Is the Flag A Rival to the Cross?

Everything about this Flag Day feels different.

On June 14, 2025, we mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Flag, adopted by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. What a milestone! However, instead of celebrating the union of states that the flag represents, we could not be more divided. Our nation is deeply fractured. When one’s identity feels threatened, symbols like the flag get waved harder, held tighter, and often times, worshipped.

For Christians, that is dangerous territory. The fallacy of devotion to a flag as intense loyalty is really shifting our ultimate allegiance from God to something else. This effort distorts our faith as well as compromise our witness. God is very clear in Exodus 20:3-5: “You shall have no other gods before me… You shall not make for yourself an idol.”

Patriotism vs. Idolatry

Loving our country? Honoring the sacrifices made under this banner? Feeling gratitude for freedoms secured? These are good things! At best, the flag represents shared ideals of liberty, justice, and the ongoing pursuit of a “more perfect union.” Celebrating its 250th birthday is a fitting day of reflection.

But there’s a movement gaining traction. Known as Christian nationalism, this does something more than celebrating. Christian nationalism claims to uphold Christian values and restore the nation to its supposed Christian roots. However, it doesn’t just profess to love America; it sanctifies it. It infuses a false Christian identity with American identity so tightly that the flag and the Cross become interchangeable symbols of a single cause, which has nothing to do with the Gospel. For them, loyalty to the nation is loyalty to God.

And even more so, it’s gotten to the point that it has lead to the idolatry of political leaders. For them, criticizing the nation is like attacking their version of faith. At this point, the flag then becomes a sacred object, demanding an allegiance that belongs only to God.

Where Does the Flag Belong?

This Flag Day, we’re seeing an example of this dynamic with a scheduled military parade and pledging allegiance to a man. Amidst the charade, we need to ask, Where does the flag belong in the heart of a Christian?

Scripture gives us a resounding answer: Not on the throne reserved for God alone.

God Shows No Partiality

“Then Peter began to speak: ‘I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.'” (Acts 10:34-35)

“For God so loved the world…” (John 3:16)

“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)

The Contradiction

Christian nationalism elevates one nation, the U.S., as uniquely God’s chosen, divinely called for global dominance. This directly contradicts the Bible’s clear message. God’s love, His redemptive plan in Christ, and His call to discipleship transcend all national borders. The Gospel is global, not tribal.
To claim exclusive divine favor for the U.S. only is to shrink God’s universal love into a nationalistic idol. This obstructs the church’s mission to love all people. (1 John 4:7-8).

Our Citizenship is Heavenly

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ…” (Philippians 3:20)

“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.” (1 Peter1 2:11)

“Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.'” (John 18:36)

The Contradiction

The Church is God’s holy nation (1 Peter 2:9). We are sojourners whose allegiance and eternal home is in Christ. When we wrap our Christian identity in stars and stripes, we literally choose our temporary residence over our eternal home. We’re making the nation-state an idol; foolishly demanding loyalty that belongs solely to Christ. Living as heavenly citizens means setting our minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Col. 3:1-2).

We Only Boast in The Cross of Christ

“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galatians 6:14)

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)

The Contradiction

The flag symbolizes earthly power, and military might. However, the Cross represents the opposite: sacrificial love, service, and victory through apparent defeat. Christian nationalism seeks the former, power and dominance; believing it’s how we save the nation. But the power of the Christian is quiet power of the Cross, not the loud, coercive power of a man-state or its failed culture. Boasting in national power obscures the glory of our crucified and resurrected Lord and Savior.

The Danger in Our Current Climate

In this moment of national instability, the presence of idolatry is strong. When people feel afraid, they grasp for symbols that promise identity, strength, and belonging. The flag has become that idol, and it’s misplaced faith. Worse, it has been wielded as a tool to demand unquestioning loyalty, to silence dissent (“unpatriotic!”), and to fuel an “us vs. them” mentality. This divides the Body of Christ and poisons our witness.

History shows how easily national symbols, divorced from their true meaning, can be co-opted by movements that oppose the very heart of the Gospel: love, justice, and humility.

Let’s be clear. Fear is a spirit. And it’s operating in the worship of a flag that cannot save your soul, cannot make you whole, and surely will not connect you to Christ. You will find yourself in a place of destruction.

Honoring the Flag While Worshiping God

So, does that mean we should burn the flag? Ignore its 250th birthday? Of course not. We can honor it appropriately as a civic symbol representing shared aspirations for freedom and justice. But we must do so with discernment and intentional priorities. What does that look like?

• Hold it Lightly. The flag is cloth and dye. The Cross represents the eternal, saving act of God. Never confuse reverence for a symbol with worship of the Savior. Make sure our worship remains undiluted.
• Identity in Christ First. Our primary identity is not “American Christian,” but a “Christian who happens to be American.” Let that order shape everything. This means our loyalty to Christ transcends any national allegiance.
• Reject “Us vs. Them.” The Kingdom of God includes brothers and sisters in every nation, including those our nation may label as enemies. Our love must transcend borders, embracing all just as Christ embraced us.
• Beware of the Demand for Allegiance. If, at any time, loyalty to a national symbol compromises Christ’s command to love, speak truth, serve the vulnerable, or pursue justice, then that loyalty is idolatry. We must always “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21).

Our True Anchor

As we mark 250 years of the Stars and Stripes, let’s celebrate the ideals it can represent with gratitude and humility. More importantly, let’s reaffirm where our ultimate loyalty lies.

Our hope isn’t stitched into fabric; it’s secured by the empty tomb. Our identity isn’t defined by borders; it’s forged in the waters of the Holy Spirit. Our symbol isn’t a banner of earthly power; it’s the sacred Cross where Love conquered death.

Honor the flag? Yes.

But worship the God who shows no partiality, whose Kingdom transcends time, and whose power is made perfect in the weakness of the Cross. This is the only allegiance that will sustain us, and unify Christ’s Church as our peace (Ephesians 2:14). Loyalty to Christ shines a true light in any national storm, no matter how fierce it gets.

With that being said, let us also remember to always ask God for wisdom in discerning these matters, as James 1:5 encourages.

Keep the symbols in their proper place and give all worship where it truly belongs: our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.