Columnist Esther Cepeda has raised the question, “What Would Jesus Do About Immigration Issues?” In her article, Ms. Cepeda and journalist Michael Gerson seem to feel that the Bible teaches only the “welcome” aspect of migration. That it calls for porous if not open borders. Anything other than this is “hypocrisy” and “inhumane.” Those who disagree are in “far-right, anti-immigrant camps.”
We agree with their sensibility of kindness. But let the Bible speak for itself. Because in it, God has a great deal to say about wise immigration and citizenship. We will also speak from data and personal experience.
Kelly reflects, “As a missionary in Guatemala, Peru and El Salvador, I wondered about the need for borders. Years later, curious about the many well-funded faith groups for open borders and amnesty, I began to study the Bible on this question.”
Where Can We Learn What Jesus Wants? The Bible
Jesus can be hard to predict, and full of surprises. Still, Jesus taught and lived perfect obedience to the Word of God, the Bible, so let’s start there.
In Scripture, we see that Jesus loves us all. His followers know that our truest “citizenship” is with Christ, in heaven. And yet, here we are, for a while, on this curious blue planet. From Genesis 1 on, we’re taught to nurture the garden of culture. Culture-shaping requires work, wisdom and vision.
Because Jesus loves all people, and wants all nations to thrive, we believe that he would do each of nine important things.
1. Stand and Lead
Jesus wouldn’t teach people to run from their homelands. He would empower them to stand their ground, to lead, and to overcome challenges with creative love. He wouldn’t want the strong to abandon and break up their families. Jesus wouldn’t send people to any “savior” nation. He is the savior and his gospel is for the flourishing of every person, and every nation.
Kelly notes: “I love Central America and worked among the very poor as a missionary with widows and orphans. When sons leave, they make their families and villages more vulnerable to danger. When children leave, they are too often abused and trafficked. What if we and they put creative effort, wisdom and the curious money behind ‘caravans,’ into the protection and growth of their local villages and cities? I suspect that’s what Jesus would do.”
2. Clean Up Crime
Because He loves people, Jesus would oppose the crime and corruption that harms them. He would “clean the temple” and heal cities and nations so people would be free to stay at home. He surely wouldn’t empty whole towns of dads and leave the children fatherless.
Jesus would teach us to be adults who effectively deal with bullies. He does not cower to human traffickers, or radicals seeking to “fundamentally transform” nations wherever “progressive” money flows.
Because of open borders and legal loopholes:
Jesus loves Americans, just as he loves all people. He wouldn’t tolerate much less enable those who destroy lives. Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy, but I have come that you would have life to the fullest.” He loves us.
3. Affirm Compassion and Fairness
Jesus would likely laud America as the most generous nation on earth, welcoming a million legal immigrants per year. But many applying legally are left outside waiting because of illegal entries and spiking asylum claims. Letting those who broke the rules leapfrog over them is simply and frankly unjust.
4. Take the Whole Counsel of Scripture
Jesus would not cherry-pick Bible verses as the Pharisees did. He would reason from the whole counsel of Scripture which is the highest love for human beings, and highest good for cultures. And the Bible does not teach open borders, but wise welcome.
The Evangelical Immigration Table (EIT) is funded by pro-abortion National Immigration Forum (NIF) of Soros’s Open Society, Ford and Rockefeller foundations. The EIT helped lead the fight for the Schumer-Rubio Bill amnesty efforts. It did so with a partial verse from Matthew 25, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Here, Jesus judges us by how we treated the hungry, the prisoner and “these brothers of mine.” It is a powerful passage not to be taken lightly.
Given the realities of a fallen world, we are to build in the ruins and work for peace, human flourishing, and the glory of God. This effort means building doors and bridges. That can also include strong borders and the rule of law that yields peace.
But Jesus wasn’t a spin-doctor. He didn’t think in slogans, or little snippets of scripture. He knew and came to fulfill the whole of His father’s law. That means we must read His words in their entire biblical context. Kelly tries to do that in the e-book Wise Welcome, free for download at AmericanEvangelicals.com.) In it we find three crucial, scriptural guidestones on understanding the morals of migration.
We agree with their sensibility of kindness. But let the Bible speak for itself. Because in it, God has a great deal to say about wise immigration and citizenship. We will also speak from data and personal experience.
Kelly reflects, “As a missionary in Guatemala, Peru and El Salvador, I wondered about the need for borders. Years later, curious about the many well-funded faith groups for open borders and amnesty, I began to study the Bible on this question.”
Where Can We Learn What Jesus Wants? The Bible
Jesus can be hard to predict, and full of surprises. Still, Jesus taught and lived perfect obedience to the Word of God, the Bible, so let’s start there.
In Scripture, we see that Jesus loves us all. His followers know that our truest “citizenship” is with Christ, in heaven. And yet, here we are, for a while, on this curious blue planet. From Genesis 1 on, we’re taught to nurture the garden of culture. Culture-shaping requires work, wisdom and vision.
Because Jesus loves all people, and wants all nations to thrive, we believe that he would do each of nine important things.
1. Stand and Lead
Jesus wouldn’t teach people to run from their homelands. He would empower them to stand their ground, to lead, and to overcome challenges with creative love. He wouldn’t want the strong to abandon and break up their families. Jesus wouldn’t send people to any “savior” nation. He is the savior and his gospel is for the flourishing of every person, and every nation.
Kelly notes: “I love Central America and worked among the very poor as a missionary with widows and orphans. When sons leave, they make their families and villages more vulnerable to danger. When children leave, they are too often abused and trafficked. What if we and they put creative effort, wisdom and the curious money behind ‘caravans,’ into the protection and growth of their local villages and cities? I suspect that’s what Jesus would do.”
2. Clean Up Crime
Because He loves people, Jesus would oppose the crime and corruption that harms them. He would “clean the temple” and heal cities and nations so people would be free to stay at home. He surely wouldn’t empty whole towns of dads and leave the children fatherless.
Jesus would teach us to be adults who effectively deal with bullies. He does not cower to human traffickers, or radicals seeking to “fundamentally transform” nations wherever “progressive” money flows.
Because of open borders and legal loopholes:
- 94% of heroin in the U.S. comes through the southern border.
- 70,000 Americans have died from drug overdoses in 2018 (Laura Ingraham interview of U.S. Col. Douglas MacGregor, May 11, 2019).
- Many jihadis and MS-13 gang members are embedded in our cities.
- 42.4 percent of kidnapping convictions.
- 31.5 percent of drug convictions.
- 22.9 percent of money laundering convictions.
- 13.4 percent of administration of justice offenses (e.g. witness tampering, obstruction, and contempt). And
- 17.8 percent of economic crimes (e.g. larceny, embezzlement, and fraud);
Jesus loves Americans, just as he loves all people. He wouldn’t tolerate much less enable those who destroy lives. Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy, but I have come that you would have life to the fullest.” He loves us.
3. Affirm Compassion and Fairness
Jesus would likely laud America as the most generous nation on earth, welcoming a million legal immigrants per year. But many applying legally are left outside waiting because of illegal entries and spiking asylum claims. Letting those who broke the rules leapfrog over them is simply and frankly unjust.
4. Take the Whole Counsel of Scripture
Jesus would not cherry-pick Bible verses as the Pharisees did. He would reason from the whole counsel of Scripture which is the highest love for human beings, and highest good for cultures. And the Bible does not teach open borders, but wise welcome.
The Evangelical Immigration Table (EIT) is funded by pro-abortion National Immigration Forum (NIF) of Soros’s Open Society, Ford and Rockefeller foundations. The EIT helped lead the fight for the Schumer-Rubio Bill amnesty efforts. It did so with a partial verse from Matthew 25, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Here, Jesus judges us by how we treated the hungry, the prisoner and “these brothers of mine.” It is a powerful passage not to be taken lightly.
Given the realities of a fallen world, we are to build in the ruins and work for peace, human flourishing, and the glory of God. This effort means building doors and bridges. That can also include strong borders and the rule of law that yields peace.
But Jesus wasn’t a spin-doctor. He didn’t think in slogans, or little snippets of scripture. He knew and came to fulfill the whole of His father’s law. That means we must read His words in their entire biblical context. Kelly tries to do that in the e-book Wise Welcome, free for download at AmericanEvangelicals.com.) In it we find three crucial, scriptural guidestones on understanding the morals of migration.