Tim Walz Twists Scripture for Political Purposes

Written by David E. Smith

During the recent vice presidential debate on CBS News, Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) quoted Scripture and applied it to how we should respond to the flood of illegal immigrants coming across the border, saying we should protect “the least among us…” Here is his answer in context, from the debate transcript:

Look, this issue of continuing to bring this up, of not dealing with it, of blaming migrants for everything. On housing, we could talk a little bit about Wall Street speculators buying up housing and making them less affordable, but it becomes a blame. Look, this bill also gives the money necessary to adjudicate. I agree. It should not take seven years for an asylum claim to be done. This bill gets it done in 90 days. Then you start to make a difference in this and you start to adhere to what we know. American principles. I don’t talk about my faith a lot, but Matthew 25:40 talks about, “To the least amongst us, you do unto me.” I think that’s true of most Americans. They simply want order to it. This bill does it. It’s funded, it’s supported by the people who do it, and it lets us keep our dignity about how we treat other people. [Emphasis added.]

First, we have to ask, why didn’t the left-wing moderators – Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan – not fact-check Walz for injecting his religious views into the debate? Why did they let him get away with the assumption that America is a Christian nation? Why didn’t they repeat the myth about the separation of church and state?

We can only assume the moderators didn’t mind Scripture being used that way. Yet, it is almost certain one (or both) would have scolded U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) if he had suggested Christianity demands that we observe the sanctity of human life.

More importantly, and specifically regarding the sanctity of human life, the biblical admonishment to care for “the least of these” is a theme throughout Scripture. Followers of Jesus Christ are to show compassion to the marginalized and oppressed, serve and uplift the vulnerable, and care for widows and orphans. (Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 9:48; James 1:27; Isaiah 1:17; Psalm 68:5)

How about Proverbs 24:11, which exhorts us to:

Deliver those who are being taken away to death,
And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back.

For some reason, Tim Walz and leftists like him seem to be oblivious to how these biblical imperatives apply to what they euphemistically call “reproductive rights” and the bill he signed as governor of Minnesota, legalizing abortion up to birth. We have every right to judge the bitter fruit of Walz’s “faith” and worldview. (Matthew 7:15-20)

Pastor Brandon Myers responded to this very thing:

One seriously wonders what faith Tim Walz is referring to exactly. Certainly it’s not the historic Christian faith which takes seriously any misrepresentation of the Lord God. The Christian faith utterly rejects any kind of careless Scripture twisting with God’s Holy, written, revealed Word. But that is exactly what Tim Walz did with God’s Word in the debate with J.D. Vance.

Interestingly, his appointed running mate Kamala and Joe Biden have been incredibly derelict in their duty to protect our nation’s borders and, as many have observed, seem intent on flooding this nation with those who will vote for Democrats for decades to come (a complete and wicked sham disqualifying for any, by the way). The character of Tim Walz was on display and he had no problem ignoring the meaning God originally intended in favor of what suited his political agenda.

But we ought to praise God whenever a politician mentions Scripture. Years ago I heard someone wiser than me say whenever someone mentions the Bible, even if they twist God’s Word (which is wrong and ought to be refuted), simply say, “I am so glad you have such esteem and reverence for the Bible and consider it a source of ultimate authority. I do as well and am so glad you brought that up and we have that in common … did you also know in the Bible it says this about Christ’s Lordship (Luke 6:46, 12:42; Romans 10:9; Acts 2:36, 10:31, 16:31, 28:30-31; 2 Corinthians 4:5) … and His call to repent? (Matthew 3:2; Acts 2:38, 3:19; Luke 5:32; Jeremiah 3:3; Isaiah 55:7)”

Try this at your next family gathering if someone mentions the Bible or tries to appeal to it. You will often find the person is simply trying to win an argument or score a political point. May that not be us, beloved brother and beloved sister! May we care about the true intention of God’s Holy Word and handle it with care and precision that honors our God.  To be sure, true Christians who fear the Lord ought to be on guard for Scripture twisting, especially with these verses in Matthew 25 Tim Walz cited.

Some true Christians have also marshaled this passage to support their cause. But we must be careful and precise.  To be sure, these verses in Matthew are gloriously good and true even as they are also convicting for all of us.  Yet it is vitally important to consider the context of this passage. Context is king as the phrase goes insofar as we mean king=key to determining meaning. The context defines and determines the meaning of particular sentences in Scripture as any scholar rightly knows. If you care about God’s truth and representing Him accurately rather than taking His name in vain, which is exactly what Tim Walz did, read the entire passage in context:

But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not ^[a]take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

In his excellent article on this exact subject of who are the least of these from a few years ago, Kevin DeYoung rightly observed:

“The word “least” is the superlative from of mikroi (little ones), and mikroi always refers to the disciples in Matthew’s gospel (10:42; 18:6, 10, 14; see also 11:11). The similarity between Matthew 10 and 25 is not accidental. In Matthew 10:40-42, Jesus tells the disciples, “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” The context for these remarks is Jesus sending out his disciples to minister throughout the towns of Israel (vv. 5-15).”

Pastor Kevin DeYoung helpfully summarizes that in Matthew 25:

“the needy in view are fellow Christians, especially those who depend on our hospitality and generosity for their ministry. “The least of these” is not a blanket statement about the church’s responsibility to meet the needs of all the poor, let alone a definitive statement about federal budgets.”

May we all take to heart who this passage is referring to–brothers in Christ in serious need who we ignore. Disciples of King Jesus suffering for the cause of Christ. And may we share the good news of Jesus Christ in a Scripture-twisting world, declaring without shame that He is the Lord and the judge of us all, and apart from God’s mercy and grace in Christ all of us would be lost.

Praise God for the gospel. Praise God for the verdict of no condemnation. And praise God for the fact that God’s Word is sufficient and clear and inerrant and overwhelmingly understandable. We cannot use it for our purposes or political ambitions and certainly to support causes that contradict God’s clear Word concerning truth, law, righteousness, and the proper role of civil magistrates to honor God and fulfill their proper, God-given roles.

May God have mercy on Tim Walz and may we faithfully refute any who twist God’s Word so brazenly and wickedly.

There really is not much more to add to Pastor Myer’s wonderful response here.

While Scripture in general, and the quoted Bible passage specifically, speak to compassion, Walz misapplied it to advance a left-wing narrative in favor of lax border policies and/or mass amnesty. The absence of rigorous border security during the Biden-Harris administration, in which millions of unvetted foreign nationals have entered the U.S., is rightly a top concern to a majority of Americans.

While we are called to love our neighbors and the sojourner (Mark 12:30-31; Deut. 10:19; Lev. 19:18), nothing in Scripture prohibits us from enacting sensible (or even stringent) immigration policies to make sure that nefarious migrants are not welcomed in. In fact, Acts 17:26 tells us that God has appointed every nation of the earth, including their boundaries (borders).

It has been said that borders, language, and culture define a nation. Border security plus controlled (but generous) immigration policies are needed now more than ever.