NT as a whole recognizes Jesus’ resurrection as physical and historic—and, in fact, were it not, then it could not be called "resurrection" at all, but simply "death" for a spiritual life after death is what all ancient cultures understood as what death was. Resurrection meant the renewal of the body—anything else would have been called something else.

Liberal Christians also neglect that Jesus held to God’s standard of righteousness, which was not restricted to sins against unconditional love. Jesus spoke against sexual immorality, idolatry and those who did not believe in him—sins of which could be participated in while still being nurturing (Mark 7:20-23; John 58). Jesus said that the context of righteousness is love of others, but that was not the whole of God’s standard—we first and foremost must love God for who he is and obey him even though it may not seem like the kind of "love" we understand. Jesus welcomed sinners of his time, but he called them to repent, not just to be welcomed (Luke 5:32)

God’s love is unconditional, but the unconditional form of his love is limited, as well. God loves everyone by providing even those who hate him with their basic needs. However, his true blessings—his kingdom, his Spirit, his salvation from suffering—is not given to everyone, but only those who prove to be faithful to him, not only in love, but in the purity of heart and action that can only come through Jesus (Matthew 7:6, 17-27; John 15:5). Thus, followers of Jesus sympathize for those who do not believe in Jesus, but we cannot fully accept them as part of the community of God, even as others who sin against God without repentance (Romans 10:9; Matthew 18:15-17). Jesus affirms love, but also recognizes that his gospel causes deep relational ties to be severed dramatically (Luke 14:26-27)

Ultimately, liberal Christians, while drawing their ideals from the gospel, only accept half of it. They do not believe what Jesus believed or hold to what Jesus stood for. In the end, liberal Christianity is not a representation of Jesus, but just another form of the Enlightenment, denying both the Scriptures and the power of God. They want the morality of Jesus, but neglect the righteousness Jesus actually espoused.

Men will be... holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power. Avoid such men as these. II Timothy 3:5

The Conservative Moral Ideology

There are a multitude of ways to understand Christianity. Each denomination has a distinctive sense of their focus, and every congregation has a different way of presenting their understanding of the basic truths of Christianity. In the United States, there are two foundational ways to understand the truth of Christianity, which, for convenience’s sake we will call "Conservative" and "Liberal". The conservative approach to Christianity has been called "evangelical" and also "fundamentalist". Although "evangelical" Christianity has existed since the early 1500s, the fundamentalist form of American evangelicalism has existed only since the beginning of the 20th century—although its roots do run deeper to the early reformation.

God as Creator
In the conservative Christian worldview, all things come from God, the spiritual entity that rightly rules all creation. There is a spiritual world that is greater than this one, and the principles of which determine our success in this world. God is the maker of all things, which he did in six 24-hour days at the beginning of creation.

Jesus as God
The conservative Christian boldly proclaims Jesus as God, by which he means a human who is equal with God in every way, including his essence. Jesus showed his authority over all things on earth, including the spirit world and nature, which indicated that he was the true maker of all these things. Many doubted Jesus proclamation of his true nature, and they eventually killed him. But the Father—the primary personage of God, along with Jesus and the Holy Spirit—rose Jesus from the dead, thus displaying Jesus’ true identity—God himself. One who wishes to receive God’s salvation—life in heaven—must believe that Jesus is God, attempt to live in the standards of God and be responsible to God’s church.

Jesus’ death as once-for-all sacrifice
Conservative Christians hold Jesus’ death to be the most significant event in all of history. They hold that God held all people under the judgment of death because of their sin, but Jesus provided a blood sacrifice through his death, which allowed God to offer forgiveness for sin instead of death. Anyone who believes in Jesus, then, is forgiven of all of their sins, no matter what they did.

Inerrant Bible
According to conservative Christians, the Old and New Testaments, sixty-six books, are the Bible. Although the Bible was written by human authors, God’s spirit directed every word in the Bible, and thus every single word is true. They understand the Bible to be interpreted literally, which means that everything in it must be understood as it would be understood by those who read it first, with allegorical sections interpreted as allegory and historical sections being taken as plain facts. The Bible expresses not only spiritual, moral and historic truth, but scientific truth as well.

The Moral Order
In the conservative worldview, it is held that God established an authoritative order. God established parents to rule over their families, governments to rule over their citizens, bosses to rule over their employees and God to rule over all. Some conservatives hold that men are also an authority over women. Bosses, parents and government leaders, therefore, are representatives of God to those under them. . This does not mean that human authorities cannot make mistakes, but the proper response to any authority over us is to submit and obey the authority. The authorities, on the other hand, are to offer proper moral guidance, punish those who disobey the proper authorities, and to provide the basic needs for those under their authority.

Family as Building Blocks of Society
Conservative Christians hold strongly to a conservative view of the family. This includes the authority of the husband over the family in the God-established moral order as well as the establishment and independence of the nuclear family. For this reason, they oppose homosexuality, abortion and secular education as things that break down the God-established order of the family.

Independence as maturity
In the conservative morality, the goal of the authority is to have every person under them be independent productive members of society. This requires the authority to provide training and punishment for each individual, until each of them are responsible in their own right. Responsibility, in this context, means that they are proper authorities over their own families, providing for them and needing no assistance from authorities to maintain their appropriate lifestyle; and that they are obedient to the requirements of their authorities without needing to be punished to correct them.

Sin as disobedience
For conservatives, sin has to do with one’s relation to the proper authority. Authorities establish law, which is an absolute standard and enforced by their authority. One sins if they disobey the authority above them, even if what the authority demands is unreasonable. Should one sin, the proper response of the sinner’s authority is to punish them, to train both them and everyone else under that authority that sin is unacceptable and will be punished.

Church as Upholder of Standard
The church, then, is the place where these conservative beliefs and morality are held as the standard and they constantly remind the people of God of these truths. This does not mean that the church in some way isn’t subversive. The conservatives hold that the world is constantly being led further and further into sin and subversive values. The church, in this case, is a beacon of light in the midst of darkness. One of the greatest purposes of the church, then, is to defend the people of God against the many forces attacking them—cults, secular humanism, communism, Islam and other religions.

An Anabaptist Critique of Conservative Christianity
The conservative evangelicals have much in their favor as a worldview. They uphold the Bible as the very highest standard, and Jesus as the very highest authority. They recognize that God’s standard may be different from the world’s in many ways and may not make sense to humans. They recognize that sin is very serious, and needs to be dealt with seriously.
However, for all of their proclamation of the Bible as God’s inerrant word, they typically have neglected what the Bible actually says quite seriously. Although they confess Jesus as their Lord, they will frequently disagree with Jesus and his teachings in the New Testament and maintain their own standards of morality instead. Jesus did not punish sin, although in the most extreme cases he did recommend separation from the church (John 8:1-11; Matthew 18:15-17). Rather Jesus showed mercy to the sinner and called them to repentance (John 12:47; Luke 5:32). Jesus recognized that authority came from God, but he also harshly criticized conservative authorities for not adhering to God’s standard and claimed that they should not be followed (Matthew 23:1-23).

Jesus actually came to earth to subvert the authorities of the world through the cross, and the "proper authorities" of this world are still acting in rebellion to Jesus’ way of the cross (Colossians 2:15; Acts 3:12-19; I Corinthians 2:6-8, 14). Jesus did not present submission as a way to uphold the authorities of this world, but as a way to subvert them and to establish God’s kingdom as the true authority over this world. In many ways, conservative Christianity is still holding to medieval feudal standards, and they see the church as being a part of this world. But the Bible says that God’s people are not of this world, but belong to a different nation, to live by a different standard, as established by Jesus, and to not just support the system as it stands (I Peter 2:4-12; Galatians 5:19-23).

Jesus death, while a sacrifice for our sins, is not limited to that. The cross isn’t something that happened a long time ago, and we can rely just on Jesus’ work. We are to continually be living out Jesus’ cross, and we are to be the people of the cross—the work of the cross is something the church continues to this very day (Colossians 1:14; John 12:24-26; Mark 8:34-38). It is through this work that we do with Jesus as our example that we gain the kingdom of God (Romans 8:16-17; Acts 14:22).

Ultimately, conservative Christianity, just like their theological forefathers, Luther and Calvin, is simply not biblical enough. For all their upholding of Jesus as the great authority, they do not give him enough authority as the One True Teacher, and we are servants of each other (Matthew 23:8-11). If one is truly going to enter God’s kingdom, we must be more righteous than the conservative evangelicals (Matthew 5:20; 23:22-23).

Jesus is not just God, but our Lord and example.

The Diseased Garden

A prophecy given to Steve Kimes in 1996, in Portland, Oregon:

A Rose Garden
The Lord showed me a rose garden. There were thousands of branches, and tens of thousands of flowers. But most of the flowers were brown, many of them had bugs or were diseased. The Lord told me, "This is the church of the West today. While it seems to be flourishing, the reality is that most of it is diseased. While it has the semblance of being alive, it is dying." Then the Lord showed me the same garden, some time later. Every single branch had been pruned. Out of the tens of thousands of flowers there were only a few buds left. "This is how today’s church will look if it continues on as it is presently. I shall have to prune the church, and very little of it will be left. Only if the church gets rid of the diseases that are plaguing it will it again flourish."

A Ruined Wood
The Lord showed me a garden full of trees. Once the trees were green and flourishing—then a winter storm took hold of it and crushed it. The ice bowed many of the trees down, and they crashed under the weight. "Again," said the Lord, "this is my church. It will be like a forest, crushed to the ground, unless they release themselves of the weight that is destroying it."

The First Disease: Upward Mobility
What is destroying the church? I asked. The Lord, the God of the Kingdom said, "Three diseases. The first is upward mobility. My Son taught that to be great, one had to accept the lowest position. But all the leaders in the church think that they need to raise themselves higher and higher in order to be great. They want to be like politicians, like the leaders of the Gentiles. So very, very few wish to be like Jesus—to sacrifice themselves totally for the sake of the kingdom of God. They teach, ‘Give yourselves over to God, but not too much—keep something for your own self-preservation.’ That is not the way of my Son. My Son taught, ‘The one who loses his life shall save it to eternal life.’ They want power and glory—but my Son said that those who would come after him would take up the cross of shame and rejection. They do not want the way of Jesus—they want the way of the world.

The Second Disease: Greed
"The second disease is desire for wealth. My Son showed that to have the resources to build the Kingdom is to depend on the Father. But the philosophy of the church is, ‘Let us gather the resources of the world and we will use it for God.’ The Christians of the world are looking to use their money and possessions for themselves first, and perhaps they will give some to their wealthy church. But my Son taught that those who looked to gain the wealth of this age will prove to be those who do not endure to the end. The Christians of this world work their jobs in order to gain money as the source of their livelihood. Yet the Christ taught that one cannot do slave-service to both God and money. They do not want the resources of God—they want the resources of the world.

The Third Disease: Apathy Toward the Needy
"The third disease is apathy to the poor. My Son taught to sell your possessions and give to the poor. But the church thinks nothing of building a three million dollar auditorium, while not even praying for the homeless or the immigrant or the refugee—let alone offering a few some space in the heated auditorium during winter. The church has words of judgement for the poor—‘Why don’t they get a job? Why don’t they do something productive? We want proof that we aren’t being taken advantage of!’ My Son said that the one without sin could be free to cast the first stone. You may speak of the poor ‘misusing’ the few dollars you cast aside to them, once you have recognized that you have misused the thousands I have given you on your own greed. Surrender your wealth to the needy, and judge not. But the church does not want to welcome the people of faith—they want the approval of the world."

The Cure: Repent!
The message to the church is simple: repent. The Lord of the Church says to the Christians of the United States: "Repent of your upward mobility and seek to be downwardly mobile. Take on the lowest positions and use all your resources to do service for the humble. Repent of your greed. Be rid of your possessions and stop seeking for more money. Depend instead on my resources which are greater than you can imagine—or drain. Repent of your apathy. Have compassion for the needy—whoever and wherever they may be—and use your time and resources to give the needy some help. Repent of your adultery! I am jealous and I lust after my own—yet you are seeking the world!

Destruction of the Church
"Should this message of repentance not be heeded, then the church as it currently exists will be destroyed. The leadership will be no more, and it will have to begin again. I have disciplined my church before—causing the destruction of thousands—and I will do it again, if I have to, only millions will be effected. Heed my warning and you shall endure."

This warning was sent in 1996 to James Dobson of Focus on the Family. Dr. Dobson’s letter-readers misunderstood it and then passed on a two-line summary of what they did understand to Dr. Dobson. According to the prophecy, Focus on the Family will itself be destroyed, and James Dobson will be discredited, unless they repent in these areas. It would do them well to pay attention to the word of Jesus.

Is The United States A Christian Nation?

"The Majority of people in the United States are Christian"

In a recent national poll, as many as 90% of the people in the United States consider themselves Christian in some way. A Christian viewpoint certainly dominates the U.S. culture. In broad outlines, most people in the U.S. believe in one God who created the universe and that Jesus died for our sins. Almost everyone has good things to say about Jesus in the U.S., even those who do not claim to be Christians. People desire to be forgiven for their sins and they think that Jesus is ready to help them.

However, most people in the U.S. do not understand what Jesus demands to follow him, let alone follow it. To be a "Christian" may be a good thing, but it is mostly a social title today, having nothing to do with Jesus’ death or teaching. Even the majority of people who go to churches have a false understanding about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Most people will agree that Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life: no one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). But they do not agree with or even understand the following:
If anyone is to enter the kingdom of God, they must obey the teaching of Jesus. (Matthew 7:21-27)

If anyone is to follow Jesus, they must deny themselves and take up their cross. (Mark 8:35)

If anyone wants to gain their life, they must lose it. (Mark 8:36)

Whoever wants Jesus to accept them before the Father, they must accept Jesus before men. (Mark 8:38)

No one can follow Jesus unless they renounce their possessions. (Luke 14:33)
Those who will gain the kingdom of God must be poor, mourning and persecuted. (Luke 6:20-24)

Whoever will be raised from the dead must humble themselves. (Luke 14:11)

These are the demands of faith, and the people of the United States, especially the "Christians", are usually looking for ways to avoid this faith of Jesus, not embrace it.

"The Laws of the United States are based on the Bible"

Some say that the foundation of the law of the United States is based on a British system of law, which is based on the Bible, especially the Ten Commandments. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are based on "Christian" principles. Thus many people think that the laws of the U.S. are fundamentally Christian.

However, the laws of the United States have been drawn up and applied without reference to the teachings of Jesus, which is the basis of the laws of the kingdom of God. Seven of the Ten Commandments are not enforced by the laws of the United States. The makers of the laws of the U.S. are not concerned with the Bible, but with making the society well-running on their own principles, not on the principles of God.

Here are a few examples of where the law of God and of the United States are in opposition:

The law of God insists that idolatry is unacceptable. (Exodus 20:4; II Corinthians 6:16-17)
The law of the United States says that everyone has a right to worship whoever they want.
The law of God insists that those who take God’s name in vain will be punished. (Exodus 20:7; Matthew 12:31)
The law of the United States insists on freedom of speech, without punishment.
The law of God forbids covetousness and greed. (Exodus 20:17; Ephesians 5:3)
The law of the United States encourages corporations that thrive on greed.
The law of God says to teach one’s children about loving God. (Deuteronomy 6:7; Ephesians 6:4)
The law of the United States forbids the public teaching about God.
The law of God teaches to love everyone, even if they harmed you. (Matthew 5:43-44)
The law of the United States insist that the police and the military must harm others, and even encourage them to kill, if the threat seems bad enough.

The laws of the United States are, in many ways, opposed to Scripture, not in agreement with it.
"The United States is a Christian Nation"

The early colonists of the United States were all Christians, many persecuted for their faith. North America has been the site of many major revivals, which caused many towns to turn completely to the Lord. The majority of the leaders of the United States have been Christian, and have written statements that could be called devotional. So many say that the United States is a Christian nation, or that it should be.

However, the United States cannot today be called a Christian nation—nor can any nation on the earth. There is already a Christian nation, called the kingdom of God and Jesus is the king. There can be no other nation with any other system of government with anyone else as leader that could call itself "of Jesus" or "Christian". The kingdom of God already has its people all throughout the world. And though the kingdom does not now have a land that it can call its own, it is very much a living, vibrant nation.

On top of this, the United States is opposed to the kingdom of God in many areas. Following are many areas that the United States and the kingdom of God are diametrically opposed:

The kingdom of God is a distinctly religious kingdom, devoted exclusively to God.

The United States separates any religious practice or belief from the government.

The kingdom of God is a nation in which every member and citizen is devoted exclusively to God through Jesus Christ. (Romans 10:9)

The United States insists that every citizen can worship whatever God they want, or none at all, and hold to any teacher they want. To insist otherwise, it claims, is unethical.

The kingdom of God is a country ruled by an appointed benevolent dictator: Jesus Christ (Romans 1:4)

The United States firmly believes that only a republic where the leader is voted in by the people is a proper government.

The kingdom of God has all of its laws and ethics come from God himself, and all policies are allowed to be determined by local bodies, as long as they do not judge apart from God’s law. (James 2:8-10)

The United States judges according to the laws passed by their legislative body, with no regard to God’s will.

The kingdom of God is empowered by the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17)

The United States is empowered by economic and military strength—namely, the flesh.
The kingdom of God has values such as faith, love, endurance through persecution, following the teaching of Jesus that are requirements to remain in it. (Acts 14:22)

The United States does not promote love, generosity to the poor, devotion to God, faith in Jesus, humility, sound teaching or other values that would cause one to enter the kingdom of heaven.
The kingdom of God insists that one’s security comes from God alone, who sends angels to fight for it. (Matthew 26:52-53)

The United States firmly insists on having the strongest, most superior armed force in the world to promote its own security and its ideals.

The kingdom of God insists that greed must not be found among God’s people. (Ephesians 5:3)
The United States promotes greed, self-gratification and spending beyond one’s need as the backbone of its economy.

The kingdom of God teaches that to hate or destroy one’s enemy is to be unlike God and unworthy to be in God’s kingdom. The kingdom of God claims that God’s way is to do good to one’s enemy and pray for that one. (Luke 6:27-36)

The United States promotes the destruction of their enemies, killing even innocents in the pursuit of their goals of revenge, security and economic stability.

The kingdom of God grants salvation to those who have faith, obedience and love in Jesus Christ. (Galatians 5:5-6)

The United States grants its salvation to those who qualify and have filled out the proper paperwork—whether rich or needy, deserving or swindlers.

The United States, like all other nations, is not any kind of a Christian nation. It is a secular state, based on the principles of the world. It is completely opposed to God’s ways of running his nation.

True and False Christians

The word "Christian" is a combination of a Greek title and a Latin ending which means, "One who is a servant of Christ." This is specifically one who belongs to the household of Jesus, the Christ and Lord, the anointed one of God who was crucified by the ruling governments and was raised by God. More than a billion people in the world today call themselves "Christian", but according to the teaching of Jesus, there are many who call Jesus "Lord", but they are not truly servants of Jesus.

Jesus said, "Not everyone who calls me ‘Lord’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven. Many will call me on that day and say, ‘Lord, Lord did we not prophecy in your name and in your name cast out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘Depart from me, you who did not obey my law, into eternal punishment prepared for the devil and his angels, for I never knew you.’ Again, not everyone who calls me ‘Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven. So why do you call me ‘Lord’ but do not do what I say?" (Matthew 7:21-24; Matthew 25:41; Luke 6:46)

Even so, there are many who call themselves by the name of Jesus today, but they do not do what Jesus says—and many of these do so knowing that Jesus taught against their practices! Thus, the difference between a true Christian and a false one is based on their actions.

Those who claim the name of Jesus but determine to hurt or destroy their enemies are hypocrites. But whoever responds to evil done to them with good is a true follower of Jesus. (Luke 6:27)

Those who claim the name of Jesus and attempt to sell the teaching of Jesus or the promises of God or do miracles for their own profit are hypocrites. But whoever freely gives the teaching and salvation of Jesus to all who would listen is a true follower of Jesus. (Matthew 10:7-8)

Those who claim the name of Jesus and speak evil of the poor and withhold their wealth and resources from the needy are hypocrites. But whoever sells their possessions and gives to the poor liberally is a true follower of Jesus. (Luke 12:33)

Those who claim the name of Jesus and demand repayment of a loan upon threat of consequences are hypocrites. But whoever loans money or possessions and does not expect it back is a true follower of Jesus. (Luke 6:34-35)

Those who claim the name of Jesus and respond in rage and in insults to another’s offense are hypocrites. But whoever attempts to make peace with one who wronged them is a true follower of Jesus. (Matthew 5:21-24; Luke 17:3)

Those who claim the name of Jesus and look longingly at someone of the opposite sex are hypocrites. But whoever keeps their mind pure is a true follower of Jesus. (Matthew 5:8, 28)

Those who claim the name of Jesus and are constantly breaking promises made are hypocrites. But whoever does everything they can to keep their word is a true follower of Jesus. (Matthew 5:37)

Those who claim the name of Jesus and hold to the traditions and rituals of their church with equal status as the teaching of Jesus are hypocrites. But whoever focuses on faith, devotion to God, love of one’s neighbor and obedience to Jesus as the focus of his or her life is a true follower of Jesus. (Mark 7:8-9; Luke 7:44-50)

Those who claim the name of Jesus but despise the lost, lowly or disobedient are hypocrites. But whoever calls sinners to repentance and declares good news to the needy is a true follower of Jesus. (Luke 15:1-10)

Those who claim the name of Jesus and collect many possessions and treasures are hypocrites. But whoever renounces all of his or her possessions is a true follower of Jesus. (Matthew 6:19; Luke 14:33)

Those who claim the name of Jesus and despise others who have wronged them, never forgiving them even though there was a misunderstanding or an apology, are hypocrites. But whoever forgives wrongs done to him or her and accepts apologies and explanations is a true follower of Jesus. (Luke 17:4, Matthew 6:14-15)

Those who claim the name of Jesus and break their covenant of marriage by divorce or sexual relations with another are hypocrites. But whoever remains with their spouse through his or her whole life or who refrains from marriage altogether is a true follower of Jesus. (Matthew 19:3-12)

Those who claim the name of Jesus but deny any of the teaching of Jesus or deny that their disobedience of Jesus is sin are hypocrites. But whoever sins against the teaching of Jesus and confesses his or her sin and repents from it is a true follower of Jesus. (Mark 1:15)

Those who claim the name of Jesus and say that the wealthy, popular and prosperous are the blessed ones of God are hypocrites. But whoever endures suffering, poverty and persecution for the sake of Jesus is a true follower of Jesus. (Luke 6:20-26)

Those who claim the name of Jesus and attempt to create justice through violence, lies or other evil acts are hypocrites. But whoever asks the Father daily for justice is a true follower of Jesus. (Matthew 5:38-42; Luke 18:7)

Those who claim the name of Jesus and attempt to keep people from doing merciful acts on the Sabbath are hypocrites. But whoever grants grace to the poor and needy on the Sabbath is a true follower of Jesus. (Matthew 12:1-8)

Those who claim the name of Jesus but are careless with their words and tear down the righteous with their speech are hypocrites. But whoever speaks with care and gives others peace with their words are true followers of Jesus. (Matthew 12:36; Matthew 5:9)

If you have failed in any of these areas (and we all have), do not despair, but turn to the Lord. Ask forgiveness of your sin and ask that the Holy Spirit might come to you and renew your life in accordance with Jesus’ teaching. True Christians aren’t perfect—but they are repentant and reconciling. Pray for the church—that we might all acknowledge the Lord in word and in action.