Beth Moore and Christian Nationalism
There has been a lot of stir recently about comments Beth Moore made regarding mixing Christianity with Nationalism. She took a lot of heat for calling out this mixture. She said it was dangerous and then further explained that the singular essential allegiance for Christians should be Jesus and not a political party or either of our most recent presidential candidates.
For a believer with a “kingdom of God first world-view’ (Mat 6:33) those sentiments seem obvious enough. I understood her statements to be a warning that anything that we exalt above Jesus is an idol, including our president and our president-elect.
“We do not worship flesh and blood. We do not place our faith in mortals. We are the church of the living God.” - Beth Moore
Surprisingly many believers took issue with what she said – many resorting to vitriolic name-calling, cursing her profusely, and even questioning her salvation.
I’m grieved, beloved.
I’m stunned that simple truths like what she declared are being seen as somehow un-Christian. When I see vitriolic responses to simple biblical ideas, it lets me know something bigger is going on. When I see the Bride of Christ operating in arrogance, name-calling, anger, and cruelty of this sort, it let’s me know that we are out of step with Jesus and honestly in serious trouble.
We must humble ourselves and turn to the Lord right now.
Over the last month, I have been focused on the passage from 2 Chronicles 7:13-14. This scripture offers the church a prescription for revival. The phrase that has continuously stuck out to me is “IF MY PEOPLE”. This verse isn’t geared toward the lost, it is pointed directly at the people of God. The prescription is for the people of God to humble ourselves and take responsibility for the judgments on the land, specifically drought, locusts, and pestilence. All of these have manifested on the earth this year in an amplified way. In light of this the church is to take action with the following measures:
Humility
Prayer
Seeking God’s Face
Turning from Wickedness
When the people of God do these things God promises to hear our prayers, forgive our sins, and heal our land. The humility, prayer, and repentance of the church sets in motion spiritual forces from heaven to make the wrong things right in the earth. The responsibility doesn’t lie with the lost to get right, it is incumbent upon the people of God to humble ourselves, pray, and repent.
Could it be that the revival we have long desired is delayed because we have yet to follow God’s prescription?
Let’s focus for a moment on the first and most important part of this prescription - humility.
Though I post content to social media, I admittedly don’t spend a lot of time perusing many posts. When I do, however, I often see a stark lack of humility among believers. This should not be! This should not be the testimony of the Church right now. We must be a people deeply marked by deep humility and repentant introspection rather than pointing our collective finger at the sins of those outside the church. We should be looking at ourselves and repenting for our own arrogance and insolence instead of looking at others. This kind of humility will ultimately lead us to pray and pray with desperation.
Last week I had an inner vision. I saw myself scraping the bottom of a pot with no more food to give and a line of people still needing to be fed. The Lord spoke to me, “The only way you can believe that I’m the only answer is to realize you don’t have the answer.” I’m cut deeply by the revelation of my own inadequacy contrasted with the greatness of God’s ability. The problem isn’t on His side… it’s on mine.
It's obvious that we as a nation, and specifically the church in America, desperately need more of God’s glory. Just as in the vision, could our belief in our own ability be leaving us scraping the bottom of the pot without the grace to answer the needs of our nation in this hour?
I’m freshly humbling myself and asking for more revelation of my utter dependence and trusting Him to be all that He is to bring all that is needed in my life and in this nation.
Beloved, I’m asking us to humble ourselves before the Lord right now. Rather than assessing what is wrong with someone else, will you openly and honestly ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you any wicked ways in your own heart and with vigilance turn from them and turn to the Lord? If your allegiance to Jesus is somehow mixed with your allegiance to American politics would you ask the Lord to forgive you. In humility I’m asking you to consider your ways before the Lord and throw yourself on His mercy. We need revival, beloved, and the responsibility lies with us. Please turn to Him with all your heart.
In my next blog I’m going to expound on what the Bible says about patriotism, referencing notes I wrote nearly five years ago, that warn of the poison of “Christo-Nationalism.