The United States of America is not the Kingdom of God. Nor is any other nation or state. Only great confusion can result if we insist on applying biblical teachings concerning the Kingdom of God to kingdoms of this world. Yet this is precisely what many sincere Christians have been doing in the discussion of the Viet Nam tragedy.
The problem arises from the fact that a Christian is a member of the Kingdom of God and at the same time of his own worldly kingdom. A Christian who is a United States citizen, for example, has obligations—biblical obligations, it should be emphasized—both to the Kingdom of God and to the United States of America.
The Kingdom of God is ruled by God. Its primary objective is to spread the knowledge of the redeeming love of God that is revealed in his Word and above all in his incarnate Son, Jesus Christ. Its method of achieving that objective is love—sacrificial love like that of its Master.
A member of the Kingdom is obligated to know and to do the will of God. In sum, this is expressed in “the first and greatest commandment,” which is, as Jesus Christ pointed out, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and soul, and mind, and strength, and … your neighbor as yourself” (see Matthew 22:36–40). The detailed specifications of loving God and neighbor are set forth in the Bible, which is the Word of God. The Christian is under obligation to study that Word “for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). It is particularly the Christian’s duty to study the life of Jesus Christ, who is our God-given example of life that is wholly committed to the will of God, so that we “may walk as that One walked” (1 John 2:6). God discloses his will for his people through his Word.
The kingdoms of this world are ruled by men. It is a scriptural teaching that these earthly rulers rule by the will of God, but this does not mean that they are knowingly obedient to the will of God. Rather, they are designated as a “terror to evildoers,” a restraining force upon the satanic powers of disorder and lawlessness in this present age (cf. Rom. 13:1–7; 1 Pet. 2:13, 14; 2 Thess. 2:1–10). The primary objective of a worldly kingdom is its “national interest,” which is defined by its rulers. The method of achieving that objective is force (which does not necessarily, nor even primarily, mean war), scripturally described as “the sword.”
A member of a worldly kingdom is obligated to obey its ruler. In a state established on law and justice, obedience to the ruler is better defined as obedience to the laws of the state. Individual human rights, as well as the corporate rights of the society, are set forth in that law. In a state ruled by a dictator or by a small council whose will is supreme, obedience is defined by the will of the ruler. Individual rights are usually suppressed. Only the rights of the state (as determined by the ruler) are important. In either case, it is a citizen’s duty to discover what the law or will of the ruler is, and to obey.
The Christian member of an earthly kingdom, however, finds that the will of God (as he understands it) is sometimes—perhaps often—in conflict with the will of the state. It is at this point that the greatest problems arise. We cannot avoid this conflict, for this present age is satanic. “If they have persecuted me they will also persecute you.” “In the world you shall have tribulation.”
Sometimes the conflict arises because of misinterpretation of the Word of God. The law of God says, “Thou shalt not kill.” A Christian policeman is armed with a revolver and told to use force in apprehending a dangerous felon, if necessary to “shoot to kill.” He at once feels he is being ordered to disobey the will of God. Further study of the biblical word, however, shows that the law really says, “Thou shalt not murder.” Moreover, the very law of God that forbids murder expressly commands that under certain circumstances man is to be killed (compare Exodus 20:13 with Exodus 21:12–17). Laws of all nations make a clear distinction between “killing” and “murder.” However, if the Christian has not come to this understanding of the law of God, he can either refuse to be a policeman or as a policeman refuse to obey the order and then take the consequences. He has no biblical authority to tell the state it must renounce the use of force in order to preserve law, or to demand that the law of the state be changed to disarm policeman. This would be to take the “sword” from the “magistrate”—and the bearing of the sword by the magistrate is recognized and approved by the Word of God.
The use of force in international relations is an extension of the use of force in state matters. At the state and local level, the power of the sword is exerted to defend the laws of the state. At the international level, the power of the sword is exerted to achieve some goal in the national interest. A citizen may be ordered into the armed forces, armed, and later given a command to “Fire!” The same conflict arises as in the case of the policeman. The same set of reasons apply. But there is possibly one additional area of conflict. This comes through the introduction of the concept of “unjust law.”
At this point, the Christian has another obligation, namely, to defend the existence of law and justice in the worldly kingdom. He may, for conscience’ sake, refuse to take the sword. He may exert his effort to have unjust laws changed and unjust national objectives withdrawn. He may use every legitimate effort to convince the ruler (in the United States, the governing powers) that the laws are unjust or the war is unjust. But he has absolutely no scriptural authority to incite to anarchy.
Anarchy is satanic. God does not will anarchy in this present world; he wills order. Satan is the one who seeks anarchy, in order to oppose the will of God. Anarchy is the method used by a minority to impose its will on the majority. Anarchy was the method used in the Russian revolution, with the result that less than 15 per cent of the people took over the rule. Anarchy was used to take over China. Sometimes fancy names are used to describe anarchy, as when a “Young Guard” seeks to wipe out the “customs” (= laws) of the past. Whatever the original motives—and some of them may well have been unobjectionable or even desirable—the riots in Watts, Chicago, and elsewhere degenerated into anarchy. One leader of the Viet Nam Moratorium said on television that if this method doesn’t get action from the President, “we will use other methods.” This is anarchistic. By no stretch of the imagination, much less of sound biblical exegesis, can any form of anarchy be equated with the will of God.
The Christian way is to enter into orderly discussion, to seek to influence the legally chosen representatives in a representative form of government, to show the way of Christ by word and by example, to suffer for righteousness’ sake, and to pray for the coming of the Prince of Peace, at whose coming the kingdoms of this world shall become the Kingdom of our God and of his Christ.
