My earthly loyalty is to the United States of America. And as long as that does not conflict with my ultimate loyalty to Jesus Christ, then I will support America. This is part of the Christian tradition’s teaching on the ordo amoris, cited recently by Vice President JD Vance. There is an order of love that starts with one’s own family, and it prioritizes one’s nation before that of other nations. This is part of how Christians fulfill our Lord’s teaching to “love your neighbor” (Matthew 22:39).

On June 15, Christian author Owen Strachan tweeted, “As an evangelical Christian, I stand with Israel without shame or apology.” This is, of course, an expression of support for the nation of Israel in its current conflict with Iran. Since Strachan tied his support of Israel to his identity as an “evangelical Christian,” he apparently sees a theological connection between Christianity and support for Israel (though he did not explain his reasoning here).

I quoted Strachan’s statement with my own tweet, which read, “As an American Christian, I stand with America.”

I intended this statement to distance myself from support for Israel. But I did not mean that I support Iran. Rather, I meant that I do not desire to publicly stand for a foreign nation, and I do not want my home nation getting involved in unnecessary international conflicts.

I especially do not want Americans fighting in more wars.

As a Presbyterian minister, I affirm a doctrine known as the spirituality of the church. This means that the church’s mission is primarily spiritual. It follows that the church as an institution should not make political statements, except on occasions when the church is asked by the civil magistrate or when the church petitions the magistrate in extraordinary cases (see Westminster Confession of Faith 31.4).

I also seek to avoid preaching politics from the pulpit, unless by that we mean preaching Christian duties relating to the civil government. Though I am a minister (serving in the Presbyterian Church in America), I speak to this issue as a citizen and not from my office as a pastor.

However, my theological knowledge informs my opinion on this matter, and I hope it is helpful for guiding other Christians.

Israel and the Bible

There are two theological issues that arise from the question of support for the nation of Israel. The first is the relationship of Israel to the Bible.

Since I hold to Reformed theology, I understand the church to be “the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16). It is not that the church replaced Israel, but that the church is the new Israel. Those who believe in Jesus Christ are the true spiritual sons of Abraham.

As the apostle Paul wrote, “If you are of Christ, then you are the seed of Abraham, heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29, my translation). As such, Christians inherit all the promises made to Abraham in the Old Testament.

Jews who have rejected Christ have been cut off from the covenant with God, and Gentiles (non-Jews) who have believed in Christ have been “grafted in” to God’s “olive tree,” which is His covenant (Romans 11:17). There is debate even among Reformed Christians as to the future of the Jews (Romans 11:25-26).

Read More