What About Christian Nationalism?
Topical Sermon by Maylan Schurch
Bellevue Seventh-day Adventist Church 4/25/2026
©2026 by Maylan Schurch
To watch the entire YouTube broadcast of this sermon, click the link below. For the transcript, scroll down:
Please open your Bibles to Deuteronomy Chapter 5.
Just out of curiosity, how many of you have heard the name Madalyn Murray O’Hair?
Do you remember that name? If you do, a certain amount of emotion probably comes along with that memory. Madalyn was an atheist, and was training her son William that way.
Right around 1962, when William was attending a Baltimore public school, the story goes that William was uncomfortable with having to be in class during the mandatory Bible reading which happened every day.
Madalyn complained about the Bible reading – during which students of all faiths or no faith were forced to listen to Christian and Jewish scriptures – and she took the school district to court. The case eventually made it all the way up to the Supreme Court. The court ruled that officially sanctioned mandatory Bible reading in American public schools was unconstitutional. The year before that, officially sponsored prayer in classrooms had been declared unconstitutional as well.
In 1964, Life magazine referred to Madalyn Murray O,Hair as “the most hated woman in America.”
Back in those days, I myself was a student, but I was attending a Seventh-day Adventist one room elementary school about a mile southeast of Redfield, South Dakota. I don’t think we actually heard anything about Mrs. O’Hair in the church school room, but we did hear about her in conversations at potlucks and in other places.
As I say, Madalyn O’Hair proclaimed herself an atheist. Back in the 1940s, and even before, she attended socialist and communist meetings, and even sponsored such groups in the basement of her house. So your average conservative Christian tended to think about her with shock and loathing.
And Adventists, of course, were against communism, and atheism, but when it came to prayer and Bible reading in public schools, Adventists wholeheartedly agreed with Madalyn Murray O’Hair. When the Supreme Court came down with their ruling, Adventists didn’t exactly thrust their fists into the air with shouts of triumph, because we didn’t do that kind of thing in those days. But thoughtful Adventists were delighted.
Adventists were not against Bible reading or prayer, but they were against a public school administration mandating that those things happen in the classroom.
And the reason for this is that Adventists have been deeply active for religious liberty ever since the 1880s, when closing-on-Sunday laws began to be talked about. Because if your day of worship is Saturday, and you consider that a sacred day, then you might decide to work on Sunday. But if everybody else thinks that Sunday is a sacred day, they’re going to look at you with curiosity, and eventually hostility.
In the 1920s, the Sunday law issue came up again. By this time, Adventists were well organized, and during the next few years they generated enough interest so that 8 million signatures [NOTE FROM PASTOR MAYLAN: On the YouTube version of the sermon I misstated this number] were gathered to oppose this kind of bill. And at that time there were only about 250,000 Adventists in the whole world. But they publicized these issues through their religious liberty magazine, and any other way they possibly could, just to get the word out that the Constitution’s First Amendment ruled against this kind of thing.
If you’d like to read more history about that, go to the Adventist church’s official website about religious liberty, and you’ll find a lot of interesting reading. Here’s the link:
Okay, what does all this have to do with right now? Here’s another question. How many of you have heard the term “Christian nationalism”? Let’s see your hands.
What is Christian nationalism? In a minute I’m going to a put on the screen a definition of it, but first of all, I’m going to show you the entire First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Here’s the First Amendment:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” – First Amendment, Constitution of the United States
So you can see why Adventists and many other people objected to Bible reading in state schools, because that was establishing a certain kind of religious practice, focused on one faith, and ignoring all the others.
Now, let’s take a look at the Wikipedia definition of Christian nationalism. I figured that Wikipedia would be a fairly neutral definition to show you.
“Christian nationalism is an ideology that espouses a form of religious nationalism that focuses on promoting the Christian views of its followers in order to achieve prominence or dominance in political, cultural, and social life.” – Wikipedia, “Christian Nationalism”
But again, what does this have to do with today, right now? After all, the United States Department of Justice has a “Religious Liberty Commission.” Aren’t they keeping an eye on things?
Not according to an article in this week’s Adventist Today online newsletter. Robert D. Crux, Ed.S, worked as a teacher, principal, and superintendent of schools over a period of 35 years in Adventist education, and he has written an article, which sounds a sober warning about this particular Religious Liberty Commission. Here’s part of that article:
“During the [Religious Liberty] Commission’s final hearing on April 13, 2026, in Washington, DC, members attacked the long-held doctrine of separation of church and state, which forbids Congress from both promoting one religion over others and restricting an individual’s religious practices.
“Commission chairman, Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, set the tone of the meeting, stating, ‘It is time to set the record straight: there is no such thing as ‘separation of church and state’ in the Constitution. For too long, the anti-God left has used this phrase to suppress people of religion in our country…” — https://atoday.org/religious-liberty-commission-declares-separation-of-church-and-state-a-lie-that-should-be-done-away-with-2/
If you’re a long-time Adventist, this sends an icy chill up your spine.
I guess what it boils down to is this: how does God Himself prefer that the United States and even the other countries of the world relate to Him? For example, would God prefer that this country have a Seventh-day Adventist president? Would He want Congress to pass laws mandating that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord our God? Would that be God’s ideal plan for this nation? Of course not.
In God’s eyes, does Christian nationalism work? Does any religious nationalism, of any religion, work?
No. These have never worked. You can go backward and forward in history, and none of these systems have worked.
When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, and when Joshua led them into the Promised Land, things started out as sort of a Jewish nationalism. God gave lots of laws, and people were supposed to abide by those laws.
But it didn’t work, completely. And God told us why it didn’t work. In Deuteronomy 5, Moses reminds the people how God spoke the Ten Commandments out loud to the people, and they were afraid. And they immediately agreed that they would keep those commandments.
Deuteronomy 5:22 – 29: “These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. “So it was, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. And you said: ‘Surely the LORD our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he still lives. Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the LORD our God anymore, then we shall die. For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? You go near and hear all that the LORD our God may say, and tell us all that the LORD our God says to you, and we will hear and do it.’ “Then the LORD heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the LORD said to me: ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!”
Can you hear the desperate agony in God’s voice? God knew very well that the success of the Jewish nationalist country He had just created depended on humble, changed hearts – hearts that were under the constant presence of the Holy Spirit writing His laws in the heart.
And the more you know about Bible history, the more you remember the tragic repeated rebellion of the nation’s heart, and therefore the tragic failure of this system. It was a sorry cycle: The people plunged into idolatry, and had to be brought to their senses by divine judgment, and then they were fine for a while, but would then tumble down into idolatry again.
And finally, God chose to remove both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah from their homeland, and let them go into captivity.
But even this did not give these people a change of heart. Instead, an even uglier thing happened. When the Jewish leaders and rabbis returned from Babylon, they gritted their teeth and said, “Here’s what we’ll do. We will write a lot of new laws and regulations which we will design to make sure that nobody gets within 500 yards of committing the sins that sent us into captivity.”
And that’s what they did. They did it so completely that when the Son of God arrived on the scene as a human being, He had some stern words to say to the religious leaders. . . . “Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ” (Matthew 5:6 – 9)
So all along, it was a heart problem. Jesus preached His heart out to them, and yet His Jewish brothers stopped His heart from beating. Jesus rose from the dead, and sent His disciples out to preach about Him, and the religious leaders persecuted and murdered them.
And 300 years later, the Christian church was enticed to combine itself with the Roman government – the first case of Christian nationalism – but eventually these Christians persecuted other Christians who didn’t believe like they did – the Anabaptists, the Waldenses, and many, many others.
And when Martin Luther finally broke away from the church, and Protestantism began to be the faith of part of Europe, these same Protestants began to persecute Christians who didn’t believe the way they did.
And when the Pilgrims came to America seeking religious freedom for themsselves, they set up a Christian nationalist system, and persecuted the Baptists. And Baptist Roger Williams eventually had to found Rhode Island so that his people could worship freely.
So can you see why people who have kept track of religious history are so worried when modern people are making noises about Christian nationalism? Well-meaning as that is, Christian nationalism does not work.
Well, what does work?
What I did this week as I was studying for the sermon, was to read the book of Acts all the way through, from front to back. I tried to find if there was some part of the book which showed how Christians should act out their faith.
Because what we always need to keep in mind that Christians should act out their faith in ways which give people free will. God Himself reasons, persuades, exhorts, begs, always in a loving way. But God –never forces our will. Satan tries to, but God refuses to.
Now, let’s take a quick trip to Acts chapter 5. I found three principles you and I as Christians should remember as we go forward from here.
Let’s start with Acts 5:12.
Acts 5:12 – 16: And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
Wonderful things are happening through God’s powerful Holy Spirit working through these unified Christians. But now watch what happens:
Verses 17 – 28: Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.” And when they heard that, they entered the temple early in the morning and taught. But the high priest and those with him came and called the council together, with all the elders of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported, saying, “Indeed we found the prison shut securely, and the guards standing outside before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside!” Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be. So one came and told them, saying, “Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!” Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!”
And now, Peter makes the case against religious nationalism.
Verses 29 – 32: But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
I think these verses tell us some important things we should be doing as Christians.
First, we should obey God rather than man. If what human beings are trying to force us to do goes against something God wants us to do, our path is clear. Obey God.
Another thing we should do is to bear witness to Jesus and what He has done. Jesus is the sin-bearer and sin-forgiver, and we need to let people know we believe this.
Needless to say, the religious authorities do not like what they hear. But watch what happens. Good advice comes from one of their own:
Verses 33 – 39: When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them. Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while. And he said to them: “Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men. For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing. After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed. And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.”
Here’s one more thing we Christians should do as we go forward. Not only should we obey God rather than man, and not only should we bear witness to Jesus, but we should never use Theudas/Judas technique.
What was the Theudas/Judas technique? It was to get a group together and try to force their ideas on other people. In other words, exert a lot of religious nationalistic pressure.
Instead, we need to remember what God is really like. Our closing song does a good job of echoing the many Bible truths about Him, and His love for us.
Let’s stand and sing about His faithfulness.
God of Our Fathers
God of our fathers whose almighty hand
Leads forth in beauty all the starry band
Of shining worlds in splendor through the skies
Our grateful song before Thy throne arise
Thy love divine hath led us in the past
In this free land by Thee our lot is cast
Be Thou our Ruler Guardian Guide and Stay
Thy Word our law Thy paths our chosen way
From war’s alarm from deadly pestilence
By Thy strong arm our ever sure defense
Thy true religion in our hearts increase
Thy bounteous goodness nourish us in peace
Refresh Thy people on their toilsome way
Lead us from night to never ending day
Fill all our lives with love and grace divine
And glory laud and praise be ever Thine