Christians need to hold a Biblical view of civil government. The Biblical view is that we are citizens of two kingdoms, a spiritual kingdom and an earthly kingdom. For Christians, the head of the spiritual kingdom is Jesus Christ. The Christian Church on earth is the visible component of the spiritual kingdom. The Church shares the Good News of Jesus Christ and offers mercy, grace, and forgiveness. The earthly kingdom, our civil government, is the country we live in, and it offers a stable environment of laws that promote the common good. Neither the visible Church or the civil government are perfect. They both have their problems because we are broken sinful humans. So as Christians and good citizens, we should make our Christian principles known for the betterment of the people.
Some Christians disagree with the idea of two kingdoms, but when we look at what the Bible says, the two kingdoms idea fits. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world” to Pilate (John 18:36), and later Jesus also told Pilate, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11). This shows the two kingdoms, God’s spiritual Kingdom and the God instituted civil government. The Apostle Paul explains more about the role of the civil government in Romans 13:1-7. Note Paul, like Jesus, treats the civil government separately from the Church. We are to submit to the governing authorities because they are God’s servants for our good by punishing those who do wrong. We do good, pay our taxes, and give our civil authorities honor and respect. However, because the government is run by humans, there may be times when we have to obey God rather than the civil authorities (Acts 4:19-20), but I believe those cases in America are pretty rare.
There are those in the United States who endorse the idea that Christianity in America should be given preferential treatment and that Christianity in some form should be the official religion of the nation. This did not work out well in Europe. The Christian faith ended up as the secondary partner to the government and in my opinion Christianity was crippled. Having Christian laws and an official Christian religion did not change people’s hearts. Changed hearts is the work of the Gospel message and the Holy Spirit. It is found in the spiritual kingdom, the Church, not in civil government.
This does not mean as Christians we should sit back and do nothing. No, God has called us to be good citizens and to promote the welfare and wellbeing of the land (Jeremiah 29:7). This means we can promote Christian principles that would be good for our land. We are also called to pray for our leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2). And we also can seek the welfare of the land by becoming leaders and officers in government. We have the examples of Daniel (Daniel 2:48-49) and Joseph (Genesis 41:39-40), who were high ranking officials in pagan governments.
Today, many Christians are concerned with America losing its Christian roots. We can pray, humble ourselves and turn from our wicked ways (2 Chronicles 7:14) and let God work. Our job is to share the Gospel message, the good news of what Jesus has done for us, and then let the Holy Spirit do the rest. Changed hearts, not more laws, will restore America.
Happy 250th Birthday, America!
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