When World War 1 broke out, the War Ministry in London dispatched a coded message to one of the British outposts in the inaccessible areas of Africa. The message read: "War declared. Arrest all enemy aliens in your district."

The War Ministry received this prompt reply: "Have arrested ten Germans, six Belgians, four Frenchmen, two Italians, three Austrians, and an American. Please advise immediately who we're at war with."

Much of the time we may feel as if we are at war... with our own government, but we aren't sure specifically who or what is our enemy.

Expanding Awareness

The church and the state. The believer and politics. Sanctification and legislation. External security and maximum security. Renew your mind and renew your license. Bible conferences and summit conferences. The right to worship and the right to work. The will of God and zoning restrictions. In the past, Christians have been vitally interested in the former and nominally concerned about the latter, the latter areas being either too worldly for or unworthy of their attention. But things are changing.

Perspective

First, nations are a distinct part of God's programme. From the original human being, Adam, God made "every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation" (Acts 17:26). The confusion of language at the tower of Babel was one of the ways God facilitated the formation of separate national entities (Genesis 11: 1-9). Behind the creation, preservation, modification, and even the eradication of nations looms the sovereign hand of God.

Second, human government is a God-ordained institution. The authority to govern as well as the particular governing authority is established by God (Romans 13:1). The responsibility of human beings to investigate, prosecute, and execute is embyonically outlined in Genesis 9:5-6 and then developed more thoroughly in the Mosaic Law (Exodus 20-22). Christians cannot lightly regard government and its function.

Third, every believer is a responsible citizen. That's because every believer is a citizen, and every believer has God-given citizenship responsibilities. There are no exceptions to citizenship, and there are no levels of citizenship. Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities (Romans 13:1). Biblical citizenship is a top priority responsibility for every Christian.

Fourth, the believer's relationship to government is just as important as his relationship to other areas. In 1 Peter 2:13, Christian citizens are told to submit to human government. In 1 Peter 2:18, Christian slaves are told to submit to their masters. In 1 Peter 3:1, Christian wives are told to submit to their husbands. Now, suppose one of the readers of Peter's letter was a Christian female slave married to an unbeliever. And suppose you were there at the time, and she came to you and said, "I am a new Christian, and I want to make sure my priorities are straight. Which one of these three areas of submission should I put first?"

What would your answer be? Would you tell her first to concentrate on submitting to her husband until she wins him to the Lord? And then turn her attention to doing what she is told at work? And when she feels she has done that long enough to earn a raise and a promotion, she ought to stop driving her chariot so fast and use whip signals when she turns?

I hope not. I hope you'd simply say, "Peter doesn't assign any priority. Each of the three commands to submit carries the full weight of God's authority. Work on each one of them consistently and simultaneously."

The believer's responsibility to government is neither more nor less important that any other area. It is just as important.

Fifth, the very nature of government causes it to touch the other main areas of Christian responsibility. It provides religious freedom for the individual and the church. IT limits the power of business and industry. It protects the rights of the family. It seeks to control the immorality in a fallen world. In many ways it fulfills its biblical mandate to reward the good and punish the bad (Romans 13: 1-7).

But there is a deepening concern among many today that instead of controlling the satanic world system, government is slowly but surely being permeated by that system. Overlapping, which was positive and protective, has instead become negative and harmful undercutting. For example, the Supreme Court of the State of Washington has ruled in favour of a fifteen-year-old who asked to be taken from her parents because of differences of opinion concerning her dating, her friends, and her desire to smoke. This kind of judicial overlapping can blur the distinction between the authority of the state and the authority of the parents. Silent, isolated Christians will do little to challenge this encroachment.

Sixth, the issues and areas listed in the government segment are just the tip of a huge iceberg. Each one could be amplified and explored. Many others could be added: gun control, abortion, censorship, welfare, lobbying, child abuse, ACLU, sexual discrimination, pornography, statism, bureaucracy, impeachment, appointment vs election, perjury, dictatorship, the oath, prohibition, jurisprudence vs legisprudence, civil service, IRS, civil defense, nuclear war, conscientious objection, right to privacy, protest, pacifism. The list is endless.

Seventh, every issue and area within the government is important. All legislation is important. Every court decision is important. All these issues and areas may not be equally important to you. But because they are activities of the divinely ordained government which affect the lives of people made in the image of God, they are important. Our task is to determine if and how an issue relates to us and others about whom we are concerned and then decide what we need to do about it.

[Excerpt from Balancing Life's Demands, Multnomah Books]