How should Christians feel about illegal aliens? The Old Testament teaches us to be welcoming and hospitable, but they are technically breaking a law. Many of them are coming here for safety, and my heart goes out to them. How do we balance God’s mercy and love for everyone with the fact that they are here illegally?<\/p>\n\t
“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves<\/em>” (Romans 13:1-2).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The only time Christians ignore a government’s laws is when those laws conflict with God’s teachings. There is nothing morally wrong with a government attempting to control the influx of people into its country. If you personally disagree with the rules or how it is being handled, then you work to get the government to change. There are many things I wish were different about my country’s immigration and visa rules, but don’t know how to solve the problem either.<\/p>\n
When I become aware that someone is violating my country’s laws, I will encourage them to make themselves right, and I will do what I can to help them to follow the country’s laws. Meanwhile, I treat them with kindness and dignity.<\/p>\n
God’s mercy is about the forgiveness of our sins. That is extended regardless of where a person lives. Love for an individual doesn’t extend only to those who are living in your own country.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: How should Christians feel about illegal aliens? The Old Testament teaches us to be welcoming and hospitable, but they are technically breaking a law. Many of them are coming here for safety, and my heart goes out to them. How do we balance God’s mercy and love for everyone with the fact that they…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[310],"class_list":["post-39444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-government"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":36589,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-something-a-sin-if-its-illegal\/","url_meta":{"origin":39444,"position":0},"title":"Is something a sin if it’s illegal?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is something a sin if it's illegal? Answer: Sin is breaking God's law. \"Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness\" (I John 3:4). One of God's laws is \"Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25606,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-government-that-taxes-its-citizens-at-99-be-followed\/","url_meta":{"origin":39444,"position":1},"title":"Should a government that taxes its citizens at 99% be followed?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do you think that Christians should obey the tax law, even if the rules required that taxpayers must donate 99% of their income in taxes? Answer: This is a facetious hypothetical argument. The implication is that if the answer will object in the extreme, then it is justified to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7556,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-i-tell-you-about-a-way-to-get-married-without-government-involvement\/","url_meta":{"origin":39444,"position":2},"title":"Can I tell you about a way to get married without government involvement?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 19, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I noticed a guy wrote\u00a0a piece about marriage claiming he didn't need a piece of paper. He is right by all means; all you need is two witnesses and you can be married by American law. But if you do get a marriage license, you put your kids under\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35319,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-christians-fill-out-census-forms\/","url_meta":{"origin":39444,"position":3},"title":"Should Christians fill out census forms?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 17, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I would like to know how a Christian should react to government requests to fill out census forms. Answer: \"Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16300,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-christians-choose-not-to-pay-an-income-tax\/","url_meta":{"origin":39444,"position":4},"title":"Can Christians choose not to pay an income tax?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 10, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Recently, a man teaching a Bible class made the\u00a0comment that \"We as Christians can choose not to pay our income taxes with a clear conscience as it was an unconstitutional act when these taxes were brought into law\" I disagree because\u00a0my understanding is that\u00a0Romans 13\u00a0and \"rendering to Caesar what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13490,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-sinful-to-download-movies-or-songs-from-the-internet\/","url_meta":{"origin":39444,"position":5},"title":"Is it sinful to download movies or songs from the Internet?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 28, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Like many people, I download movies and music and I was just wondering if that is considered stealing and therefore is a sin? 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