God's View On Immigrants

                                                          GOD'S VIEW ON IMMIGRANTS

Exploring Matthew

 

One of the most challenging assignments in my ministry was completing my Doctoral studies. I was greatly relieved when I completed it a few years ago. My dissertation was titled "Pastoring Small Churches Through Biblical Preaching." My thesis was that members of New England churches are not being true witnesses for Christ in their communities. Where lies the problem with their apathy and disengagement? Part of the reason is a lack of Biblical understanding of shepherding, which leads to a lack of biblical preaching and biblically illiterate witnesses. Is there Biblical illiteracy in the US? How does it impact our lives?

According to Life Way Research, "America has a literacy problem. Almost 14 percent of the adult population cannot read. But illiteracy isn't just a problem in secular society. A far worse kind of illiteracy affects the church: Biblical illiteracy." Only 20 percent of Americans read the entire Bible at least once. Only 22 percent systematically read through a section of the Bible daily. A third of Americans never read the Bible independently. This lack of Bible reading indeed has led to a lack of biblical doctrine."[1]

 

This is how Biblical illiteracy manifests among Christians. A pastor compiled a list of the top ten phrases we often use that are not in the Bible: God wants you to be happy. We are all God's children. God helps those who help themselves. God will not give more than you can handle. When you die, God gains another angel. The Devil made me do it.[2] Etc. These studies and my interviews with several pastors in New England and across the country have made me realize the need for Biblical Preaching. I endeavor to preach through the whole Bible. For the next several weeks, we will journey through the whole Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 2:13-23

I. Introduction to the Gospel Of Matthew

Matthew in the Bible was one of Jesus' disciples. Matthew's Gospel is the longest of the four, and some scholars believe it was the first to be written. Before Matthew became a disciple of Christ, he was a tax collector or "publican" in the town of Capernaum (Matthew 9:9; 10:3). Matthew is also called Levi, the son of Alphaeus, by Luke and Mark (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27).

In Hebrew, Matthew means "Gift of Yahweh." At the time, the Jews were under the Roman Empire's control. Publicans like Matthew were considered greedy, selfish, and traitorous. As a tax collector, he was viewed as a Roman agent. But all that changed when Jesus saw him at the tax office and called him, saying, "Follow Me." He got up and followed Him.

Some suggest that Matthew wrote this Gospel as early as 50 A.D. It was written for a Jewish audience. Matthew emphasizes Jesus as the promised Messiah. He validates Jesus as the King and legitimate heir to the throne of David by opening the Gospel with these words, "This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham." Matthew 1:1.

 

II. A Family's Escape from Danger At Night!

            One of the most controversial political issues in our country these days is "Immigration." Engaging in Immigration battles is breaking up families, churches, causing heartache, and at times loss of life. The scriptures don't give us specific policies on how we should conduct our Immigration, how many immigrants we should accept, or who should stay or leave. We leave that matter to the legislators and to the laws that enforce it.

However, the Bible does contain so many immigrant and refugee stories and shows us God's heart for immigrants and how we are to treat them. We begin our study of Matthew by looking at Jesus' family's escape to Egypt. After the birth of Christ. The angels have returned to heaven, and the shepherds to their fields. The Magi took another route to return to their home.

An angel appears to Joseph in a dream and gives him a message saying, "Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him." So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night and left for Egypt." Matt 2:13-14,(NASB).

Pay attention to the word flee from which we get the word "refugee," the one who flees. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees defines A refugee as someone who has been forced to flee their country because of persecution, war, or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group."[3]

 

The family of Jesus was forced to flee their hometown for fear of persecution at night. In modern times, we call them refugees in a foreign land. A Jesuit priest notes, "Did Joseph and Mary apply for official refugee status? Of course not. Those kinds of regulations were most likely not in effect. There may not have even been any borders at the time."[4]

After Jesus' family fled to Egypt, Herod's soldiers began the Massacre of killing male children two years and under. Matthew, under the inspiration of connecting the grieving mothers' loss of their children due to the Massacre ordered by Herod to the historical exile of Israel to Babylon. Matt 2:18, "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."

Jesus's family escaped from one danger and lived as refugees in Egypt. When the threat had passed, God told them to return to their homeland, but recognizing a far worse danger, they went and lived in Nazareth. Why did Jesus' family have to flee to Egypt and settle in Nazareth? All this happened to fulfil the scriptures. What does this mean to us? Do we hear the cries of the millions of refugees worldwide? God does! What provisions did God make for Immigrants?

III. God's View On Immigrants

When it comes to dealing with immigrants, we can be biased based on our political and cultural backgrounds. Let's be unbiased and non-judgmental and approach this matter from God's perspective. God's view of immigrants is far different than what you are used to. God created all people, male and female, in His image, and because of that, He loves all people.

Even more so, He views immigrants, the oppressed, and the harassed with kindness and compassion, and He made several provisions for them in the scriptures. Here is how God sees immigrants, refugees, strangers, and foreigners. He wants us to love them and be kind to them.

-Deuteronomy 10:18-19, "He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt."

-Zechariah 7:10 "This is what the LORD Almighty said: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another." Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.'

-Psalm 146:9, "The LORD watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked."

-Hebrews 13:5," Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it."

 

            Why do we care for Immigrants and refugees? Later in the Gospel, Jesus reminds us that whenever we "welcome the stranger," we welcome Jesus himself (Matthew 25:37). Refugees and migrants are our brothers and sisters, desperately in need of our help. Jesus' command to care for the strangers. Here are a few ways we can care for immigrants:

First, pray for all people (immigrants), leaders, and all those in authority, so that we might live in Peace. I Timothy 2:1-4. Second, be filled with the Holy Spirit and move in love, patience, and kindness towards Immigrants (Gal 5:22). February  17^th is celebrated as National Random Acts of Kindness Day. You don't have to wait until then; you can be kind to the immigrants today. Kindness goes a long way. Here are two acts of kindness that our family experienced when we first moved to the USA in 2005.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[1]  By Ken Braddy  LifeWay Research https://research.lifeway.com/2017/07/10/discipling-in-an-age-of-biblical-illiteracy/ 12-8-2023

[2] https://pastorchrisbass.wordpress.com/2017/09/19/thats-not-in-the-bible-10-unbiblical-statements-christians%e2%80%8b-believe-part-2/

 [3] https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2017/12/27/were-jesus-mary-and-joseph-refugees-yes/

2-5-2026

[4]  The Rev. James Martin, S.J., is a Jesuit priest, author, editor at large at America, and founder of Outreach.

 

Why Church Matters

                                                 Why Church Matters

As far as I can remember, I grew up in a small rural Lutheran Church in India. As a child, I was baptized by sprinkling water and later confirmed. At age eighteen, I got saved in the same Church and was baptized as an adult at a Pentecostal Church convention. I was very active as a youth in that Church, acted in Christmas dramas, led a Youth Group, and, on one Good Friday, preached my first sermon. Looking back, I have fond memories of that small Lutheran Church.

As a missionary with Youth With A Mission, I became a member of the Assemblies of God Church. I served and ministered in that Church. We got all three of our daughters dedicated there. We stayed with that Church for 20 years until we moved to the USA in 2005. After completing my theological studies, I have been pastoring two churches for over 16 years.

I love being part of a local church, not only because I am a pastor, but also because I am a sheep who needs to belong to a flock and be cared for by a kind shepherd. In India, when it comes to practicing religion, Hindus go to Temples, Muslims go to Mosques, Sikhs go to Gurdwaras, and Christians go to Churches weekly if not more. In the USA, many christians don't go to Church and deconstruct their faith. Some churches are neither christian nor a church. In this pluralistic country, does the Church really matter? How about a local Church, however small or big it may be? Today, we will look at Why Church Matters, what secular people say about the Church, and why we need to be committed to a local Church. Hebrews 10:19-25.

What is the Church?

Many people today have a wrong notion of the Church as a building and programs. The English word Church is a translation of the Greek word ekklesia, which is defined as "an assembly of called-out ones who gather for Worshipping God and fellowshipping with other believers. It is not necessarily a building. Biblically, we can regard the Church in two ways:

The Global and the Local Church. The Global Church refers to every believer in Christ who has ever lived. Every follower of Christ everywhere, regardless of denominational label, whether in a church building, a tent, or a little hut, is part of the Universal or Global Church.

The other way "church" is used is to refer to a local group or a specific place. Like the Church at Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, or the Church that met in Lydia's home, the Church is used locally. It's used only four times in the Bible to refer to a general, universal sense. Almost every time you see the word "church," it refers to a specific group of believers in a specific locality.

Hope Church, First Baptist Church, Our Lady of Sorrows, etc., are not the Church in the sense of the Global Church. Rather, they are local churches, local bodies of believers.

The moment you give your life to Jesus, you are automatically a part of God's Global Church. But you don't become a part of a local church until you make that choice. Being part of a local Church is being part of a family. Every Christian needs a church family. Let us explore why the Church matters and why we really need the local Church.

I. The Church is a Meeting Place where the Living God is Worshipped.

            What are Mosques, Temples, Synagogues, Gurudwaras, and Churches called by the Government? Houses of Worship. Worshipping God dates back to Cain and Abel. (Gen 4:1-5). By looking at how they worshipped, we can see that God accepts only certain ways of worship.

and rejects others. In the OT, people worshipped God by offering sacrifices on the altars and in the Tabernacle, or the Tent of Meeting, a portable sanctuary, later on in the Temple.

Here is God's view of the Tent of Meeting: It was a place of regular offerings. A place where God met with Moses and the Israelites and spoke with them. He consecrated the altar, the tent of meeting, and the Levites and their sons. He dwelt among the Israelites and became their God. Exodus 29: 42-46. Local Church is a poor imitation of the Tabernacle or the Temple.

What happened in the Tabernacle, in the OT, I hope, also happens in a small way whenever God's people gather to worship God in a local Church. We offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, which is our true and proper worship. (Rom 12:1). David A. Currie notes, "Historically, the drama of Worship has followed a four-act model: 1. God gathers Us to himself. 2. God speaks to us through His Word. 3. God moves us to respond. 4. God sends us out to serve. God is the main actor in these four movements since Worship is God's Idea."[1]

When we gather for worship on Sunday mornings, I hope that we see these four acts of God. God consecrates and dwells in the hearts of people. We will sense God's presence among us. God will speak to us through His anointed servants and will send us out to be His witnesses.

II. When Everything Else Is Destroyed, God's Church Will Endure Forever.

There is only one thing that Jesus Christ is actively building is His Church. Matt 16:18, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Jesus has laid a foundation for a worldwide, indestructible Church on Himself. It is not a structural building in a certain location, but the Kingdom of God's people.

According to Paul, "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."

Over the centuries, many have tried to destroy God's Church, and even today, many are trying to destroy it, but they have never succeeded. All believers together belong to that indestructible Global Church, but they gather locally to worship God and grow in their faith.

III. Why We Really Need The Local Church

            Though we belong to God's universal Church, we really need the local Church. "A local church is a visible, tangible, and real-world expression of the body of Christ," says Joshua Harris, in Why Church Matters.[2]  To become emotionally and mentally healthy, we need to be committed to a local Church. That is what even secular people are realizing these days.

Let's suppose you suffer from chronic physical or mental illness and are looking for one magic pill to fix it. What if a Harvard School of Public Health Professor says, "A pill of that sort exists, and prescribes it for you? Tyler VanderWeele notes, "The good news is that this miracle drug religion, and more specifically regular Church attendance, is in reach of most of us."

You might not have expected a Harvard professor to write you this prescription: "Church. Take once a week (or more) for better effects." Data has shown that people who attend religious services once a week or more are happier, healthier, and longer lived than those who don't."[3] I encourage you to attend Church every week and see how it improves your mental and physical health. For more on this, read this book "How Church Could (Literally Save Your Life)."

IV. Attending Local Church Regularly protects us from heresy in the Last Days.

            We are living in a world where there are so many conspiracy theories, including in the Churches. How can you combat these heretical teachings if you never attend the Church, hear wholesome teaching, and read God's Word? For that reason, as the Apostle Paul warned us, let us make it a habit to attend Church regularly, as the Day of the Lord fast approaches. Hebrews 10:24-25. In closing, the Church really matters because it is the meeting place where we worship God. When Everything else fails, God's Church endures forever. Attending a local Church protects us from heresy and promotes our emotional and mental health. 

 

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[1] David A. Currie, “The BIG Idea Of Biblical Worship.” Page 24

[2] Joshua Harris, Why Church Matters. Page 35

[3] Rebecca McLaughlin, How Church Could (Literally) Save Your Life,  Page 3. 

The Heart Of Christ For Sinners and Sufferers

                                        The Heart Of Christ For  Sinners and Sufferers

A few days ago, I had an interesting conversation with a young man in the Gym. He said, Francis, give me a  Word Of encouragement. I quoted from Philippians 4:4-6,  Rejoice in the Lord always, the Lord is Near, don't be anxious about anything, the Peace of God will guard your heart and mind, etc. He then said, " What about Matthew 11:28, which he heard a lot about while taking a course in catholic school on Bible doctrines, but he couldn't remember.

I couldn't remember what it said either, so I pulled out my YouVersion Bible on my phone, and we both read. Matthew 11:28, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." Which made me think maybe more people know about it or heard about it more than we can think and imagine. But how many actually pause, think, and respond to that open invitation coming from Jesus Christ, the one who created all things, including you and me.

             No matter who you are, whether young or old, poor or rich, educated or uneducated, citizens of the USA or immigrants, Christians or non-Christians, we are all weary and burdened. We carry daily burdens of guilt and shame, burdens of lack and want. We bear those burdens because of our poor choices and sometimes the poor choices of others.  

            The greatest burden of all burdens is the burden of Sin. Whatever your burdens are today, you don't have to carry them on your own. God is the burden lifter, and the carrier will do the heavy lifting. He is standing among us, giving us an open invitation to all people, for sinners and sufferers alike. The invitation is, "Come to Me, and I will give you rest." How do you respond?

Remember the story of the Pilgrims' Progress? "A Christian is carrying a heavy burden on his back—the weight of his sins—and doesn't know how to get rid of it. He's also struggling with the knowledge that his hometown, the City of Destruction, will soon be destroyed by a fire. When he tells his wife and kids this, though, they think he's delirious, and they mock and reject him.

Christian soon meets a man named Evangelist who tells Christian that he must escape the impending destruction and that he must flee by passing through a gate, called the Wicket-gate, in the distance. Taking Evangelist's advice to heart, Christian runs eagerly toward the gate, ignoring the cries of his family and neighbors, who think he's crazy. But he was not crazy; all the others were, he was wise, running to get rid of his burden of Sin.

As the story progresses, bearing his burden with great difficulty, Christian runs along the narrow highway, which is bordered by a wall called Salvation. He runs until he reaches a Cross standing on a small hill; below it stands a sepulcher. Just as he reaches the Cross, Christian's burden falls from his shoulders. The burden tumbles into the Sepulcher and out of sight.

Though Christian was saved by Christ when he entered by the Wicket-gate, it seems that he does not lose the subjective (mental and emotional) burden of his sins until he reaches the Cross, which symbolizes Christ's sacrificial death for sinners. When he sees the sign of Christ's death on his behalf, Christian realizes he no longer needs to feel guilty or troubled, because he has been forgiven and redeemed by Christ.

Immediately, Christian is filled with joy. He gazes at the Cross for a while, amazed at his newfound ease. He even begins to weep. Soon, three Shining Ones appear and greet Christian. The first angel tells him, "Thy sins be forgiven." The second angel takes off Christian's rags and puts on new clothes. The third angel gives Christian a sealed roll, telling him to look at it as he journeys, and to hand it in when he reaches the Celestial Gate. Christian leaps three times for joy and goes on, singing of his Salvation."[1] The essence of the story is that no matter what we do, we can never free ourselves from the burden of Sin; only when we come to Jesus are we set free from the burden of Sin. The invitation to come to Jesus appeals to both sinners and sufferers.

Matthew 11:29, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." ESV. Here is another profound truth God is communicating to us that is nowhere found in the four Gospels: The heart of Jesus. If you really want to know what Jesus's heart is really like, here we will find that He is Gentle and Lowly in heart. This is the heart of Jesus toward Sinners and Sufferers a like.

He loves all people regardless of who they are. His heart is filled with compassion, even more so toward sinners. The greater sinner you are, the greater compassion Christ shows towards you. How do we Christians respond to sinners? We hate them, and we want them to be killed and destroyed. But all through the scriptures, God's heart of love and compassion triumphs over his anger and justice. There is a whole book written on Jesus's Heart, Gentle & Lowly. Let me share a few scriptures that convey the heart of God toward sinners and sufferers:

2 Corinthians 1:3, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort."

Exodus 33:19 "And He said, And the Lord said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

Exodus 34:6 "And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, 'The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness."

Psalm 86:15 "But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness."

Psalm 103:8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. Matthew 9:36-38, "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Jesus is gentle and lowly (meek and humble). He invites us to come to him so that we can find rest for our souls by having our sins forgiven. His heart is filled with compassion for all other sinners who are harassed and helpless. He doesn't want them to perish; that is why we pray for nations like Senegal and the unreached people like Wolof and Fulani. Amen!

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[1] https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-pilgrim-s-progress/part-1-the-cross

[2] Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/God,-Compassion-Of