Demolishing the Traditions of American Christianity: Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21-35

Matthew 6:12

A very important element of God's forgiveness is our forgiveness of others. In Matthew 18:21, Peter asks Jesus, "How often will my brother sin against me, and how often will [should] I forgive him? Until seven times?"

Jesus answered, "Not until seven times, but until seventy times seven times."

I have heard many, many sermons and commentary on this passage, and they all agree that Jesus is saying that the passage is speaking about God's forgiveness, and that the "seventy times seven" is not literal, but that His forgiveness is infinite. They say that we can sin over and over again - an infinite number of times - and God will continue to forgive us.

But what does the passage say? 

Peter's question to Jesus was not, "How often will God forgive me of my sins", but,

"How often will my brother sin against me, and how often will [should] I forgive him? Until seven times?"

The passage is not about how frequently God will forgive us of our sins , but about the fact that our brothers in Christ frequently sin against us, and therefore God requires us to forgive them every time they do.

If God requires His people to forgive "until seventy times seven times", obviously God's forgiveness is just as abundant, if not more so. He would not require His people to do something that He Himself does not do. So, God's abundant forgiveness is definitely an implied truth that can be drawn out of the passage. 

But what I find curious is that most of the sermons that I have ever heard preached on this passage are not about what the passage says, but are about God's infinite, unconditional forgiveness. They are not about God's people frequently sinning against one another or about God's requirement of His followers to forgive one other, or about the consequences if they don't. 

Why is that?

There are *many reasons, a few which I have listed at the end of article. But another important question to ask is, if the passage is not taught as it reads, is what we have been taught about God's forgiveness being unconditionally infinite true? 

Based on the parable that Jesus shares after Peter asks his question, our forgiveness is conditional (Matthew 18:22-35). 

Jesus started by saying, "Because of this the kingdom of heaven was likened to a man: a king who wished to settle accounts with his bondservants".

The parable is about the kingdom of heaven, therefore Jesus is addressing the parable to those who are of the kingdom of heaven. In the parable, He mentions a king and some bondservants. Jesus is the King of the kingdom of heaven and His followers are the bondservants.

In the parable, a man who owes a massive debt is brought before the king to repay it. The man did not have anything to repay him with, so he fell down before the king and began pleading with him to have patience with him and promised that he will repay the debt.The king had compassion on him, and forgave him the debt.

Afterwards, that same man went to one of his fellow bondservants who owed a debt to him, and began choking him and demanding that he repay him. The fellow bondservant fell down before the man and pleaded with the man to have patience with him and promised that he will repay the debt. But the man did not want to be patient or forgiving, so he had the man cast into prison. 

Other fellow bondservants witnessed this and went and told their lord, the king, what had happened. 

The lord called the man before him and said, "Evil bondservant, I forgave you all your debt because you pleaded with me, therefore shouldn't you have done the same thing to your fellow bondservant?"

The man made his lord angry, so he gave him to the torturers until he should repay everything that he owed him. 

Jesus concluded the parable by saying, "So my heavenly Father will also be doing to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother their trespass from your hearts."

Jesus made it clear that our debt will not be forgiven if we do not forgive the debt of those who owe us - if we do not forgive those who have sinned against us.

In fact, if we don't do it, God will be angry with us and will require us to repay everything that we owe Him, which is impossible, so He will give us over to "the torturers" until we repay Him in that way.

To me, truths like this are very important for followers of Jesus to know and understand so that we don't make the mistake of thinking that God has no expectations of His people, or conditions for them to live by, or that they are free and clear to live however they like because they have "accepted Jesus into our heart", and therefore they are saved. Make no mistake, God is absolutely not okay with or accepting of sin.

Yet I have never heard truths like this taught. What is taught is actually the opposite of what Jesus is saying. What is taught is that God's forgiveness is infinite and unconditional. However, to reiterate, what Jesus said is that our forgiveness is conditioned on our forgiveness of others. If we do not forgive others, He will not forgive us, and He will make us repay our debt through the torturers, whatever that means. 

Though unconditional love and salvation sounds good to us all, and is very pleasing and comforting, it is not what the Bible teaches. God has expectations for how His people are to live and behave, and if they don't, then they will not enter the kingdom of God. God is explicitly clear about that.

He likens His relationship with the church to a marriage covenant. Everyone will agree that a marriage covenant is not unconditional. In a marriage covenant, the condition is that the two parties remain faithful to each other and keep their vows to one another for their entire lifetime.

In a marriage covenant, a husband is not required by God to stay with His wife if she abandons him by committing adultery, and vice versa. He has the right to divorce her (separate from her) because she was unfaithful to him.

In God's sight, the marriage covenant is more than just two people deciding to live together and have a family together. It is a bond - a joining of two people - that can only be broken by adultery which is unfaithfulness.

If a marriage partner divorces the other for any other reason, they are still married in God's sight, therefore if the partner who divorces remarries, they are committing adultery. 

The same conditions God has placed on the marriage covenant also applies to the covenant He made with His people. 

If God has placed conditions on a marriage covenant between people, then why is it so widely believed that He has not placed any conditions on the marriage covenant He made with His people? Why is that difficult for people to accept?

In my opinion it is not safe for us to believe that God has no conditions or requirements to live by, as we see in the parable. The consequences are severe.

The condition that God has for His marriage covenant with His people is this:

We are to live according to the ways He has instructed, remaining faithful to Him until we die or until Christ returns. 

If we choose to not live according to His ways that He instructs us to live by, then we are not being faithful to Him or following Jesus, and therefore we are not a Christian, and therefore we will not inherit the present or future kingdom of God. It is as plain and simple as that. 

And the condition God has placed on our forgiveness is whether or not we forgive those who sin against us. 

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*A few of my speculations for why Matthew 18:21-35 are taught as being God's unconditionally infinite forgiveness of our sins, rather than what the passage teaches are:

1. It is both pleasing to us and comforting to believe that God will continuously forgive us with no strings attached. The "free gift of salvation" is commonly taught, implying that God requires nothing from us.

2. It is used as a sales tactic in modern Christianity to get unbelievers to purchase Jesus, because who doesn't want to believe in a God who unconditionally forgives our every sin? It implies that we can continue to sin, and God is okay with it - there is no change or repentance required. You can have your cake and eat it too.

3. There is not careful consideration of what the passage actually says, but there is continuous parroting of what is passed down through the generations by tradition, seminaries, pastors and celebrity Christians, who form our beliefs more than the Holy Spirit does. If we hear a respected person in leadership say something, and hear many leaders echoing the same thing, then we are apt to believe that it is true.

4. For many it is difficult to believe that there would be an "evil bondservant" within God's kingdom or that Jesus would turn him over to "the torturers" because of his evil. However, it is evident that the evil bondservant in the story was described as "evil" because he was mistreating a fellow bondservant, and therefore he was not truly following the ways of the King. He must have been at one time because he was in the kingdom of God, but apparently he backslid and no longer conducted himself as a subject of the King. 

5. Many do not believe that Jesus requires anything from them, or that He would give one of His own over to the torturers for their "evil", because that is not within the character of the meek, all loving, all forgiving, grace filled Jesus that we have been taught about. 

 

6. The framework of Modern American Christianity is structured around the benefits that we receive from God, such as forgiveness, eternal life, blessings, crowns, etc, rather than just simply having Christ alone. Because of this, the message of most modern teachings and Christian songs are about the things that God will do for us, rather than about what we must do for God. 

Demolishing the Traditions of American Christianity: The Devil

Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.

And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”

Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”

And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

Luke 4:1‭-‬13 

"If you are the Son of God..."

The devil was trying to make Jesus question if He actually was the Son of God. 

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Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 

And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish."

Was the devil lying about having authority over the kingdoms of the earth, or was he telling the truth?

Jesus did not argue that the devil had the authority that he claimed. His rebuke to the devil was in regards to worshiping anyone other than God. 

We read in the Gospels that Jesus was healing and delivering people who were demon possessed, sick, had diseases, deaf, mute, blind, lame, etc. This indicates that the devil had some kind of authority.

We may not attribute some of these things as being from the devil or demonic, however we would be wrong to think that because we know from Job's story of affliction that God suggested to Satan that he test Job and then granted him permission to do so. 

[On a side note, in today's modern age, even Christians look to science and medicine for healing, oftentimes before we look to God. We should always seek God first, but also there are times when we should be seeking spiritual healing and deliverance rather than that which comes through science and medicine.]

Satan took away many of Job's possessions, killed his servants and his children, and then covered his body in boils. Satan's purpose was to get Job to curse God. However, God put him up to it. God was testing Job to see if he would curse Him when bad things happened. He was testing Job's faithfulness. 

Satan is subject to God, therefore he cannot do anything without God's consent, but God does grant Satan authority to do things for His purposes. 

Satan is the Adversary, the Tempter, the Tester (1 Peter 5:8, 1 Thes. 3:5, James 1:3). God created Satan to test man's faithfulness to God by tempting him through his own desires - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). God directs Satan when and whom he shall test. 

The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. God did not protect Jesus from the devil's temptations, but rather He led Jesus there so that He would be tempted. 

The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested by Satan in order to determine if Jesus was going to remain faithful to God throughout His mission. God tested Him prior to Jesus going public in His ministry. 

The devil tempted Jesus by the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. 

Jesus endured the temptation and therefore was approved and received the crown of life (James 1:12). He carried out His purpose here on earth without having any sin.

James the brother of Jesus wrote quite a bit about remaining faithful to God throughout trials. He said that whoever endures temptations will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him (James 1:12). I do not think he's talking about receiving a literal crown, but receiving eternal life.

The promise of eternal life is made only to those who love Jesus. If a Christian does not remain faithful to God when going through a trial, he may fall away from God by a hardened heart, and his love for God may grow cold. If he no longer loves God, he will not receive eternal life. This is the devil's purpose. 

James described the progression of sin and how it can lead to death:

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

James 1:14‭-‬16 

The devil's purpose is to tempt man to be unfaithful to God. That is why he comes to steal, and to kill, and to destroy (John 10:10). God does not tempt man (James 1:13), but He needs to test man's faithfulness to Him because only faithful men and women who endure trials are going to be saved and reign with Christ (Matthew 10:10, 24:13; 2 Timothy 2:12). Therefore He created a being whom He can use specifically for that purpose.  

Adam and Eve were given authority over Eden (Genesis 2:15) but their faithfulness needed to be tested. Satan embodied a creature which God created, and he went to them.

Adam and Eve had no reason for not trusting the snake. God had previously brought all of the animals to Adam so that he could name them, so he was already familiar with all of the animals, including the snake. There was no death, shedding of blood, or eating of flesh, therefore the animals did not kill, so they had no fear of the animals. There was no good or evil in the garden, and Adam and Eve did not know good or evil.

God tested their faithfulness by sending Satan to tempt them through one of the creatures He created and they trusted. They failed the test, therefore God exiled them from the Garden of Eden so that they could not access the Tree of Life. They eventually died and returned to the ground from which they were made. 

If they remained faithful to God, they would have continued to have authority over Eden. I think it is a good possibility that God would have given them authority over all the earth as well as the crown of life because he who is faithful with little will be faithful with much (Luke 16:10).

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We also see that the devil was working through the Jews and their religion at the time of Christ.

In John 8, Jesus said to some Jews that if they abide in His word, they are truly His disciples, and that they would know the truth and the truth would set them free.

Their response was that they were Abraham’s descendants and have never been in bondage to anyone. They must have forgotten that many of Abraham's descendants were in bondage to Assyria and Babylon after Israel was conquered by them because of God's judgment against them at the end of the period of the kings, but that is besides the point. 

Jesus did not remind them of that, but responded that anyone who commits a sin is a slave to sin, and that a slave to sin does not abide in His house forever, but a child of God does abide forever. "If the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed." Here, Jesus was mildly implying that they were in bondage to sin and therefore they do not abide in His house nor are they children of God. But now Jesus pours out some hard truth to them.

He said to the Jews, “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.” 

They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father.” 

Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.”

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”

John 8:37‭-‬47 

After some further discourse, the Jews prove Jesus's accusations of being the children of the devil by attempting to stone Him to death. Just as Jesus said a little while later, "the thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy (John 10:10). 

The Jews not only rejected Jesus as being the Son of God and the Christ, which is by the way the definition of "antichrist" (1 John 2:22, 23), but they sought and conspired to kill Him, and eventually succeeded. They did the deeds of their father the devil (John 8:41). 

Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8; Hebrews 2:14), so the Jews fiercely opposed Him because He challenged their religion and their beliefs about God. 

God did not intend to start a religion or have a religious people. Israel was supposed to be a kingdom of people who were set apart for Himself and who worshiped Him alone. The laws were given to them to follow as the laws of His kingdom, similar to how we have cultural laws. But God's laws for Israel were intended to be different from the laws of the surrounding nations, in order for the surrounding nations to know that Israel was set apart from the other nations because they belong to God. 

The sacrifices were required so that they could be forgiven of their sins so they could continue to be in fellowship with God. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22), and God does not fellowship with unrepentant sinners (1 John1:6).

Judaism was developed by the Jews and contained many laws and requirements that were not given by God, and therefore it was a legalistic religion. It was not at all what God intended, so Jesus challenged it and was met with resistance that led to them killing Him. 

Judaism is the same today, except that it does not include sacrifice for sins because the temple was destroyed in AD 70. So for over 2,000 years, Jews who practice Judaism have not shed blood for the forgiveness of their sins. 

However, that is a good thing because God does not want them to make sacrifices for their sins anymore. That is why He destroyed the temple by the hand of Rome in AD 70. He gave His only Son Jesus as the once for all sacrifice of sin, doing away with the old covenant sacrificial system. Jesus's blood is the seal of God's new covenant with His people, so there is no longer a need for man to make sacrifices for his sins.

For man to continue to make sacrifices to God after He sacrificed His Son for this purpose would be an abomination to Him. However the Jews want to rebuild the temple so they can reinstitute the sacricial system, and many, many Christians support them in their efforts. 

Many Jews today practice Judaism and continue to reject Jesus as the Messiah and as the Son of God. They are still waiting for their Messiah to come. Judaism is an antichrist religion, just as Islam and Hinduism are. It is antichrist because it denies that Jesus is the Son of God and the Christ. 

Jews continue to persecute Christians today, steal land from Palestinians and kill them, continuing to do their father the devil's work, just like they did when Jesus was here.

I wonder how God feels about His people supporting a people and their agenda - a people who rejects His Son - when He Himself has rejected them and took the kingdom of God from them because they broke their covenant with Him (Jeremiah 3:6-8; Jeremiah 31:31-32; Matthew 21:31-32; Matthew 21:43; Matthew 22:8; Hebrews 8:9)?

I wonder how God feels about His people supporting a people who rejects His Son and whom He has rejected, and who persecutes their own brothers and sisters who are in Christ?

I can only imagine that it is an abomination to Him and that it grieves Him deeply. 

The Spirit said, "Do not be deceived", yet many, many good, well intentioned Christians have been deceived by an unbiblical doctrine of a false teacher of the 1800's - a doctrine that requires these things to happen. This doctrine was not taught by the church prior to the 1800's, nor is it taught outside of the United States, except when Christians of other nations have been influenced by American Christians. 

This doctrine places Israel at the center of the end times instead of Christ. The focus of God's people and the end times should be on Jesus, not on Israel.

If you want to focus on Israel, then learn the truth about Israel and how Christians in nations outside of the United States, including Palestine, interpret the Scriptures and view them. To learn the truth, I suggest looking to news outlets and churches outside of the United States who are not caught up in the propaganda or have an agenda. The true Israel is very different than the "innocent" Israel we hear about in the American news.

This doctrine also teaches that 1/3 of the Jewish people whom Christians wish to support will be gathered back to their land and then be annihilated before Christ returns. Would the God of the Bible gather all of His people back to their land only to have 1/3 of them killed? Many Christians believe so, and support it.

This is not a Biblical doctrine, but a deception of the Adversary. It is an unbiblical doctrine of demons. The God of the Bible does not condone His children to persecute, kill or steal, nor does He plan to have 1/3 of the Jews killed. Only the devil and his children do those things. 

God loves the Jewish people and wishes to see them repent and believe in Jesus so that they can live for and be with Him for eternity. 

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The devil has sinned from the beginning and whoever sins is of the devil (1 John 3:8; John 8:44). He has always been working to destroy man's faith which produces efforts to seek first the kingdom of God. 

But Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). Speaking about His death, Jesus said, "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out" (John 12:31).

The judgment of the world is God's judgment of the society which is ruled by the devil, who is the ruler of this world. Jesus said that the devil will be cast out. 

Cast out of where? Revelation 12:9 says that Satan and his angels were cast out of heaven to the earth when they lost the war in heaven between Michael and his angels (Revelation 12:7-12).

Though many Christians attribute this as a future event, Jesus said in John 12:31 that these things were taking place "now", meaning at His death and resurrection. 

At the cross, there was a great spiritual war taking place behind the scenes between God's angels and the devil. The angels prevailed and the devil was cast out of heaven and down to the earth. 

I understand this to mean that the devil can no longer go before God in heaven, as we see him do in Job, but he has been exiled to the earth, where he continues his work to destroy man through deception. 

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The Binding of Satan 

When Jesus came, the Jews said that Jesus was casting out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of demons.

But Jesus responded, 

“How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house" - Mark 3:23‭-‬27.

Jesus is basically saying that their idea doesn't make any sense, because Satan's house would not stand if He was casting out demons by the power of a demon, because it would be divided. 

Jesus then said that no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house. 

Jesus is saying to them, that He had bound Satan (the strong man) so that He could enter his house to plunder it. He plundered Satan's house by casting out demons, healing, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom. Many of the people He cast demons out of, healed, and heard the gospel, were taken from Satan's house and entered the kingdom of God. 

Jesus did not mean that He physically bound Satan with a chain, as is symbolically described in Revelation 20:1-3, but that He limited his activity on the earth. 

Prior to Jesus coming, Satan had a free for all, but at some point when Jesus came, He limited his activity so that He could set people free from the bondage of Satan. 

This is just speculation, but I wonder if Jesus bound Satan when the angels came to tend to Jesus after He was tempted (Matthew 4:11), because in Revelation 20:1, John wrote that he saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand, which was used to bind Satan. Just a thought. 

So, I believe the progression of events looks like this:

• Prior to Jesus coming, Satan had free reign. He was the ruler of the world. 

• Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. He bound Satan so that He could cast out demons and free people from the bondage of Satan. 

• When Jesus was at the cross, there was a spiritual war taking place behind the scenes, and Satan was cast out of heaven and down to the earth. He could no longer come and go between heaven and earth as he pleased. He resides on the earth for the purpose of deceiving man to keep him from knowing God and eternal life through Christ. 

• At some point, Satan will be loosed from bondage for a little while, so that he can continue in his deception of the nations. But fire from God will reign down on him and he will be thrown in the lake of fire, where he will be tormented forever and ever. 

• Because of God's sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Satan has no power or authority because death has been defeated. 

Demolishing the Traditions of American Christianity - Nationalism

Sometimes correction is necessary to  get things back on track. Correction is good and helpful, so long as the intended audience has ears to hear and a teachable spirit. There is much needed correction for the church. If it doesn't have those two things, then it will be not be prepared when persecution and tribulations come, and many will fall away from God.

The thought of this is greatly concerning, so I pray that whoever reads this will have ears to hear and a teachable spirit. 

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As we approach Independence Day, as an American citizen, I'm in deep gratitude for living in the most privileged nation in the world. I love seeing the flags, the parades, the barbecues, and the long weekends. I will gladly take a free day off work any day. Not to mention Independence Day is at my favorite time of year. 

At the same time, as a follower of Jesus, I'm in deep sorrow for the poor spiritual condition of the American church who prioritizes its freedoms and the United States above the priorities of God and His kingdom.  

Reading the Bible the other day, it occurred to me that there is no example in the Bible of Jesus or the apostles ever praying for Jerusalem or the land of Israel, despite the fact that they were under the government authority of the brutal Roman Empire. Of all places on earth, it seems like Jesus and His apostles would have prayed for these places. Not only did they live and conduct ministry there, facing restrictions and persecution from both Jews and Rome, but because Judea was the land where God’s people resided, and Jerusalem was the city where God’s temple was located, and therefore the Jews believed that it was the city of God.

The closest resemblance of prayer for Jerusalem that comes to mind, is when Jesus said,

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”

Matthew 23:37‭-‬39 

Jesus is not praying for Jerusalem to be protected from the wickedness of the Roman government or a secular culture, but He is expressing His sorrow regarding His people Israel's rejection of Him and God's soon to be departure from Jerusalem and Israel when the temple will be destroyed in AD 70.

Jesus's concern was not that the secular government was governing in secular ways, or that secular people were practicing secular ways of living, but that His people had turned away from God. 

Jesus's concern for them stemmed from the fact that He had come for the "lost sheep of Israel." He came to call them one last time to repentance and to belief because the kingdom of God was near (Mark 1:14, Matthew 4:17, Matthew 21:37).

Though Jesus did not instruct His disciples to pray for their nation, He did provide several things for His disciples to pray for.

Jesus modeled a prayer to His disciples in which He instructed them to request from God, "Your kingdom come." This prayer was for the purpose of asking God for His kingdom to come, not their earthly kingdom.

Jesus also instructed His disciples to love and pray for their enemies. He said, 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

Matthew 5:43‭-‬48 

Another prayer instructed by Jesus:

Jesus also said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Matthew 9:37‭-‬38 

Contrast Jesus's instruction for prayer with Christianity today, in which much of it includes warring against the secular culture, involvement with politics, and support of military & law enforcement agents, politicians, and government personnel.

It doesn't seem like there's much love for our enemies, and I don't know how much prayer for them, for God's kingdom, or for laborers of the harvest actually takes place. I do know that when Christians do gather corporately for prayer at a typical prayer gathering, prayers for our nation and government leadership are lifted up more often than prayers for any of the things that Jesus instructed His disciples to pray for. 

It is interesting to me that the American church has one day every year set aside to pray for the nation, called the National Day of Prayer. The U.S. Congress proclaimed a joint resolution for a National Day of Prayer in 1952, which President Harry Truman proclaimed to be observed annually, that same year. Since then, all across the nation, the church hosts annual National Day of Prayer events in which many Christians participate.

What many  Christians may not know is that the joint resolution for the National Day of Prayer is not only intended for Christianity, but for all faiths and religions. The point is, the National Day of Prayer is not a day set aside exclusively for Christians, but for all religions. Therefore it is not as special of a day for Christians as many may think, because implementing this day of prayer does not indicate that the nation favors Christianity over other faith groups, but includes all of them. The United States Constitution requires freedom of religion for all faiths. The United States was never intended by its founders to be exclusively Christian, and the National Day of Prayer is a good example of that fact. 

However, the church celebrates the fact that the government HAS authorized this special day and participates annually BECAUSE the government has authorized it.

It seems that the church thinks they could not set aside a day or time themselves to pray for the nation, but that they need authorization from the government to do so. It seems that the American church has the American government as its head, instead of Christ. 

In addition to the National Day of Prayer, the church has adopted national holidays such as Independence Day, Memorial Day and Veterans Day as days to celebrate the nation's freedom and to honor men and women who have fought wars for the United States. 

The thing that bothers me the most about this is that the global church organizes various days each year to pray for persecuted Christians, unreached peoples, and laborers of the harvest - kingdom of God things - yet very few Christians and churches participate. 

Basically, the church participates in prayer for things which Jesus never instructed them to pray for, while neglecting to pray for the things which He did. This is an indication of where the church's heart is at and who its head is.

I'm not saying that Christians shouldn't pray for the country, but if you are going to pray for the country, then pray even more so for the Kingdom of God!

Somehow nationalism became intertwined with Christianity. I don't know how this happened, but factors such as belief that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, and support of Christian morals and beliefs from members of the U.S. government, have contributed tremendously.

So called Christian leaders and then Christians throughout the U.S. (myself included) rallied in support of President Trump in 2016, despite the fact that he is not a Christian or a man of high moral integrity or ethical standards. Even though President Trump is not a Christian, he did many things during his time as President that Christians support, including fighting for the thing that American Christians hold dearest: their freedoms.

Because of President Trump's conservative views, many Christians throughout the country seemed to view him as the savior of the United States, and engaged in the attacks against Him, oftentimes by attacking those who attacked him. Trump's presidency seemed to provoke many Christians to vehemently get involved in the war for their nation and their freedom. 

I'll occasionally listen to the Christian radio station when I go to Traverse City, and there is no doubt in my mind that loss of freedoms is the highest concern for American Christians. All throughout the day, the primary topic of Christian radio programs, next to topics about family, pertains to national politics and fighting for American freedoms. The "ministries" of the men and women who host these programs are political in nature and are geared towards fighting against "the Left" because of their threat to take away our freedoms.

Conservative Christians have aligned themselves with conservative politicians because conservatives are fighting for freedom and they oftentimes support Christian morals and ethics. It seems as if many conservative Christians equate conservatism with Christianity. Conservatism may be equated to modern day American Christianity, but neither conservativism nor American Christianity are the same thing as following Jesus or Biblical Christianity. 

All of these things mentioned above are connected with one another and are included in what modern American Christianity has become. The problem is that none of it is Biblical. None of it has anything to do with following Jesus or building God's kingdom. It has everything to do with America and fighting to keep our freedom. This is not Christianity but nationalism, and the American church is investing all of its time and efforts to it.

The problem that I see with this is that Christians are fighting the wrong war. They are not fighting for the souls of man, but for the earthly kingdom of America and for their own freedoms. Furthermore, the freedoms that they are concerned about losing are not being used for God's kingdom, thereby making it a personal concern that they have for themselves. What I mean is, they are not concerned about losing their freedom because they will no longer be able to freely share the gospel, but because they will be instructed by the government what they can and cannot do.

American Christians have all the freedom in the world to share the gospel, but they don't do it! But when they are told by the government that they have to bake a cake for a gay marriage, they get angry and fight against it. The concern is not Christ focused, but self focused. They don't want to be told what they can and cannot do. Maybe if they are told that they cannot share the gospel, they will do it !

In nations where people have no rights or freedoms, such as Iran, North Korea, and China, the good news of Jesus is being shared and God's kingdom is growing quickly and tremendously. Christians in these nations are concerned for their country, yet their focus and efforts are not on the nation, but on God and His kingdom. 

Contrast them with the United States, the freest nation in the world, where Christianity is dying and people having no belief in a higher power is increasing, and where Christians focus on their nation and freedom rather than on God and His kingdom. 

The United States is a secular nation and its governing authorities are going to run it as such. It is not the Christian's job to fight the wars of the nation or to fight against the government. God requires His people to do righteousness and justice, and to fight the war for God's kingdom by making disciples of all nations. 

Godless people are going to do Godless things. Because they are Godless, they do not know God's way of life, nor do they care. They will have Pride Month, kill babies, produce pornograhy, and traffic boys and girls. And the United States government will support and take part in all of it. 

The church's job is to pray about these things, to do righteousness and justice regarding these issues, and to make disciples of the people involved. The church is its own entity separate from the United States and its government so it should not rely or depend on the government for legislating laws or for any reason for that matter, because Christ is the head of the church, not the government. He is the one who has all authority in heaven and on earth. 

The church should support politicians and government leaders who are seeking righteousness and justice in the nation, but the church's dependence cannot be on politicians or the government, but only on God. The church is required by God to do righteousness and justice regardless of whether or not the nation does it.

When the nation does not practice righteousness and justice, and threatens our freedoms, the church needs to remain focused on doing righteousness and justice, rather than getting involved with fighting against the government and fighting for their freedom. If we lose our freedom, who cares? If we truly trust God then we must trust that it is His will, we must know that Jesus has all authority and we must understand that it is our duty to follow Him regardless of the outcome.

People whose kingdom is of this world can fight for their earthly nations, but the church needs to pray for and begin putting all their efforts towards God's kingdom, not the kingdom of America. 

Christians are unique in that they are subjects of both the heavenly kingdom and an earthly nation. Because they are God’s children, they are naturally concerned when evil begins to corrupt the nation they live in, especially when its citizens vote for government leaders who legislate laws that starkly contrast God and His values. 

A Christian citizen of the United States is rightly concerned about the nation when bad things are happening. A concerned citizen can get involved as a civilian, but being concerned about the nation is not an identifying factor of being a Christian. Concern for the nation and following Jesus are two different things. Defending the nation is not listed among the things that Christ commanded His disciples to do, but "Seek first the kingdom of God" is.

I said that a concerned citizen can get involved as a civilian, but the Bible says,

"No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier."

II Timothy 2:4 

If the church is engaged in the spiritual warfare of man's soul, then it will not be entangled with the affairs of this life. It will be too focused on the war at hand to be concerned about earthly things. 

But obviously when it seems like evil is triumphing over good, it is natural for Christians to want to fight to keep God and His values within the nation and world, with hopes to prevail over evil. 

Therefore Christians get involved in politics and government in order to attempt to maintain God's righteousness and justice.

This is not a bad thing. After all, God expects His people to be a people of righteousness and justice. We cannot just sit back and allow evil to have its way.

Therefore, if a Christian does get involved in politics, then this must be his motivation and he must remain focused on it. Politics and government are corrupt regardless of the party, therefore the Christian needs to remain faithful and pure, keeping his focus and goals on God and His kingdom. He cannot allow the nation to come before God and His kingdom, or His motivation to be for his own personal benefit or agenda. His purpose and motivation must always, always, always be to glorify God and to overcome evil with good through righteousness and justice for Christ and for God's kingdom. 

But even if the nation succumbs to evil and falls, the Christian should not be too concerned because his ultimate citizenship is in heaven. 

The Biblical model by Jesus and the apostles was preaching the good news, healing, and setting people free from demonic possession and sin, in a less than ideal culture, where they were persecuted by Jews and then later Rome. Most of them were killed for Christ.

We see no where in the Bible where Jesus or the apostles were concerned for the sins or the fall of their nation. In fact the nation in which they lived did fall when it was conquered by another nation, and neither of those nations exist today.

We should know by Constantine's Rome that a "Christian" nation does not work, nor is it what God intends for the kingdoms of the earth. His will is that the gospel of the kingdom would be preached in all the world, and that those who receive Him will enter into God's kingdom. 

There is no promise that the United States or the American Constitution are going to last forever. In fact we know that they won't. Only God's eternal word and kingdom will endure forever. On the new earth, there will be only one nation and kingdom under God, comprised entirely of God's children. That is the nation that I want to encourage Christians to fight for. 

Jesus's sentiments concerning Jerusalem could be applied to the American church. In a sense, it kills and stones the prophets by ignoring them when they call for repentance and its return to God. He wants to gather them together and turn to Him, but they are not willing for many reasons, including the fact that they are too preoccupied with their earthly kingdom and the things of this world.

God wants the church to turn to Him and He wants to gather them together to labor for His kingdom  - "Your kingdom come, your will be done..."