“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” – Lord Acton
When Christians take power into their own hands, terrible things are done in the name of God. Shameful deeds of persecution, torture and killing. History has demonstrated that nothing is as dangerous as the joining of church and state.
The Evangelicals rail against the Catholic Church for the abuses of the Middle Ages. They would never do what they did. And yet, what do you think Christian Nationalism is?
Dangers of Christian Nationalism
Jesus said:
“My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here” (John 18:36).
When Church and State join forces, you know that bad things are about to happen. This is not theory, this is history. When the Roman Empire made Catholic Christianity the religion of the state, soon after the persecutions followed.
Power is Poison
When Jesus was offered by the devil “all the Kingdoms of the world,” he refused (Matt 4:8-9). Now the Church in the United States is being made the same offer. Unfortunately, it is bowing the knee to glory and power to a kingdom that belongs to this world.
Jesus said, “My kingdom does not belong to this world.” Then why do some Christian want to create a kingdom on earth? This is against the wishes of Christ. And so we now have Christians who are willing to “fight” and kill for God.
The Ruler of this World
The sad part is that as they pursue Christian Nationalism, they fail to realize that they are joining up with the “ruler of this world.” And do you know who that is? The devil (John 16:11; 12:31; 14:30; 2 Cor 4:4). That is why 1 John 5:19 says that “the whole world lies under the power of the evil one.”
The most dangerous people in Jesus’ day were the religious leaders. Not much has changed in 2,000 years. What starts out as a good intention ends up becoming s a hideous catastrophe. Only pride blinds us to this temptation.