Guarding Scripture In A Heated Debate About Immigration

What happens when politics borrows the language of the pulpit? We open the door on a hard conversation: immigration, slogans that sound compassionate, and the subtle ways the church can trade theological depth for quick applause. Our aim isn’t to inflame, but to shepherd—calling out misused scripture while holding fast to mercy, order, and the lordship of Jesus.

We dig into the claim “Jesus was an immigrant,” exploring why the heart behind it matters and why the history doesn’t fit modern categories. From there, we challenge the assumption that empathy justifies lawlessness, tracing a biblical thread from creation’s order to Israel’s laws to the early church’s discipline. Grace doesn’t dissolve boundaries; it transforms people within them. Along the way, we ask why easy slogans spread faster than truth and how repentance, not affirmation, keeps the gospel alive in our hearts.

Drawing on a Wesleyan lens—Scripture as primary authority, with tradition, reason, and experience in their proper place—we offer a path to love immigrants without twisting texts. We unpack how turning Jesus into a political mascot silences his lordship, and how weaponized compassion, however well-intended, distorts the gospel’s call to holiness. The final charge is simple and demanding: love the stranger, pursue justice, resist cruelty, and refuse to bend Scripture to our instincts. Uncomfortable grace is still grace, and truth spoken in love still stands.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Setting The Ground Rules
• 2:02 Politicians Doing Theology
• 4:47 Why The Church Echoes Slogans
• 6:11 Was Jesus An Immigrant
• 9:13 Order, Mercy, And Law
• 11:20 Hospitality Without Erasing Boundaries
• 12:47 The Cross And Sentimentality
• 15:15 Comfort Versus Faithfulness
• 16:10 A Wesleyan Framework For Discernment
• 17:12 Loving Immigrants Without Twisting Scripture
• 18:22 Final Exhortation: Jesus Is Lord

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:00

Before we begin today's episode, I want to say this clearly. This episode is not a political endorsement, and it's not an attack on any group of people. It's not about who you vote for, and it's not about hardening hearts. It is about theology. It is about how scripture is being used or misused in our conversation. And it is about speaking faithfully as a pastor in a moment where emotions are very high and clarity is low. If you're listening hoping to hear me defend a party or condemn people, you'll be disappointed. If you're listening because you care about truth, compassion, and the lordship of Jesus Christ, then I invite you to stay with me. My aim here is not to inflame, but to shepherd, not to win arguments, but to guard the gospel. Let's begin. It is method. And I believe we are standing in one of those moments right now. I have watched conversations around immigration move quickly from policy debates into theological declarations by both politicians and, I guess you can say, commanders like you and I. And they're not careful about it. It's not careful theology. It's not patient discernment, but confident statements about who Jesus is, what Jesus would support, and what Jesus would condemn, often delivered by people who are not accountable to Scripture, and then echoed by a church that seems relieved not to think about it, not to think too hard about it. That alarms me. Because when the church stops thinking theologically, it doesn't become more compassionate, it becomes more malleable. So let's say something plainly here. And it needs to be said politicians are doing theology right now. They are quoting Jesus, they are invoking Scripture, they are telling us what Christ would approve and what he would reject. That alone should make the church pause. Political speech, I would say, exists to persuade or to mobilize, but definitely to win. Christian proclamation exists to bear witness to the truth, whether it wins or not. When a politician says Jesus would support this, they are not offering biblical exegesis. They are making a theological claim without theological accountability. And Scripture warns us about this exact dynamic. Jeremiah twenty-three, sixteen, the word of God speaks to us like this. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. The danger is not that politicians speak this way. The danger is that the church repeats it uncritically. Why does the church go along with this so easily? Why does the church pick this stuff up so quickly and just agree with it and move on? Well, I believe I have the answer. Could be wrong, willing to debate on this. I think it's because the language sounds loving, because it avoids uh hard moral questions, because it signals virtue. And I think the biggest one, in my opinion, is because it costs us nothing. Listen, but scripture never tells us that faithfulness feels safe. In fact, scripture tells us the opposite, that the church will be tempted to trade truth for comfort, clarity for applause, and obedience for relevance. Paul warned Timothy that a time would come when people would not endure sound teaching, but would gather teachers who say what their itchin' ears want to hear. That's that's a that that that warning wasn't aimed at the world. It was aimed at the church. Now there's a statement that I want to talk about first. Jesus was an immigrant. Why does this sound right? Let me slow down here and be honest about why this phrase I think resonates so deeply. When people say Jesus was an immigrant, they are often trying to protect the vulnerable. They want to remind us that Jesus identified with the poor, the persecuted, and the displaced. That instinct is not evil. But instinct is not theology. Compassion is not the same thing as correctness. And when compassion overrides truth, we end up loving people with a lie. So let's talk about why that statement is false. Jesus' family fled Egypt to escape Herod. That is true. But Egypt and Judea were part of the same Roman imperial system. There were no modern borders, no visas, no illegal or um legal immigration categories. To call Jesus an illegal immigrant is to impose modern modern political language onto an ancient world that did not function that way. That is not biblical interpretation, that is anachronism, and anachronism always distorts scripture. Here's the deeper issue. When we turn Jesus into a symbol for a political cause, we stop listening to him. And that point, and at that point, Jesus is no longer Lord. He is a mascot. And scripture becomes, you can say, something like a mirror instead of a word that judges us. Another claim that keeps circulating is this. Jesus would support lawlessness if it helped people. That claim is never made directly from Scripture. It is assumed. But Scripture does not support it. Paul affirms governing authority in Romans thirteen. Jesus acknowledges civil responsibility when he says, render to Caesar what is Caesar's. Law is not salvific, but chaos is not holy. God is not the author of confusion. Order and mercy are not enemies in Scripture. From Genesis onward, God's mercy operates within structure, if you will. Creation itself is ordered. Israel had laws. The early church had discipline. Grace does not erase boundaries. Grace redeems people within them. When compassion demands disorder, it is no longer biblical compassion. It is sentimentality. What the scripture actually says? What does scripture actually say about the stranger? You can say, yes, scripture commands care for the stranger, but it does so carefully. The sojourner is in Israel and they lived under Israel's laws. They were protected but accountable. They were welcomed without redefining covenant identity. Biblical hospitality does not mean dissolving moral or social order. It means loving faithfully within it. One of the most emotionally charged statements I keep hearing is this one. If Jesus were treated like immigrants today, the world would never have been saved. That sounds profound. It is not the gospel. It is not the gospel. Jesus does not save the world by being mistreated. He saves the world by being obedient, obedient unto death. The cross is not a political tragedy. It is a redemptive sacrifice. When salvation is reduced to empathy alone, the cross loses its power. When theology becomes driven primarily by emotions, repentance disappears. When feelings become theology, repentance disappears. Grace becomes affirmation. Obedience becomes harm. Truth becomes optional. But Jesus never said, feel affirmed and follow me. He said, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. That is not cruelty. That is salvation. So why does bad theology spread so fast? Why does it spread so easily? Here's what I think. And again, I can be wrong. I think it does because it sounds kind. It avoids the confrontation that no one wants to have. It confirms our instincts. And again, other thing the same, it costs us nothing. Truth often spreads slowly because it requires repentance. And the church must decide which it values more, comfort or faithfulness. So let's have a Wesleyan moment. Why not, right? As Methodist, I, we are not slogan people. We use Scripture as primary authority. Tradition guides us, if you will. Reason, um reason guards us. Experience shapes compassion, not to overrule truth. The Wesleyan quadrilateral does not make experience king. John Wesley believed deeply in mercy, but he never separated mercy from holiness. Grace for Wesley always, always, always, always, always transformed lives. Now listen, this is not an anti-immigrant message. Let me be absolutely clear. This episode is not anti-immigrant. It is anti-theological manipulation. You can love immigrants deeply without abusing scripture. You can pursue justice without rewriting the gospel. The church must be able to do both, or it ceases to be the church. When the church echoes political theology, it loses moral authority. When the church echoes political theology, it loses its prophetic voice. We stop proclaiming Christ. We start repeating narratives. And Scripture warns us not to add or subtract from God's word. Weaponized compassion is still distortion. This is not just about immigration policy, mind you. When the church teaches wrongly, in Jesus' name, people form their consciousness on error. Jesus warns that many will say, Lord, Lord. Many will say, Lord, Lord, let that sink in and still be turned away. That warning, that warning is not political. It is eternal. So let me say this personally. I do not speak from superiority. I speak from fear. The right kind of fear. The fear of mishandling scripture. The fear of uh standing before God having softened his word. That fear keeps me awake. And it keeps me honest. Keeps me honest, friends. So let me end here. Jesus is not a mascot. Hear me. Jesus is not a mascot. Not a metaphor. Not a political shield. He is Lord. Jesus is Lord. So may we love the stranger.

SPEAKER_00: 18:45

May we pursue justice.

SPEAKER_01: 18:48

May we resist cruelty.

SPEAKER_00: 18:52

But may we never twist scripture to feel righteous. Listen. Listen. Check this. Uncomfortable grace is still grace.

SPEAKER_01: 19:05

And truth spoken in love. Still stays.

SPEAKER_00: 19:11

And guess what? The best of all is Christ is with us. Grace and peace, friends.