Immigration And Biblical Mercy

“. . . the mercy of the wicked is cruel.” Proverbs‬ 12‬:‭10‬

How should Christians think about immigration Biblically? Have you ever helped an immigrant come to or stay in the United States in a legal, God-honoring way? I have twice, and I'd like to briefly share some of what I've learned and some helpful resources on immigration according to God's Word.

We Must Obey God

Doing immigration in a way that honors God and His law, in other words, doing immigration legally, takes time and money. There is a lot of paperwork to fill out, criminal background checks must be done, medical exams must happen, approval of the government must be given, etc. But we, as followers of Christ, must be willing to do this because Jesus is our King! And we are called to obey everything our King has commanded. He has commanded us to submit to and obey all lawful commands of governments in authority over us:

Romans 13:1-7: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Part of that submission and obedience is obedience to immigration laws that have been put in place for the protection and good of the nation.

When I first became a pastor, I found out one of the members of our church was not a legal resident. So what do I do? I have a church member who is disobeying Romans 13:1-7, among many other commands in Scripture to submit to authority. They were disobeying God, yet claiming to be a part of the church of the LORD Jesus Christ, Who has all power and all authority and to Whom we owe supreme allegiance. I was not comfortable with that at all as this person's shepherd who would give an account for their soul on the day of judgment. So we sought avenues for them to become legal. By God's amazing grace, the process for them to become a legal resident began almost immediately. And after many years, God mercifully made provision so that they now have a proper visa to be here legally. This greatly honors the King of kings!

Love And Share The Gospel

Immigration also gives the church a great opportunity to love others and to love others through evangelism (sharing the Gospel with someone is THE GREATEST way you could ever love anyone!). By the mercy and grace of God, I and several others in our church have been able to help immigrants who have come here legally. As Christians, we should view immigration as a wonderful opportunity to love others through evangelism and kindness. God has brought the nations to our doorstep, and we should take advantage of this for the fame of Christ's name.

Living In The United States Is Not Salvation

This paragraph is for Christians who are living in the United States illegally. There is no place in the Bible that teaches: "You must live in the United States to be saved." For Christians who are living in the United States illegally, know this: living here is not what will make you righteous before God. You don't need America. Really, you don't. Certainly, if you came from a place where Christians are persecuted or it is unsafe, you may want to seek to find asylum legally here. But especially for others who simply came here for the comforts and for a better life, you should consider going back to your country of origin for the sake of Him Who gave up everything for you - for the glory of King Jesus. It is quite possible that your country of origin needs a solid Gospel witness a great deal more than the United States. Truly born again Christians will be willing to make any sacrifice Jesus demands. Jesus calls us all to deny ourselves, take up our cross, die to self, and follow Him. And Jesus demands that we obey the laws of the land in which we live. To fully obey Jesus, you should either become a legal citizen if that is possible or leave if you can't get citizenship legally. Leaving the U. S. may require great sacrifice. But this is exactly what Jesus calls us to do if we truly want to follow Him in obedience. You will be rewarded at the resurrection of the just, and then you will truly know that you never really made a sacrifice - because the joy of following Jesus and the eternal rewards are always worth it.

Conclusion

As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we want to show mercy to those in need, but we also want that mercy to be a Biblical, God-honoring, law-abiding mercy that is also merciful to everyone else living in the United States at this time. We must love and show mercy to all of our neighbors: both those who are immigrants, and those neighbors of ours who are already U.S. citizens and/or living in the U.S.

Dr. Albert Mohler rightly says:

Love of neighbor is not helped by just eliminating all borders . . . it just doesn't help the world to say, "All of you are welcome to come." That would lead to a humanitarian disaster larger than anything we could imagine. (Interview with Allie Beth Stuckey, Immigration discussion begins at minute 42)

One recent report about immigration crime statistics in Italy shows:

Migrants make up 8% of the population but commit 28% of murders and attempted murders, 33% of assaults, 41% of rapes, and 49% of burglaries:

About these concerning statistics, Dr. Doug Ponder writes:

. . . the Scriptures are full of wisdom that anticipate the above situation: Israel was commanded to love the foreigner/sojourner as they loved themselves (Lev. 19:34). Jesus of Nazareth also says, "Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets" (Matt. 7:12). However, these [verses] are often taken out of context from the rest of the Scriptures. For it's also true that sojourners/foreigners were required to assimilate to a significant degree, and had to obey Israel's laws if they wanted to remain in their land. This included sabbath laws (Exod. 20:10), purity laws (Lev. 17:15), and even blasphemy laws (Lev. 24:16). Furthermore, the failure of any foreigner/sojourner to abide by these laws as long as they resided in Israel resulted in their exile (Num. 15:30) or death (Lev. 24:16). In other words, if foreigners wanted to live in Israel, they were permitted to do so on this condition: they must assimilate to Israel's ways. For the God of Israel said, "You shall have the same rule for the sojourner and for the native, for I am the Lord your God" (Lev. 24:22). As such, I'm all good with granting refuge to foreigners seeking asylum in America. (Let us be merciful to those who are in genuine need of mercy.) But our nation has a process for that, and it's one that involves laws and some measure of cultural assimilation, just as Israel had thousands of years ago . . . If immigrants want to stay in America, they should come legally, as prospective citizens who intend to assimilate to American culture, at a minimum by obeying American laws on penalty of repatriation [returning to their country of origin] if they do not do so.

Here are some resources that will help you think about immigration in a wise, Biblical way. These teachers actually believe the true Gospel. They know what the genuine mercy of God is all about. They believe and seek to submit to all of God's Word. And they don't cherry pick Bible verses out of context to further their own personal agenda. I hope you find them all helpful.

Resources On Biblical Immigration

1. Dr. Albert Mohler's 29 JAN 2024 The Briefing on Immigration

2. How should Christians think about immigration? by Dr. Albert Mohler

3. Immigration and the Kingdom of God: Biblical Principles to Inform Our Approach and Bring Unity by Dr. Scott Redd

4. The Bible & Immigration with Apologia Studios 

5. Divine Wisdom on Sovereign Borders: A Biblical View of Illegal Immigration by Virgil Walker

6. Dr. Albert Mohler's 16 SEP 2024 The Briefing on Immigration (Begins at minute 21)

7. How Should We Think About Immigration with Josh Buice, Virgil Walker, and Scott Aniol

God And The Gospel

To learn more about the great and true Triune God, the God-Man, Jesus Christ, His cross, and His glorious Gospel message and everlasting Kingship, please watch American Gospel: Christ Alone. You can watch the full documentary here with a free, 3 day trial.