Displaying a national/state flag is an obstacle to Christian fellowship.
According to Acts 2:42 fellowship was one of four foundational activities that the first church gave themselves to wholeheartedly. Many have come to understand fellowship as just a fancy name for “church-picnic”. There is however much more than that behind the idea of fellowship. The word which we translate as “fellowship” in English is the greek word that is better translated as “sharing”. To share is to hold something in common. When Wendy and I share a Starbuck drink we hold in common the drink, we share (literally:). Christian fellowship is simply Christians sharing and holding together what we have in common. Such things that all believers hold in common, and those which the church should promote among its members, are things like: the Bible, the Holy Spirit, salvation and the new birth, Christ, etc. All else is subsequent to and secondary to these purely Christian, gospel related, unifying, spiritual realities.
Displaying a flag is introducing an element into our fellowship that is unrelated to the priorities and privileges already mentioned. The flag and what it stands for is extraneous to true Christian fellowship and many times it actively hinders fellowship among the faithful. What does the American flag have to do with Christ, the gospel, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, salvation, the cross, etc? How confusing it must be to those who are not American citizens but who visit our American churches and see the flag displayed front and center. Unknowingly the message we convey is that the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Bible, and Christianity is somehow connected to and related to Americanism, and by logical extension our foreign policies, our culture, our laws. How it must incense those who have suffered unjustly because of our policies or the consequences of them.
I wonder how American Christians would respond to attending a church where the communist Chinese flag was on display? Would it not rile our prejudiced patriotic passions into a heated fervor. Such passions rarely if ever produce the fruit of Christian unity, and facilitate the strengthening of the bonds of peace and love.
For these reasons, and the others already mentioned, displaying a national flag is an unnecessary hindrance which the church of Jesus Christ should avoid for the sake of the gospel and for the sake of true Christian fellowship.
According to Acts 2:42 fellowship was one of four foundational activities that the first church gave themselves to wholeheartedly. Many have come to understand fellowship as just a fancy name for “church-picnic”. There is however much more than that behind the idea of fellowship. The word which we translate as “fellowship” in English is the greek word that is better translated as “sharing”. To share is to hold something in common. When Wendy and I share a Starbuck drink we hold in common the drink, we share (literally:). Christian fellowship is simply Christians sharing and holding together what we have in common. Such things that all believers hold in common, and those which the church should promote among its members, are things like: the Bible, the Holy Spirit, salvation and the new birth, Christ, etc. All else is subsequent to and secondary to these purely Christian, gospel related, unifying, spiritual realities.
Displaying a flag is introducing an element into our fellowship that is unrelated to the priorities and privileges already mentioned. The flag and what it stands for is extraneous to true Christian fellowship and many times it actively hinders fellowship among the faithful. What does the American flag have to do with Christ, the gospel, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, salvation, the cross, etc? How confusing it must be to those who are not American citizens but who visit our American churches and see the flag displayed front and center. Unknowingly the message we convey is that the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Bible, and Christianity is somehow connected to and related to Americanism, and by logical extension our foreign policies, our culture, our laws. How it must incense those who have suffered unjustly because of our policies or the consequences of them.
I wonder how American Christians would respond to attending a church where the communist Chinese flag was on display? Would it not rile our prejudiced patriotic passions into a heated fervor. Such passions rarely if ever produce the fruit of Christian unity, and facilitate the strengthening of the bonds of peace and love.
For these reasons, and the others already mentioned, displaying a national flag is an unnecessary hindrance which the church of Jesus Christ should avoid for the sake of the gospel and for the sake of true Christian fellowship.
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