Nationalism has been defined as “identification with one’s own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations.” The first part of this definition is what we would call patriotism. Patriotism is a healthy desire to see one’s own nation prosper.
That’s all well and good. It’s the second part of the definition which turns patriotism into nationalism. If patriotism wants to see our own nation do well, nationalism wants our nation to do well and all other nations to do badly in comparison. While patriotism has many happy and unifying fruits, nationalism has many divisive and rotten fruits.
- It sets nation against nation
- It divides nation from nation
- It exalts one nation over another nation
- It eliminates other nations
In Genesis 12:1-5, we have God’s plan to unite the nations. We have an inspired commentary and explanation of these verses in Galatians 3:8-9. “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”
ALL NATIONALITIES WILL BELIEVE THE GOSPEL
“And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham” (Gal. 3:8a).
- God saves the Gentiles
- God saves the Gentiles by faith
Not all nationalities are equally sinful, but all nationalities are equally saved.
ALL NATIONALITIES WILL BE BLESSED BY THE GOSPEL
…saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed” (Gal. 3:8b)
- Blessing will come from you
- Blessing will go to the world
God has given different blessings to different nations, but sends one blessing to all nations.
ALL NATIONALITIES WILL BE UNITED BY THE GOSPEL
“So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Gal. 3:9).
- Faith unites with Abraham the man of faith
- Faith unites with all men and women of faith
False religion and unbelief divides the nations, but true Christianity and faith unites the nations.
LIVING THE BIBLE
Join with God’s plan to unite the nations by believing the Gospel yourself and by seeking the spiritual good not only of Americans but of all believers everywhere.
This episode of Living the Bible lines up with Expedition 4: Day 1 in Exploring the Bible Together: A 52 Week Family Worship Plan and Exploring the Bible: A Bible Reading Plan for Kids. You can catch up with previous episodes of the Living the Bible podcast here or subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and Google Podcast.