One Law for All – The Law of God and Public Policy: On Immigrants and Immigration (6)

One Law for All

The Law of God and Public Policy: On Immigrants and Immigration (6)

Everyone living within the borders must abide by the law of the land.

“You shall have the same rule for the sojourner and for the native, for I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 24:22

The context of this statute is the death penalty for murder, but the principle extends to all the laws of the land: Foreigners were expected to know and obey the Law of God, and they would be subject to all the procedures of justice should they fail in doing so. No special laws existed to accommodate their unique needs or concerns, and they were exempt from none of the civil laws by which all citizens of Israel lived.

No special exceptions or exemptions from the law should exist for foreigners living in this country. Nor should any Americans engaged with immigrants or foreigners be allowed to transgress the law of the land to their own advantage. Personally, I do not believe that minimum wage laws are just or helpful; however, they are the law of the land, and any who circumvent them by hiring illegal aliens at below minimum wage rates should be prosecuted until the laws are changed.

Foreigners who break American laws should be held accountable until the demands of justice are met. This should apply to all foreigners, whether diplomats or drug dealers, vagrants or vacationers, part-time workers or full-time students. No one living or visiting in this country should be exempt from obedience to American law. All expect the privileges and protections of those laws; all should likewise expect to fulfill the obligations of them.

Subscribe to Crosfigell, the devotional newsletter of The Fellowship of Ailbe. Sent to your desktop every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Crosfigell includes a devotional based on the literature of the Celtic Christian period and the Word of God, highlights of other columns at the website, and information about mentoring and online courses available through The Fellowship.

–

In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.