Satan’s temptations of Jesus are eerily similar to those of Christian Nationalism. Jesus teaches us how to counter and resist these temptations while reclaiming the true spirit and integrity of Scripture.
What is Christian Nationalism?
I define Christian Nationalism as a political ideology that distorts and weaponizes Christian teachings to legitimize and advance an aggressively patriarchal, racist, and ethnocentric agenda.
According to Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry, “Christian nationalism is a cultural framework – a collection of myths, traditions, symbols, narratives and value systems – that idealizes and advocates a fusion of Christianity with American civic life.” (Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States, Oxford University Press, 2020, 10.)
In the U.S., the current administration is undergirded by Christian nationalist ideology. Having taken over all three branches of government and co-opted the media conglomerate, the movement is imposing a techno-oligarchal, authoritarian, theocratic system by enacting its administrative blueprint known as Project 2025. The plan is to debilitate, deconstruct, and destroy the pillars and infrastructures of democracy. In its place, they are enforcing a violent white supremacist regime that strips the rights and freedoms of everyone who is not white, male, straight, cisgender, able-bodied, and compliant.
The Allures of Christian Nationalism
In her book, The Psychology of Christian Nationalism, Episcopal priest and pastoral psychotherapist Pamela Cooper-White explains both the conscious needs and unconscious lures of Christian Nationalism for people who are drawn in by its extremist beliefs. Conscious motivations include the need for belonging and a sense of purpose, fear of losing white social status, resentment, desire for power, fear of losing patriarchal authority, and the irrational allure of conspiracy theories (41).
Beneath the surface, however, Christian Nationalism often stirs unconscious impulses that lead its followers to behave in ways that inflict violence on others and ultimately harm themselves. These deeper drives include the magnetism of “groupthink,” the draw of a narcissistic leader, and the effects of one’s personal trauma. These can “lead people to become Christian nationalists of varying degrees [in ways] that defy all rational analysis” (99).
Countering Christian Nationalism in Lent
When we examine Christian Nationalism through the lens of Scripture, we can see just how insidious, dangerous, and damaging this ideology is. The season of Lent offers opportunities to educate our congregations about Christian Nationalism and how to counter and resist this toxic movement.
The temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4:1-11 and the temptations of Christian Nationalism
The first Sunday of Lent in the Revised Common Lectionary this year includes the story in Matthew 4:1-11 of Satan tempting Jesus in the wilderness. The temptations of Jesus and those of Christian Nationalism are eerily similar. Fortunately, Jesus teaches us how to counter and resist those temptations while reclaiming the true spirit and integrity of Scripture.
Temptation #1: Turning stones into bread.
Satan tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread, enticing him to use his divine power to satisfy his personal needs. This temptation aimed to derail Jesus from his focus on spiritual nourishment and service to others and to seek selfish gain and control.
Similarly, Christian Nationalism seduces adherents to use religion for securing political power and cultural dominance. Christian nationalist leaders prioritize national identity and self-interest over God’s word that calls for justice, righteousness, and caring for those in need.
Resistance: Live by the word of God.
To counter the tempter, Jesus quoted Deut. 8:3, which states that God humbled the Israelites in the wilderness by feeding them manna, thus teaching them that they “do not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” The Bible – God’s word – was Jesus’s source of sustenance, not the fleeting fulfillment of momentary manipulation.
Christians must likewise reject the short-lived empty promises of Christian Nationalism that can never satisfy the deepest human needs of connection and community. Instead, focusing on the Bible’s teachings of humility and generosity toward others sustains us as we live in community together.
Temptation #2: Jumping from the pinnacle.
Satan goaded Jesus to jump from the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem. Quoting Psalm 91:11-12, Satan cherry-picked and distorted Scripture to provoke Jesus into testing God’s protection through a reckless act on the highest point of the holiest site.
In the same way, Christian Nationalism cherry-picks and distorts Scripture to lure people into reckless, harmful acts at the bidding of their leaders. Churches that whip their followers into frenzies of nationalistic fervor echo Satan’s temptations to draw divine favor through spectacle. They insist on blind trust in human power rather than humble faithfulness to God’s justice and mercy.
Resistance: Do not test God.
Jesus countered Satan’s twisted use of Scripture with a verse that neutralized the temptation to religious recklessness. He quoted Deut. 6:16 in which Moses warned the Israelites not to test God the way they had in the wilderness when they demanded signs of divine power.
Likewise, Christians must refuse Christian Nationalism’s temptations of religious spectacle fused with distorted patriotism. They should reject these churches and religious leaders, choosing instead a faith marked by humble service and a commitment to justice and peace.
Temptation #3: Worshiping Satan in exchange for the kingdoms of the world.
The third temptation promised Jesus unlimited political power in exchange for bending the knee and doing the bidding of the one who opposed God. The temptation to rule the world entails divine power for a single individual. But Jesus already had this power and chose to invert it for the sake of empowering others to create their own communities of flourishing. For Jesus, this may have been the easiest temptation to reject, but human beings who seek this god-like power willingly worship and align themselves with the powers of evil. The resulting wars, oppression, human suffering, and catastrophic environmental collapse ironically destroy the very earth that the megalomaniacal leader seeks to rule.
In a parallel temptation, Christian Nationalism demands unquestioning loyalty to violent, malignantly narcissistic leaders who care only about their own power and nothing about their followers or the communities they destroy. These leaders convince their followers to invade, bomb, clear-cut, kidnap, rape, and murder in order to secure their power. And to do it all in Jesus’s name, a sin of heresy that violates all that is sacred.
Resistance: Worship and serve God alone.
For a final time, Jesus turns to Scripture to nullify Satan’s temptation. This time he quotes Deuteronomy 6:13 and Exodus 20:3, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve God alone.” This is the first of the Ten Commandments, the foundation on which the ethics of the Bible rest. Jesus rejects Satan’s transactional offer of power in exchange for loyalty to evil. Instead, he affirms the mission he began at the Jordan River to follow the God who claimed him in baptism. This is the God who assures him of a life guided by integrity and focused on serving the most vulnerable. From that moment on, Jesus will set himself against any individual and any system that aligns with the purposes of Satan.
Today, Christians must also reject the temptations of Christian Nationalism by centering on the commandment to worship and serve God alone. This is not a God who demands concentration camps or the incarceration of children in exchange for the supremacy of whiteness and ethnic purity. Neither does this God require stripping rights away from women, individuals who are gay or trans, and those without citizenship. And this God certainly does not order or desire the use of violence, cruelty, or vicious oppression.
Conversely, this God calls us to a life guided by integrity and focused on serving the most vulnerable, just as Jesus did. Our baptismal vocation obligates us to resist and oppose any individual or system that aligns with evil purposes. Instead, we are called to embody compassion, justice, and peace—building communities where dignity is honored and every life is cherished.
The Angels are Watching and Waiting
In the final verse of this passage, Satan leaves Jesus after the grueling battle of temptations in the wilderness. But Jesus is not alone. The angels had been watching the whole time and now surround Jesus with what he needed – sustenance, protection, and divine power. These were the very things that Satan had promised but could not actually deliver. It was all a ruse in order for the devil to gain power for himself. Satan cared nothing about Jesus. He only wanted to use Jesus for his own purposes, destroying him and all that Jesus loved in the process.
In the same way, what Christian Nationalism promises, it cannot truly deliver. It’s all a scam used by those who are aligned with demonic forces to gain power for themselves. They care nothing about Jesus, and they care nothing about other people or the planet. They only want to use the name of Jesus and the ruse of a flag-wrapped cross for their own purposes, even if it means destroying all that Jesus loves in the process.
However, this story reminds us that angels are watching and waiting as we are engaged in this resistance against the evils of Christian Nationalism. We are not alone. As we see in places like Minneapolis, angels – often in the form of everyday people – are gathering and forming communities in ways that provide sustenance, protection, and divine power.
How is your church engaging with the movement of community that supports flourishing, peace, and compassion for all?
Sermon Ideas
A sermon addressing Christian Nationalism based on Matthew 4:1-11 might ask: How can our church model basic decency, compassion, and caring? What are ways we can honor our neighbors, protect the weak, and minister to those who have been hurt by the abusive, corrupt, and racist movement of Christian Nationalism?
Ultimately, there is a power that is greater than a demonic belief system that promises so much but provides so little while harming so many. That power is one of generosity, curiosity, creativity, joy, nonviolence, justice, and peace. It is a regenerating, rejuvenating power that is found in the leading of the Spirit, the word of God in Scripture, and the embodiment of love in Christ. And it is Christ who strengthens us to resist and oppose those demonic temptations while staying true to our faith in God.
Central Question, Central Claim, Central Purpose for Sermon on Matt. 4:1-11
(The Central Question, Central Claim, and Central Purpose statements are a way to organize and provide direction for a sermon that I developed in the book Introduction to Preaching: Scripture, Theology, and Sermon Preparation (Rowman & Littlefield, 2013). Here are possible Central Statements for a sermon countering Christian Nationalism based on Matthew 4:1-11.)
Central Question. Just as Jesus resisted and opposed the temptations of Satan in the wilderness, how can Christians today resist and oppose the abusive, corrupt, and racist temptations of Christian Nationalism?
Central Claim. Christ strengthens us to oppose the demonic temptations of Christian Nationalism and stay true to our faith in God through the teachings of Scripture and ministry of compassion.
Central Purpose. This sermon will challenge listeners to confront the temptations of Christian Nationalism and renew their ministries of prophetic truth-telling, empathetic advocacy, and courageous activism.
Read also:
Clergy, Prepare for ICE: Guidance from Minnesota Pastors
Is Your Pastor Preaching Christian Nationalism? 8 Red Flags
The Murder of Renee Good is an Apocalyptic Moment
The Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade is a seminary professor, ordained minister, and co-founder of the Clergy Emergency League. Her opinions are her own.
Leah is the author of Preaching and Social Issues: Tools and Tactics for Empowering Your Prophetic Voice (Rowman & Littlefield, 2024), Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019) and Creation-Crisis Preaching: Ecology, Theology, and the Pulpit (Chalice Press, 2015). She is the co-editor of Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019). Her book, Introduction to Preaching: Scripture, Theology, and Sermon Preparation, was co-authored with Jerry L. Sumney and Emily Askew (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023).
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In