With the fall of Christendom – a political culture informed by the Christian faith – Christians must learn to live as “aliens and strangers” in a foreign land (1 Peter 1:1; 2:11). Christians are now a minority culture with little political power and civil status. For the first time in our lives, many white Christians are now experiencing the sense of alienation that our black and brown fellow citizens have endured for centuries.
Many Christians in the United States are negotiating uncharted territory. With the Obergefell ruling, SCOTUS has imposed a civil morality to which many Christians of goodwill object. Kim Davis, the clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky objects to issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples. So, citing her Christian convictions, she refuses to issue any licenses at all.
As we seek to fulfill the mission of God in our present culture the Apostle Peter exhorts us,
Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world” (1 Peter 2:12).
He also encourages us to “honor all people… honor the king” (1 Peter 2:17). Likewise Paul wrote, “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities” (Romans 13:1). We must remember that the “authorities” of whom the apostles were speaking were the pagan emperors of Rome. Peter and Paul would be scandalized by the manner in which some Christians have spoken about their political leaders.
In this post-Christian age, some Christians will choose to separate themselves from the culture altogether. Early Pentecostals attempted this strategy. Early on, the Church of God (Cleveland, TN) prohibited persons owning movie theaters from becoming members. But this strategy falls to glaring inconsistencies. Even as the Church took a strong stand against the use of tobacco, it allowed its members to grow and sell tobacco. The hypocrisy is apparent to any thinking person. I fail to see how separation engages the mission of God.
During the exile, many devoted Jews found themselves in service to the king. Daniel served as adviser to three pagan kings. Nehemiah served as cup-bearer to the Persian King Artaxerxes. Both men served their pagan kings with honor and dignity. We know that Daniel’s witness sometimes put him at odds with his Babylonian masters. We learn from Daniel that Christians who seek to be engaged in government service may find themselves surrounded by lions.
Some Christians will choose to resist the power of Babylon. Jeremiah discouraged this action. Instead, he said that we should “seek the welfare of the city” (Jeremiah 29:7). Even so, there will be occasions in which believers will find themselves at odds with the rulers of this present world. There will be times we must not bow before the gods of the state. When we refuse to bow, the power of the state will seek to force compliance. Christians may be forced to recuse themselves when their state duties conflict with their faithful convictions. There will be times in which Christians must resist the evil of tyrants. Christians will be ostracized, and even persecuted. In such cases, Peter offers encouragement:
But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously… (1 Peter 2:20-23).
