Dual Citizenship? A Critical Look at a Christian's Citizenship and Loyalty on Earth.

"But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ..." (Philippians 3:20)

Now, I am quite certain many of you are thinking, "Really, another political post?! Come on, he's even using Philippians 3:20 again?!" Well, if that is what you are thinking, yes this is and yes I am. Sorry, every now and then I may sound like a broken record, but I feel the need to write more upon this issue. Remember that I told you all that I would write whatever I felt like writing, so you can't say I didn't warn you!

This post will be about a very, very common belief in Christian circles, known as Dual Citizenship. At its core, this theological idea claims that Christians are citizens of two (or more) nations: these being Heaven and the human nation wherein they reside. There is much evidence for this notion (so they argue), but their defense (as far as I myself have found, and I have but little experience in this issue) comes from human experience and human logic instead of concrete Biblical evidence.

First of all, if dual citizenship is correct, you are both an American Citizen (or Russian/German/British, etc.) and a Heavenly citizen. Thus, your loyalties lie to both "God and Country", and both of them can declare themselves as your sovereigns. Thus, as a Christian in America (for example), you must say both, "I pledge allegiance to the... United States of America, and to the Republic...", as well as, "I pledge allegiance to the Lord of lords, the God of the Universe." To the dual citizen, these pledges do not contradict each other, but rather complement one another. However, let us check the Bible.

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." (Matthew 6:24)

Since I refuse to take this verse out of context, I will let you know that our Lord is speaking very clearly about something: you cannot serve two masters. He used this as a lesson especially about the love of money. However, His teaching goes much further than just money, for He graciously told us, again, that "no one can serve two masters". Although He further expounded on this fact, He still gave it specifically as a fact that is not necessarily dependent upon a man's relationship with money. So, let us examine this further.

The Greek for "masters" is κυρίοις, which means, "master, lord, the Lord" (Strong's Concordance). Simply put, this word refers to, basically, a slave-owner, as in someone who owns you. The Greek for "serve" is δουλεύειν, which means, "to be a slave, to serve" (Strong's Concordance).  Thus, the Lord is telling us that no man can be a slave, or we could also say a subject, of two different lords. He is either the slave of one or the other, but not both. 

However, since citizenship, at its foundations, requires that you pledge your allegiance to a certain person or nation, and allegiance means, "Loyalty or the obligation of loyalty, as to a nation, sovereign, or cause.... The obligations of a vassal to a lord" (in other words, you make yourself the virtual slave, to one extent or another, of the nation or leaders), you must either be the citizen of Heaven or of the Kingdoms of Satan (for the kingdoms of men are in the Dominion of Satan: see Matthew 4:8-9 and especially Luke 4:5-6).

"Really" you say, "You have but taken one verse out of context in order to 'prove' your point, and now you are saying that your point is Biblical?!" If this is what you are thinking (or are currently screaming into the computer screen) I understand your frustrations, for the people are many that take the Bible out of context in order to prove their false beliefs. However, I pray that you believe me when I tell you that this is not what I am doing nor is it my intent to do so. Therefore, in order to calm your fears, I must turn to another teaching of our Lord.

"When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, 'Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?' He said, 'Yes.' And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, 'What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?' When Peter said, 'From strangers,' Jesus said to him, 'Then the sons are exempt. However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.'"(Matthew 17:24-27)

Christ's teaching here is very self-explanatory. The governments of Earth tax the citizens of their lands. Especially in old kingdoms, the governors/kings were exempt from paying taxes. It was the same with their children and members of their family. God is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Therefore, He is exempt from all the taxes of the Earth's government. This exemption extends to His sons and daughters as well. Since we are the "children of God", His own sons and daughters, we are completely exempt from the taxes of the Earthly governments. 

This flies in the face of dual citizenship. If we were actually citizens of America, we would owe our taxes to them. However, we are not citizens of America, we are children of the King. As such, we are superior to all the governments of the Earth, and we owe no one but our Lord our allegiance and obedience. We do not obey the laws of the land because it is something we must do as citizens of an earthly nation. Rather, we obey the laws (and pay taxes) for two main reasons:  they are ministers of God to do good for you (Romans 13:4,6), and in order to not offend them unnecessarily (Matthew 17:27). 

With these teachings, and many others, in mind, we must come to the conclusion that we are not truly citizens of any earthly nation. Rather, we are citizens of Heaven (Phillipians 3:20). The lords of this Earth are God's ministers to do good to you and since you are a child of the king (who is their master), they are also your ministers. This does not mean that you can refuse to obey them or order them around, but rather they are like police officers, in the service of your Father, who are there to protect you. Whether you like it or not, you are called by your Father to obey them. However, they are not your lords. The nation in which you reside (and even its government) is not your sovereign. You do not owe it your allegiance.

So, I must ask, are you proud to be an American, or grateful to be both a citizen of God's Kingdom and His beloved child?

2012 Elections

This week, I was speaking with a couple of people about the election in 2012. During this conversation, we started talking about whether or not we can trust men to turn this country around, or even to do the good which we want them to do. One of these people is voting for Romney and believes that we can trust his character and his past patterns enough to do the good which we want him to do. I believe that this is a very good topic for a post, so I have decided to write about it.

Here is my issue with the above argument, can we truly trust un-saved Man to do what is good? Can we trust them to make laws that line up with our beliefs? Overall, are they worthy of any trust?
Let us look at the Bible.

"Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in his heart;
there is no fear of God
before his eyes.
For he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
He plots trouble while on his bed;
he sets himself in a way that is not good;
he does not reject evil." (Psalm 36:1-4)

Also, here is Psalm 5:9,

"For there is no truth in their mouth;
their inmost self is destruction;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongue."

cf. Micah 7, Eccles. 9:3, Jeremiah 10:7-8,14, Jeremiah 13:23.

Unsaved rulers/candidates, although they may be considered "good" men by some cultural standard, are really ungodly, ignorant and foolish men. They have no true character (nor can we trust in their character), for every inclination of their hearts are toward evil (Gen. 6:5).I say none of this because I hate these men or am angry with them or want to smear their names, rather I say this because this is who they are.

This is why the Psalmist wrote,

"Do not put your trust in princes,
Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.
His spirit departs, he returns to his earth;
In that very day his plans perish." (Psalm 146:3-4)

Notice, it says that in man, there is no help. There is no help apart from God. Furthermore, we must not trust men to turn this country around. Even trusting them to make laws that will turn this country around is wrong.

If there is still any doubts about this, this is what Paul wrote to Titus about un-saved rulers (which far outnumber saved rulers),

"Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us..." (Titus 3:1-5a)

Paul is here saying that we must be submissive to the rulers and authorities, being obedient to them, not slandering them or quarreling with them. Why should Paul be telling Titus this? Because the rulers were being foolish, disobedient to God, slaves to their fleshly desires, hateful, envious and malicious. Overall, the rulers were just plain bad. However, Paul says (paraphrase), "Why are you amazed at this? They are slaves to sin, just like we once were. You cannot expect slaves of sin to be wise and godly, nor can you expect them to rule wisely and in a godly manner."

It is the same with our nation's leaders. The vast majority of them, unlike what some may say, are not followers of God. They are wicked and foolish, running whole-heartedly on the paths of darkness. Please remember this when you look at the way our leaders are acting and what they do. Do not be amazed when they sin, nor be hateful towards them or slander them. Rather, pray for their salvation daily.

So, I must say again that putting your trust in men to turn this country around or even to make laws that are in accord with godliness, is a very much misplaced trust.

Since I do not trust in men and especially not in the character of the unsaved, I cannot say that I at all trust our rulers. However, that is not an issue for me, because God has complete authority over all rulers and no one can do anything outside of His plan. Thus, I trust not man, but God.



Now that I have said that, here is what I have to say about voting in the next election:

1) Do not put your trust in your candidate. Both of the top candidates are unsaved men. Furthermore, they are only men, prone to evil and foolishness. They are not the deciding factors in what happens in the world, rather, God is in complete control.

2) Vote for the candidate whom you believe is closest to your own views. 

3) Do not slander any of the current rulers, nor any of the candidates, nor anyone in general. Much of Politics rides on mud-slinging, where you slander your opponents and treat them as garbage. Do not take part in this, for it is truly evil and sickening in God's sight.

4) Trust God with the outcome. Please remember that all authorities are appointed by God, even in a democratic/republican system. God will appoint whomever He wishes, no matter what men may wish.

5) Do not act as if the world rests upon this election, nor upon politics in general. Again, this election is not the deciding factor in what happens in this world. God is the "deciding factor" and Supreme Ruler, not America's elections or leaders. Also remember that this world is not our home, nor is America our ultimate Country. We are not citizens of this world, we are citizens of the Heavenly Kingdom.

"But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ..." (Philippians 3:20)

As I read what I write and look at my knowledge of God and the Scriptures, I continually see how so many men whom God has called are far greater than I. This is not of their own doing, but of God's, so that His Name may be praised. So, I leave the expounding of this last point which I have given, to Charles Spurgeon. Please read this sermon or listen to the audio which is on it.

Citizens of Heaven

Note: I do not completely agree with Spurgeon, especially about Politically-Involved Christians. However, as Christians, the politics of this world are not of the worth of the Heavenly Kingdom. God is our King and He alone, not the worldly country in which we reside, deserves all our allegiance.

Still, something continually comes to my mind, can a truly godly Christian become the highest official in the land? Will not the hatred of the whole world be upon him because his God is the Lord and he speaks out against the sin of Mankind and reminds them of the Hell which is justly theirs? Can hell-bound Man love a Christian enough to put him into a seat of high honor and power?