Scripture on the Immigrant
“Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt. –Exodus 23:9 (NIV)
“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God”. – Leviticus 19:33–34 (NIV)
“And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. Fear the Lord your God and serve him.” – Deuteronomy 10:19 (NIV).
‘Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow.’ Then all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’– Deuteronomy 27:19 (NIV)
The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. –Psalm 146:7–9 (NIV)
“I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame.
I was a father to the needy;
I took up the case of the stranger. I broke the fangs of the wicked
and snatched the victims from their teeth.” –Job 29:15–17 (NIV)
“If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.” –Jeremiah 7:5–8 (NIV)
“You are to allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the foreigners residing among you and who have children. You are to consider them as native-born Israelites; along with you they are to be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. In whatever tribe a foreigner resides, there you are to give them their inheritance,” declares the Sovereign Lord.” –Ezekiel 47:22–23.
“And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: “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.’” –Zechariah 7:8–10.
““So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty.” – Malachi 3:5.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.– Matthew 5:43–45 (NIV)
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’” –Matthew 25:35–36 (NIV)
“Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’” –Matthew 25:45 (NIV)
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” –Mark 12:29–31. (See also Matthew 22:37-39 and Luke 10:27)
“Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. Acts 10:34–35 (NIV)
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” Romans 12:12–13. (NIV)
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. – Romans 13:8–10 (NIV)
“Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.” – Colossians 3:11 (NIV)
“...remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” Ephesians 2:12–18 (NIV)
“Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”– Hebrews 13:1–3 (NIV)
“Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.” –3 John 5–8 (NIV)
Imago Dei
The doctrine asserts that all human beings are made in the image of God. See Genesis 1:27.
Scripture's emphasis on the dignity of all humans and the treatment of immigrants provides a foundation for immigration policy but does not provide specifics.
Stories of mistreatment in Minneapolis.
The Christian & the State.
Authority Is a Responsibility, Not an Excuse - Bonnie Kristian
Romans 13 is often a misquoted scripture used to justify government violence and civilian obedience.
“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” – Romans 13:1–2 (NIV)
“Romans 13 is most often invoked not when the state is acting justly but when Christians feel the urge to quiet their consciences ought to trouble us—not because this habit puts too much weight on biblical authority but because it attacks it.” –Russell Moore, Christians, Let’s Stop Abusing Romans 13
“[Paul] believes that Jesus is the true Lord of the world, that his followers should not pick unnecessary quarrels with the lesser lords.”–Tom Wright
“The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.”– Martin Luther King Jr.
"I maintain, then, that we read Romans 13:1-2 as a statement about the sovereignty of God and the limits of human discernment. We are allowed to discern and even condemn evil like the prophets did. We are allowed to resist like the Hebrew midwives, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego… this does not place limits on our ability as Christians to call evil by its name, but it does obligate us to be willing to suffer the consequences of living in a fallen world.” –Esau McCaulley
Courage & Prayer
We must be a community of courage and action.
“To intercede for another means that in our prayer we stand between — or next to — them and God.” — Brian Taylor
If you have ideas on serving neighbors, please let us know: info@midtownkc.church.
