Love the Refugee, Protect the Nation

We are called to be in this world, while recognizing our citizenship is in heaven. We are called to be
compassionate servants of Christ and responsible citizens of our society. In 1st Peter 2, we read:
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,
12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme,
14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.

This world is not our home, and while we are in this world, we are called to invite others to come into a relationship with Jesus so they might join us in our heavenly home.  We are also called to be obedient and respectful, I believe, to our governing authorities, as they carry out the sometimes difficult task of maintaining order.  That tension is playing itself out in our culture today, and I have come to the conclusion that we are to value our responsibility to carry out God's commands while recognizing that civil authorities can help set the table for that; we can be challenged to speak truth in matters of policy while being driven by the Great Commission.

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Two passages of Scripture for you. First of all, from Leviticus 19:
33 'And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him.
34 The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Now, from Romans 13:
3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.
4 For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.

This highlights, I believe, the tension between compassion and security, which as some have pointed out, present the role of the Church and the role of the civic authorities.

As Christians, as evangelicals, there will be issues over which we disagree, and our diversity of opinion should never work to divide the body of Christ.  But, there is an issue that has been at the forefront recently that is concerning to me regarding the Church, its Biblical role to care for those in need, and the government's responsibility to protect our nation.

There has been much said and written about the plight of refugees and the attempt by the Trump administration to prevent people from coming into our country that could do harm to the American people.  The order that the President issued has three components, according to a WORLD Magazine report by Evan Wilt:

The order halts all refugees from coming into the United States for 120 days in order to improve vetting procedures of applicants and restores the Bush-era quota of refugees admitted per year to 50,000. (President Barack Obama increased the quota in his second term.) There is also a 90-day travel ban for people entering the United States from seven Middle Eastern countries fraught with sectarian violence and dysfunctional governments: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Additionally, the order places an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees.

All of these measures, in essence, are temporary.  And, there is, of course, a great compassionate concern over people who are coming out of Syria.  But, I would contend that the procedure needs to be overhauled.  Case in point:

A CNN article states: "According to a report by the non-partisan Pew Research Center, however, 99% of the nearly 12,600 Syrians granted refugee status last year were Muslims. Less than 1% were Christian. Syria's population is 87% Muslim and 10% Christian, according to the CIA World Fact Book."

The article quotes Trump from his interview with CBN: "If you were a Muslim you could come in, but if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible and the reason that was so unfair -- everybody was persecuted, in all fairness -- but they were chopping off the heads of everybody but more so the Christians. And I thought it was very, very unfair. So we are going to help them."

There are church leaders who have spoken into this debate, according to the WORLD story, including the head of the Southern Baptist policy arm, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Russell Moore, who sent an open letter to Trump, published in the Washington Post, which said:

“We are deeply concerned that the order will cause widespread diplomatic fallout with the Muslim world, putting Southern Baptists serving in these countries in grave danger and preventing them from serving refugees and others who are in need of humanitarian assistance and the love of the gospel...”

Evan Wilt of WORLD went on to say:

Retired Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, who now serves as the Family Research Council’s executive vice president, told me he appreciated Moore’s heart but disagreed.

Boykin said Christians need to help those persecuted abroad, but it’s crucial to defend Americans first: “We are outside Biblical teaching if we fail to protect our own families.”

First Baptist Dallas pastor Robert Jeffress, in addressing those that have characterized the order as fostering discrimination, said, according to a Baptist Press article, that:

...churches and individual Christians are commanded in Scripture "to minister to those in need." Yet "those who label President Trump's new immigration policy as 'unchristian' and 'discriminatory' fail to understand the God-given role of government" to protect citizens.

Now, about that figure that's floating around about the chances of being killed by a refugee on American soil.  The CNN piece quoted from the Cato Institute's Alex Nowrasteh: "The chance of being murdered in a terrorist attack committed by an asylum-seeker was one in 2.73 billion a year," adding, "The chance of being murdered in a terrorist attack committed by a refugee is one in 3.64 billion a year."

That's just simply not the point.  ISIS has already stated its intent to infiltrate the refugee population. And, while the Federal district court judge contended no refugees had committed an act of terror in the U.S., a recently released report now says that, according to the Washington Times:

At least 72 convicted terrorists came from the seven countries President Trump targeted in his extreme vetting executive order, according to a new report this weekend that directly undercut part of the courts’ rulings halting the program.

Seventeen of those entered the U.S. under the refugee program that Mr. Trump has said is of special concern to him, according to the data compiled by the Senate Judiciary Committee and analyzed by the Center for Immigration Studies.

So, where do we go from here?  The debate is raging in the Christian community, and I think we do well to examine facts and not respond with emotion.  I like the reasoned approach by people such as Ronnie Floyd, former SBC President, who wrote in a blog post:

There are three practical realities that are inescapable. It is imperative we understand these or we will get lost in the complexity of the issues. Consider these three realities:

Love the Refugee

The Gospel of Jesus Christ moves me to call on all of us to demonstrate compassionate action toward the refugee. We need to honor and respect them individually for their God-given dignity. However, their long-term future in our nation is a political issue, not a spiritual one.

Fix the Immigration System

In prior writings about these issues, I have mentioned that negligent leadership and political polarization has now resulted in this American crisis. Our immigration system is not working. Otherwise, we would not be where we are today.

Immigration is a political issue and it needs to be addressed by our nation seriously and immediately. Therefore, this is not in the hands of the Church, but in the hands of our elected leadership. Justice and fairness in relationship to the law must be considered along with compassion and mercy toward all persons.

Pray Diligently

We must pray for our nation and for our leaders to come together and resolve this issue, both short-term and long-term. The lives of people are at stake. The security of our nation is at stake.

Floyd quotes a Southern Baptist Convention resolution passed in 2016, while he still presided over the Convention as its President:

...Please notice one line in this resolution that realized the biblical responsibility of government: “RESOLVED, That we call on the governing authorities to implement the strictest security measures possible in the refugee screening and selection process, guarding against anyone intent on doing harm;”

This line was included in the resolution because as followers of Christ, we must understand the tension that occurs because our government has a responsibility it is mandated to fulfill.

Jerry Johnson, President of National Religious Broadcasters, of which Faith Radio is a member, tweeted out those same words from the resolution, and he also shared this tweet: "Christians and churches must minister in love to refugees. Government must vet and limit immigration to protect citizens. Both are needed."

We also have to make sure that we are understanding the role of government and the role of the church.  That is a point Franklin Graham has made.  While government can and should create the climate for compassion to flow, we also recognize its responsibility for national security.

We also have to be discerning - there will be manipulated protests, and it seems there are those that would manufacture large crowds for the purpose of protest.  And, I am sure that we will see more - but protests are not necessarily representative of public opinion and we have to make sure we are discerning to develop a Biblical mindset based on facts, not emotion.

And, remember, generally speaking, just because a position is being taken that is being billed as the "faith" or "Christian" position doesn't necessarily mean it lines up with Scripture.  I will always encourage you to search the Scriptures, seek the Spirit, and allow Him to direct your paths.  And, show grace toward those that may not have come to your conclusion.