Scriptural Refutation of the Evangelicals' Two-Kingdoms Theology (Part 2)

When rulers persecute us, can we then be in accordance with God’s will for Christians if we seek to insinuate ourselves into civil government in order to bring about relief from the persecution? No, there is no such vision given in the Scriptures for us Christians.

Satan is the ruler of the world, and we come off victorious over him when we hold to our God-given, in-common vocation. And what is that? Peter, addressing first-century Christians, admonished them as follows: “You should declare abroad the excellencies of the One who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. For you were once not a people [recognized by God], but now you are God’s people; once you had not been shown mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as foreigners and temporary residents to keep abstaining from fleshly desires, which war against you. Maintain your conduct fine among the nations” (1 Peter 2:9-12a). Because we Christians are no longer part of the world, then we no longer give uncritical obedience  to a people/nation into which we were by happenstance born; we obey God as ruler, not men. Moreover, it is our responsibility to make appeal to all nations’ citizens that any among them can choose to let God’s spirit enlighten them and motivate them to the fine conduct that is featured among those who are “God’s people,” an enlightened, spiritually minded people. 

The majority of any nation’s citizens will not benefit themselves by means of the witness God provides them through the activities of God’s people, “the congregation of the living God, a pillar and support of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). That is of no moment to God’s people, for it was never foretold in the Scriptures that God’s people would ever become defined as a polity or polities in the world of mankind; God’s people have no geographically defined borders which they should jealously guard with fleshly weapons.  Jesus’ said that his disciples do not take up the sword to protect an earthly kingdom (see John 18:36). The greatest enemies God’s people have are “the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places, [in the invisible realm]” (Ephesians 6:10-19); fleshly weapons can never deliver us from their designs to shut down God’s people (cf. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5); our enemies cannot be held at bay with such weapons. Yet we are victorious against Satan, against those whom he controls, in that we keep our faith strong, and keep strong the witness we bear—strong “even in the face of death” (Revelation 12:11). Such a conquest seems foolish, unreal,  to those not God’s people. Still, the matter here is just as we read in the Bible at 1 John 5:4a-5: “And this is the conquest that has conquered the world, our faith. Who can conquer the world? Is it not the one who has faith that Jesus is the Son of God?” Does it seem to you that this man of God was chafing because Christ’s disciples had not become organized into some polity or survivalist group / cult having an earthly militia for the protection of its way of life amidst a hostile world arrayed against them? No, that man of God was not looking for the establishment by Christians of a civil administration which should protect their lives during their sojourn here on earth. 

Just the same, Christians can appeal to “Caesar” (secular authorities) that he should intervene in behalf of us, a people who have a God-given right to preach the good news of God’s Kingdom (cf. Philippians 1:7; Matthew 28:18-20). Philippi was a colony of Roman citizens jealous of their status as citizens. But Christians coming into Philippi had a God-given right to preach God’s good message, this although it  might have seemed to the secular authorities in Philippi that the newly-arrived Christians in their midst were in violation of the law De Legibus, ii.8, which stated, “No person shall have any separate gods, or new ones; nor shall he privately worship any strange gods, unless they be publicly allowed.” It may have been the case that Jews were proscribed from worship in a synagogue inside the gates of the city Philippi, but that their worship may have been permitted outside the city gates (cf. Acts 16:12, 13, 16). But as Paul and Silas were once again making their way outside the city of Philippi to be with Jews on Sabbath day, Paul then found occasion to use the name “Jesus Christ” as the basis of his authority for casting out a demon from a certain fortune teller who had been tagging along behind them for days prior to that Sabbath day. As a pretext for hiding the grief caused them by their monetary loss when they saw that the demonized girl was of no more use to them, the masters of that slave girl thought to use Paul’s invocation of Jesus Christ against him, for they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them back into the city, “into the marketplace to the rulers. Leading them up to the civil magistrates [inside the city], they said: “These men are disturbing our city very much. They are Jews, and they are proclaiming customs that it is not lawful for us to adopt or practice, seeing that we are Romans”” (Acts 16:19-21). Even though Christians could preach against idolatry, and preach against giving to Caesar God’s things, they certainly had no idea for establishing an earthly government that should supplant Caesar’s God-permitted rule, this no matter the divine punishment to which the Caesars made themselves liable for their wickedness and for their persecution of Christians. God is the One who judges those outside the Christian congregation; Christians do not involve themselves in such matters. 

Paul highly prized not his Roman citizenship, but rather his heavenly citizenship, and he highly extolled Jesus as the Philippian Christians’ savior and Lord to whom “every knee should bend—of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the ground—and every tongue should openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). Such a Lord and savior, of course, could be neither Caesar nor Moses. The apostle also wrote to the Philippians: “Our citizenship exists in the heavens, and we are eagerly waiting for a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). Jesus—not that Moses presented in an exaggerated, legalistic view of Moses’ worth as promoted by Jewry’s religious leaders, and who was wrongfully promoted by those Judaizers who were false Christians (cf. Philippians 3:2-11)—was the true, powerful, heavenly paradigm for their future life; he was the one to whom  Christians should look for guarantee that they would be saved for life, for life with the true savior in a heavenly body made like Jesus’ (q.v. Philippians 3:21). 

God would never supplement Christ’s sufficient rule over the Christian congregation by ordaining / commanding the appearance of another Leader in a political (man-concocted) arena for him to work alongside Jesus Christ for satisfying the needs of the Christian congregation. There is no such thing as a Two Kingdoms theology—no two Leaders (see Matthew 23:10). Nor does Jesus’ leadership stand divided into different dominions, the secular and the spiritual, this as though Christians may think of themselves as working with Jesus in their participation, alongside unbelievers, for administration of civil governance no matter the moral tone of that governance. The Scriptures record these telling questions for us to consider: “Further, what harmony is there between Christ and Belial [(Satan)]? Or what does a believer share in common with an unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:15). He has nothing in common with unbelievers for when he works alongside his Leader, Jesus. This is in harmony with 1 John 1:6, where we read: “ If we make the statement, “We are having fellowship with him,” and yet we go on walking in the darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth.  However, if we are walking in the light as he himself is in the light, we do have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” Christ has no fellowship—nor do we—with those who are walking in the darkness, with those who are liars and not practicing the truth. His blood has not cleansed them for us to have fellowship with them.

Well, then, do we Christians have need of a “Caesar” for him to proscribe elective abortions? No, we Christians need only to keep our brotherhood free of the presence of murderers who would call themselves our brothers. Do we Christians have need of a “Caesar” for him to keep us safe from the presence in our midst of those who are practicers of pedophilia, homosexuality, adultery, idolatry, thievery, etc.? No, for if there should occur in our midst any who take up a practice of such kinds of wickedness, then we trust that they will be discovered and we would then turn aside from fellowship with them. And we would not shield them from Caesar’s right to punish such evil doers. Can “Caesar” exact punishment against evil doers? Yes, that is presently his prerogative; he answers to God for his failures and mistakes. Do we Christians have need of a “Caesar” for him to protect the existence and work of the Christian congregation? No, for it is already given us in prophecy found in God’s infallible Word that He will miraculously deliver us whenever Satan’s scheme has taken shape for what he plans to be the violent removal of God’s people from off the earth. God will not allow the extermination from off the earth of his namesake people.  Can “Caesar” rightfully demand that Christians sacrifice their life in defense of his government? No, he oversteps his God-permitted authority when he so demands it on pain of punishment/persecution against Christians who will not comply; he will answer to God for that persecution (cf. John 19:9-11). Indeed, there is much that Caesar does that God permits but does not approve. Caesar’s representative Pilate was permitted his persecution of Jesus, but it was not approved by God for Pilate to thereby add to his bloodguilt. “Caesar” may increase his bloodguilt in God’s eyes when he commits genocide, but even so, God does not authorize Christians to bring punishment against any of the “Caesars” of this world for such heinous sins. Christians cannot be a constitutive element in Caesar’s rule presently permitted him.