The Civic Pew
Week 8 · Immigration

Immigration and the Sojourner: Compassion and the Rule of Law

The Bible commands love for the stranger, and it also recognizes borders, nations, and lawful order. How do Christians hold both together?

By The Civic Pew

Few issues stir stronger feelings than immigration. Some Christians lead with compassion for the migrant; others lead with concern for law, security, and fairness to those who wait in line. Both instincts can be found in Scripture. The challenge is to hold them together without letting go of either.

This article will not tell you what number of visas is right or which bill to support. Those are prudential questions where faithful believers disagree. But the Bible does give us principles that should shape every Christian’s view.

1. God commands love for the stranger (Leviticus 19:33–34)

“When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:33–34, NASB 1995)
NKJV: “The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

This theme runs throughout the Law. “You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the feelings of a stranger” (Exodus 23:9)—literally, as the NASB margin notes, the “soul” of a stranger. God Himself “shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing”, and He tells His people, “So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 10:18–19). Workers were protected too: “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your aliens” (Deuteronomy 24:14).

2. One law for the native and the stranger (Leviticus 24:22; Numbers 15:16)

The same Law that commanded love for the sojourner also expected him to live under Israel’s law, and it promised him equal justice under it: “There shall be one standard for you; it shall be for the stranger as well as the native” (Leviticus 24:22). “There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you” (Numbers 15:16).

3. Nations and boundaries are part of God’s design (Acts 17:26; Deuteronomy 32:8)

Paul told the Athenians that God “made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation”, and Paul gives the purpose: “that they would seek God” (Acts 17:26–27).

Moses sang the same truth long before: “When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, When He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples” (Deuteronomy 32:8; NKJV: “When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, When He separated the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the peoples”). Nehemiah led the people to “rebuild the wall of Jerusalem” (Nehemiah 2:17) for their protection. Distinct nations with their own lands are part of how God has ordered the world.

4. Honor the law of the land you enter (Numbers 20:14–21; Genesis 47:1–6; Romans 13:1)

Scripture does not only tell nations how to treat newcomers. It also shows newcomers how to treat the nations they enter. Again and again, God’s people asked permission before crossing or settling in someone else’s land, and they respected the answer.

Israel asked, and accepted no for an answer. On the way to Canaan, Moses sent messengers to the king of Edom:

“Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or through vineyard; we will not even drink water from a well. We will go along the king’s highway, not turning to the right or left, until we pass through your territory.” (Numbers 20:17, NASB 1995)
NKJV: “Please let us pass through your country. We will not pass through fields or vineyards, nor will we drink water from wells; we will go along the King’s Highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.”

Israel even offered to pay for any water its livestock drank (20:19). When Edom still refused, “Israel turned away from him” (20:21). Israel made the same request of Sihon, king of the Amorites (Numbers 21:21–22), and Moses later recalled sending him “words of peace,” offering to buy food and water and to “pass through on foot” (Deuteronomy 2:26–29). Israel had God’s own promise of a land, yet it still asked before it crossed someone else’s.

Jacob’s family asked Pharaoh before settling. When famine drove Jacob’s sons to Egypt, they did not simply move in. They came before the king: “We have come to sojourn in the land … Now, therefore, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen” (Genesis 47:4; NKJV: “We have come to dwell in the land … Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen”). Pharaoh granted it: “let them live in the land of Goshen” (47:6). They arrived openly, with the ruler’s permission, and were welcomed.

Ruth joined Israel and took up its ways. Ruth the Moabite pledged, “where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God” (Ruth 1:16; NKJV: “Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God”). She came in humility—“since I am a foreigner?” (Ruth 2:10)—and she gleaned under Israel’s law, which made room for the poor and the stranger (Leviticus 19:9–10). Her story pairs a generous welcome with a newcomer’s willing embrace of her new home.

Every believer, citizen or newcomer, is called to submit to governing authorities. “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God” (Romans 13:1; NKJV: “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities”). Peter adds, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution” (1 Peter 2:13; NKJV: “submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake”). That includes a nation’s just laws about who may enter and settle. Romans 13 (see Week 4) also teaches that governing authorities are servants of God for order and justice, which includes enforcing just laws fairly.

Taken together, these passages point to a clear principle. Entering a country lawfully, by asking and receiving permission, honors God’s design for nations and the authority He has given governments. Entering or staying unlawfully, however understandable the reasons, sets that authority aside. Christians can say this plainly and still speak with compassion. Many who have come unlawfully fled real danger or poverty, and every one of them bears God’s image. The call to love the stranger (section 1) and the call to honor the law (this section) do not cancel each other. Scripture asks us to hold both, and to work for laws that are just, orderly, and humane.

5. Hospitality is a personal calling (Matthew 25:35; Hebrews 13:2)

Jesus identified Himself with the stranger: “I was a stranger, and you invited Me in” (Matthew 25:35). The New Testament urges every believer to be “practicing hospitality” (Romans 12:13) and says, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2).

We should also remember who we are. Peter writes to believers “as aliens and strangers” (1 Peter 2:11)—paroikous kai parepidēmous (παροίκους καὶ παρεπιδήμους). Every Christian is, in a sense, a sojourner whose true citizenship is in heaven.

What American history adds

In 1783 George Washington wrote to a group of recent Irish immigrants: “The bosom of America is open to receive not only the Opulent and respectable Stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all Nations And Religions; whom we shall wellcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges, if by decency and propriety of conduct they appear to merit the enjoyment.” Notice both halves: a warm welcome and an expectation of good conduct.

The Constitution gave Congress power “To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization” (Article I, Section 8). The first such law, in 1790, opened citizenship to “any alien, being a free white person” who had lived in the country for two years. That racial limit was a grave injustice, and it took until 1952 for Congress to remove the last racial bars to naturalization. America’s story includes both generous welcome and painful exclusion, and honesty requires us to remember both.

So what does this look like in real life?

The Bible will not let us choose between compassion and order. God loves the stranger, and He establishes nations and governments. Christians who keep both truths in view can bring something rare to this debate: both a firm commitment to justice and a warm welcome for the stranger.

For reflection

  1. Which comes more naturally to you on immigration: compassion or concern for law? What might the other emphasis teach you?
  2. What do Israel’s requests to Edom and Jacob’s request to Pharaoh teach about how newcomers should approach a nation’s laws?
  3. How does remembering that you are a “sojourner” shape the way you see immigrants?
  4. Is there an immigrant family in your community your church could welcome this month?

Peace and Love,
The Civic Pew

Want more like this? Get the weekly newsletter or follow us on X, YouTube, and Instagram.

Sources and notes