There’s this really deep-seated corruption happening right before our eyes. It speaks the language of faith, using religious words, but what it’s actually after is control. It looks like it’s all about the Gospel, but it’s really pushing a different agenda. Even though it claims to follow Christ, it ignores what He stands for.
And it’s not a new problem. The apostle Jude warned of “certain people” who had “crept in unnoticed” among believers, people who “pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 4, ESV).
The prophet Jeremiah watched as religious leaders collaborated with political powers, pronouncing peace when there was none, using the name of the LORD to validate their own agendas.
We see the same today. A particular ideology has taken root that combines Christian language with nationalist aims. It claims to defend the faith while actually weaponizing it. It promises to restore God and His favor to a nation, but wilfully ignores the teachings of the God it proclaims.
And it’s not limited to the leaders who promote this ideology. Millions of people who call themselves Christians have embraced this fusion of faith and national identity. As Jeremiah saw in Chapter 5:31: “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so.” God’s people have chosen comfort over truth, and cultural dominance over Christ’s love.
This is a warning. But it is also an invitation to spiritual discernment.
The Pattern of Corruption
Both Jude and Jeremiah describe a specific type of spiritual deception. The markers are consistent across both texts.
They speak falsely of the LORD.
Jeremiah records the false prophets saying, “He will do nothing; no disaster will come upon us, nor shall we see sword or famine” (Jeremiah 5:12). They claimed divine approval for their ways. They promised peace and prosperity. They said God was on their side, guaranteeing their success and security.
Claiming God’s endorsement for your political program is the first sign of corrupted faith. When the nation becomes the vehicle of God’s will on earth, when national prosperity is equated with divine blessing, when political opponents are cast as enemies of God Himself, the faith has been perverted. The true God is not an ally to be co-opted for any particular political agenda.
They exploit the vulnerable rather than defend them.
Those who truly serve the God of Scripture will defend the orphan, the widow, the stranger, the poor. They will use whatever influence they have to secure justice for those who have no voice. When leaders instead grow wealthy and powerful while ignoring the cry of the oppressed, they have abandoned the faith they claim to represent.
Jeremiah’s indictment is devastating: “Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; therefore they have become great and rich; they have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy” (Jeremiah 5:27-28).
They claim salvation, but ignore sanctification.
Jude describes those who “pervert the grace of our God” (Jude 4). Here we must understand something essential about God’s design. We often understand salvation and sanctification as two separate stages. They are not. We cannot have one without the other. To God, they are one. We are not saved and then, optionally, made holy. We are saved to be made holy. The purpose of our salvation is transformation. God wants us close to Him, in His presence, and holiness is what makes that possible.
Grace saves us, but grace is not cheap. Grace does not leave us as we are. The same salvation that rescues us from judgment also begins the work of transforming us into the image of Christ. If our lives do not increasingly reflect the character of Jesus, we must question whether we have truly encountered His grace.
God’s grace must not be confused with favor. Receiving His grace does not mean He is on our side, that He blesses our nation and our people over others. Grace is not about God favoring one country over another, or one group of people over others. Grace is about God saving sinners from the damnation we deserve. Grace is offered equally to all who believe, regardless of ethnicity or nationality.
Grace also does not permit us to overlook the needs of the poor, or to support policies that harm the vulnerable. Freedom in Christ does not mean freedom from having to live like Jesus. To claim salvation while refusing God’s sanctification is to “pervert the grace of our God” that we say we believe in.
They serve political ends while claiming spiritual authority.
“The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction” (Jeremiah 5:31). The religious leaders had made themselves useful to those in power. They provided divine sanction for political goals. They traded their prophetic voice for access and influence.
We see this clearly when leaders subordinate the Gospel to a political agenda. When the pulpit becomes a platform for deceit. When the test of faithfulness becomes loyalty to a party rather than obedience to Christ. When defending a political figure becomes more important than protecting the character of God.
Why We Fall For It
Why does this ideology appeal to so many who call themselves Christians?
Fear.
Fear of cultural change. Fear of losing identity or influence. Fear of losing control. Fear that the world our children inherit will be hostile to faith.
And these fears are not imaginary. They hold. The culture has shifted. Christian assumptions in the Western world no longer dominate our way of life, and for many believers, this feels like loss.
Into this fear, Christian nationalism offers comfort. It promises that if we can regain political power, we can turn back the clock. It tells us we can make the world, or at least our country, safe for Christianity again. It transforms our fear into a holy mission to reclaim our ‘rightful’ place.
But notice what it does not require. It does not call us to examine whether our own faithfulness caused the culture to turn away. It does not ask whether the church lost influence because we failed to live like Jesus. It does not demand that we love our enemies or serve the marginalized. It does not ask us to trust God’s sovereignty over history. Instead, it channels our anxiety into combat. It tells us that if we don’t seize control now, all will be lost. It turns our desire for security into a crusade for power and dominance, driven by fear rather than faith in God’s plan.
Jeremiah identifies the core problem: “My people love to have it so” (Jeremiah 5:31). The false teaching succeeded because people wanted it to succeed. It validated their fears. It gave them enemies to fight. It allowed them to feel righteous while pursuing power. It told them that their tribal instincts were actually godly discernment.
This is complicity. Millions of people, many of whom identify as Christians, have embraced this ideology. They have chosen to believe the false prophets and the deceitful leaders. They have preferred the comfortable lie to the challenging truth. They have accepted a version of Christianity that requires no repentance, no self-examination, no costly love for others.
The appeal is understandable. Truthful, sincere Christian faith is difficult. It calls us to love others, to serve others, to be the least rather than grasp for power. It places us at odds with every earthly kingdom, including our own. Christian nationalism offers an easier path. It promises that we can follow Jesus without taking up the Cross.
But this is not the truth.
An Eternal Perspective
Jeremiah ends his indictment with a haunting question: “But what will you do when the end comes?” (Jeremiah 5:31).
Spiritual discernment requires this eternal perspective. We must examine every ideology, every political movement, every cultural battle by asking: Does this reflect the character of Christ? Does this produce the fruit of the Kingdom? Can I defend this choice before the judgment seat?
When faith and political ideology come together, they inevitably influence one another. The question is which one influences which. Our faith, when rooted in the Word of God, cannot, must not, be compromised because it comes from a holy and unchanging God. Our political beliefs come from worldly sources, from fallible people like us, and can absolutely be corrupted. When we allow our political ideology to shape our faith, the result is a distortion of Scripture used to rationalize what we already want to believe. However, when we allow our faith to shape our politics, we willingly submit our personal preferences and tribal affiliations to the lordship of Christ. We ask not “What does my party say?” but “What does Jesus require?” This is the only way to maintain integrity before God.
Christian nationalism allows political ideology to shape faith rather than allowing faith to shape politics. The result is predictable. It produces division, not reconciliation. It pursues dominance, not servanthood. It treats the other as an enemy to be defeated rather than a neighbor to be loved. It places national identity above Kingdom identity. It seeks political power rather than cruciform witness.
The fruit reveals the root.
Examining Ourselves
It’s important to know that Jude wrote his letter to believers. His warning about “certain people” who had crept into the church was about believers. These are not outsiders. These are people who call themselves Christians, who sit in pews, who use the language of faith.
And sometimes, those “certain people” are us.
We must guard against the temptation to read this warning and think only of others. The flesh is deceptive. Our hearts can justify almost anything. We are all capable of perverting grace, of choosing comfort over truth, of making God in our image rather than being transformed into His.
This is why we cannot trust our own hearts to tell us the truth. Jeremiah himself wrote, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). We need help beyond ourselves. We need the Holy Spirit to search us and reveal what we cannot see.
The Holy Spirit is given to believers for this very purpose. He convicts us of sin. He shows us where we have compromised. He exposes the places where we have allowed political ideology to corrupt our faith. He reveals where fear has driven us, rather than trusting in God. Without the Spirit’s work, we will remain blind to our own deception. We will continue to believe our tribal instincts are godly discernment.
This requires humility. We must be willing to ask the Holy Spirit to search us. We must pray as David prayed: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24). We must be willing to hear what He reveals, even when it is uncomfortable. Especially when it is uncomfortable.
The moment we think we are beyond deception is the moment we are most vulnerable to it.
Final Thoughts
The question before us is the same question that faced every generation of believers: Will we serve Christ or Caesar? Will we pursue the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of this world?
Christian nationalism presents itself as a defense of the faith. It is actually a betrayal of it. It takes the scandalous Gospel of a crucified King and turns it into a platform for political power. It takes the radical call to love enemies and transforms it into permission to hate them. It takes grace and perverts it into nationalist ideology.
“But what will you do when the end comes?“
Stand in the breach. Practice discernment. Choose His Kingdom over your nation. Love your enemies. Defend the fatherless. Care for the poor. Refuse to pervert grace. Serve Christ alone.
This is the narrow path. This is true faith.