Kingdom in Conflict: What It Really Means to Follow Jesus in a Divided World
What does it mean to be a Christian?
In studying the Gospel of Matthew, I realize that, up until now, I really didn’t know. For most of my life, I thought being a Christian meant merely professing Jesus as Lord and believing with my heart that he lived, died, and rose from the dead for the payment of our sins. That’s part of it, but it’s not nearly representative of what it means to be a true disciple of Christ. Reading Matthew showed me that being a Christian means living out active discipleship and giving allegiance to the kingdom of God, which stands in tension with the world. The Gospel highlights the conflict between true and false righteousness and challenges us to follow Jesus amid opposition, defining Christian identity by our actions and commitment, not just by our confession.
Jesus is more than a sacrificial lamb or a political martyr. He is the vessel by which we learn to please God and live into our calling as God’s children, regardless of backgrounds or personal beliefs. Jesus was a man of the people. He ate with sinners, welcomed the outcasts, challenged power, and revealed God to the least of us. In doing so, he ushered in a new order in which the world could reorient itself by faith and love rather than wealth or status. In Jesus, we learn the truth of God’s heart and are invited to adopt God’s Spirit. This empowers us to bring about God’s will in our own lives and in the world, manifesting God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
Still, while many of us are receptive to God’s radical reorientation and feel joyful about its prospects for communal flourishing and restoration, others of us are not. Therein lies the heart of our conflict. Many of us are still confused about what it means to be a Christian. We profess Jesus in name while disregarding what he stood for. Like the religious leaders who thought their entry into the kingdom of God was automatically guaranteed, or the disciples who assumed Jesus would take over the world by force, we often misinterpret the Messiah, what he came to accomplish, and how. We also lose sight of what that means for us today. Therefore, rather than healing the world by standing united for justice, we perpetuate evil, apathy, and division.
The Conflict
Every day on the news and in conversations, I watch as people who claim to be Christians rebel against God’s Word and each other. American political parties have become like divided street gangs, using the Bible to justify their conflict and unwillingness to collaborate. For example, I see prominent conservative politicians, often associated with the "Make America Great Again" movement, wearing crosses and publicly expressing Christian faith while opposing immigration, speaking against racial justice initiatives, and supporting policies that prioritize national interests over the well-being of marginalized communities. On the other side, I see Christians who, when made aware of issues that affect all of us, such as an unfair labor market, healthcare, or poverty, remain silent, disengaged, or focus only on protecting their personal security rather than advocating for systemic change. Christians across the political spectrum are losing sight of what it means to be a Christian by ignoring Christ’s call to justice, leaving God’s world and people to suffer. How did we drift so far away from purpose, and together, how can we find our way back?
Christian Nationalists
According to Christianity Today (as published by ACLU North Dakota), Christian nationalism is “the belief that the American nation is defined by Christianity, and that the government should take active steps to keep it that way. Christian nationalists assert that America is and must remain a ‘Christian nation.’” This belief is dangerous because Christian nationalists believe Christianity must be protected and enforced, rather than adopted by free will and faith. Therefore, they equate Christianity with purity and the pursuit of power, creating a culture of legalism and homogeneity according to their own interpretations of right and wrong. For example, they might endorse military intervention in their own streets in the name of national security, withhold support for LGBTQ+ people in an effort to “expunge sin,” or start wars overseas with the belief they are “claiming territory for God’s kingdom.” Christian nationalists, much like the Pharisees in the Book of Matthew, misinterpret God’s laws and thereby miss the point of their intent to steward love and unity rather than power and control.
Jesus, however, is clear about how we are to interpret God’s laws if we want to truly operate as members of God’s kingdom. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reshapes our understanding of God’s laws to bring us into new and better ways of being. Rather than approaching God’s laws with the intention of enforcing power and control, he challenges us to view them through a lens of mercy and compassion. Instead of asserting dominance over our neighbors, casting people out, or judging them for being different, Jesus teaches us to love our neighbors and our enemies, and to analyze ourselves before we rush to remove the log from someone else’s eye. Therefore, Christian nationalists are severely misguided in their religious expression. They believe they are God’s “chosen ones” like Ancient Israel, charged with the mission of purifying and protecting the world, when in reality, they rebel against Jesus’ principles by holding an arrogant view of themselves and by demonizing and exploiting others to secure their own interests. Rather than
helping to spread Christianity by living by Jesus’ example, “they shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces, neglect the important matters of God’s laws, and place heavy burdens on other people’s shoulders, while they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them” (Matthew 23). Thus, Christian nationalists risk embodying the very hypocrisy that Jesus condemns, epitomizing what it means to not really be a Christian at all.
Still, Christian nationalists, despite their misguided sense of duty, have an opportunity to repent. Throughout the book of Matthew, Jesus confronts the Pharisees directly and teaches them about the meaning and expression of God’s ways. When the religious leaders tried to nitpick his interpretation of the Sabbath, he stopped and spoke to them in a language they understood (Matthew 12:1-8). When the leaders challenged Jesus’ spiritual authority, he warned them about God’s judgment (Matthew 12:30-32). Even when Jesus had had enough of the religious leaders’ hypocrisy, he lamented the condition of their hearts and expressed his desire to gather them (Matthew 23:37-39). In these instances, Jesus gives us language and instruction for how to treat our brothers and sisters who we feel are on the wrong side of history. He teaches us that while we should confront their evildoing, we should also regard them with love and forgiveness, pitying them, praying for them, and inviting them to partake in the genuine nature of God’s kingdom. This work means operating with hope and fighting for reconciliation. We don’t have to allow the misinterpretation of God’s laws to persist or write people off as lost causes. Instead, we can gather with folks, even those we don’t agree with, and encourage them to understand what true Christianity means.
Uninvolved Christians
Yet, while we engage with Christians who use religion to justify their harmful ideologies, we must also address Christians who don’t allow their faith to influence their politics for good.
According to a 2024 research study, 79% of Americans identified as people of faith, but only half were likely to vote. Within the Christian faith group, this data indicates that approximately 41 million people did not participate in the 2024 election. Why? because 68% of these Christians stated that they were “not interested in politics.” This approach to life also goes against Jesus’ principles. If we are to be disciples who heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and cast out demons, then we need to concern ourselves with the policies and political leaders that make that reality possible at the systemic level.
So many times, I sit in the church pews frustrated by our lack of acknowledgment and participation in what’s happening in the world. While Christians are often committed to volunteerism and evangelical missions, as a unified body, we rarely commit to investing in policies that eradicate poverty and sustain justice forever. In Matthew 10:16-22, Jesus sends the disciples out into their communities to preach and heal in his name, knowing that they would encounter resistance from local authorities. He tells them that on his account they will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses, but when they get arrested, not to worry about what to say or how to say it, as the Spirit of God will intervene and speak through them. Jesus goes on to add that as his disciples, they are not exempt from the harassment that he will receive himself. Instead, they will be hated by everyone because of him, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. This passage communicates that true Christianity means getting involved to the point that we actually move the needle toward positive social progress. Sometimes that means challenging the “powers that be” or sacrificing our comfort to stand up for justice. Either way, it’s not enough to sit on the sidelines. Jesus teaches us that discipleship means giving ourselves freely to others, with the confidence that God’s Holy Spirit will empower and enable us to do
what’s right. In this way, disengagement avoids the very conflict that Matthew presents as essential to discipleship.
The world and its people are ours to steward. God created humanity for this purpose. This means that true Christianity requires our participation. We are to be of service to those on society’s outermost margins, meeting their needs and healing the systems that keep us from facilitating God’s plan for communal flourishing and restoration. Through our volunteerism, votes, and activism, we can embody Jesus’ call to action in our daily lives, tending to our communities and spreading the hope of God’s kingdom in practical ways.
So, what does it mean to be a Christian?
It means moving beyond proclamation into demonstration. It means abiding by Jesus’ teachings, interpreting God’s Word through his lens, and adhering to his call to love, serve, and bring about God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. According to the Gospel of Matthew, it also means living faithfully within the tension of a divided world, choosing the narrow path of righteousness, bearing good fruit, and embodying the will of the Father rather than merely claiming his name (Matthew 7:13–23).
As those who profess to be believers of the Christian faith, we must learn to set aside our differences and selfish agendas to live out our divine calling as a unified body. God does not ask us to take the world by force or bend people to our will. Nor does it allow us to stand by and watch as it burns. Instead, Matthew presents a vision of discipleship that resists both domination and disengagement, calling us to a righteousness marked by humility, mercy, and costly obedience. God calls us to act fearlessly, confidently, and mercifully to change the world into
His image with grace, compassion, and leadership. Therefore, let’s get to work. Let’s raise up a generation of Christians who know what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
