Citizens of Heaven and Earth: Reflecting on the 4th of July

(A note: I generally post on faith and science issues. This week, because it's the week of July 4th, I decided to look at how faith intersects with civic life. It's not too much of a stretch to see how these reflections can also be an analogy for any encounter of Christian faith with culture. By the way, Blogger and I are fighting over getting the font size and style correct. I'm currently losing. So I'm posting as is.)

The Fourth of July might make us think of one of three things. 

The first is this: “Why does the 4^th of July have to happen this year on a Wednesday?”

Second is this: "What does this mean for our country?" Most of us know that this is the day on which our great country signed its independence from England. On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later delegates from the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson.

And finally, we might go even deeper and ask, 

“What does it make to be a good citizen?” “What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus and to celebrate this day as an American Christian?”

The answer that I’m offering here is that our calling is to know the one true God revealed in Jesus Christ and to follow this God in mission in the world. This call brings us freedom and joy.

And I want to look at through this topic through the eyes of the Apostle Paul. In his words from the book of Philippians, we find freedom and service that we might never have imagined. 

Two texts from Philippians on citizenship

I’m going to take up two texts from this Pauline letter that may at first be contradictory. He affirms two things:

1.   In chapter one: “Let your manner of civic, public life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ…” (And in this passage he uses the Greek word politeuomai, which more literally signifies “be a citizen.”)
2.   And then in chapter three: “Our citizenship is in heaven…”

How can we be both citizens of heaven and earth? What does that mean?

To answer those questions, we need to step back for a moment and note a paradox: when Paul writes this letter, he’s a prison seeking and he’s working to inspire this group of Christians. From this man in chains we learn about freedom. 

And then there’s the historical context: In order to understand these words, we have to grasp the context in Philippians. This city in Europe, though about 800 miles from Rome, was a colony of the Roman Empire. Why? In 42 BC, there was a huge battle by Octavian (later the Emperor Augustus) and Mark Anthony and the leaders of Julius Caesar’s assassination, Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. The conquering general and later emperor Octavian had to figure out what to do with all these Roman soldiers in Philippi. So he made this part of Europe a Roman colony. This meant that, though they did not live in Rome, they were Roman citizens, which signified, among other things, freedom from taxation. And they were very proud of their citizenship and their city of Philippi, which Acts 16:12 calls “a leading city of Macedonia.” 

OK to these two passages…

We are citizens on earth.

NIV, Philippians 1:27-28 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner (lives as citizens) worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.
Or as paraphrased in The Message…
Meanwhile, live in such a way that you are a credit to the Message of Christ. Let nothing in your conduct hang on whether I come or not. Your conduct must be the same whether I show up to see things for myself or hear of it from a distance. 

We are even more citizens of heaven.

NIV, Philippians 3:18-21 For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
And again, those key verses paraphrased in The MessageThere are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I’ve warned you of them many times; sadly, I’m having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ’s Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites.  But there’s far more to life for us. We’re citizens of high heaven! 

In a word, we—like the Philippians—are citizens of earth, and citizens of heaven. Because we are citizens of God’s country (as it were), we are free to serve this country we love.

Free to love God as citizens of heaven

We are free for God: that’s where our citizenship lies.

This implies that we worship God with our entire lives, our everyday, ordinary life, our sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life” a la Romans 12:1-2 and The Message, and this is our “living sacrifice.” 

Getting our identity straight

This implies that we are free from being defined by any label such as “American Christian,” “Republican Christians” or “Democratic Christians” or even “Presbyterian Christian.” The adjective always has to inhabit a priority entirely secondary to the noun.

      

This can get so confused. I’m told that a few years back the Church of England and the Church of Scotland were in talks to have a merger, and a pastor in Scotland was having conversations in his town with various people. This Scottish pastor met a man man told him, “I’m totally opposed to this.” 

And the pastor responded, “That surprises me a bit. I always thought you were an atheist.”  

The man shot back, “Aye, that I am, but I’m a Presbyterian atheist.”

Having a standard outside our culture

And this takes us to the power of being citizens of heaven. Unless you have something outside the culture, you can’t speak into the culture. As I mentioned in another post, during the years leading up to World War II, the Nazi regime had very few resisters. One of the few was the small Confessing Church in Germany led by the theologian Karl Barth. In 1934 they said a distinct No to Hitler’s treatment of the Jews because—as they put it—Jesus Christ is the “One Word we have to hear and to obey in life and in death.” They could state a word that was angular to the way that the Nazis asserted that God, through the Weltgeist (the world Spirit or Mind) was speaking through the achievements of the German Volk. 

That’s what it means to be free to serve our country.

And there’s also the personal angle

As citizens, we are free to serve God.

And here it’s important to realize the difference between freedom from and freedom for. I’m beginning to think that the main reason to be free from entanglements that hold us back—even sin—is to be free for serving God.

            

This week, there’s been a lot of interest in LeBron James and where he’s headed. We now know it’s the Lakers. (Good luck in the Western Conference with my mighty Warriors.) Lebron is a uniquely talented player, but this talent leverages some significant natural physical qualities. And this makes me realize that no one will be as interested in me if I were to declare my intention to play for the NBA. Despite that fact that I’m free from any hindrances to play basketball, I’m not free for this. 

As Paul says, 

“Let your manner of civic, public life—your citizenship—be worthy of the Gospel of Christ.”

Here I’ll just close a few questions directed at you and at me:

• Do we live representing the kingdom of God?
• When we look at the Gospel of Christ—his care for the hurting, the outcast, those damaged by religion and society—do we live up to that standard?
• Do our lives reflect Jesus? Are we his hands and feet today?

As we reflect on these questions, my prayer is that they will that, that we may we know that kind of freedom, the freedom as we celebrate the birthday of the United States of America, but even more the freedom, by the power of  the Holy Spirit, to let our manner of civic life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ.

That’s the way I want to celebrate the Fourth of July this year and every year.