It is difficult for Christians in today’s America to juggle the responsibilities between their dual citizenships, especially in view of the fact that today’s America no longer even resembles yesterday’s America. The God-fearing and Christian nation that we have known and loved is no more. It is dead and buried. In fact, today’s Americans are lining up to spit on the grave of yesterday’s America. It is not only that we no longer resemble the nation we once were, but that today’s Americans actually repudiate it as well. Just as there is no clearer evidence of our fallen world’s enmity with God than today’s worldwide disdain for the historic and orthodox Christian faith, there is no greater proof of our own nation’s hatred of Christ than today’s national repudiation of our nation’s Christian heritage.
In such unprecedented and perilous times, it is not always easy for a Christian to tell when his citizenship in a God-forsaking country is in conflict with his citizenship in “a better country—a heavenly one…whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10, 16). It is to this end that this Time Capsule is targeted.
- How do we know when civil disobedience in our earthly country is called for by our chief citizenship in Heaven?
- How do we know when our obedience to Christ demands our disobedience to civil government?
THE CHRISTIAN AND PATRIOTISM
What are our responsibilities to the state as United States citizens. First, the Bible teaches us that we are to pray for our national leaders.
“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:1-4)
This passage of Scripture is one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted passages in the whole Bible. Many Christians see it as a divine admonition to make blanket intercession for God’s richest blessings to be bestowed upon all of our elected officials, even those who are antichrist and trying to silence the witness of the church in America. Others misinterpret it as a divine admonition to make blanket intercession for the success of our elected officials in carrying out their political agendas, even those whose political agenda is to profane our culture and to remove from our society all semblance of our country’s Christian heritage.
A careful reading of this important passage will dispel its misinterpretations and make the proper interpretation of the text plain to the reader. Here, the Apostle Paul is simply admonishing us to pray that God will use those “in authority” to keep our society “quiet and peaceable” so that we can continue to preach the Gospel in our country so that “all” of our countrymen will have an opportunity “to come unto the knowledge of the truth” and “be saved.” “This,” Paul says, is God’s “will,” as well as “good and acceptable” in God’s“sight.”
Second, the Bible teaches us that we are to obey the laws of our land.
“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.” (Romans 13:1-5)
God has ordained human government to punish evil doers and to protect the righteous, those who do right. Without the restraints of human government in this fallen world, fallen human nature would reduce ever country on earth to anarchy.
Finally, the Bible teaches that we are to pay our taxes.
“For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” (Romans 13:6-7)
Even Jesus paid His taxes, though He got His taxes miraculously from a fish’s mouth (Matthew 17:24-27). Perhaps, the moral of this biblical story is that taxes, especially the over-taxation of the hard-working and responsible to support the slothful and irresponsible, can be a fishy business. As the wise King Solomon once said, “By justice a king builds up the land, but he who exacts gifts [heavily taxes his people] tears it down” (Proverbs 29:4 ESV).
Now that we’ve looked at our biblical responsibilities to the state as citizens of the United States, let’s look at our responsibilities to God as citizens of Heaven.
In Acts 4:18-20, the Sanhedrin, the supreme court of the Jewish people, commanded Peter and John to no longer do what Christ’s had commissioned them to do, namely, to speak in His name and to share His Gospel. In response, Peter and John boldly declared that they would obey Christ, not the court, for their obedience to Christ’s commission took precedence over the court’s command.
According to the Apostle Paul, Christians have a higher law that takes precedence over the laws of men; it is the “law of God” or “the law of Christ” (1 Corinthians 9:19-21). Anytime the laws of our country demand our disobedience to God’s commandments we are to practice civil disobedience in order to obey Christ. Anytime the will of the people is contrary to the will of God we are to refuse to conform to majority rule in order to submit to the Lordship of Christ, conforming ourselves to God’s will rather than the people’s.
Samuel Johnson once said, “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” Why did Johnson say such a thing and what did he mean by such a statement? He simply meant that if a scoundrel cannot perpetrate his scandalous behavior in any other way, he will do so under the protection of a feigned patriotism. Permit me to give you a few examples from modern-day America.
- A president attempts to eliminate any notion of sexual deviancy or perversion in America by executive fiat and we are told we must submit to his dictates lest we prove ourselves unpatriotic by undermining the presidency.
- An oligarchy of five Supreme Court Justices overrules the voices and votes of millions of Americans and redefines the God ordained bedrock of all orderly human society, the divine institution of marriage, to include same-sex marriage, and we are told we must submit to their injunction lest we prove ourselves unpatriotic by undermining the rule of law in America.
- Our elected representatives refuse to defund Planned Parenthood—a diabolical organization that is murdering unborn babies and marketing their body parts for profit—of $500 million a year of our taxpayer money and we are told we must accept their inaction lest we prove ourselves unpatriotic by undermining our representative republic.
In his famous Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln said: “This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people that inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it.”
In the Declaration of Independence, our Founding Fathers said: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
As is proven by the words of Abraham Lincoln, arguably the greatest president in American history, as well as by our Founding Fathers in our nation’s founding document, patriotism does not bind people to a blind allegiance to a government gone awry. As Charles James Fox once said, “It is no violation of right to abolish the authority which is misused.” Any government that “blurs decency and kindness, cheapens human life, and breeds ill will and suspicion is,” as Eric Hoffer insisted, “an evil government.” According to the Declaration of Independence, our country’s birth certificate, we the people have the right; indeed, the obligation, to abolish our government if it ceases to fulfill its God ordained purpose of protecting and perpetuating our unalienable, God-given rights.
Stephen Decatur, one of the fathers of the United States Navy, is best remembered today for the following infamous quote: “Our country…may she always be in the right, but our country, right or wrong.” In response to Decatur, Edmund Burke said, “To make us love our country, our country ought to be lovely.” If patriotism is founded on great principles and supported by great virtue, it is a noble devotion. On the other hand, if it is a mere matter of geography or real estate, it can quickly deteriorate into moral lunacy.
Erich Fromm once said, “Love for one’s country which is not part of one’s love for humanity is not love, but idolatrous worship.” If I might be permitted to paraphrase Fromm’s quote, I would say, “Love for our country which is not part of our love for Christ is neither love nor patriotism, but idolatrous worship.”
If the patriotism demanded in modern-day America demands disloyalty to Christ and disobedience to His commands, then, the faithful Christian has no alternative but to choose his or her Savor over the state.
THE CHRISTIAN AND POLITICAL ACTIVISM
Contrary to popular opinion, the problem with today’s America is not political, economic, racial, etc. Instead, the problem with today’s America is spiritual.
- “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.”(Psalm 33:12)
- “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” (Psalm 9:17)
- “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Proverbs 14:34)
- “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” (Proverbs 29:2)
In Deuteronomy chapters 27 and 28, God instructs His people to divide up into two groups once they enter the Promised Land of Canaan. One group is to go up on top of Mount Gerizim and announce all the blessings God will bestow upon the nation if it is faithful to Him. The other group is to go up on top of Mount Ebal to announce all the curses God will bring down on the nation if it forsakes Him.
The blessings promised the nation if it is faithful to God are a perfect description of yesterday’s America. The curses promised to befall the nation if it forsakes God are a perfect description of today’s America. The problem with today’s America is that we have forsaken God and are no longer under the blessings of God, but the curse of God!
America’s problem cannot be solved by electing the best candidate—the least of two evils—to the White House. America’s problem cannot be solved by legislation passed by the United States Congress. America’s problem cannot be solved by the judicial decisions of the United States Supreme Court. America’s problem can only be solved if the American people repent of their sin with broken hearts and return to God with all of their hearts.
- BUT what possibility of this is there when the American people are steeped in sin, stiff-necked in their rebellion against God, and possessors of seared consciences.
- BUT what possibility of this is there in a country that now condemns any call to repentance as intolerance?
- BUT what possibility of this is there in a country that now condemns the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ—the greatest love story ever told —as hate-speech and any Christian daring to preach it as a hate- monger?
If, as we’ve proven with God’s infallible Word, our country’s problem is spiritual, how can it be solved politically? Such a notion is absurd on its face, especially when one considers the corruption of modern-day politics and the insistence of modern-day politicians that the truths of God’s Word must be banned from political discourse and barred from political office.
This reminds me of a “Christian” rock group who recently explained their refusal to mention the name of Jesus in order to draw larger crowds to their concerts for them to witness to. How can they be witnessing for Christ if they refuse to mention His name? Likewise, how does a country return to God when it has expelled God from its government, from its public schools, and from its public square?
Jesus taught that the church is “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world.”
“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16)
As the “salt of the earth” we should serve as the preserver of society, by standing up against its corruption. Notice, Jesus taught that anytime the church refuses to separate itself from corruption and stand up against it, the church becomes “good for nothing” in society. For years now, the church in America has been soiling itself by trying to transform our society through a corrupt political system. As a result, the decay of our society has continued unabated and the church has become unimportant in our society, having lost its influence over it.
Notice also that Jesus taught that anytime the church refuses to separate itself from corruption and stand up against it, the church will be “cast out, and…trodden under foot of men.” For years now, the church in America has been compromising its stand against evil in order to support the lesser of political evils. As a result, the church in America today has become an object of ridicule that the average American has tossed aside as totally irrelevant.
As the “light of the world” we should serve as the conscience of society, by advocating what is right and alerting society against what is wrong. According to Jesus, we should never cover our light in society with a basket; that is, we should never shade it in the least with anything.
For years now, the church in America has opted to shade its light by compromising its advocacy for righteousness in order to participate in a corrupt political system that offers no righteous alternative. For years now, the church in America has opted to shade its light by compromising its aversion to evil in order to participate in a corrupt political system that offers nothing but choices between greater and lesser evils.
Jesus taught that there is only one way that “men” will ever “see” the “good works” of the church—the light of the world—and consequently “glorify [our] Father which is in heaven.” It is when we keep our light uncovered by refusing to compromise the truth of Christ. Anytime we compromise our Christian beliefs to accommodate the world we are covering our light with a basket.
Unfortunately, for decades the church in America has been duped by the devil and deceived into believing the lie that the only way it can effect change in our society is by prostituting itself to compromising political candidates and corrupt political parties in order to help them win elections.
Are you aware of the fact that one of the last events in the life of our Lord was His losing of a public election by a landslide to a common criminal, because of His uncompromising stand for the truth (Matthew 27:15-26). Yet, Christ changed the world! As we learn from Christ’s perfect example, it is only uncompromised truth that can change the world!
Elections can’t change America as America needs to be changed. Neither can voters, political candidates or political parties. Only uncompromised truth can change America the way America needs to be changed. If the truth can’t, what can? And if the church, the lone steward of the truth of Christ in America today, doesn’t proclaim it without compromise, who will?
First century Israel made a fatal mistake; it missed the signs of the first coming of Christ, because the Israelites were looking for political solutions to their problems and a political savior for their nation. As a result, they were destroyed when the wrath and judgment of God fell upon them for rejecting Jesus Christ. Tragically, twenty-first century America is making the same fatal mistake. We are missing the signs of Christ’s Second Coming, because we are looking for political solutions to our problems and a political savior for our country. As a result, we too are dooming ourselves to destruction under the soon coming judgment of God upon our Christ-rejecting nation.
According to the Bible, "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes" (Psalm 118:9). Who are you trusting in? Are you trusting in our government and elected officials or are you trusting in your God and Redeemer Jesus Christ?
Where is your chief citizenship and first and foremost allegiance? Is it in your temporal earthly country or in your eternal heavenly country? Are you first and foremost living your life under a feigned patriotism and in submission to majority rule and in conformity to the will of the people or are you living your life under a genuine confession of Jesus Christ as your Lord and in submission to His Lordship and conformity to the will of God.
Where is your hope? Is it in attempting to prolong the transient future of your temporal earthly country by voting for the perceived lesser evil between political candidates or is it in the soon coming again of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who will transform our mortal bodies into immortal bodies and establish for us an eternal kingdom, over which He will rule and reign forever?
