While many argue that faith and politics should not mix, our faith requires moral action, including collective action (politics). God commands us to honor and serve all immigrants, politically and personally.

Immigration Series 

For the past two weeks, I’ve been writing about the issue of immigration through the lens of Scripture. This is an urgent issue now in the United States (and in the rest of the world, though perhaps less dramatically), which is why we are publishing our next five-lesson Learning Together curriculum unit on Travelers (immigrants and refugees in the Bible) earlier than we originally planned. The previous two posts were about The Language of Immigration and Love Immigrants as Yourself.

Keep Religion out of Politics?

There is a general sense that we should keep religion and politics completely separate, often phrased like: “The pastor shouldn’t preach politics from the pulpit.” (Never mind that what people actually mean is: “The pastor shouldn’t preach politics I disagree with from the pulpit.”) 

But is that the way things should be?

Lutherans and other Protestants often divide religious statements into the categories of Law and Gospel. The gospel is the set of promises made by God to us for an everlasting relationship based solely on God’s unconditional and undeserved love for us through the work of Jesus. While it’s much more complicated than this in theology, the Law is basically what we should do about it. Gospel is God’s work on and in us; Law is our work toward God and others.

That description of the law sure sounds familiar. That’s probably because Jesus summarizes it in three of the four Gospels with two interrelated commandments: love God with everything you have, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Law, Love, and Ethics

Now, loving others is very simple to say, and very complicated (not to mention difficult) to put into practice. 

Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.

C.S. Lewis

That’s great and all, but what is the ultimate good, and how does this work in any particular situation? Those are the questions of morality and ethics. I was taught that morals are the list of things that we consider good and bad, while ethics is the process by which we determine what the moral action is in a specific situation. And every time we decide the right thing to do, we are doing ethics.

Love is the command, morals define the ultimate good, and ethics are how we decide what to do.

So, morality and ethics belong squarely in the pulpit, classroom, and small group. 

Collective Action

As I see it, democratic governments exist as vehicles for the people to do things together that could not or should not be done individually (or for profit). The recent (at the time of writing) floods in Texas and elsewhere remind me that search-and-rescue and weather forecasting are for the public good and should therefore be funded and implemented by the government. 

More specific to the topic of this series, immigration policy is the responsibility of the government, specifically the federal government of your country. Most of us live in democracies of one flavor or another, which means that we should (in theory, at least) have some influence on immigration policy through elections and advocacy.

Since God commands that we love (seek the ultimate good for) immigrants (see Leviticus 19:33-34 and Deuteronomy 10:19), it is imperative that we use whatever tools at our disposal to ensure this is done, not just on an individual level, but in terms of governmental policy and legislation.

The Image of God, Human Rights, and Immigration

We base our morals, our sense of right and wrong, on various teachings. As Christians, many of these teachings come from our understanding of the Bible. One such foundational teaching is that all human beings are created in and bear the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). And how we treat our fellow image-bearers reflects our relationship with God (Genesis 9:6; James 3:9). This is why Jesus responded to the question about the (single) greatest commandment with two intertwined commandments.

We believe that we must treat other people with dignity and respect (aspects of love). Founded on these are what we call human rights. Human rights are those rights that belong to people merely for being people. Human rights cannot be earned, and they cannot be taken away (though the free exercise of those rights can be infringed upon). They are not based on one’s country of origin, country of residency, or immigration status.

This means that it is our God-given responsibility to advocate for the just and loving treatment of immigrants in our country, regardless of their documentation status. 

Power, Privilege, and Injustice

People of good conscience can and will disagree about processes, policies, and legislation. Collective action is not based on easy agreements. But underlying everything should be a commitment to the just and loving treatment of all people. And, while governance should be concerned about the good of all people, God makes it clear that God’s concern is especially focused on people in vulnerable states, often summarized as widows, orphans, immigrants, and people in poverty. Therefore, governance should be more concerned about protecting and benefiting people with less power than those with more power and privilege. And with whatever power and privilege we have, God calls us to empower and serve people who have less power than we do.

Acting and Leading in Faith

What, as faith formation leaders, do we do about this? We, as leaders, have some level of power and privilege, and so we are called to lead.

• Educate: No matter if you are a preacher, teacher, worship leader, or small group guide, you can interweave education in what you do. Teach about God’s views and expectations regarding justice and immigration (our Learning Together units Do Justice and Travelers can help with this for all ages.)
• Connect: We cannot and should not try to do these things on our own. Connect with organizations that serve immigrants and refugees, immigrants themselves, and even other congregations to learn what we can do. There is power in collective action.
• Serve and Advocate: Education and connections are not worth much if you do not act. For your class, group, or congregation, set up service and advocacy projects for people to participate in. And immigrants and refugees need both service (direct help for immediate needs) and advocacy (work to change the policies, perspectives, and systems that create or exacerbate those needs).

Go, love God and love others.

In Christ’s love,

Gregory Rawn (Publisher)

This doesn’t really fit within this blog post, but here’s something I want to state aloud (or in writing). Some people argue that Jesus doesn’t say anything about what governments should do. There is a simple explanation for this. Jesus was teaching and working among people with very little power and who were oppressed by a foreign, pagan empire unconcerned about anything a Jewish rabbi would say. Thus, Jesus’ ethical teachings were more relevant to how people acted in their daily lives and communities. However, the law and the prophets in the Hebrew Bible were concerned with setting up (or pointing back to) the expectations for the whole people (governance). So, while Jesus’ ethical teachings can and should influence the actions of individuals in government, the Hebrew Bible is most relevant to laws, policies, and procedures.

Order Faith Formation Resources

Planning for the 2025-2026 program year? Our Narrative Lectionary (Year 4, 2025-2026) and Revised Common Lectionary (Years C & A, 2025-2026), not to mention our non-lectionary Living the Word: Classroom (PK-2nd, 3rd-6th) resources are online and ready to order, with the Fall and Winter lessons available for immediate download! If you don’t have much time for full-length children’s Christian education, then check out our Kids Mini Lessons for the NL and RCL.

Are you looking for resources for VBS, family/intergenerational events, or Sunday school? Check out our newest Learning Together unit: Celebrations!

Celebrations is a recommended VBS curriculum by Building Faith (and the only curriculum they reviewed from a small, independent publisher)!!!

Learning Together is a series of five-lesson units on a variety of topics. You can read outside reviews on both our Do Justice and Created to Care units! Our faith formation resources are easy to use, theologically sound, and inclusive.

At Spirit & Truth Publishing, we might have exactly what you are looking for:

• Resources for the Narrative Lectionary (2025-2026): Products for all ages (with mini lessons for PK-6th, if you only have a short time for elementary faith formation).
• Classic Sunday School Curriculum: Key Bible stories for PK-2nd and 3rd-6th, also great for your Christian elementary school!
• Learning Together: Five-lesson, topical units for VBS, Sunday school, children, and intergenerational classes.
• Resources for the Revised Common Lectionary (2025-2026): Intergenerational classroom, mini lessons for children.
• Cross+Generational Confirmation
• Worship and Liturgy Education

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