Since the latest transition of power in our country, we have all likely seen the divisive vitriol that has gripped the populace. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the execution of power in the current administration, the thing that has been most concerning is how divided we seem to be. Here, I offer some thoughts and encouragement for how believers should view governing entities.
One of the themes that span the pages of the Bible is ‘the Kingdom of God.’ While it’s a concept that’s explicitly formed in the teachings of the New Testament, it also has implicit antecedents in the Old Testament.
Essentially, the Kingdom of God is the all-consuming sovereignty of the Most High God over His people. He is the King of all. We see it in the most literal sense as we read about the theocratic, Davidic monarchy: God ruled his people through the earthly king David who was ‘a man after God’s own heart.’ During this golden era for ancient Israelites, they physically resided within the boundaries of God’s jurisdiction.
We continue to see God’s rule over Israel even when they were disposed from their Land, becoming citizens of Babylon: He preserves Daniel and gives him prophetic understanding to give hope to the exiles. There continued to be a remnant of Israelites who were under God’s rule, even though they no longer lived in their homeland. They did not bow in devotion to foreign rulers.
The New Testament fully develops the idea of the Kingdom. When Jesus arrives on the scene, he teaches that the ‘Kingdom of God’ is near you. It‘s not limited to a literal place of residency like ancient Israel, but rather has to do with the reign and rule of God in your life. To be a citizen in Kingdom of God only requires to ‘repent and believe the gospel’ (Mk. 1:15; Mt. 4:17).
Believers are citizens in the Kingdom of God. As we live in the earth, we should see ourselves as travelers, aliens, foreigners, and pilgrims, never truly comfortable with the way things are and conducting ourselves in a way that demonstrates the culture of our home in Heaven:
“Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” (1 Pet. 3:10-11)
So then, how should we participate in the kingdoms here and now, where God has us?
Back to the ancient Israelites. During their time of exile as sojourners, God tells them, “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” (Jer. 29:7). He goes on to say, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (v. 11).
If we are similarly travelers in a foreign land as they were, we should apply these same instructions to seek welfare where we are in Healdsburg, CA, USA and to pray to God for this city’s welfare. The message is clear: God wants His people to be well. So it’s safe to say God wants even those who don’t know Him to be well, for this is a dynamic of Heaven.
In what ways should Christians promote wellness in our earthly kingdoms?
Service, benevolence, taking care of the poor, those who are not able to help themselves, and when the opportunity arises, sharing the love of Christ in a direct way. These are the behaviors that we have the freedom to externalize. There are no laws against loving our community. The constitution of the Kingdom of God is the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7). If we each commit to living this, Healdsburg is a part of the city of God.
Charles Spurgeon put it this way:
We must do our utmost while we are here to bring people to Christ, to win them from their evil ways, to bring them to eternal life, and to make them, with us, citizens of another and better land. For, to tell the truth, we are here as recruiting sergeants for heaven, to give men the enlisting money, to bind upon them the blood red colors of the Savior’s service, to win them to King Jesus, that, by and by, they may share His victories after having fought his battles.
Seeking the good of the country as aliens, we must also remember that it benefits aliens to keep themselves very quiet. What business have foreigners to plot against the government, or to intermeddle with the politics of a country in which they have no citizenship? An Englishmen in New York had best be without a tongue just now; if he should criticize the courage of the generals, the accuracy of their dispatches, or the genius of the president, he might receive some harsh responses.[1]
As a church, we should exercise wisdom, discernment, and caution when trying to integrate our desire for the Kingdom of God to be integrated with the kingdom of man. The church universal has had a history of wanting the Kingdom to come with such a passion that as an organization, we enter into law-making and politics. Because of our ethics and morals, it’s very easy to engage in political activism. Certainly as individual American citizens, we are free to do so, but not as a church. We must remember that this government is not the Kingdom of God, and never will be. History teaches us that earthly kingdoms, whether imperial, democratic, or theocratic, they all come and go. The scripture teaches us that the Kingdom of God will never end. (Luk. 1:33)
Live a Quiet Life
The Apostle Paul wrote:
“I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quite life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all…” (1 Tim. 2:1-5)
It’s Christian to pray for our country’s leadership. Whether Democrat, Republican, Independent, Green, etc., we pray for them and seek to live peaceably and quietly. It’s easy to pray for them, harder to live quietly when we disagree with their actions. I’ve found that when you sincerely pray for someone who you may disagree with, or even consider an enemy, you begin to see them differently. You see them as God sees and the power they have that angers you dissolves.
Finally, the Apostle Peter wrote:
“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
Peter practiced what he preached. He subjected himself to bad leadership. When he says ‘honor the emperor,’ he is referring to Caesar Nero, a mad man. Ancient Roman historians like Tacitus and Seutonius tell us of the horrors of his reign. He was the first to persecute Christians. They were easy targets. Church tradition holds that Peter was crucified under Nero’s rule. Though put to death for his religious beliefs, he still says, ‘honor the emperor.’ This is the example Jesus himself left us to follow. In the end, God will execute justice for those who’ve been oppressed.
So live the quiet life of prayer and be subject to human institution.
[1] Spurgeon, C.H. Citizenship in Heaven. Sermon delivered at The Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, England: Oct, 1862
Daniel Flores Jr. 