Christianity, Cults and Culture

Our society has always understood that law and order are necessary for a community to survive. Those are not bad words. They are part of what makes life predictable, safe, and livable. Scripture itself tells us that civil authority exists because God intends evil to be restrained and good to be protected. “The governing authorities…are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:1–4; see also 1 Peter 2:13–14).

Because of that, Christians should not view law enforcement as optional or morally neutral. Laws that are just should be respected, and their enforcement should be supported. When a society refuses to do this, everyone suffers. When police are discouraged from enforcing the law, when prosecutors decline to prosecute crimes, and when legislators write laws that hinder enforcement, the results are predictable: crime increases, experienced officers leave, and communities become less safe.

We are now seeing situations where citizens actively interfere with lawful arrests and where whole categories of violations are treated as if they should not be enforced at all. This is often defended as compassion, but compassion that ignores justice does not protect the vulnerable. It exposes ordinary people to greater harm. High-crime neighborhoods do not benefit when law enforcement is weakened; they are the first to pay the price.

This applies to immigration as well. A nation has the right and responsibility to control its borders, and it is not unjust to expect people to enter legally rather than “jump the line.” It is also not compassionate to ignore other crimes simply because someone is in the country unlawfully. If we decide that some laws will not be enforced, we undermine respect for all law. A system that selectively enforces rules will not remain stable for long.

Most people also recognize that we already operate with something close to a two-tier justice system, where wealth and political influence often shield people from consequences. That only deepens public cynicism and further weakens trust in institutions that are supposed to protect the public.

If we continue down this path—less enforcement, fewer prosecutions, and growing hostility toward those tasked with keeping order—society will become more unstable, not more just. Christians should care about mercy, but we must also care about truth, justice, and the protection of our neighbors. Lawlessness does not heal injustice; it multiplies it.

We have hard choices ahead, and we should be thinking carefully—biblically and soberly—about what kind of society we are willing to tolerate and what kind we are willing to defend.