Reflections on the Two Kingdoms
3. A Few Examples
Dear friends,
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been introducing the Lutheran doctrine of the Two Kingdoms. Briefly once again, you are always living in two kingdoms, both of which are established by God for your good. He has established the kingdom of the left to preserve order in the world by law, and He gives it the sword (the use of force) to do so. On the other hand, God has established the kingdom of the right for spreading the gospel and forgiving sins, and He gives the Word—the sword of the Spirit—to accomplish this task. For more, you can find the previous emails here.
This week, before we start to dive deeper into current issues and events, I wanted to give a series of examples to illustrate some differences. Note that this is a general overview: since the two kingdoms overlap and both are inhabited by sinners, there will always be nuances, and we’ll address those more when we start to look at specific issues.
Obedience: What is the motivation for keeping the law?
Like it or not, the principal motivation for obeying the law in the left-hand kingdom is fear of punishment. I’m betting you don’t fill out your tax forms every year for the joy of honoring Caesar, but because you don’t want the IRS knocking on your door. I’ll admit that I drive 30 MPH on Curtis Road not because I relish a slow amble through the neighborhood, but because I don’t want a ticket and higher insurance rates. You may object to the idea of fear as the motivation: you may instead be saying that our motivation for obeying the law is to honor the social contract among us, and that’s fine. However, what happens if everybody stops honoring the social contract? Eventually, it leads to disorder, chaos, riots and anarchy. That’s something to be afraid of, so I’m sticking with fear as the principal motivation.
In the right-hand kingdom, the principal motivation for obeying the law of God is not fear, but that we are set free from sin to obey God. We love because Christ first loved us (1 John 4:19): in thanksgiving, we want to keep God’s laws in service to Him and to our neighbor! This might have you crying “Baloney!” again, since we surely obey the law because we fear God’s wrath. However, the only reason we fear God’s wrath is because we’re terrible at being citizens of the right-hand kingdom. As we mature in faith, we rejoice all the more in the good and holy law of God.
Fundraising: How do we cover costs?
The left-hand kingdom (we’ll use “Caesar” as a stand-in) needs to raise money to pay for salaries, infrastructure, military, programs and more. To raise money for such things, God gives Caesar the right to collect taxes (Rom. 13:6-7); and as a citizen of the left-hand kingdom, you honor God by paying them. If you fail to pay them, Caesar has the sword and the right to prosecute you via arrest, imprisonment, foreclosure, etc.
The right-hand kingdom (we’ll use “the Church” as a stand-in) needs money for salaries, mission efforts, utilities and more. To raise money for such things, God gives to the Church the Word of God. We therefore preach the good news of Jesus, and those who hear respond in thankfulness by giving offerings as the Lord commands (Gal. 6:6-7). If you fail to give offerings, the Church does not have the right to prosecute you or seize your assets.
If a Christian says, “I will not pay taxes to Caesar because of my faith,” or a church compels its members to give percentages of income, there’s a confusion of the two kingdoms at work. More confusion will follow.
Crime and Punishment: What do you do with those who break the law?
As we’ve noted above, Caesar has the right to prosecute and punish the one who breaks the law through fines, imprisonment, etc. Caesar can show mercy depending upon mitigating circumstances; and if a criminal is contrite at sentencing, his sentence might be reduced. But if the laws are just, he will still likely endure punishment even if he is sorry. Once he has “paid his debt to society,” he goes free—often on parole, with requirements to behave or face further imprisonment.
The Church does not punish the one who breaks God’s law: rather, it is given to the Church to tell the lawbreaker that he needs to repent of his sin or face God’s wrath on the Last Day. Some may object because we retain the [seldom-used] practice of excommunication, where an impenitent sinner is excluded from the congregation: isn’t that punishment? No, excommunication is not intended as punishment, but as an acknowledgment that the impenitent no longer abides by the Word of God or confesses the faith. Should that sinner repent, he is restored immediately: more than showing mercy, the Church announces grace. The absolution declares that the sin is removed as far as the east is from the west. There is no debt to pay, because Christ paid the debt already. This ought to move the one forgiven to do good and make right whatever he can—not as a condition of parole, but because he is free to.
If Caesar fails to prosecute evildoers, he weakens the left-hand kingdom as he opts for forgiveness over justice. If the Church makes use of punishment to coerce or punish rather than call a sinner to forgiveness, it has confused the two kingdoms. Perhaps it has made works a condition of forgiveness, which is why the Reformation began in the first place.
Status and Class: Who’s who?
In the left-hand kingdom, there are various classes, social statuses and callings. There are men and women, parents and children, rich and poor, powerful and weak. Those who have power, wealth and authority are to use that in service to those who are powerless, poor and in need. Rulers should serve their citizens by ruling wisely and justly, the rich should help the poor, etc. Authorities are to be treated with respect (Rom. 13:7).
In the right-hand kingdom, these distinctions cease: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”
(Galatians 3:28). Status disappears: for instance, while it is fitting in the left-hand kingdom to refer to presidents as “President Obama” or “President Trump,” we pray for “Barack” and “Donald” because titles disappear before the Lord. Furthermore, there is to be no partiality shown to those of one social status over another (James 2:1-13). In fact, the one who is rich in the right-hand kingdom is the one who is forgiven, regardless of his financial portfolio.
If Caesar demands that society be classless, it is an illusion and a deceit: the left-hand kingdom must always have authorities to keep order, and those authorities will always have a different status from those under authority. If the Church favors one class over another, it denies that all are one in Christ Jesus.
So…
Did I mention that there are lot of nuances beyond these general descriptions? More than once with those broad-brushed illustrations, you probably wanted to say, “But what about…?” Nevertheless, I hope these examples demonstrate how the two kingdoms differ, even as God has established both for your good.
Next week, we’ll start to examine various issues in both kingdoms. I will add one more distinction to keep in mind: in the right-hand kingdom, we are to be united in our confession of God’s Word (Eph. 4:4-6)—we are to hold to the one true faith because the Word is sure. In the left-hand kingdom, there will be times when we have different opinions on how best to live out that faith as citizens. For example, you and I are both bound to be united in the Seventh Commandment, “You shall not steal;” and as left-hand citizens, we should therefore work for a society where home burglaries are discouraged. However, you and I might favor different candidates, methods and laws for accomplishing that goal. Such disagreements in the left-hand kingdom ought not divide us, as long as we are united in the doctrine of God’s Word. Sometimes, the Word of the Lord clearly speaks to a political issue in our land, sometimes less so. It is possible for Christians to be divided on various left-hand issues and still be one in Christ, as long as the Word permits different approaches to matters in the left-hand kingdom.
More to come!