2nd Opinion: Immigration & evangelism

Posted: 7/20/07

2nd Opinion: Immigration & evangelism

By Juan Castro

As a pastor of a Hispanic church, it always has confounded me how so many Christians can reject undocumented Latinos in this country.

I realize there is a great deal of discussion about legality and illegality. Nevertheless, as Christians, we should seek what the Bible has to say about immigration.

What would Jesus do with illegal immigrants? Would Jesus worry about the legal status of an individual, or would he first focus on their evident spiritual need and hunger? Is the Bible in favor or against illegal immigration? Unfortunately, the answers to these questions have been clouded by controversy within the church body.

Some will quote passages of the Bible, such as, “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities,” (Titus 3:1) or 1 Peter 2:13, “Submit yourself to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake.” Many Christians use passages like these to indicate biblical support for ousting illegal immigrants.

Are these Bible passages absolute teachings against any condition, or are they subject to divine and evangelistic principles? For example, we all know of Christians who are residing in “forbidden” countries where Christianity is not accepted. Part of our church offering goes to missionaries who are imbedded in foreign countries where Christianity is illegal. Are Christians sharing the gospel in these countries breaking the law? Yes, they are. They are not respecting the laws of those countries that forbid the teachings of Jesus. This evangelistic undertaking in countries where Christianity is banned indicates we believe evangelism supersedes the government regulation against Christianity in those countries. Most of us pray continuously for these “illegal” missionaries.

We have a large group of immigrants who do not attend a Christian church. We have a great opportunity and responsibility to share the gospel of salvation with these illegal immigrants. God has sent them to our backyard so they may hear of the gospel that gives eternal life.

The Bible is clear in its support of aiding those “strangers in a strange land.” In several passages, God tells Christians what our behavior should be regarding foreigners. We should listen to the command issued in Leviticus 19:34, “The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself.” We read in the Old Testament that this was a law established by God in the context of his newly freed nation of Israel. Therefore, do God’s laws not supersede countries’ laws? Other passages such as Exodus 22:21, Leviticus 25:35, Numbers 35:15, Jeremiah 7:6 and Matthew 25:35 reiterate this command God gives us to show kindness to aliens. God does not make a distinction between illegal or legal immigrants.

Following the teachings of Jesus and the law established in Leviticus, we must love the immigrants just as we love ourselves. According to Matthew 25:38-40, Jesus teaches that when we open our home to an immigrant, we are doing it for him as well. He does indeed make a clear distinction between those with an open heart for the suffering stranger and those who would persecute them.

These passages are laws intended to be sealed in the hearts of God’s children. God assumed people could go from country to country without having to have special permission to live in those countries.

We should recall that Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus had to flee from the persecution of King Herod. The angel of God did not tell Joseph to go and get a visa to be able to enter Egypt, because it would be wrong to not do so. Jesus himself was preaching in different regions of Palestine in which he, as a Jew, was not welcomed to go.

A few days ago, I received e-mail from a person whom I consider to be a Christian, asking me how I would deal with an illegal immigrant. My answer was that as a Christian, it is not up to me to concern myself with an individual’s immigration status, but rather concern myself with their spiritual and eternal status. The Apostle Paul reminds us that we, ourselves, are strangers and pilgrims in this land, “But our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20).

Juan Castro is pastor of Vida Abundante in Longview and professor of finance and international business at LeTourneau University in Longview.