Christian Nationalism and the Devil’s Bargain
When Christians worship the government instead of God
When Jesus Christ stood atop the mountain, he was faced with a decision, one that would change the world.
Satan led Jesus to “an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.” He offered him dominion over all these nations. All he had to do was bow down and acknowledge Satan’s supremacy.
Of course, Jesus wasn’t having it. “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” (Matthew 4:8-10)
His ministry was not about earthly power and control. It transcended both of those things. Yet, a growing movement of people who claim to follow Christ are pursuing the antithesis of what Jesus modeled.
The rise of the Christian Nationalist movement has grown over recent years. Today, about 30 percent of Americans identify as Christian nationalist adherents or sympathizers.
Power Over the Gospel
Christian nationalism is a political movement that seeks to blend its view of Christianity with government power. The objective is to impose their religious beliefs on the rest of us through laws and policies. They believe the United States is — or should be — a Christian nation governed by those who subscribe to their religious orthodoxy.
In the end, what Christian nationalists want is control.
The pursuit of power as a means of control stands in direct opposition to Christ’s teachings. He declared, “My kingdom is not of this world,” (John 18:36) and taught His followers that “whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant.” (Mark 10:42-45).
When Satan offered him ultimate earthly power, Jesus knew that it would come with a price: compromising His mission and bowing down to evil.
Yet, Christian nationalists today make no such qualms. As New Apostolic Reformation leader Lance Wallnau preached: “What God’s looking for are people under his tent, people online, that he wants to put in charge of some stuff…There’s no reason the church of the living God and the kingdom of Jesus Christ should not rule this nation. The Bible says that the kingdom of God suffereth violence, and those that truly follow Jesus Christ take it by force.”
Yeah, I don’t think that’s what that verse means.
The Extremist Ideological Foundation: Christian Reconstructionism
So, where does this belief system come from? The notion that Christians should use government to rule over others isn’t new. It goes back further than the crusades.
But the modern iteration owes much of its origins to the teachings of R.J. Rushdoony, the founder of Christian reconstructionism. In his 1973 work “The Institutes of Biblical Law,” he advocates for using the government to apply Old Testament civil penalties to modern society.
This means the death penalty would not just be used for heinous acts of murder, but also for homosexuality, adultery, incest, lyinga bout one’s virginity, bestiality, witchcraft, idolatry, apostasy, public blasphemy, false prophesying, kidnapping, rape, bearing false witness in a capital case, and even “recalcitrant youths.”
Many of today’s Christian nationalists distance themselves from Rushdoony’s more extreme ideas. But his influence remains. Christian nationalist author Stephen Wolfe, whose 2022 book “The Case for Christian Nationalism,” has become an influential work in these circles.
Wolfe defines the ideology as “a totality of national action, consisting of civil laws and social customs, conducted by a Christian nation as a Christian nation, in order to procure for itself both earthly and heavenly good in Christ.”
His vision would have the government take the role of “suppressing false religion and heresy and promoting right religion.” He advocates for a “Christian prince” who can “wield formal civil power to great effect” with “charisma, gravitas, and personality.”
He further argues that a Christian minority can revolt against society and “after sucdessfully revolting, establish over all of the population a Christian commonwealth.”
Unprecedented Access to Federal Power
When President Donald Trump was elected for a second term, Christian nationalists viewed his victory as an opportunity to advance their agenda. To be clear, I do not believe Trump is a Christian nationalist. But I do believe the movement seeks to use his presidency for its own purposes.
Paula White-Cain, a prosperity gospel televangelist who leads the White House Faith Office, said at the Jan. 6, 2021 rally that “Christians that don’t support President Trump will have to answer to God.”
During a different event, she argued, “To say no to President Trump would be saying no to God.”
Pastor Jewel Lee, in a 2025 sermon preached from Romans 13, said that “whosoever therefere resisteth the power…resisteth the ordinance of God. You resist the ordinance of God, you’re going against God.” He made it clear that this applied to Trump, saying that opposing the president means “you fight against what has been appointed, that fight against what God has allowed to happen.”
Some, like Pastor Doug Wilson, have adopted ideas that would be attractive to libertarians and some conservatives.
In an article titled “The 5 Smooth Stones of Theocratic Libertarianism,” he argues for abolishing the EPA, the IRA, the Department of Education, and others. Now, this sounds like a dream come true for folks like me.
But Wilson also wishes to impose “biblical punishment for homosexual acts,’ prohibit those who don’t subscribe to his ideology from serving in office, while denying women the right to vote. He also called for the government to establish a “theocracy…upon the biblical doctrine of three distinct governments—family, church, and state, all of them under the authority and lordship of Jesus Christ.”
If the Christian nationalist movement gets its way, it means Americans will live in a country where malevolent people using Jesus’ name will use the government to intrude into our lives more than it already does.
America would look more like Saudi Arabia or Iran, but with the veneer of Christianity. The government would use its penchant for violence to compel people to live their lives in the way these people dictate.
Of course, as with other authoritarian governments, those in power will be exempt from these rules. No matter what, some animals will always be more equal than others, right?
Authoritarianism, In Jesus’ Name
Christian nationalists believe most in earthly authority to control people. Survey research reveals that supporters of Christian nationalism tend to favor obedience to authority and believe that authoritarian leaders willing to break democratic rules are necessary to implement God’s kingdom on Earth. Studies have found that Christian nationalists are significantly less likely to support democracy and significantly less likely to reject authoritarianism.
The reason why is obvious: They believe they have a divine mandate to enforce their political agenda. As Andrew Whitehead explained on his Substack, “If God has told ‘us’ how the world should operate, why would we cede any say or control to those who disagree with us?”
How Christian Nationalism Contradicts Jesus’ Teachings
A simple examination of the New Testament shows that Christian nationalist ideology contradicts Jesus’ teachings. At no point in His ministry did Christ ever teach that Christians should use government power to control others.
Jesus advocated for preaching the gospel and caring for people — even those who sin. In fact, he often dined with sinners, not to support their sinful behavior, but to show them a better way.
When someone asked Jesus which commandment was the most important, he said it all comes down to two things: love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-40)
Everything else, the laws, the rules, flows from these two instructions.
Christian nationalists reject these teachings. Instead of leading with compassion, healing, and the gospel, they obsess over controlling people’s behavior.
In essence, Christian nationalists practice of the worst kind of idolatry — putting the government in the place of God and using it for their own purposes. To them, the state is the ultimate authority, not Jesus.
Christian nationalists eagerly accept the devil’s bargain that He rejected. Instead of worshipping God, they worship the state — and wish to force the rest of us to do the same.
The question is: Will America choose the devil’s bargain or Jesus Christ?
Great job, Jeff. Have you heard of the Libertarian Christian Institute and Norman Horn?
“The great, vital, and conservative element in our system is the belief of our people in the pure doctrines and the divine truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” -United States House Judiciary Committee, 1854.
I don’t want to be antagonistic towards you because I love much of your work and writing, but this premise you have posited here is just not true. If you know that Christianity is the biggest blessing to nations, including our own, why would you actively prevent its promotion? I surely am not for forcing anyone to convert; but having people hear a message is not forcing them. That is a lie, and I remember as a teenager accusing my parents of that very same thing. They were reading the Bible to me, and we said in return, “you’re forcing us to convert.” This wasn’t true at all; actually they were doing us a tremendous service.