I was talking to a brother one day about the state of politics and the kind of Christian nationalism that seems to be spreading everywhere. You know the type — the “God and country” stuff that mixes Jesus with a political flag and treats disagreement like blasphemy.
He was upset because he had seen Muslims calling for the destruction of Western nations, and he said, “See? That’s why we need to fight back. They hate us. They want us dead.”
And I get it. When you see extreme videos, your brain jumps to, “This is what they’re all like.” Fear does that. Fear generalizes. Fear exaggerates.
But then I brought up something closer to home — a Christian candidate who posts videos cussing, “jokingly” shooting Muslim dummies, and calling for public executions. And right under her bio?
“Jesus is Lord.”
She’s not some anonymous troll. She is a public figure with thousands of supporters saying “Amen” under her posts.
So I mentioned this to him and said, “Brother, we can’t talk about extremists on one side and pretend we don’t have extremists on ours.”
His answer?
“Well, that’s just a fringe person. She doesn’t represent the whole Christian community.”
And suddenly it hit me:
That’s exactly how we want others to treat us, but not how we treat them.
We point at the most extreme clips of Muslims online — or any group we fear or don’t understand — and then judge millions by the worst one. But when someone points out one extreme Christian, we’re quick to say, “Oh no, that’s not us. That’s just fringe.”
Well… that’s exactly what they would say too.
We’re doing the very thing we’re accusing others of.
Fear Makes Us Forget the Gospel
Fear always creates two temptations:
1. To dehumanize those we feel threatened by.
2. To excuse the sins of “our side” because it protects our identity.
We stop seeing people as image-bearers and start seeing them as categories:
- “those Muslims”
- “those liberals”
- “those immigrants”
- “those nationalists”
- “those Christians”
We take one extreme person, one loud voice, one violent clip — and then our minds say, “That’s who all of them are.”
Even though we never want people to judge all Christians based on the extremists among us.
Jesus never gave us permission to hate anyone.
Ever.
Even if they hate us.
Even if they threaten us.
Even if they disagree with us.
Even if they insult us.
Even if they’re loud, obnoxious, or extreme.
Jesus didn’t say:
“Love your neighbor — unless they scare you.”
He didn’t say:
“Love your enemies — unless their political views are dangerous.”
He didn’t say:
“Bless those who curse you — unless they’re from another religion.”
There’s no clause.
No exceptions.
No footnotes.
When We Hate Them Back, We Become What We Claim to Oppose
If someone says, “Muslims are dangerous because some extremists commit violence,”
but then we support Christian voices who talk about executing enemies,
what exactly is the moral difference?
If someone says, “They hate us, so we should hate them,”
then the gospel has been replaced with tribal survival instincts.
Jesus didn’t call us to mirror the world.
He called us to contrast it.
He didn’t say, “They will know you are my disciples by your political passion.”
He said:
“By this all men will know you are My disciples — if you love one another.” (John 13:35)
Love, not retaliation.
Love, not fear.
Love, not echoing the same hatred in the opposite direction.
Even If They Hate Us — We Still Don’t Get Permission to Hate Them
This is where the finished work of Christ becomes the foundation.
Jesus didn’t love us after we stopped being His enemies.
He loved us when we were His enemies.
“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8)
So the question is not:
“What are they doing?”
but
“Who are we becoming?”
If we hate those who hate us,
we are no longer formed by the gospel —
we are shaped by fear.
If we repay evil with evil,
we are no longer acting as sons and daughters of God,
but as participants in the same darkness we condemn.
Our Calling Is Not to Win a Culture War — It Is to Reveal Christ
This doesn’t mean we agree with every ideology.
It doesn’t mean we stay silent when we see injustice.
It doesn’t mean we pretend evil isn’t real.
But it does mean:
- We cannot demonize entire groups.
- We cannot baptize hatred in Christian language.
- We cannot justify violence because “they started it.”
- We cannot excuse Christian extremists while condemning others.
- We cannot forget that Jesus died for them too.
There is no such thing as Christlike hatred.
There is no such thing as Spirit-led vengeance.
There is no such thing as holy violence against our enemies.
There is only love,
truth,
mercy,
and walking in the light as He is in the light.
The Gospel Forces Us to See People — Not Categories
If we judge other groups by their worst examples
but demand everyone judge Christians by our best example,
then we aren’t following Christ —
we’re protecting our tribe.
And tribalism always leads to fear.
Fear leads to hatred.
Hatred leads to blindness.
And blindness is what Jesus sets us free from.
A believer cannot hate their enemy,
because the believer’s heart belongs to the One
who loved His enemies to the point of death.
Leave a Reply