Reflections on the Two Kingdoms
6. When Kingdoms Collide
Dear friends,
A couple of weeks ago, our epistle reading from Romans 13 declared, “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” (Romans 13:1-2). This is one of the passages from which we derive our doctrine of the left-hand kingdom, that God puts civil authorities in place for the good of His people.
Sometimes, though, civil authorities oppose what is good, pass evil laws, seek to suppress the gospel or even persecute the Church. How do we respond when the two kingdoms collide?
We have a very helpful text in Acts 5:17-42, when the apostles are arrested for creating a public disturbance by preaching about Jesus at the temple. When the court commands them not to speak of the Lord’s resurrection anymore, Peter responds, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
There’s your guide: you must obey God rather than men.
When authorities in the left-hand kingdom (e.g, an employer, a teacher or a civil official) demand that you break God’s Word, it’s time to refuse. As King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus clearly outranks them; and, furthermore, unlike the Lord, none of these left-hand authorities can raise you from the dead. Does refusing them mean suffering? Likely, yes. Suffering should not come as a surprise as you follow in the footsteps of your Savior who suffered that you might have life.
That’s sobering news, and the prospect of so suffering for the faith is going to rub up against current political discourse in America today, even among Christians when the two kingdoms are confused. In the left-hand kingdom, the response to tyranny is resistance and rebellion. Frankly, the apostles going right back to preaching after this episode would make for a disappointing movie. In a left-hand kingdom action-flick, this is where they’d whip out the weapons concealed beneath their robes, rally the crowds and begin an uprising that ends in a new government that fully supports the work of Christendom.
Except that Peter just said, “We must obey God.”
That would be God who commands in the 4th Commandment that you must not despise authorities, but “give them honor, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.”
That would be God who commands in the 5th Commandment that we should not hurt or harm our neighbor, which the apostles would certainly do in an armed revolt.
It would also be the same God who gives the sword to the left-hand kingdom (Romans 13:4), but never gives the same to the Church. Remember, He gives to the Church His holy Word instead.
As a brief aside, St. Paul writes Romans 13 when the Caesar is none other than Nero(!). Some argue that he would have written differently had he waited a couple more years when Nero began his terrible persecution of Christians. There are problems with this. First, it is not as if the world never knew tyranny before Nero, so it is not that the apostle is naïve. Second, St. Paul is not sharing his personal opinion: he is writing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Third therefore, such an argument asserts either that the Holy Spirit didn’t see Nero’s tyranny coming—which would deny the omniscience of God, or that He would have changed Romans 13 once that persecution began—which would deny the immutable nature of His Word.
The upshot is that Christians are given to honor civil authorities, even when civil authorities fail to conduct themselves as God commands them: the sins of rulers do not justify sinful responses by the people of God. Christians follow Jesus, who submitted Himself to corrupt authorities, even to the point of suffering a cruel death, for our salvation. Don’t forget: when Jesus was arrested by an unruly left-hand kingdom mob for a sham-trial and unjust execution, Peter drew a sword and lopped off the ear of the high priest’s servant. But rather than commend Peter, Jesus told him to sheathe his sword and then healed the servant’s ear (Luke 22:49-51). Jesus was far from helpless when arrested: when He spoke to the mob, they all fell to the ground (John 18:6). Throughout His passion, given His omnipotence and legions of furious angels, He could have reduced Caiaphas, Herod and Pilate to ashes whenever He wished!
Even as we obey God rather than man, we still seek to honor authorities even when it means suffering. As a result, in the right-hand kingdom the Church remembers and honors martyrs far more than left-hand kingdom fighters, though sometimes they are one in the same.
There’s another element to consider: the believer is to act in such a way as to preserve a good conscience. A good conscience is one that says, “I know that I am forgiven and right with God.” It knows this because it is a conscience informed by the Word of God. When left-hand kingdom authorities start to pressure the church, it is often a gradual thing, and some Christians will see the need to invoke Acts 5:29 sooner than others for the sake of conscience. This has great potential to divide believers as one believes it is time to refuse the state and another believes the matter has not yet reached that point, even when each is trying to navigate the situation in keeping with Scripture. They must work all the harder to act in Christian love towards one another.
It can’t be stressed enough that a good conscience is one informed by the Word of God, where the individual says, “I must do this because to do otherwise would make me doubt I am forgiven according to Scripture.” A decision made to avoid the pressure of the mob, or because it agrees with one’s favorite podcaster, or to escape suffering, or to satisfy one’s anger is not about a good conscience, but a different motive. It takes courage, but the one with a good conscience knows that the Lord will supply.
I don’t want this email to get much longer, though I’m guessing I might have stirred some disgruntlement. The purpose of this week’s email is to introduce your guides for living in two kingdoms when they collide, namely Acts 5:29 and a good conscience, and it’s left many matters unsettled. But if I may, er, regruntle a bit, let me add a few things we need to address in the future:
· Does this mean that Christians are required to be pacifists? No.
· Does this mean that Christians may never defend themselves? No.
· Does this mean that Christians may never actively resist tyranny? No.
Does this get messy sometimes? Boy howdy.
While the two kingdoms are both gifts of God for our good, the “flaw” is that sinners inhabit them, always failing to uphold them and working to corrupt them. I remain thankful that Christ is risen, that the Word of the Lord endures forever, and that the Lord always hears the prayers of His people. I likewise remain thankful that we are saved by grace alone, not by making the perfect decisions at just the right times in difficult situations.
Finally, God be praised that His kingdom cannot fall. It is built upon Christ, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
More to come!