Today I have another guest blogger. I'm sharing from Chad Bird what I believe will help and bless us as Christians navigating our country's celebration today of independence. As a believer, I often feel conflicted with the holiday and my loyalty, while I do love my countrymen and appreciate my freedom and those who died for it, I love God my Creator supreme and his Law and am above all thankful for my freedom in Christ my Lord and Savior. I don't always know how to flesh this truth out - not just on July 4th, but on every day living as a Christian in an American bubble in the 21st century.
For those of you unfamiliar with Chad Bird, he has served as a pastor, professor, and guest lecturer in Old Testament and Hebrew. He holds master's degrees from Concordia Theological Seminary and Hebrew Union College. He is a scholar in residency at 1517:
"For Christians in America to celebrate the Fourth of July is good and right. We are citizens of this nation, enjoying its privileges and embracing its responsibilities. So today, we grill our hamburgers, wave our flags, and shoot fireworks.
Yet, while we are citizens of this nation, our ultimate allegiance is to God as members of the kingdom of his Son. His reign, teachings, and ownership of us trump everything else. Christ is not a president we elect; he is the King under whose reign we live.
This means, at a bare minimum, that when the government or its leadership should ever ask us or try to force us to do something that, as citizens of Christ’s kingdom, we cannot do, our response must echo the apostles: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
It also means that our beliefs, worship, priorities, loves, and overall worldview are not shaped by the American ethos but by the teachings of the Christian Scriptures.
The Epistle of Diognetus, written in the 2nd century, captures these truths beautifully when it says of Christians: 'They participate in everything as citizens, and endure everything as foreigners.'
'For Christians are not distinguished from the rest of humanity by country, language, or custom. For nowhere do they live in cities of their own, nor do they speak some unusual dialect, nor do they practice an eccentric way of life. This teaching of theirs has not been discovered by the thought and reflection of ingenious people, nor do they promote any human doctrine, as some do. But while they live in both Greek and barbarian cities, as each one’s lot was cast, and follow the local customs in dress and food and other aspects of life, at the same time they demonstrate the remarkable and admittedly unusual character of their own citizenship. They live in their own countries, but only as nonresidents; they participate in everything as citizens, and endure everything as foreigners. Every foreign country is their fatherland, and every fatherland is foreign.' (Michael Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers in English).
Yet, while we are citizens of this nation, our ultimate allegiance is to God as members of the kingdom of his Son. His reign, teachings, and ownership of us trump everything else. Christ is not a president we elect; he is the King under whose reign we live.
This means, at a bare minimum, that when the government or its leadership should ever ask us or try to force us to do something that, as citizens of Christ’s kingdom, we cannot do, our response must echo the apostles: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
It also means that our beliefs, worship, priorities, loves, and overall worldview are not shaped by the American ethos but by the teachings of the Christian Scriptures.
The Epistle of Diognetus, written in the 2nd century, captures these truths beautifully when it says of Christians: 'They participate in everything as citizens, and endure everything as foreigners.'
Here is the context:
'For Christians are not distinguished from the rest of humanity by country, language, or custom. For nowhere do they live in cities of their own, nor do they speak some unusual dialect, nor do they practice an eccentric way of life. This teaching of theirs has not been discovered by the thought and reflection of ingenious people, nor do they promote any human doctrine, as some do. But while they live in both Greek and barbarian cities, as each one’s lot was cast, and follow the local customs in dress and food and other aspects of life, at the same time they demonstrate the remarkable and admittedly unusual character of their own citizenship. They live in their own countries, but only as nonresidents; they participate in everything as citizens, and endure everything as foreigners. Every foreign country is their fatherland, and every fatherland is foreign.' (Michael Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers in English).
This is a sober truth to ponder as we celebrate this day."
💙
"For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come." ( Hebrews 13:14 )
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