by Brad Harrub, Ph.D.<\/p>\nFew issues today generate more emotional confusion among Christians than immigration and the role of ICE. Social media has a way of reducing complex biblical questions into shallow slogans: “Jesus would tear down the walls,” or “Borders are unloving.” Those statements may sound compassionate, but they are not grounded in Scripture. In fact, when we slow down and actually read the Bible, we discover a very different picture.
\nThe Bible has always affirmed both <\/b>compassion and order. These are not enemies. God never presented law, boundaries, or structure as immoral. Quite the opposite-He established them.\nGod Has Never Been Anti-Wall:<\/h2>\n
One of the most overlooked facts in modern discussions is how prominent walls are in Scripture.<\/p>\n
Nehemiah was praised-not rebuked-for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2-6).<\/p>\n
In Proverbs 25:28, a man without self-control is compared to “a city broken into and left without walls<\/em>.”<\/p>\n Stop and consider how many times you have read about men sitting by the gates of a city. This is frequently mentioned as a place where business, justice, and meetings often took place. (See, for instance, Mordecai sitting there to overhear plots in Esther 2:19-23, or the four lepers seeking food in II Kings 7:3.)<\/p>\n Walls were not symbols of hatred. They were symbols of protection, identity, and order.<\/p>\n Importantly, Jerusalem had walls during Jesus’s lifetime. Christ walked those streets, taught within that city, and even referred to Jerusalem’s future destruction-but never once did He demand that its walls be torn down in the name of compassion. The idea that Jesus opposed borders or national distinctions is simply read into the text by modern political sentiment, not drawn from Scripture.<\/p>\n God has always recognized nations, boundaries, and authority structures. (Acts 17:26) A world without borders is not a biblical ideal-it is closer to chaos.<\/p>\n The New Testament provides a powerful-and often overlooked-example in the account of Onesimus, the runaway slave in the book of Philemon. Onesimus fled from Colossae to Rome, crossing clear legal and social boundaries to escape hardship and accountability, yet his story ultimately reinforces-not undermines-the biblical emphasis on responsibility, repentance, and lawful order.<\/p>\n Onesimus fled to escape suffering and hardship. Paul did not deny that Onesimus had reasons to run. But after Onesimus learned the truth and was converted, Paul made a striking decision: he sent him back.<\/p>\n Paul could have justified Onesimus staying away. He could have appealed to emotion alone. Instead, Paul upheld moral responsibility, restitution, and lawful order-while also urging Philemon to act with grace.<\/p>\n That balance matters. Truth did not negate compassion, and compassion did not erase responsibility.<\/p>\n The Bible does not call us to dismantle walls indiscriminately. It calls us to uphold righteousness, pursue compassion, and honor God’s design for authority and accountability.<\/p>\n And when Christians remember that, much of the confusion clears.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Brad Harrub, Ph.D. Few issues today generate more emotional confusion among Christians than immigration and the role of ICE. Social media has a way of reducing complex biblical questions into shallow slogans: “Jesus would tear down the walls,” or “Borders are unloving.” Those statements may sound compassionate, but they are not grounded in Scripture.…<\/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":[27],"tags":[310],"class_list":["post-93225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-government"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4279,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-can-i-find-information-about-the-falling-of-jerichos-walls\/","url_meta":{"origin":93225,"position":0},"title":"Where can I find information about the falling of Jericho’s walls?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 27, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am doing a paper for school trying to prove that the Bible is true. One example I was going to use was the walls of Jericho.\u00a0 What I have to do is find the verses, and then try to prove it looking in books, interviews, the Internet, etc.\u00a0\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":10783,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-nehemiah-rebuild-the-whole-wall-of-jerusalem-or-only-parts-of-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":93225,"position":1},"title":"Did Nehemiah rebuild the whole wall of Jerusalem or only parts of it?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 2, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem was he rebuilding the whole wall or only parts of it? Answer: When the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem, the Bible noted the following, \"And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls of\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":60949,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/at-what-point-does-faith-save\/","url_meta":{"origin":93225,"position":2},"title":"At What Point Does Faith Save?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 28, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Richie Thetford Many denominations will have us believe that we are saved by faith\u00a0before we do the action in accordance with God's command. No doubt you have seen those on television attending a huge denominational service who are invited to come forward at the conclusion of the service and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45317,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jericho-and-our-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":93225,"position":3},"title":"Jericho and our Salvation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant After reading the title, some might wonder what the battle of Jericho has to do with our salvation today. The battle when Israel conquered Jericho was about 1410 B.C., over 3,400 years ago. Thus the question might be, \"What in the world would some event over\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93371,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/notes-on-foreigners\/","url_meta":{"origin":93225,"position":4},"title":"Notes on Foreigners","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 22, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Resident Alien The Hebrew word is gerim. These are people who live within Israel's borders, often as refugees or laborers. Leviticus 19:33-34 \"When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Notes","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":82982,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/without-walls\/","url_meta":{"origin":93225,"position":5},"title":"Without Walls","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton A city or country without walls is vulnerable to destruction. Jerusalem was an easy target for invaders until the walls were built. Walls protected the city. It was foolish to rebuild the city in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah and not have the walls in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93225\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Compassion Does Not Cancel Law:<\/h2>\nScripture repeatedly commands God’s people to care for the stranger and sojourner (Leviticus 19:34). But those commands were given within a framework of law. The foreigner living among Israel was still expected to respect Israel’s laws (Exodus 12:49). Mercy never eliminated accountability.
\nThis is where many Christians struggle today. They assume that enforcing the law is inherently unloving. Yet Romans 13 plainly teaches that governing authorities are “ministers of God<\/em>” tasked with maintaining order and punishing wrongdoing. ICE, like any law enforcement agency, exists because laws exist. You can’t honestly say you want laws upheld by rejecting enforcement-that’s a contradiction. And if you don’t like the laws, the way to get them changed is through the legal political process-not open rebellion.\nA Forgotten Lesson from Philemon:<\/h2>\n
Order Is Not Oppression:<\/h2>\n
\n
\nChristians should absolutely care about immigrants, refugees, and those seeking a better life. But we must not allow emotion to replace biblical wisdom. God is a God of mercy and order, grace and truth (John 1:14). The church does damage to its witness when it pretends one can exist without the other.\n