{"id":31057,"date":"2026-03-02T14:03:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T19:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=31057"},"modified":"2026-03-02T14:03:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T19:03:37","slug":"john-piper-post-sparks-rebuke-from-conservatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/03\/john-piper-post-sparks-rebuke-from-conservatives","title":{"rendered":"John Piper Post Sparks Rebuke From Conservatives"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Left: Gage Skidmore \/ Flickr | Right: Micah Chiang \/ Flickr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Noted writer, apologist, and pastor John Piper has skirted the lines of political commentary throughout the years and a recent post on X sparked ire from conservatives. \u201c\u2018You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God,\u2019\u201d wrote Piper, quoting Leviticus 19:34.<\/a> \u201cChristians know the miserable bondage we were all in.\u201d Piper offered no further commentary or insight on the quote, but the verse is popular amongst progressive Christians as justifying illegal immigration and rejecting deportation. Furthermore, Piper is located in Minneapolis, a city that has been racked with anti-ICE protests. Piper himself has often been critical of President Donald Trump, calling him \u201cmorally unqualified\u201d and encouraging Christians to abstain from voting from either Trump or Biden during the 2020 elections.<\/p>\n

Conservatives pushed back on the verse, noting that immigrants still had a duty to obey national law. \u201cNot every stranger who comes to your country is a Sojourner,\u201d wrote The Daily Wire\u2019s <\/em>Megan Basham<\/a>. \u201cSome respect our system of laws and come to be a blessing to their host nation. To work hard and raise strong families. But some come illegally. And they do not come to work hard. Some come to live off the system, and to exploit the generosity of their host nation. Others come to engage in destructive practices that harm the citizens of the host nation. Biblical wisdom requires us to discern the difference.\u201d Others pointed out that those who \u201csojourn\u201d are supposed to be temporarily passing through, not staying as many illegal immigrants do.<\/p>\n

Others defended Piper, suggesting that the pushback was overwrought. \u201cHere\u2019s the thing. If you look at his X account, it\u2019s literally a single verse each day followed by one sentence takeaway,\u201d wrote one user.<\/a> \u201cAnd he 100% doesn\u2019t manage his own account. Though the points people are making re: immigration may be valid, this post is being blown way out of proportion.\u201d \u201cJohn Piper quoted the actual words of God Himself. And this is the reaction. He quoted the Holy word of God,\u201d wrote Christian broadcaster Erick Erickson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Allie Beth Stuckey offered her own assessment of the controversy. \u201cMaybe we are all reading too much into Piper\u2019s post, but for those who do use this passage to justify illegal immigration or to argue against deportations, keep this in mind: \u2018There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.\u2019 Exodus 12:49,\u201d she wrote<\/a>, while outlining the Biblical admonishments for sojourners to obey national laws. \u201cRemember, nations and borders and governments and laws were God\u2019s idea. He is a God of order who created structures and systems for our good and His glory.\u201d Piper himself has not responded to the criticisms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Noted writer, apologist, and pastor John Piper has skirted the lines of political commentary throughout the years and a recent post on X sparked ire from conservatives. \u201c\u2018You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":31060,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nJohn Piper Post Sparks Rebuke From Conservatives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"John Piper\u2019s Bible verse on loving the stranger sparks debate among Christians over immigration, law, and biblical interpretation online.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, 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