Remember to keep church and state separate.

It’s important to keep church and state separate, but it is not always easy to do that in our daily lives and vocations. The public school teacher who teaches Sunday school has to teach evolutionary science to her fifth-grade class on Monday; the judge who loves God’s laws has to apply the laws of the state in his courtroom on Tuesday; the parents who are guided by God’s Word use arguments from human reason at the school board meeting on Wednesday. How can we manage our lives in these two kingdoms?

Understanding the two kingdoms

No one did that better than Jesus. If ever there was a moment when the two kingdoms clashed, it was when Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate.

“Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.’ ‘You are a king, then!’ said Pilate. Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth.

Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.’ ‘What is truth?’ retorted Pilate” (John 18:36-38).

What do we learn? There are two kingdoms: the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of Christ. The first is based on earthly power. The second is “not of this world” and is established by the proclamation of the gospel.

The first is visible, and the second is invisible. The first is temporary because no ruler holds power for long, and the second is eternal. In Pilate’s courtroom, who was in charge? Pilate thought that he was, but the Son of God, who was bound before him, was the one who was in charge.

Navigating the two kingdoms

How does this help us navigate our way in these two kingdoms? Again, Jesus shows us the way. “Later [the chief priests] sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, ‘Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You are not swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?’ But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. ‘Why are you trying to trap me?’ he asked. ‘Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.’ They brought the coin, and he asked them, ‘Whose image is this? And whose inscription?’ ‘Caesar’s,’ they replied. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s’ ” (Mark 12:13-17).

The leaders of the Jews thought they had Jesus trapped. If he said they should pay Roman taxes, they could report to the Jewish people that he was unpatriotic. If he said they shouldn’t pay taxes, they could report him to the Roman governor to be arrested. Jesus refused to be drawn into this political debate. He taught them that you can obey God and Caesar at the same time—as long as the state does not demand that you disobey God.

Christians stand in two kingdoms—a kingdom of this world and God’s kingdom. Each kingdom requires loyalty from believers. Our first loyalty will always be to God. To him be the glory forever and ever! At the same time, we are obligated to respect and obey those in authority in the kingdom in which we are citizens.

Sometimes that will cause problems for our consciences, and we must serve God first. When Daniel and his three friends were chosen by Nebuchadnezzar for public service in his kingdom, they entered a three-year training program (see Daniel 1). During their training, they were fed food from the king’s table. Daniel and his friends couldn’t eat some of those foods because the foods were unclean according to Old Testament laws. They approached the chief official and asked for an exception to eat only vegetables. When the official in charge objected, they asked for a ten-day trial of vegetables and water. They passed the test and were granted their request. There are times when we must obey God rather than the government. There are also times when we can negotiate the opportunity to do both.

Pray for those who will lead the nation—even if you didn’t vote for them!

How does this work in real life today? A Christian public school teacher is required to teach the elements of evolution from her textbook. At the same time, she will use whatever opportunity she can to give evidence of her belief in creation. A judge will uphold the laws of his state regarding divorce, same-sex unions, and other moral issues, even though he does not agree with them according to his conscience. In the same way, Moses, as God’s representative of the state, instructed those who divorced their wives to give them a certificate of divorce, even though Moses, as God’s representative of the church, taught them that divorce was not God’s will (Deuteronomy 24:1; Matthew 19:3-9).

Voting with the two kingdoms in mind

And then we come to the elections. That’s a good time to keep church and state separate! There are good, God-fearing, believing Christians in every political party. No single party or candidate represents the kingdom of God. When the church becomes involved in politics and backs one party over others, it loses its ability to reach everyone with the gospel. And perhaps worse, political discussions can divide us. Do we really want that to happen in our congregations when we are united in faith and purpose under Christ?

So how does this understanding of the two kingdoms help us when we go to the polls? Electing those who govern us is relatively new in history. Before about A.D. 1700, it was commonly believed that rulers ruled by the will of God. British philosopher John Locke (1632–1704) championed the idea that the right to rule existed only by the consent of the people—and elections were born. In our form of government, we get to choose those who govern us. But don’t forget that “there is no authority except that which God has established” (Romans 13:1). Put on your thinking cap when you go to the polls and choose those people you think can best govern the nation. Then pray that God’s will is done.

And when the election is over, pray for those who will lead the nation—even if you didn’t vote for them!

This is the final article in a four-part series on government adapted from the Bible study Politics Is Driving Me Crazy! This study is available at Northwestern Publishing House, nph.net.

Join us for a four-week live online Bible study on church and state. For more information, visit forwardinchrist.net/online-study.

Author: Charles Degner
Volume 111, Number 10
Issue: October 2024