Is It Wrong?

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Lately I have heard so many people speaking about how nationalism is wrong. But what I am finding is that when people believe that nationalism is wrong, they are only speaking about the United States of America. Our Country isn’t perfect but we do want to protect what we have within their own borders that we currently hold. Personally speaking, I don’t mind in the least the ideology of nationalism. Nationalism simply means the following: 1) spirit or aspirations common to the whole of a nation; 2) devotion and loyalty to one’s own country; patriotism; 3) excessive patriotism; chauvinism; 4) the desire for national advancement or political independence; 5) the policy or doctrine of asserting the interests of one’s own nation viewed as separate from the interests of other nations or the common interests of all nations; 6) an idiom or trait peculiar to a nation; and, finally, 7) a movement as in the arts, based upon the folk idioms, history, aspirations, etc., of a nation.* As you can read, there are various definitions for the idea of nationalism, but the median definition is simply a devotion and loyalty to one’s own nation or patriotism. That’s a simple way of looking at nationalism, but it is an accurate way of looking at the subject at hand. And notice something about the definitions: color of skin is not associated with any of the definitions. It’s just simply people who love their nation.

However, in the economy of our time here in the United States, nationalism is being attacked from what appears to be every side of every argument. And the resulting effects of these attacks is a confusion and an infighting among fellow citizens of the same Country. On the one side you have those who say that we should not have nationalism because it is a “white” thing and on the other side those who say that we should have nationalism for the purpose of securing our nation. I stand on the latter side of things. It’s not anymore a “white” thing as it is a “black” thing or “brown” thing or a “yellow” thing–or any other type of thing! It is a simple love for the Nation where we live and reside, the place that we call “home.” However, the very foundation of our republic has been eroding for generations. In fact, all you have to do is look at the history of this great nation and you will see just how far we have come from its founding: a nationalistic people who wanted their own place to live in freedom for the purpose of having freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom from the rule of a tyrant king.

Now I know there will be people who disagree with the simplicity of my statements in this article. That’s fine with me. I can get along with anyone as long as there is no belligerent bloviation from anyone. I get to bloviate because I pay to have this blog as simple as it may be and as partial as it may be. I have a constitutional right to my opinion just as those who disagree with me, and I’m alright with someone agreeing or disagreeing with me. It really doesn’t matter to me when it comes to things like this post. What I find most disingenuous, however, is when someone makes the claim that it is nationalism that is causing the problems in our great nation. It is not the ideology of nationalism that is the problem, but it is the infighting of one group against another without any kind of debate, without any sense of respect for the other person with whom you are discussing ideas or with whom you disagree. In today’s society, if you disagree with anyone, it seems that people think they have the right to shut you down after sharing your opinion. The open market, as it were, has closed! There is only room for one opinion and only one opinion: nationalism is wrong!

Well, I disagree. Nationalism in and of itself is not by necessity a bad thing. It is evident that nationalism is alive and well in all people groups here in the United States along with every other nation around the world. Just go to an international soccer game and you’ll hear people from all walks of life chanting, “USA! USA! USA!” Or you’ll hear people chanting, “Brazil! Brazil! Brazil!” That’s nationalism. Or just go to your local citywide events like concerts or block parties, and you’ll see nationalism being played out in the lives of people as they enjoy the freedom we all have to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. That’s nationalism. Stand at the exit doors of an international airport when our military troops come back home and people are thanking our brave men and women for all that they do to help keep our families and freedoms safe. That’s nationalism. When you thank a cop for protecting you in the restaurant while you’re eating with your family, you’re expressing your nationalism.

I know that not everyone supports this President or that President, but the reality is that they are our Presidents for a time. We may not like what they say or do and we certainly may not agree with their policies, but that doesn’t mean that we ought to be fighting each other over their mistakes or good fortunes. That goes along with our Congress as well. I certainly don’t agree with every policy, every law, every regulation, and every politician, but that doesn’t mean that I am all of a sudden going to stop being patriotic–or as some would say, nationalistic. Rather, I’m going to do my part to bring peace to a hurting Nation to the best of my ability in the area where I live. I am going to be an active part of my community and try my best to bring reconciliation to the racial divide. I’m going to do my part in helping those in need and those who are broken and destitute to the best of my ability. I’m going to do my part to bring true justice reform to our Nation if at all possible. I’m going to do my best to help the unwed mothers and the orphaned children. I’m going to do my best to support those who are dong something about these and other issues in our great Nation. But I will not lose sight of the great nation which affords me the opportunity to do these things. And by the way, I may even say or write things where I express my dislike of a policy or even of a person’s actions, but that doesn’t mean that I am unpatriotic. It simply means that I disagree with their stance or their unethical ways; certainly there’s nothing wrong with this freedom of speech either.

I was born in the United States of America. In the countries which I have been privileged to travel, I can say unequivocally that I would rather live right here than anywhere else in the world. I have freedoms that others in foreign nations do not have. This is why so many are trying to cross our borders. I only wish they would come legally even though I understand that we have a broken system right now. But that doesn’t dismiss the current laws that we have. And from my understanding, if you break a law, you’re liable to have to pay the consequences of breaking those laws which means those who are entering illegally should also be held to account for the same thing!

Do we have a perfect nation? By no means! But we have a free nation for now. And by the way, why do so many people attack those who love this nation? If you go anywhere else in the world there are nationalists just the same. Have you ever met someone from Germany? They love Germany. Anyone from Israel? They love Israel. Anyone from Africa? They love Africa. Anyone from the Philippines? They love the Philippines. Anyone from Bermuda? They love Bermuda. Anyone from Japan? They love Japan. Anyone from France? They love France. Anyone from Italy? They love Italy. In other words, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with nationalism–even if you’re from the United States of America. We ought to love the Country where we live. We ought to support the Country where we live, even if we don’t agree with everything that’s going on within her borders. We ought to seek reconciliation among the racial divide instead of declaring the talking points of any political party. We need to seek to help others to the best of our ability with the resources which we have been entrusted with by God Almighty. But it doesn’t mean that we are in the wrong just because we love our Country.

As with every President that I have ever heard give a speech or the speeches that I have read, I say, “May God bless you! And may God bless the United States of America!”

* From https://www.dictionary.com/browse/nationalism, accessed August 3, 2019.
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Romans 1:1-7 – Author, Purpose, Recipients

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The views expressed in this article are mine. Not everyone will agree with its content and I am alright with that. 

Romans 1:1-7

1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, 4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; 7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Author

It is denied by almost no one that Paul the apostle is the author of the letter to the Romans in the New Testament. From the onset, Paul identifies himself in three ways. First, Paul identifies himself as a bond-servant of Christ Jesus. This view of himself comes from an Old Testament motif of a slave who in love binds himself to his master for life. It comes from Exodus 21:2-6 which says, 2 “If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment. 3 If he comes alone, he shall go out alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out alone. 5 But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.” Paul, therefore, has indicated in this very first description of himself that he has sold himself out completely for his Master, Christ Jesus. He is bound to Him and desires to be with Him permanently.

In modern day, we really do not understand this motif as well as people would in Paul’s day. The word used in the Greek language is doulos which means slave or servant. But this word is translated by the New Testament writers (such as Paul) to mean bond-servant. Few today truly understand the force of this Biblical idea of selling oneself to serve another permanently for life. Moreover, this does not connote a sense of drudgery but rather honor and privilege. In Paul’s estimation, it is an honor and privilege to serve Christ Jesus in the way that he is.

Various verses in the Old Testament reflect this idea of being a bond-servant:

  • Israel is called a bond-servant in Isaiah 43:10 – “You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me.”
  • Moses is called a bond-servant in Joshua 14:7 – “I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought word back to him as it was in my heart.”
  • David is called a bond-servant in Psalm 89:3, 4 – 3 “I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to David My servant, 4 I will establish your seed forever and build up your throne to all generations.” Selah.
  • Elijah is called a bond-servant in 2 Kings 10:10 – “Know then that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for the LORD has done what He spoke through His servant Elijah.”

Paul identifies himself as a bond-servant of Christ Jesus.

Second, Paul identifies himself as one called as an apostle. To be called denotes someone whose participation or presence has been officially requested by one who has the authority to summons; especially a request to which refusal is not an option. In other word, when the Lord Jesus Christ stopped Saul on the road to Damascus (cf. Acts 9) and summoned Paul to do the work of His ministry, there was not an option for refusal to this call. Rather, Paul is called as an apostle, that is, as an envoy of Jesus Christ who commissioned him directly to serve Him. Paul is therefore a spokesman for Jesus Christ and has been invested with the authority to speak on His behalf. He is Christ Jesus’ ambassador (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:10-21).

Paul identifies himself as one called as an apostle.

Third, Paul identifies himself as being set apart for the gospel of God. When Paul was first set apart for the gospel of God, Ananias is told by Jesus Christ in Acts 9:15, 16: “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Other apostles and ministers of the gospel of God also recognized Paul as being set apart for the gospel of God in Acts 13:2: “While ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Paul himself understands that he has been set apart for the gospel of God in Galatians 1:15-17: 15 ” But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased 16 to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus.” Notice how Paul sees himself as being set apart even from my mother’s womb. In other words, he knows that God had chosen him to be his instrument…to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel.

Paul identifies himself as being set apart for the gospel of God.

Purpose of the Writing

Simply put, the purpose of the writing of Romans is to reveal the promised gospel of God. God promised this good news through the prophets of old. We read just in Isaiah the following: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel” (7:14). “But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious but e way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them” (9:1, 2). “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard int he street. A bruised reed He will not break and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not be disheartened or crushed until He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law” (42:1-4). “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted…Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because he poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors” (53:4, 12). “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified” (61:1-3). These are just a few of the verses in the prophet Isaiah’s writings telling of the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

The gospel of God is the good news of Jesus Christ! Paul continues his writing by declaring three things about Jesus Christ of whom he is speaking. First, Jesus Christ is born a descendant of David. This means that He comes from a kingly estate which makes David’s throne lasting from generation to generation. Second, Jesus Christ came according to the flesh indicating His earthly life, a reference to its weakness. However, this phrase still implies that He was more than mere human; He is still God but One who came in human flesh. It would have been sufficient to say that He was a descendant of David, but the implication is what is key. Third, Paul says He was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from he dead. Jesus Christ is the appointed Son-of-God-in-power. He was designated as the One who would be resurrected from the dead never to die no more. Although He came in the weakness of human flesh, He was raised from the dead with power. It is the same power when Jesus Christ says in Matthew 28:18, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” The authority is the power that has been given to Jesus Christ. Because of His resurrection from the dead, He is Lord! He conquered death, the grave, and hell. He is the first to be resurrected from the dead never to die again. This is the good news of Jesus Christ! He lived, He lives, and He shall forever live because He was resurrected from the dead. He is the One who gives us life now because He was raised from the dead. He has conquered death once and for all.

Paul then quickly moves to his own credibility. He received the grace of the gospel of God. His apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake can mean one of these four things: 1) bringing people to obedient to the faith; 2) the obedience faith produces or requires; 3) believing obedience; or, 4) obedience, namely faith, in which faith further defines obedience. I believe that all the options are viable options. When we preach the gospel of God which is Jesus Christ Himself we are bringing people to obedience to the faith. Moreover, we are seeing how obedient faith produces fruit in the lives of those to whom we preach. This faith is something that brings about obedience in the lives of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. And, finally, the faith that we have received by grace further defines what it means for us to be obedient to the One who has saved those of us who have believed Him unto salvation. Paul’s mission, then, is to bring as many Gentiles (he being a Jew) to obedience to faith for the sake of Jesus Christ’s name. In other words, as a Jew, Paul the apostle believed that he had found the Messiah of which the prophets of old spoke.

This is the gospel of God and this is Paul’s purpose in writing this letter to the Roman believers.

Recipients of the Letter

This letter is to those who are the called of Jesus Christ. The called of Jesus Christ are denotes someone whose participation or presence has been officially requested for something; especially a request to which refusal is not an option. So many people today disagree with this notion of not being able to refuse this call. However, in Paul’s mind, this is not an option when God calls a person to salvation. Man is not autonomous from a Sovereign God who calls, who summons, someone to Himself. His will cannot be thwarted by man even in the most minute circumstance. These who are called to salvation are both the Jews and Gentiles and Paul believes that those who have believed in the gospel of God are those to whom he is writing. These called of Jesus Christ have confessed with the mouth Jesus as Lord, and believed in their heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9). And those who have believed are those who are beloved of God in Rome. The beloved are those who are dearly cherished and loved by God. This word beloved may also mean that these are preferred above all others and treated with partiality. God loves those who believe. God is with those who have trusted Jesus Christ. God calls these saints as well, a person who has been set apart to be holy and blameless in Jesus Christ. Paul is writing to the called who are saints in Rome and offers a benediction toward them: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He prays that God’s grace and peace will be upon them as this letter is sent to these believers.

The recipients of this letter are to both Jews and Gentiles alike who have trusted Jesus Christ unto salvation.

Time Goes On…Fast!

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My last post was in March 2019. It has been a long time since I have written anything. I will be back soon. Just have been so busy with life.