7th Sunday after Pentecost (Series A)
Independence Day Weekend
July 3, 2005
Life in Two Kingdoms
Matthew 22:21
What a privilege to live in a country where we can gather to worship and praise God ... without fear of government interference or persecution. The Star-Spangled Banner B written by Francis Scott Key in 1814, and officially made our national anthem by Congress in 1931 B reminds us each time we sing it, that we live in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
The freedom we enjoy as American citizens is a blood-bought, blood-protected freedom, as evidenced by countless cemeteries in our country and around the world. I wonder, however, if the Founding Fathers of our nation would recognize the nation they struggled so fervently to create ... not so much because of the amazing technological advances ... but, more-so, because of the moral decline of our culture.
The writer of the Proverbs tells us: Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people, [Proverbs 14:34]. Bishop Fulton Sheen, in 1941, wrote:
The greatest disaster that can happen to a nation is not to do evil; it is to deny that evil exists by calling evil another name like >progress= (or, in today=s culture, >tolerance=). Men think that evil must come in the disguise of a germ, or a bomb, or an explosion, forgetful that the greatest grief can come to man under the disguise of human ideals. It is under the masquerade of a progress (or a tolerance) which denies sin and guilt that anti-Christ parades the world today, promising to redeem man when he has left the Cross behind.(1)
Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people, [Proverbs 14:34]. For a faithful Christian, this proverb seems self-evident, doesn=t it? But, it invites an important question. WHAT IS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS, THAT THE WRITER OF PROVERBS REFERS TO?
From the time of their Holy Baptism, God=s people hold a dual-citizenship ... citizenship in two distinct kingdoms at one and the same time. One kingdom is visible. The other is hidden. The visible kingdom is earthly, physical. The hidden kingdom is heavenly, spiritual.
Jesus indicates precisely this in today=s text: Give to Caesar what is Caesar=s, and to God what is God=s, [Matthew 22:21]. We live in Caesar=s kingdom ... and, at the same time, we live in God=s kingdom.
Caesar=s kingdom B the kingdom of this world B is ruled by the Law. God=s kingdom B which, as Jesus said to Pilate, is not of this world, and isn=t under the authority of this world=s rulers, [John 18:36] B is ruled by the Gospel. Caesar=s kingdom is governed by the sword. God=s kingdom is governed by His grace and mercy.
As citizens of Caesar=s kingdom, we=re called by God to obey our earthly rulers. The apostle Paul reminds us: Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves, [Romans 13:1?2].
The authority to rule, exercised by earthly leaders, is derived from God=s authority over all creation. He gives earthly authority to mankind as a gift ... a gift to be used wisely in preserving order and in punishing evil, [Romans 3:1-5].
As citizens of God=s kingdom, we give our obedience to our heavenly Ruler, Jesus. He rules us in grace and in power, with the sword of the Spirit, which is His holy Word. He rules us ... as we say in the Apostles= Creed ... from the right hand of God the Father Almighty. And, He always rules with the best spiritual interest of His citizens in clear view, as the apostle reminds us: we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose, [Romans 8:28].
So, if Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people, [Proverbs 14:34], as the writer of Proverbs indicates, what, then, constitutes Arighteousness@ in Caesar=s kingdom? And, what constitutes Arighteousness@ in God=s kingdom?
In Caesar=s kingdom ... righteousness is civil ... right living. It=s self-made. It=s a righteousness of good works ... a righteousness of obedience to the laws and ordinances of the kingdom ... so long as those laws and ordinances don=t require us to disobey the higher principles of God=s kingdom, as expressed in His Word. The righteousness of a nation is the collective civil righteousness of its people and its laws.
In God=s kingdom ... righteousness is spiritual ... right standing before God. It=s not self-made. It=s an Aalien@ righteousness B a righteousness that comes from outside ourselves, as Paul writes: For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, [Romans 1:17]. Righteousness in God=s kingdom comes to us as a gift. We receive it by faith alone in the crucified and resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. It=s Christ=s own righteousness that covers us ... righteousness that God attributes to us as being our own.
There=s a strong temptation to Amix and match@ Caesar=s kingdom and God=s kingdom. The danger in mixing the two kingdoms is ...
... to confuse civil righteousness and spiritual righteousness,
... to confuse the role of the Law and the role of the Gospel,
... to confuse the role of good works and the role of faith.
We run the risk of assuming, falsely, that our civil righteousness (right living) B which has certain earthly rewards B is also rewarded by God with spiritual righteousness (right being). But, God=s grace and our righteousness in Christ are NEVER rewards for our good works and our civil obedience.
We=re saved by God=s grace through faith alone. Never by our own good works, [Ephesians 2:8-9]. Forgiveness of sins. Righteousness before God. Eternal life. These are all gifts ... gifts of God=s grace and mercy in Christ Jesus alone.
Only as citizens of God=s kingdom through Holy Baptism and by faith ... are we citizens of a truly righteous nation, the holy church of our Lord Jesus Christ ...
... a righteous nation whose sin-disgrace has been removed by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.
... a righteous nation sent by God=s Holy Spirit into Caesar=s kingdom to let the light of our faith shine before men, that they may see our (righteous) works and praise our Father in heaven, [Matthew 5:16].
... a righteous nation, whose righteousness in Christ is exalted by God.
How and where do Caesar=s kingdom and God=s kingdom intersect in our lives?
The two kingdoms in which we hold dual-citizenship come together, Mark Sell writes, through our vocation. God is doing HIS WORK through our vocation. When someone asks, AWhere=s God when I=m sick?@ we can answer: AHe=s working through the doctor who diagnosed you, the pharmacist who dispensed your medication, and the auto worker who built the car to drive you to the pharmacy. God provides for His people through countless vocations in this life. (2)
This weekend, as you celebrate the independence of our nation, strive to live a life of civil righteousness and peace here, in Caesar=s kingdom ... a life that clearly reflects the perfect righteousness and the perfect peace that are already yours by faith alone through Christ Jesus, in God=s kingdom, where our true and eternal citizenship rests. God bless America. God bless His Church. And, God bless you! Amen.
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Notes
(1) From Fulton Sheen, War and Guilt (1941), as quoted in Touchstone magazine, April 2001, p.6.
(2) Mark Sell, ARighteousness and Religion@ in The Lutheran Witness, June/July 2005, p. 13.