A Lie Told in School
The Pledge of Allegiance was mandatory when I was in elementary school. We started each day reciting the song, and much of it is still engrained into my head. One line stands out in particular in our modern age, “One nation, under God.” With the rise of secularism, the killing of the unborn, and the destruction of the traditional family the idea that America is a nation under God is absurd. However, was this idea of being under God any less absurd when I sang the Pledge as a child? The answer is no. It was absurd then, and it is absurd now.
In the end, it was a lie. Though American colonists were Christian by 1776 the majority of the founding fathers were diest at best. There may have been Christian values or morals in the beginning but there was nothing permanently binding with them. More than that though, America could never be the nation under God, because God already had one.
God’s Chosen Nation
Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing
Genesis 12:1-2
We see in Genesis 12 that God has chosen who his people will be. He has chosen Abram, later Abraham, to make into a great nation under him. In Genesis 17 God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham. The sign of the covenant was circumcision, and those in the covenant are in the nation under God.
By reading the Old Testament we see that this nation is the nation of Israel. Before we get onto the pro-Israel ban wagon there is more to the story. In Romans 9 we get interesting insight from Paul. He says that not all who descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham just because they are his descendants. What does this mean? Galatians 3:7 helps clarify,
Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham
Galations 3:7
This means that it is not the nation of Israel as we know it that is part of the covenant of God. Instead, God’s chosen people and his nation are those who have faith in him. All who believe, no matter what their nationality is part of God’s nation. The true Israel, the Israel of faith, is the church.
Fellow Citizens
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
Ephesians 2:19
The implications of this truth are far-reaching. Each Christian becomes a fellow citizen in God’s kingdom. This citizenship should be primary, and our nationality, race, and politics become secondary issues. By Christ and his cross, we have become one people, one nation under God. By his blood he tore down all dividing walls. The Gospel becomes the ultimate message of reconciliation as we become reconciled to God and we are made one with one another.
When we recognize our oneness with each other we will be driven to live out our common citizenship by loving one another, as Christ loved us. We will see each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. This is what the church should be. And this is what the Bible is calling us to.