Text:  Romans 13:1-10                                                                         16^th Sunday after Pentecost

Dual Citizenship

            In the name of our coming King, dear friends in Christ:

            As a general rule, the United States of America does not allow dual citizenship. That is, you’re not supposed to be a citizen of a foreign nation and the United States at the same time.  So immigrants wishing to become naturalized citizens of this nation are required to renounce their former citizenship.  Likewise, a US citizen wishing to become a citizen of another country is supposed to renounce his citizenship here.  The main exception to this is the case of people born to parents who are US citizens who are traveling or working abroad.  Many countries automatically grant citizenship to anyone born within their borders.  So a child born in Germany, say, to an American couple stationed there while serving in the armed forces is both a citizen of Germany because of where it’s born, and also of the United States because of whom it’s born. But other than a case like that (and a few other rare cases) our nation is unwilling to allow a person to hold dual citizenship. 

            And the reason for that is easy to understand:  it’s feared that there may be a conflict of interest. It’s not a secret:  it’s a dog eat dog world out there; there’s only so much land and so many resources to go around.  And though we try to get along in peace, there’s always a certain amount of competition and tension between nations.  And sometimes things get out of hand and there’s war.  It’s assumed that the citizens of a nation are generally supportive of the interests of that nation – and there’s the rub.  If a person holds dual citizenship, there is doubt as to where his loyalties really are.  Which country’s interests will he support and defend more?  And will he do it at the expense of the other’s?  Would he go so far as to betray one country for the other?  It’s precisely because we don’t want our citizens to have such divided loyalties that our laws pretty much prohibit dual citizenship.

            And that raises some interesting questions for people like you and me who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  That’s because each one of us is a dual citizen: we are citizens of the United States because this is where we were born (or were naturalized), and we are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven because into it we were reborn in the water of Holy Baptism.  As US citizens we are subject to human authorities and the laws of this land; and at the same time, we enjoy great liberties and freedoms.  As citizens of God’s Kingdom we are subject to him and to his laws; and we enjoy an even greater freedom under his Gospel of grace in Jesus Christ.  So we hold dual citizenship by right of birth.  The question before us is how to resolve the conflict of interest.

            Some Christians believe the solution is to renounce the earthly side of citizenship completely.  They believe a Christian person must not be involved at all in the affairs of civil government.  “Christians need to be separate:  no politics, no voting, no civil or military service.  It just isn’t right for God’s heavenly people to be involved in such worldly things.”  Some of these folks are on the radical fringe.  They’re the kind who claim that all government is evil. They refuse to pay taxes or use public schools.  They’re the ones always hatching conspiracy theories.  Sometimes they stash arms and ammunition in case “they”, “the gubmint”, ever comes after them.  Other less radical Christians (and pseudo-Christians) who renounce their earthly citizenship remain separate in more passive ways.  The Jehovah’s Witnesses are a good example.  They stay out of politics and refuse to enter military service.  Other groups separate even farther:  I’m thinking of the Amish, the Hutterites, certain conservative Mennonites, and a group called the Bruderhof.  They do only what’s absolutely required as citizens of this country, but otherwise they try as best they can to ignore the world around them and concentrate entirely on their spiritual citizenship.  All of these folks see the conflict of interest between their two citizenships as totally irreconcilable, so they throw out the earthly, civil side. 

Then on the other end of the spectrum, there are some Christian (and pseudo-Christian) groups who believe that the solution to the conflict of interest they face as citizens of two kingdoms is to combine the two.  Specifically, they believe it is their duty to do what they can extend the rule of God’s Kingdom of Heaven over the civil government.  They envision a day when our nation will be brought completely in line with God’s Word.  God’s laws will be the law of the land, his justice will prevail, and Christian righteousness and purity of heart will mark the lives of all US citizens.  In contrast to those I mentioned before, these groups would advocate widespread political activism by Christians.  “We aren’t doing enough”, they’d say.  “We need to mobilize the church for action.  We need to get our people into the positions of power and authority.  We need to fight to impose Christian standards of conduct on all people.  We need to get prayer back into the public schools” and so on.  Names like D. James Kennedy, Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell, and the groups they represent come to mind as ardent supporters of this kind of thinking.  We also see this kind of attitude wherever Mormons constitute a large percentage of the population.  There are places out west where it’s impossible to tell where the church stops and politics begin.  It’s almost like in Iran where the church and the Moslem religious leaders are the government.

All right then: up to this point what we’ve heard are two very different ways of resolving the problem of divided loyalties that we face as people who hold dual citizenship.  And though philosophically they are poles apart, they are alike at least in this respect: they are not biblical approaches to the problem.  To those who think Christians need to isolate themselves from the world, we have only to look to Jesus’ words in the Garden of Gethsemane the night he was arrested.  There, praying to his Father in heaven, he said, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one … As you have sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”  Here Jesus makes it clear that we have a job to do here – a job that requires interaction and participation in the world – a job that we cannot do if we hide from the world and the way it operates.  On the other side, to those who think the state should be overshadowed by the authority of the church, Jesus said, “My Kingdom is not of this world.”  The Christian church exists to proclaim God’s grace in Jesus Christ the Savior, not to govern worldly affairs.  Jesus rules us by his Spirit in our hearts and minds – not by the force of law or politics.  And we are certainly not to use law or politics as means to force others to become or Christians or act like them.

A better solution to the problem of dual citizenship – the biblical solution to the problem – is found in today’s Epistle lesson.  There we see that the two kingdoms we belong to are not necessarily at odds with one another.  They are instead two complimentary kingdoms.  God has given both to us for our good; and ultimately he rules over both of them, though through different means.  One he rules by law, and the other he rules by grace.  As a result, each has its own sphere of responsibilities and functions, and they need not conflict with each other at all.

We have on one hand the civil government, referred to in theological circles as “God’s kingdom of the left.”  Speaking of it, St. Paul writes, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.”  Here he makes it clear that our government and our leaders have been appointed and given to us by the Lord himself.  He rules over all creation, and he rules over all men through earthly governments. Paul goes on to say that we owe our country’s leaders obedience, and that we are to respect the office to which God has assigned them – for to fail to do so is to rebel against God who has established them.

And at this point someone might object:  “Surely you don’t mean to say that God appoints all governments and leaders!  What about dictatorships and repressive governments?  What about evil people who become rulers?  You think God rules through people like Saddam Hussein?  You can’t be serious!”

In response, it’s worthy to note that St. Paul penned these words during the reign of the Emperor Nero.  He was a cruel monster of a man who believed himself to be a god. It was he who launched the first systematic persecution of Christians by the Roman government.  He once held an evening garden party at his palace.  The grounds were lighted by human torches: Christians tied to stakes, covered with pitch and tar, and set ablaze for the amusement of his guests.  Saddam Hussein couldn’t hold a candle to Nero in a contest of relative psychosis.  St. Paul held no false illusions about Nero’s personal qualities – they were widely known; and yet Paul recognized him as God’s appointed servant.  As a Roman citizen himself, Paul even appealed his own court case to this Emperor for judgment.

That’s because Paul understood that God rules the Kingdom of the left through sinful humans – that, after all, is all he’s got to work with.  And it’s precisely because we are all sinful humans that the Lord must rule the Kingdom of the left with force and the threat of punishment.  Through government, the Lord delegates the use of his legal authority.  That’s what Paul means when he says the government “bears the sword”.  “It is God’s servant”, Paul writes, “an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer”. That’s what human government is for: to maintain civil order and justice by the force of law – even deadly force when required.  It does this internally with police and the justice system to keep the citizens safe from crime, and it does it externally with the armed forces to keep the citizens safe from enemies of the nation.  And it performs these important functions for the Lord even when individuals who comprise the government are wicked people. For all the faults of its leaders, the Roman system of government brought peace and security to the people who lived in the empire – and even the Christians benefited from it.  Likewise, though repressive and dangerously misguided, even Saddam Hussein’s government maintains some level of justice and security in Iraq (though maybe not for much longer).

By God’s grace, we have been blessed with a government that is much easier to get along with.  And in its two hundred twenty-odd years of history, it has done it pretty good job of maintaining civil justice within and national security abroad.  It has done this despite the fact that there have always been corruption and crime at all of its levels.  Through all of its faults and failures, God has richly blessed us. And it’s fitting that we honor the Lord by honoring those who govern us – those who carry the sword for him.  We should gladly pay our taxes, and faithfully obey the laws of the land.  Furthermore, because we understand that our government serves the Lord, we know that we can also serve God by participating in government.  Christians can and should serve as politicians, lawmakers, leaders, soldiers, police and so forth because in so doing we help bear the sword for God in his left hand kingdom. 

In this country, we are further blessed with the privilege of participating in the direction of the nation’s course through our votes – and it’s entirely appropriate that we as Christians use these privileges to steer the country into God pleasing paths.  At the same time, we must never expect or suppose that the civil government can do the mission of the church.  The state has its mission, and that is bearing the sword of justice and security. The church, God’s right hand kingdom, is forbidden from taking the sword.  As it is written, “’Not by might, nor by power,’ says the Lord, ‘but by my Spirit’.”

The Lord rules the citizens of his kingdom of the right by his Word and Sacraments through which his Spirit directs the hearts and minds of the faithful.  Here we are ruled not by force of law – but rather by his grace and love in Christ Jesus, through which he forgives our sin, cleanses our hearts, and causes us to gladly and willingly do his will.  Here we need no laws because the love of God works in us – and “love is the fulfillment of the law”.  That’s why Paul says that the civil government should never be a bother or fear to you.  It protects you from harm from those who break the law; but it doesn’t threaten you because you keep the law through your love.  And so we see that we can be citizens of the two kingdoms without experiencing any conflict of interest.  If we live in God’s love, we will automatically keep the laws of the land.

Of course, it’s true that there have been times in history when civil governments have under the direction of wicked men, overstepped their authority, persecuted the church, tried to stamp out the Christian faith, or have directed citizens to perform immoral or illegal acts.  Overall, these instances have been relatively rare.  But at such times, when there is a real conflict in the dual citizenship of Christians, we must recognize that God’s Word is the final authority.  Then we must say with Peter and John who were commanded by their government leaders not to proclaim the message of salvation in Jesus Christ:  “We ought to obey God rather than men.”  I hasten to add that in such circumstances, we must be prepared to accept the consequences.  We may one day be persecuted for our faith.  If so, then we, like Peter and John, can rejoice that we were counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus.

            But for the time being, as citizens of the left, we can be grateful that God has blessed us with a stable, relatively efficient, and good government. He has given us rights and freedoms that few in history have known.  He has given us capable leaders and a system of justice that strives to be fair.  And he has granted us relative peace, security, and prosperity.  For all these blessings he has given to us through his left hand kingdom in these United States we owe him our thanks, praise, and faithful service.  And it’s fitting that we pray that he will continue to bless our nation in the perilous days ahead.

            At the same time, as citizens of the right, we should recognize our failures to be the dual citizens we ought to be.  We have not always rendered proper honor to those God has appointed to lead us, we’ve not paid our taxes gladly and willingly, and there have been times when we’ve abused our freedoms or neglected to exercise our rights in appropriate ways.  We’ve not always obeyed the laws of our land; and above all, we have failed miserably to fulfill the law of love.  For these sins we need to come with repentant hearts before God’s throne of grace to receive once again his forgiveness in Jesus Christ his Son, who died for our sakes, and now lives that we may live in and for him.  Then, filled with his love, we may be equipped to be good and faithful citizens of both of God’s Kingdoms.

            May God in his mercy grant to us for Jesus sake.  And may he bless us, bless his church, and may God bless the United States of America.  Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria!