God's Purposes for Government: Removing Obstacles

[Read Matthew 6:9-13, John 18:33-37]

Four years ago I received an email from someone who was really struggling with a particular decision. It was the day before the 2020 election and they were genuinely struggling to understand and know what to do because they had heard so many different opinions of “how a Christian should vote.” Some were saying that it was an obvious choice that Christians shouldn’t vote for Trump because he had such anti-Christian ethics. Some said it was obvious to vote for Trump because they believed the Democratic party has such anti-Christian ethics. Some said it was obvious that Christians couldn’t vote for either party because both parties were corrupt. Some people told him that Christians didn’t need to worry about these things because our citizenship is not on earth, but in heaven, and Jesus said that his kingdom was not of this world. What should a Christian do? Who should a Christian vote for?

My answer to this question is fairly standard: As you already know, this is a hard question to answer. I can’t tell you who Jesus would have voted for in the first century, or who he would vote for in this upcoming election. However, I can give you some biblical principles that will help guide you as you make your decision. I followed that by sending some introductory biblical principles that would clarify some of the confusion around the whole process. They found it to be helpful and asked if they could send it to some family and friends who were having a similar difficulty. Shortly after that, I was reading the Belgic Confession and came across Article 36, the article we’re currently going through. As I read it, I realized that it said everything I had said in that email, only better. I made a commitment that I would preach through this article in 2024 when people would be struggling with many of the same questions again (no matter which candidates we were talking about).

One of the biggest misunderstandings in the Bible comes from a passage that was alluded to in this person’s question. It comes from Jesus’ conversation with Pilate leading up to his crucifixion. The Jews had drug Jesus to the high priest and then to Pilate to be interrogated and put to death. What is interesting is that we already know why they want Jesus put to death. They don’t like the fact that Jesus continues to make himself equal with God. Whenever he talks this way, they try to kill him. Yet, they also know they don’t have the authority to put him to death AND that the Roman government wouldn’t care about some quack making claims like that. So, they had to bring a different charge against Jesus, one that would get the Roman government worked up enough to kill Jesus. So, they bring charges against Jesus that he is trying to usurp Caesar by calling himself a king. This is why they eventually shout at Pilate, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar…We have no king but Caesar.” (John 19:12,15 ESV).

Since these are the charges being brought against Jesus, Pilate asks him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” (John 18:33, ESV). Jesus responds by saying, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” (John 18:34, ESV). Now, there are different ways this could be understood. It could be considered snarky, as if Jesus said: Did you figure that out all on your own, or did someone have to tell you? I don’t think that’s what’s going on. Based on what comes next, I think Jesus is wanting to clarify why Pilate is asking him that question. Is he asking it because he has recognized these things in Jesus OR because the crowd is bringing these accusations against him. If it’s because of the crowd, then everything has already been distorted and misunderstood. Even if Pilate has noticed these things on his own, there’s a high likelihood that he wouldn’t understand what it meant for Jesus to be king.

So, Jesus explains it to him saying, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” (John 18:36, ESV). This is Jesus’ way of attempting to help Pilate understand what it means that Jesus is king. He’s not the kind of king that Pilate would naturally think of. If he were that kind of king, there would be a revolution happening as they spoke. Jesus’ kingdom is different and he is a different kind of king. His kingdom is not of this world.

Now, here’s where most of the misunderstanding has come in over the years. What does it mean that Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world? In order to understand this rightly, we need to understand how John has used the phrase “of this world” throughout his gospel. John uses this phrase at least 36 times in his gospel.

There are two things that John says are “of this world.” As Jesus is speaking to the chief priests and Pharisees, he says, “You are of this world…” (John 8:23, ESV).  A few chapters later, Jesus says, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.” (John 12:31, ESV). Throughout scripture, the ruler of the world always refers to Satan. He has his own kingdom, and that kingdom is of this world. That also helps us to understand that Jesus was not complimenting the chief priests and pharisees when he said they were of this world, and if you remember back to when we worked our way through chapter 8, it’s only a few verses later that Jesus tells the chief priests and pharisees that they are children of the devil—they are of this world, they are members of Satan’s kingdom in rebellion against God.

Then there are places where Jesus talks about things NOT being of this world. Jesus says this about his disciples: “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:19, ESV). Jesus has called his people “out of the world,” which really means out of the dominion and reign of Satan’s kingdom. They no longer belong to Satan, but they belong to him. They are no longer “of the world.” If they were “of the world,” belonging to the world, then the world would love them. Yet, also notice what Jesus says later on in this same prayer, “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” (John 17:14–16, ESV). Jesus says that his disciples are not of this world, but he wants them to remain in the world. There’s a way to be in the world but not of it. Another way of saying that is that while we live in the world, we must not be owned and ruled by Satan, but owned and ruled by King Jesus. We belong to him.

Now, that all leads us to the point of understanding what Jesus means when he says, “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36, ESV). Based on everything we’ve looked at throughout the Gospel of John, this cannot mean that Jesus’ kingdom is not on earth. Rather, it means that his kingdom does not belong to the earth, or his kingdom does not come from the earth, or that his kingdom is very different from all of the earthly kingdoms. If his kingdom was like all of the earthly kingdoms, they would be raising up an army to attack, but that’s not the type of kingdom he is bringing into the world.

I labor on that point because it shows us that Christians do not get to say, “Well, Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world, so that means we don’t need to care for this world, or we don’t need to do anything in this world, or…” That’s not a Christian thing to say. Rather, a more Christian way to speak about the kingdom comes from what Jesus told us to pray: “Your kingdom come…on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10, ESV). This is what we’ve been told to pray on a regular basis. NOT that his kingdom should remain in heaven BUT that his kingdom would come more fully on earth until it is on earth as it is in heaven. That’s fully on earth. Just like Jesus spoke to his disciples, Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world, but it IS in this world, AND we are to regularly pray that it would continue to come in this world. We want the kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.

This has been promised for ages about the kingdom of God. I want to quickly share a few passages with you that point to this understanding. One of the most famous passages from the Old Testament about the birth of Jesus talks about this: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end… (Isaiah 9:6–7, ESV). Does that not sound like the kingdom will continue to come, will continue to increase, until it is fully on earth? How about another famous passage from the Old Testament, when Daniel interprets King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, and points to Jesus Christ: “The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces…But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.” (Daniel 2:32–35, ESV). The stone that broke the earthly kingdoms grew until it filled the whole earth. All of this points to this final image of Jesus’ second coming:  “Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”” (Revelation 11:15, ESV). The kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven. Yes, Jesus’ kingdom is different from the earthly kingdoms, in reality it will eventually overthrow all earthly kingdoms, and establish itself fully here on earth for the rest of eternity. This will not fully happen until Jesus returns, but it will increasingly happen over time leading up to that moment.

We should long for this to happen. We should pray for it to happen daily. Remember when we worked our way through the Lord’s Prayer in the Heidelberg Catechism? Remember what it said about this portion of the Lord’s Prayer? It said, ““Your kingdom come” means: Rule us by your Word and Spirit in such a way that more and more we submit to you. Preserve your church and make it grow. Destroy the devil’s work; destroy every force which revolts against you and every conspiracy against your holy Word. Do this until your kingdom fully comes, when you will be all in all.” (HC 123). Notice the three things we’re praying for: 1) Rule us by your Word and Spirit so that we submit to you more fully, 2) Preserve your church and make it grow, and 3) Destroy the devil’s kingdom and plans. This is what it means for Jesus’ kingdom to come. Not only should we pray for this to happen daily, but we should long for this to happen, and work toward this happening.

Now, I realize we’ve spent a lot of time in this sermon and haven’t even looked at the Belgic Confession. But as we look at this portion, I hope things begin to fall into place and make sense. We read, "And being called in this manner to contribute to the advancement of a society that is pleasing to God, the civil rulers have the task, subject to God’s law,  of removing every obstacle to the preaching of the gospel and to every aspect of divine worship...They should do it in order that the Word of God may have free course; the kingdom of Jesus Christ may make progress; and every anti-Christian power may be resisted." (Belgic Confession, Article 36). Notice a few things that are said in this portion. First, I want you to notice how similar this sounds to the Heidelberg Catechism. The catechism mentions three things we are to pray for in the coming of the kingdom of God, and this mentions three similar obstacles that are to be removed by the government so that the kingdom of God would make progress, and continue to come. They are to remove any obstacles to the preaching of the gospel so that the Word of God may have free course. They are to remove any obstacle to every aspect of divine worship, so that the church would be preserved and have the freedom to grow. They are to resist any anti-Christian power that tries to come against either of these two things so that the kingdom of Jesus Christ would be free to make progress on the earth.

Notice what this does not say. It does not say that the government is supposed to bring about the Kingdom of God. It does not say that the government is supposed to bring about submission to God’s Word, and forced attendance at worship. The government is not to attempt bringing about the kingdom through the power of the physical sword. They operate within a different sphere. They’ve been given a different job. They are to remove obstacles so that the church can do its job freely, as God works through the church to bring his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

Now, this reminds us of a few very important things as we prepare for another election year, and another difficult election. First, all of this reminds us that we do not put our hope and trust in the government, because the government does not bring about the Kingdom of God. They have not been given that job. God does that work through the church—through us. However, it also is a reminder of what the government has been called to do in the world, and that should guide the way we vote in any election, whether it be a local election for mayor, or the presidential election. Who do we believe is going to do their job more in line with the way God has called them to govern? And based on everything in this morning’s sermon, Who do we believe is going to better remove obstacles to the preaching of God’s Word and worship of God, and resist any anti-Christian power that comes against them? We are called to enter into prayer and discernment as we think about these things. Then as we head to the voting booths in November, we need to vote according to our conscience. That’s the best we can do right now.

However, when we walk out of the voting booth, we do not wait around with sweaty palms and a bunch of anxiety, placing our hope in the next president of the United States. Rather, we get back to work doing what God has called us to do. The kingdom of God will not come based on the next election. The kingdom of God comes as the Word of God spreads and brings conviction in the hearts of people and leads them to believe in Jesus, be saved, and submit their lives to him. The kingdom of God comes as each one of our lives is brought further and further into submission and obedience to Jesus Christ. Then we live those lives in the world, raising our families in submission to Jesus Christ, doing our jobs in submission to Jesus Christ, worshiping God in submission to Jesus Christ, and preaching the gospel to the world in submission to Jesus Christ. As we do these things, the kingdom of God slowly spreads and continues to grow until one day the kingdom will be on earth as it is in heaven.