AAE produces 29-page study book by Kelly Monroe Kullberg and Dr. James K. Hoffmeier, Emeritus Professor of Old Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

What does the Bible say about immigration? More than the simple messages of the pop theologians of Big Evangelicalism (Big Eva for short) like Russell Moore. We’ve pointed out how it is false to claim Jesus was a “so-called illegal immigrant,” and is an exploitation of biblical and historical illiteracy in the church. There are countless other examples. But now, there is a way to combat misinformation with a great resource from the American Association of Evangelicals.

Wise Welcome: A Bible Study on Immigration is available free from the AAE. Please get it. Read it and share it with other conservative Christians. It will answer questions and guide evangelicals through the issues of national sovereignty, borders and immigration.

Political issues are often complicated balancing acts. That’s true of immigration. The Bible offers important guidance on these issues. Guidance that is timeless if applied correctly, but could be disastrous if applied incorrectly.

What do I mean by that? Context. And isolation.

As Dr. Hoffmeier writes about context, “Reading Scripture, especially the Old Testament, in its original social and cultural context is imperative. Applying these principles outside of that context, such as in contemporary Western nations, can be problematic. The laws that governed ancient Israel from Exodus 20 through the book of Deuteronomy were part of God’s covenant demands on His people, the Israelites. The laws were both civil and religious, with no bifurcation between then. There was no ‘separation of church and state.’ Hence the biblical law as originally given was not intended for America nor any other country.”

This is an important point. Much of the Old Testament was written specifically for Israel. One must find the deeper theological principles at work in the Old Testament and not random proof texts for a public policy. Hoffmeier and Kullberg do a good job highlighting the various legal issues regarding immigration in the Old Testament and how the Hebrew language contained various categories for immigrants (both lawful and unlawful.) Which leads to the next issue, isolation.

Dr. Hoffmeier and Kullberg counsel the entire Bible must be read and applied, not isolated texts.

They write, “There is no need to drive a wedge between the New Testament’s teaching about being compassionate to people and the state’s responsibility to enforce its laws and provide for its citizens. Clearly what we need is a fair and balanced treatment of all relevant biblical material to examine how it addresses these issues and to see what wisdom it might offer us for both national immigration law and federal policy (150-152).”

Notice the page numbers in parenthesis after the writing. They’ve included handy page references to Hoffmeier’s magisterial work: The Immigration Crisis: Immigrants, Aliens & the Bible.

If you care about the issue and want a deeper study, read the short study and this longer work.

Want to keep abreast of important issues for evangelicals? Here are three recommend sources: Listen to Janet Mefferd on American Family Radio. Listen to and read Todd Starnes of Fox News Radio. Then join the Facebook group for the American Association of Evangelicals. It has over 46,000 members and is rapidly growing. It will be an important refuge for information as we enter the 2020 election season—a time when Christians will be battered by false news and ad hominem attacks from those determined to suppress Christian voter turnout.

So much of what is happening today in Big Eva is an attack on core Christian principles. Some of this is an exploitation of our lack of knowledge. Russell Moore could never get away with an out-right lie about Jesus (calling him an illegal immigrant) were we not so removed from ancient history. Such rhetoric is manipulative and false. It is why we as conservative Christians must arm ourselves.

How do we arm ourselves? By reading and understanding God’s Word.

This study from Kullberg and Hoffmeier can help you. It is free. It is worth your time. It will prepare you to defend your positions if challenged by progressives. Please take the time to download it today.

One thought on “What Every Christian Ought to Know About the Bible and Immigration”

  1. From The Elder

    Man cannot keep Two Covenant’s or one part of the old another part of the New.
    under the all Christian all New Covenant each saved person would hurt when other hurt, this was also when their homes were taken from them, and when other nations were on the move, we who are saved must take in all who need help if we are Christian, but it will show when we are not.

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