The Believer and Civil Authority
Christian believers are subject to two kingdoms. We live in
this world and therefore we are subject to the civil authority of the society
in which we live. In other words, I am a citizen of the United States and a
resident of Athens, PA. I am also a Christian believer born of God and
therefore subject to Christ's Kingdom. It is possible at times for these
realities to collide but rightly understood there should be no real conflict of
interest. Jesus had no difficulty distinguishing between the two. "You
must give what is Caesar's to Caesar and what is God's to God." In another
place Jesus told Pilate, "My Kingdom is not of this world." The
apostle Paul was also able to make this distinction. "Every person is
subject to the governing authorities." Why then do we have a problem
ordering our lives in this way?
The best way to begin an answer to
this question is to look at the believer's relationship with God in Jesus
Christ. As born of God believers we are spiritually renewed persons living by
faith in the spiritual Kingdom of Christ. We are His subjects - purchased and
redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ. We are to worship and to serve Him
without reservation. This worship, however, is spiritual. "They that worship
Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." Service to the Lord is
through the Holy Spirit in "love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness and self-control". We are also commanded to love
God with all our being and to love one another as Christ has loved us. This is
the Biblical description of the Christian life. Is there anything here that
would normally interfere with good citizenship in this world?
Before answering that question let
us look at the believer's relationship to civil authority. The believer's
relationship to civil authority is really no different than that of the
non-believer at least in this culture. The only difference is on a spiritual
level and that has no relevance to civil authority. In this society our faith
should have nothing to do with our relationship to the civil authority. This is
a basic tenet of the United States constitution. It is not that way in every
civil system but it is that way here. To some extent it was that way in the
Roman government as well during the time of the apostle Paul. We are subject to
the civil authority in the same way that non-believers are.
It may be argued that
Judeo-Christian principles played a big part in the formation of this nation's
civil system but it cannot be argued that it was ever a Christian government.
It was a Christian-dominated culture for most of its history but it has never
been a Christian civil system. In fact, this term is contradictory from a
Biblical sense. The Christian faith is essentially spiritual and the civil
system is clearly a worldly entity. We may argue from various Christian leaders
of the past that there may exist a "Christian civil system". In fact,
several have been established in history. However they are not Christian from a
Biblical perspective but merely respective of a particular religious
denomination. This cannot be said about the United States. The constitutional
issue regarding what has been called "separation of church and state"
is about this issue. The framers of the constitution clearly did not want this
nation to be associated with a specific religious denomination such as found in
England and France. This is a discussion that must be saved for another time.
It is a misrepresentation of the U.S. civil authority to say that it is Christian.
Should we then attempt to make it a
Christian government? Many people seem to think that it was and needs to be
again. Yet this is only true when the term "Christian" is twisted out
of shape. Can a civil system be "born-again"? Can a civil system
"love one another"? Can a civil system live by faith? Obviously it
cannot so it cannot be what the Bible refers to as Christian. Can a civil
system sanction and show favoritism toward a specific religion? Of course, it
can. The civil system of Iran, for instance, sanctions Islam and is framed
around some of its beliefs. It definitely favors Islam. England and France have
what is called a state church. They both sanction a particular Christian
religious affiliation. But are they Christian? Obviously they are not. It may
be concluded that it is foolhardy to strive to make the U.S. a "Christian
government". It is possible that every civil leader could be a Christian.
But would that make the civil system of this nation Christian? It may change
many things but it would not make the civil system something that it cannot be.
What is the Christian's relationship in this society to the
civil authority? The answer to this must come from the New Testament
scriptures. The Lord Jesus and the apostle Paul have some very important things
to say regarding this question. Some have already been quoted. Romans 13:1 - 7
includes some of the apostle Paul's most pertinent remarks on this subject.
Paul states some basic principles on the believer's relationship with civil
authority. First he states plainly that we are subject to governing
authorities. We should pay our taxes and whatever fees are required of us. We
should respect the police and military, and we should honor those in positions
of authority. We should not resist civil authority because God has established
civil authority in this world. Christians are not exempt from the sword of the
government. Paul's suggestion to believer so that they do not need to be afraid
of the authority is that they do that which is good. Although Paul was writing
to believers in first-century Rome, these principles may be applied as well to
this civil system.
American believers have the
privilege of living under a system that offers numerous liberties and
opportunities for citizen interaction. In fact, this system is designed for
positive change through responsible citizen action. Christians, like all good
citizens, should be involved with the civil system. However, their involvement
should be from the proper perspective. In accordance with Paul's principles the
believer should see the civil authority as a necessity in this world. They
should also understand that doing that which is good is the best way to avoid
unnecessary collision with the system. Most importantly the believer should not
take a position of resisting the civil authority. There is plenty of
opportunity for believers to worship and serve without any conflict with the
government. There is also plenty of opportunity for believers to affect
positive change in society without resisting the authorities. American
believers enjoy free speech and freedom of worship in this society. These are
precious privileges. Yet, as privileges, they may not always remain as they are
today.