Evangelicals & Reason

The Evangelical Church has endured years of criticism for lacking erudition and critical thinking, and in some circles, that criticism has been wholly warranted. Evangelicals have shrank from their God-ordained mission of speaking boldly into the Marketplace of Ideas, even as they are called to be Light and Salt.

Many Evangelicals are unaware that every blood-bought follower of Jesus Christ is expressly and explicitly called to be an Apologist. For those unfamiliar with this theological term, do not confuse it with the normal understanding of the base word apology.

In theological parlance, an Apologist is someone who defends a belief, cause, or institution, often through written or spoken arguments.

Hence, erudition and critical thinking are a sine qua non [absolute essential ] if Evangelicals are to carry out our Sovereign Pontante’s commands and mandate successfully.

The Providence of God dictates the moral prevailing issues of every generation, so while abortion, marriage, and gender will always take up a Lion’s share of our focus, energy, and attention, the topic of immigration is exploding right before our very eyes.

It started in Los Angeles and has spread to other major cities. The one thing these cities share in common is that, almost without exception, they are governed by Democratic Mayors. The possible exception might be cities in the great State of Florida, and for that, Evangelicals can be grateful for the unwavering stewardship of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Editor Note: DeSantis has my strong and full-throated support for POTUS in 2028 if the good Lord tarries His coming.

In recent days, I have digested tons and tons of news coverage of Americans participating in the No Kings protest towards the Trump administration's crackdown on our nation’s immigration problem.

Much of the criticism of POTUS Trump’s aggressive action to curb the influx of unauthorized people into the country does not reflect either erudition or critical thinking. Thus, Evangelicals must step into the breach to combat falsities, especially as the Left attempts to clothe their argument in expressly Evangelical garb.

False Argument #1

The Bible commands God’s people to welcome the foreigner.

Response: The Bible indeed commands God’s people to welcome foreigners, but not as an absolute open-door policy for anybody and everybody with no rules and regulations. Each nation has the authority and responsibility to safeguard its citizens. In the Old Testament, that was executed with walls built around the city to establish boundaries and a defense mechanism from warring nations.

Boundaries are important to God, and there were dire consequences in the Old Testament for anyone illegally moving a boundary without a warrant or the proper authority.

Today, with all the violence and evil perpetrators on the world stage, it would be irresponsible for a nation-state not to establish security at its borders and to establish a cogent policy regarding foreigners' entry into its territory.

Thus, two things can be true. America has a long, lustrious history of welcoming those from distant shores. Still, today, our intake process must be orderly and well-defined, or else chaos ensues, and that is precisely what America experienced during the Biden administration.

Can the process be improved? Most definitely, but just because the process is not perfect justifies 12 million illegal immigrants entering the country after Joe Biden took office in 2020. The Bible commands us to welcome the stranger, but this does not mean there is not to be a process a foreigner must adhere to enter the country legally

False Argument #2

So and so has been here for xxx years and has been a good citizen so he should be entitled to stay.

Response

Literally, I heard this argument just this morning (June 17, 2025), and what is more appalling is that it came from the lips of someone claiming to pastor a church in California.

There is a well-established principle that one cannot benefit from the Fruits of the Rotten Apple.

For example, when it was determined that Michigan’s Men’s College Basketball team members illegally accepted payment as college athletes, they were forced to forfeit their Big Ten Championship and the accompanying victories.

University of Southern California football player Reggie Bush had to return his Heisman Trophy because he accepted illegal payment while a college athlete. The Heisman committee eventually reversed its decision, but hopefully, you still understand the basic principle.

Most will be more familiar with the Fruits of the Rotten Apple in legal proceedings. If a judge determines that the police used unauthorized means to gain evidence, no actions discovered in conjunction with the unauthorized means can ever be used in a Court of Law. Conversely, if the suspect can be found objectively guilty of the alleged offense, the suspect walks scot-free. The suspect can even admit and brag that they have committed the offense, but can never be prosecuted.

Thus, the mere fact that a person illegally enters America makes them an offender. Whether it is a civil or criminal offense is inconsequential, as those on the Left are keen to make it only a civil offense; that person has willfully and willingly broken the law.

Once you break the law, you lose the ability to register dissent, even if your actions are exemplary afterwards.

What about those individuals who desire to migrate to America but do so properly and wait patiently where they currently reside? It is grossly and patently unfair to them to reward those who skipped the line, so no action after they illegally enter the country can ever right the wrongness of their illegal entry in the first place.

What about the members of the Nazi Holocaust who were found years after their atrocities and found being productive citizens?

What about detestable people like Byron De La Beckwith, the assassin of Civil Rights Leader Medgar Evers? Beckwith gunned down Evers on June 12, 1963, and was not held accountable until 1994. It can be argued that Beckwith lived an exemplary life after being tried in 1963, but that dog does not hunt because no one escapes justice because of subsequent actions after the consequent illegal action.

Many (Pope John Paul, Jesse Jackson, and others) attempted this line of reasoning while arguing that Kayla Fay Tucker should not be executed after being convicted for murder simply because Tucker confessed Christ after her horrendous and murderous vile act.

Simple faith in Jesus Christ, no matter how beneficial for eternal felicity, can erase or eliminate the need and necessity for real consequence.

I believe the Apostle Paul’s treatment of Onesimus perfectly illustrates how Evangelicals should deal with the question of immigration. Onesimus was a runaway slave from his master Philemon. Paul ministers to Onesimus with the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ and then instructs him to return to his master Philemon.

Because Onesimus would return as a fellow believer, Paul admonishes Philemon to now receive Onesimus as a fellow believer, not eradicating the master-slave relationship but transforming it. While still a slave, Onesimus would now be treated with dignity and respect.

In conclusion, Evangelicals will always seek to be good neighbors to the stranger. According to the writer of Hebrews, we may well be treating an Angel unaware. Yet, two cardinal truths are two and must be held in holy tension

1. We will welcome the stranger and seek to share Christ as the Holy Spirit leads and directs

2. We will advocate, proclaim, and defend the Rule of Law to ensure our borders are secure and all people are treated fairly, realizing that mistakes and mishaps are part and parcel of the human experiment.

So, to my fellow Evangelicals, let us be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Let us be sober-minded, especially as we see the Day approaching.

Let us seek to govern in a fashion that is about kingdom business and not involved in partisan politics. We strive only to call Balls and Strikes as we sincerely see them through an expressed and unapologetic Evangelical worldview.

If we aim to do so, though we will never attain perfection, we still can genuinely seek to hear Christ say Well Done when we cross the threshold.

In no way can I posit a comprehensive immigration policy in a four-page blog post, but I do believe I have posited a good primer on how Evangelicals can begin to think through this complicated subject.

As usual, let me know what you think. Until then, keep your hands to the plow and seek to serve for an Audience of One.

With fear & trembling,

Ricky V Kyles DEd.Min