National Day is a day set aside to mark the nationhood of a sovereign state or the day of its independence. Both Singapore and Malaysia celebrate National Day on 9th August and 31st August respectively. The day is always celebrated with parades and speeches by the leaders of the nation with the exhortation to be good citizens.
We as citizens give thanks to God for our nation and pledge our support and loyalty to our Government. We thank God for peace and prosperity the result of good governance.
As we celebrate National Day once again, we pause to consider what the relationship between the church and state is, and to consider the duty of the Christian towards the state, individually and corporately. Let us remind ourselves that we are not only members of the church, but also citizens of the nation. Though our permanent citizenship is in Heaven with Christ the King, we must not forget that by the providence of God we are also citizens of the nation. What should we do about our double citizenship and as it appears dual allegiance?
God’s word is clear that Christ is the supreme Lord and King over the whole universe (Rev. 17: 14) True there are those who refuse to accept His lordship and kingship but this does not diminished His authority over the whole universe, for God Almighty has highly exalted Him and given Him a name that is above every other name. (Phil. 2: 10-11) All will one day acknowledge Him as King of kings and Lord of lords – some with joy, others with fear and dread.
Does this mean that the kingship of Christ is only to be in the future? The ignorance of the Athenians (Acts 17: 22) did not make them any less the creatures and subjects of God, the Creator of all things and the Lord of Heaven and earth. In fact the Bible tells us that all civil governments in the world are established by divine ordination to be under Him and over the people, therefore derive their authority from God. So Paul admonishes 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 Paul goes on to explain that the civil government’s authority is to inflict temporal punishment upon wrong doers and reward those who do well.
The purpose of government is to promote righteousness for the good of the people. “When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish there are shouts of joy. Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.” (Proverbs 11: 10-11) When just and compassionate people gain influence in the community the morality of public life is raised as well as quality of life for the people. Blessings are the results of good influences, but curses are the consequences of wrong actions. The Government is entrusted with responsibility of working out of righteousness.
The church is also an establishment of God. Authority is vested on the leaders in church. It is our responsibility to give them respect because they are ordained by God, and therefore are accountable to Him for the flock. Every denomination has its own structure and discipline and it is important leaders and members are aware of these disciplines. It is up to us to work within the structure and discipline of the church.
So as temporary citizens of earth and permanent citizens of heaven, we belong to both realms. We are to ‘give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s’ (Matt. 22: 21)
(This article was written for The Salvation Army War Cry August issue. -Singapore/Malaysia/Myanmar Territory)
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