pilgrim people

•1. America is not a ‘Christian Nation’ – never was, never will be!

Despite popular belief amongst American evangelicals, America never was, nor ever will be, a “Christian nation.” To be Christian means to be “in Christ,” that is, in union with him by the imputation of his righteousness and the sealing of the Holy Spirit. Thus, a sinner is “in Christ” by the instrument of faith alone. But it is impossible for a geo-political nation to be “in Christ.”

The only holy geo-political nation that ever existed was the nation Israel as it existed from the time of the exodus until the coming of Christ. Upon Mt. Sinai, God constituted Israel a nation in covenant with himself. This was a conditional covenant; if Israel obeyed God’s law, she would be blessed, but if she disobeyed, she would be punished. Contrary to popular assumption, the United States of America is in no such covenant. The Continental Congress was not on Mt. Sinai with Moses. America was not represented by a mediator as Israel was. The conditions and promises to the nation Israel were for the nation Israel, not for America. That includes the oft-quoted verse (and almost always taken out of context), 2 Chronicles 7.14: “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” It is totally illegitimate to quote this verse and apply it to America. America is not a theocracy. It is not in covenant with God as a geo-political nation. It is not under the same covenantal conditions that Israel was.

“But what about our Founding Fathers?” some might ask. Yes, what about them? Most of them were men of the Enlightenment. Most of them were men who believed in exalting human reason over divine revelation (hence Ben Franklin’s quip, “God helps those who help themselves.”) They founded a republic based on natural law, not on special revelation. And as for their religion, they varied greatly. John Adams, as efficient and brilliant as he was as a leader, was a Unitarian, not a Christian. Thomas Jefferson staunchly opposed confessional orthodoxy and denied the supernatural events recorded in the New Testament. Ben Franklin detested Calvinism and Puritanism. Most of these men, though intellectual giants and able leaders, were Deists. Quotes from them that reveal their use of terms such as, “God,” “Maker,” “Divine,” or even “Providence,” do not give evidence of their Christianity. (When the quote is read in context, it will almost always reveal a Kantian version of Christianity, not a confessional Christianity.) Unfortunately, however, most evangelicals today are unable to discern between confessional Christianity and moralistic deism. When generic “God talk” is quoted from one of the Founding Fathers, it sounds Christian to the evangelical (which, says a lot about the kind of Christless Christianity being taught today in evangelical churches).

“But weren’t the Pilgrims Puritans?” Sure, many of them were. Many Psalm-singing, Calvinistic Puritans came to New England in the seventeenth-century. But so did other religions. Roman Catholic pilgrims landed in what they later founded as “Mary-land” in 1634. But by the time of the American Revolution (more than 150 years after pilgrims began migrating to the new world!), the colonies were a smorgasbord of different religions. Moreover, the dominating philosophy was that of the Enlightenment.

America as a “Christian nation” is theologically impossible and historically inaccurate. The only “Christian nation” is the new covenant church, as the apostle Peter tells us: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 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.” (1 Pet 2.9-10) This is a nation in which there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, but all are one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3.28).

•2. As Christians, we belong to two kingdoms simultaneously

As Christians, we are citizens FIRST of Christ’s spiritual kingdom, a kingdom that stretches across the globe and is manifested most clearly in local congregations where the gospel is purely preached, the sacraments are purely administered, and church discipline in exercised. As Paul says in Philippians 3, “our citizenship is in heaven.” Thus, we are, as he also says in Ephesians 2, “fellow citizens with the saints.” This is a spiritual citizenship, not an earthly one, for, as the writer to the Hebrews says, we “have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.”

Yet, as Christians, we are also – albeit SECONDLY – citizens of temporal geo-political kingdoms, manifested in various forms of government, laws, and geographical boundaries. These two kingdoms are distinct and have different mandates. The kingdom of man is creational in nature and advances through political agenda, military might, and the arts and sciences. The Kingdom of God, on the other hand, is redemptive in nature and advances through means that appear weak to the world: the preached Word and administered sacraments. The kingdom of man has been given the creational mandate: go and build civilizations. The Kingdom of God, however, has been given the Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all peoples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” It announces not good advice, but strange, other-worldly good news: reconciliation to God through the life, death, and resurrection of his Son.

The only time these two kingdoms were legitimately joined together was during the period of theocratic Israel (from the exodus to the time of Christ). Since the resurrection and exaltation of Christ, however, God’s people are in a different situation, one far closer to Daniel's when he was in exile then to Israel's when they were in Canaan. The temporary, typological, theocratic nation of Israel has been fulfilled. Thus, when Paul comes to write to believers about their relationship to civil government, he does not give them a blueprint on how to build a “Christian nation.” Instead, he says this:

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”

God instituted civil government (or what we sometimes call the magistrate) so that human beings could live together in some measure of order and not completely destroy one another through unchecked depravity. The Bible gives evidence of this in the opening chapters of Genesis, in the life of Cain, Noah, and others. God instituted civil authority, as imperfect and flawed as it is in this fallen age, in order to restrain evil and uphold justice and the common good.

That means that civil government is legitimate, even if those who govern us are rank pagans (an important point for Paul to make to his Christian readers in Rome, as many of them - particularly the Jewish converts - may have had a difficult time thinking of Caesar as a legitimate authority). In his Modern Reformation article, “Church or Political Action Committee?”, Mike Horton said it well: “Because non-Christians are still wired for law, they can build decent civilizations. And because Christians are simultaneously saint and sinner, there is absolutely no guarantee that a ‘Christian nation’ will be any better than a pagan one. In fact, it may well be worse precisely because of false expectations derived from bad theology.”

Despite popular evangelical belief, pagans can actually do some pretty amazing things: build a good car, find a cure to disease, make good music, etc. There is NO guarantee that a Christian can do these things any better than a non-Christian. (Our Founding Fathers, taken in context, give plain evidence of this.)

Moreover, the New Testament makes it very clear that Christian’s relationship to civil government must be one of submission in all things except when the civil government causes us to sin by requiring of us what God clearly forbids or forbidding us to do what God clearly requires (cf. Acts 4 and 5). This will always be the tension until Christ returns and the two kingdoms become one.

•3. As Christians, we have an obligation to love and serve our neighbor

Amazingly, when American Christians are confronted with the two-kingdoms doctrine, they often assume that this doctrine is an argument for political apathy, indifference, and quietism (i.e. doing nothing). Often times, after giving a basic sketch of the biblical doctrine of the two-kingdoms, I have been asked the question, “Are you saying that Christians shouldn’t bother voting?” No, I am not saying that at all. We each have a responsibility to love our neighbor in this age, which includes voting for those laws and leaders which we believe to be the best for our neighbor. Again Horton puts it well:

“Every theory has its distortions. However, quietism is not a valid application of the two kingdoms theory. In fact, it is ironically similar to a utopian-transformationalist approach. Quietism and utopianism both collapse the two kingdoms: the former by assuming that if it’s not the church’s responsibility, it isn’t the Christian citizen’s; the latter by assuming that if it is the Christian citizen’s responsibility, then it’s the church’s as well...The two-kingdoms doctrine does not make Christians apolitical and aloof to the needs of their neighbors; it frees them to be co-laborers in the earthly city in ways that preserve the liberties of the church and of citizens, both believers and unbelievers, to pursue their distinct callings.”

We would do well, as individuals who are both Christians and American citizens, to consider ALL (not one, or a few) of the major political issues on the table during election time with the following question in mind: “What is best for my neighbor?” What is best for my neighbor with regard to the war in Iraq, healthcare, the housing crisis, education, the protection of human life (including life beyond the womb), the regulation of markets, etc.

•4. Nothing will be perfect (or even close to perfect) until the return of the King

I know, "like, duh,” right? But why is it that something so obvious gets so obscured amongst American Christians? Somehow, we seem to forget that heaven will not be on earth until the King of heaven returns visibly and gloriously. The election today on Nov 4 has NOTHING to do with the age to come. The person you want elected today is not the Messiah. The Messiah has already come. His political parade was his ride into Jerusalem on a donkey 2000 years ago. His crown was made of thorns and his throne was a cross. While he was subsequently raised from the dead, ascended into heaven and took his place at the right hand of God where he reigns now, his kingdom will not be made manifest in glory until he returns on the Last Day, “when he delivers the kingdom of God to the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.”

While we seek to do all we can to love our neighbor in this present evil age, let's keep the results of this election in proper perspective. Our blessed hope is not a perfect government. Our Messiah is not Obama, McCain, or Ron Paul. Our blessed hope is the return of our only Messiah, Prophet, Priest, and King, the Lord Jesus Christ.