The problem:
All around me, I see conservative Christians hailing governors of states here in America for banning refugees from Syria from entering the state. As I see these things, I wonder what motivates this reaction from Christians. Let's start with a few basic facts.
1. The vast majority of these refugees need the Gospel
2. The Bible tells us, repeatedly, that we risk personal harm by sharing the Gospel
3. The Bible commands us to share the Gospel to all peoples.
4. In light of facts 1-3, it is pretty clear that Christians have a responsibility to share the Gospel with these people even if it means personal harm or danger to ourselves.
No sound Biblical argument can be made suggesting that we do not have the responsibility to share the Gospel with these people, and, based on the repeated reminding of the Scriptures, potential danger does not exonerate us either. Since these things are both true, I would argue that concern for our own well being as Christians is decidedly not a valid reason to wish to keep these people, who need the Gospel, from coming into our homeland.
It has been rightly brought up that terrorists may potentially come into this nation from among these refugees, but, in light of the fact that we are told in Scripture that to live is Christ and to die is gain, the question in response to this issue as Christians is largely, so what?
A clarification:
Now, let me be very clear. There are two sphere's of responsibility at play, here. We as individual Christians have a responsibility to proselytize, but our governments have a responsibility to keep their citizens safe. In light of that, our elected leaders have the right and responsibility to keep their citizens as safe as possible, and it is not unChristian to agree with an elected leader's decision regarding the safety of the people.
The concern, here, is for where the hearts and minds of Christians are focused. If we celebrate barring refugees from states because we fear for our own safety, I would argue that we are not putting the Gospel ahead of our own temporal concerns as we should. In fact, I would argue that if our focus is on evangelizing these incoming people, we should probably be praying that our elected officials find a way to do their job in such a way that still gives us a chance to minister to these people. Our reaction to these events (and I say events, plural, because many acts of terrorism in countries all over the world have caused this refugee crisis) should first be to see how we can share the Gospel to the people of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, France, Jordan, and everywhere else impacted by this terror. That includes, mind you, sharing the Gospel with the individuals responsible for these heinous acts. Any and all political response comes second to that, and a distant second at that. I want to encourage all my brothers and sisters in the Lord to respond to these tragedies with the Gospel first and foremost in our thoughts and actions, and would suggest that labeling refugees as a category as inherently dangerous and undesirable is not in step with that goal.
When bombs explode around the world and people die, many of those people go to Hell, both terrorists and victims alike. The Gospel is the only solution that will ultimately defeat this evil.
