Sermon – Our Greatest Allegiance
Exodus 20:2-6; Matthew 14:28-33 (Matthew 6:19-24; 1 Corinthians 7:21-24)
Farmville Presbyterian Church
7/6/25
If you were alive in 1885 (20 years after the Civil War) and someone asked you to lead the Pledge of Allegiance, you would reply, “What’s that?” The first version of any known pledge was created in 1887 by a Civil War veteran officer on the Union side. He wanted to underscore the unified nature of the American experience and to teach patriotism and offered this pledge to help: We give our heads and hearts to God and our country; one country, one language, one flag! It was used as a pledge for 30ish years, but it did not endure. I cannot help but find it a little clunky and not very poetic. It just does not trip off the tongue. We do not use this version and have probably never even heard it because about five years after the first pledge, a Baptist minister created a new pledge that should sound more familiar, “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” This pledge was created to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Christopher Columbus on this side of the Atlantic, and this was also the beginning of Columbus Day as a holiday, in case you are wondering. This pledge was modified a bit over the following decades but was not finished until the “Under God” part was inserted in 1954 with the support of President Eisenhower. It is striking to me that something so foundational to our national identity today is actually something that was completely alien to our nation for nearly half of our nation’s history.
Honestly, I struggle a little with the Pledge of Allegiance, not that I have an issue with its history or that the author of the version we use was an avowed socialist along with being a Baptist minister. History is as it is. My issue is in pledging my loyalty to anything that is not God. Maybe you have never thought about it and have no problem swearing allegiance to something. Maybe you see this as something similar to pledging loyalty to a spouse in marriage. I do not. Please, do not get me wrong: I am grateful to be American and take my civic duty seriously and want to serve my nation however I am able. I have no problem with that and want to do that because I want to do that. I do believe we live in the greatest nation the world has ever seen, and we need to do what we can to save and preserve it. The act of “pledging my loyalty” to something, though, feels too much like swearing my loyalty to something like a king. Because America at its heart is anti-king, the idea of binding my heart to anything not my family nor my God is tough. I have said the pledge and will say the pledge if I’m in that situation. It just won’t sit easily with me. It feels like a lesser loyalty. I have to say it with a grain of salt. I have only one Lord and Master. Everything else is second: family, nation, and especially myself. In fact, I am bound to this one Lord in perfect servitude.
To be clear, the founders of our great nation chose to give all that they had for our nation’s success because they believed in it and not because they had given some pledge to a flag. They bound themselves to the success of our fledgling nation because they thought it was their great, divinely inspired choice. What happens when our allegiance to America, however, conflicts with our allegiance to God? Do we all know where our greatest allegiance lies?
When God brought the people of Israel out of Egypt, they went directly to Mount Sinai or Horeb (the Bible calls it both names) where they received the Law, including the 10 Commandments. The first passage I read is the beginning of this Law. It is unambiguous: I am your God; you will have no others. This God is the God of our history. Notice that God even identifies God’s self as the one who brought the people out of Egypt. Other places, God says, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” This God is not just a nice idea but attached to our history, involved in our history, a mover of our history. God is the God who did THIS or THAT. Do not confuse this God with any other God. There is only ONE God to which we are bound. Most of the Bible is the story of working out this allegiance. Not only are we supposed to be faithful to God, but God also agreed to be faithful to us. God has pledged allegiance to us, as well. God will never leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6, 8; Joshua 1:5; 1 Chronicles 28:20; Hebrews 13:5). Of course, our Heavenly Father did much more than say it. Jesus himself is the proof, the living evidence of God’s allegiance.
There was a time when I was visited by Jehovah’s Witnesses in Lexington, VA. We would have respectful conversations, and they even gave me a copy of their Bible at my request. I decided to find a passage that might point to the divinity of Christ since they do not believe Jesus and God are the same. This passage from Matthew 14 was one that I presented. My biblical reading had the disciples in the boat worshipped Jesus. This is the same word used for the Wise Men when they find the infant Jesus or the disciples after Jesus is resurrected or for the people of God in ancient times who set up places on mountains to worship or for Cornelius who met Peter in Acts as God’s representative, and Peter says, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, am I God?” In Matthew 14, Jesus walks on water and stills the storm. The disciples in the boat worshipped Jesus as God. But unsurprisingly, the Jehovah’s Witness Bible reads that they paid him homage, or in other words, they expressed their respect. That so misses the point.
God does not want us to bend the knee or to kiss the hand. God demands our lives and our hearts. First Corinthians 7 has this interesting passage beginning at verse 21
Were you a slave when called? Do not be concerned about it. Even if you can gain your freedom, make the most of it. 22 For whoever was called in the Lord as a slave is a freed person belonging to the Lord, just as whoever was free when called is a slave belonging to Christ. 23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of humans. 24 In whatever condition you were called, brothers and sisters, there remain with God.
The idea of slavery is abhorrent to modern society and should be, but this is the way the Apostle Paul understood our relationship with God in Christ. Whether you were a literal slave when you embrace Jesus or a free person, it does not matter. We are all slaves of Christ. This may be hard to hear, and it is not meant to be ugly, but it is meant to show the completeness of our place in the life of Christ. We belong to God. We 100% belong to God in Christ Jesus. Because of what Jesus has done for us, we belong to Christ.
In return for God’s goodness, God’s grace, and God’s faithfulness, God demands our hearts. Every ounce of our being is held in love of God, and even how we love other things can only be through the lens of loving God. When our love of other things comes into conflict with our love and loyalty to God, those other things need to take the backseat, if not leave our hearts. Matthew 6 drives this point home where it concerns our other greatest and most embarrassing love, money. No one can serve two masters – we will love one and hate the other. It is impossible to love money and God. If anyone resents God for the Bible’s teaching about money, then they have made their choice.
We, however, can make our choice even today. God will never settle for second place. Jesus will never share the throne. Every time we call our Savior “Lord” we are speaking of him as our Master or King, but “Lord” can mean just another name more than an actual title or relationship. I love the fact that Jesus is my brother and friend, but I also love the fact that I belong to him body, mind, and soul. Nothing can or should get in the way. His voice is the one that decides my priorities, my values, my service, and my commitments. His voice is the one that decides how I view others, how I conduct myself as an American, and how I love my family. His voice decides how I share in my work and how I live out my call. His voice is the one that calls me to correction, to confession and repentance. His voice is the one that matters most. My life depends on that voice.
These days are full of competing voices. These times are also demanding. We may feel pulled in different directions, some demanding our allegiance. The beauty of allegiance to Christ our Lord is that it is always time to start over, to start afresh, to start anew. It is literally never too late to rediscover our place in God’s heart and our life in Christ while there is breath in our lungs. We belong to Christ Jesus and to no one else. It is a grace and joy and gift to embrace this service. This is where our hearts should always and forever be. To God be the glory. Amen.