This week on July 4th our nation will celebrate
her two hundred and thirty seventh birthday.
The Fourth of July prompts different reactions from different groups of
Christians. For some it is an occasion
that is celebrated in the Sunday service with what is often described as a
“patriotic service.” In the Lutheran
church it is an event that is acknowledged in the Prayer of the Church, but otherwise does not interrupt the liturgy
and the normal rhythm of the Scripture readings in the lectionary which
determine the sermon and selection of hymns.
In part, this difference reflects a different attitude
towards worship in general. However, it
also demonstrates a different evaluation of America, democracy and the role of
government. Those who view the Fourth of
July as event that is to be celebrated in Church
have often accepted the myth of America
as a “Christian nation” and therefore God’s chosen nation.
In fact, the American revolution was deeply related to the
intellectual movement of the Enlightenment which was opposed to
Christianity. The Enlightenment
considered reason to be the ultimate judge of truth. As such, it had little use for Christianity
and its belief in the incarnation of the Son of God, His death and
resurrection, and his miracles.
This emphasis on reason also led
adherents of the Enlightenment to be opposed to dogma (authoritative teaching
of the Church such as the Ecumenical
Creeds) and tradition (liturgy and the inherited practices of the Church such as the church year and the lectionary).[1]
While there certainly were committed Christians who were
involved in the founding of America,
many of the prominent ones such as Thomas Jefferson were products of the
Enlightenment. Jefferson
was a deist. He believed that it was
rational to speak of a supreme god. Yet this god was not a personal god who
revealed himself. The religion of deism
was moralism – a matter of does and don’ts that can be perceived from reason.
Unlike the secular view of today, Jefferson
and the other founding fathers were not opposed to religion. They believed that it played an important
role in a stable society and therefore they included the First Amendment which
says that, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
Unlike the European setting where the government officially supported a
form of Christianity, the newly formed United States rejected this model.
There has been a tendency to apply biblical language to America. For example in a 1630 sermon the Puritan John
Winthrop applied Jesus’ parable in Matthew 5:14 about “city on a hill” to this
land. Language such as this became part
of American folklore and gave rise to the idea that America is God’s chosen
people. However, the only true chosen
people called by God, is His Church
which is drawn from all nations, Jew and Gentile. As Peter wrote, “But you are
a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own
possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of
darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are
God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy”(1 Peter 2:9-10). As a nation, America is simply one more example
of the nations that stand under God’s providential ordering. Indeed Paul said, “And he made from one man
every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined
allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place” (Acts 17:26).
Finally, there are American Christians who also believe that
democracy is the form of government that is favored by God and is most pleasing
to Him (and in turn this argument is also applied to the ordering of the Church).
However, while we may see many reasons to prefer this form of
government, nowhere does Scripture indicate that is better than another or that
it is more God pleasing. In fact as we
will see, God has used many different kinds of government in order to carry out
his needed work in the world.
As Lutherans, we recognize that America was not founded as a
Christian nation, though it certainly is a place where Christians have been
allowed to practice their faith in great freedom. We recognize that while God has richly
blessed our nation in ways that inspire our thanks, it cannot claim any unique
status before God – only Christ’s Church
holds this position. And we acknowledge
that while democracy can be a great blessing, like any other human creation it
is just as susceptible to the influence of sin.
We do not adhere to these misunderstandings. Instead, we confess a much broader and
foundational truth which influences our practice every week and not just when July 4th comes around. From the beginning, Lutherans have confessed
that government is God’s good gift through which He bestows important blessings
and that therefore Christians have responsibilities toward the government and
can take part in the government.
In the Small
Catechism’s “Table of Duties” Martin Luther listed under the heading “Of
Civil Government” the apostle Paul’s word from Romans 13:1-4, “Let every person
be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from
God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever
resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist
will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.
Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good,
and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But
if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is
the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.” By this the Lutherans confessed that
government has been established by God to restrain evil and maintain
peace. They described this as God’s
“left hand” rule for they recognized that while this did not bring the
salvation of the Gospel (God’s “right hand” rule), it was still the instrument
of God’s action which brought the blessing or security and order.
Because this is true, God also gives Christians certain
responsibilities in the relation to the government. And so the Table of Duties lists under “Of
Citizens” Romans 13:5-7 which says, “Therefore one must be in subjection, not
only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of
this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to
this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed,
revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom
honor is owed” (Romans 13:5-7). In their
duties as citizens, Christians pay taxes that allow the government – God’s
instrument – to operate.
The Table of Duties
also lists 1 Timothy 2:1-3, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications,
prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and
all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life,
godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight
of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
Because of the way God uses the government for our good, Christians pray
for those in positions of leadership.
This is the thing we do every
Sunday in the Prayer of the Church as we offer up prayers for our government and
leaders.
And finally, because some in the sixteenth century said that
it was wrong for Christians to take part in the “worldly” affairs of the
government, the Lutherans confessed in Article XVI of the Augsburg Confession,
“Concerning civic affairs they teach that lawful civil ordinances are good
works of God and that Christians are
permitted to hold civil office, to work in courts, to decide matters by
imperial and other existing laws, to impose just punishments, to wage just war,
to serve as soldiers, to make legal contracts, to hold property, to take an
oath when required by magistrates, to take a wife, to be given in
marriage.” Not only do Christians pay
taxes and pray for the government, but because it is the instrument used by God
they are free to serve in a vocation that involves service in the government or
its military.
The Lutheran
Church
avoids many of the misunderstandings put on display by Fourth of July
celebrations. Instead, we give thanks
for the blessing of our country and confess the truth about God’s work that
occurs through every government, no matter whether they recognize Him or
not. We do this every Sunday, while also
recognizing that each Sunday the Divine Service remains focused on one thing:
the Gospel of Jesus Christ through which we receive the forgiveness of sins and
salvation.
[1]
For excellent treatments of the way these themes influenced American
Christianity see: Nathan O. Hatch, The Democratization of American
Christianity (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989) and Mark A. Noll, America’s
God: From Jonathan Edwards to
Abraham Lincoln (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).
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