Christ's Other Kingdom

Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost

November 9, 2014

Daniel 1:3-21

Christ's Other Kingdom

†

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I.

Think about how Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego interacted with the government and following the way of the cross.

[Be] subject to rulers and authorities, be obedient, be ready to do whatever is good, slander no one, be peaceable and considerate, and show true humility toward all men. Titus 3:1-2

Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. 1 Peter 2:13-17

Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's. Matthew 22:21

Daniel and his three friends were prisoners of war. They were Jews who have been exiled to the conquering nation of Babylon. Yet Daniel and his friends did not conspire and plot against the king of Babylon. They did not rebel. Instead they sought the best interests of their new country and faithfully used their talents and abilities to that end.

Later, when the government demanded that Daniel not pray to the true God and when the government demanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego bow to a golden idol, they refused to obey but did not seek to harm the state in any way. When they escaped from the lions' den and the fiery furnace, they did not expect the government to establish the religion of the true God, nor did they use their influence to get the king to hunt down pagan idolaters.

II.

Daniel and his friends lived out the relationship between believers and their government established by Christ. This relationship is clearly laid out by St. Paul in Romans 13.

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. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Romans 13:1-7

Governments are supposed to do four things. They are supposed to commend those who do good. Notice that Paul does not define what good it is that government should commend; he leaves that to the government.

Second, they are to be a terror to those who do wrong. Notice that Paul does not say the government should be a terror to those who believe wrong or to those who think wrong but only to those who do wrong. The business of government is outward behavior, not the inner workings of the soul and the heart.

Third, the government is supposed to carry out punishment of those who do wrong, up to and including capital punishment. Note the words "he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer." The sword has but two uses for the state. Either it used to execute a criminal or by a soldier in time of war.

Finally, the government is supposed to collect taxes that it considers necessary to carry out its work.

As citizens of our country we are free to persuade our fellow citizens about what is good and what is wrong. We are free to elect rulers who will carry out the functions of the government. We can debate how to collect taxes. We are free to object when we think the government is not doing its job or when it's doing a job it shouldn't be doing. But St. Paul and all of Scripture leaves no room for violent rebellion against the government.

As noted before Daniel did not rebel against his king when his king tried to control his faith and to whom Daniel prayed. Daniel did not conspire to overthrow King Nebuchadnezzar, even though he had the ability to do so. Daniel didn't even try to run away to another country. He stayed; he prayed; he was arrested. And he would have eaten by lions, if God had not sent angels to clamp down the lions' mouths.

III.

Dear fellow travelers on the way of the cross, obey the government like Daniel did. When it acts badly, pray to Christ for aid and speak up. Make the case for what is good and true. And then like Daniel prepare to suffer for defending what is good and true. We won't be thrown into a lions' den like Daniel or a fiery furnace like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

But we will be harmed in other ways. Our good names will be attacked and we will be despised by our fellow citizens. But that is the way of the Christ and His cross for all believers. We confess the name of the Lord. We suffer for His name. And we live in His name!

Consider the temptation Christ faced in the wilderness. The Devil came to Jesus and offered Him all the kingdoms of the world. In other words the Devil offered Christ all political power in all the world. In other word: one world government with Jesus in charge. the Devil promised Jesus that He could avoid the cross and use political power to Christianize the nations of the world.

But Christ said no. He refused the shortcut. He followed the way of the bloody cross, not the way of glory and power. The way of the glory leads souls to eternal death; the way of Christ's cross brings souls into everlasting life. Jesus refused to take the easy way of glory; He chose the painful way of the cross for us. He submitted to the government that He had established and that would execute Him. How strange. How mysterious. How amazing.

We follow the same way of the cross. By obeying the government, we are obeying Christ and serving our neighbor. When the government says that murder is okay and that marriage means nothing, each of us prays to Christ and speaks out for the truth. And each of us suffers for the truth and the cross in our own ways. But in the cross we live.

Governments come and go. Nations rise and fall. But the Word of the Lord endures forever.

In the name of the Father

and of the † Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

NOTE
The sermon borrows heavily from Civil Government: God's Other Kingdom by Daniel M. Deutschlander. Please read this excellent work to hear these points expanded thoroughly.