The Church and Caesar’s Sword
How shall the Church relate to Caesar, that is to say, the State?
It is important to define the State's perimeter, scope, power, and authority before discussing anything further.
Caesar’s Sword According to the New Testament
In the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul talks about the State – the Left-hand Kingdom. In Romans 13:1-7, Paul says the following:
[1] 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. [2] Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. [3] 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, [4] 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. [5] Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. [6] For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. [7] 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. (ESV)
Now, it is important to take special note of the following points:
1) God has appointed and established the State.
2) The State is a terror to those of bad conduct and praises those who do good.
3) The State bears the sword against those who do wrong.
4) The sword is an instrument of punishment used to behead and punish those doing evil. It is an instrument of power and force.
5) When considering the State, according to Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Peter 2:13-14, when citizens do good, the reward they receive from the State is to be uninjured, unmolested, and commended as being peaceable, quiet, and upright citizens. In other words, the State seems only to bear the sword upon punishment and does not seem to hand out lollypops to incentivize or reward good behavior. That is to say, the reward and incentive for good behavior is to be spared from Caesar’s sword.
6) Christ and His forgiveness are not mentioned in Romans 13:1-7.So, to summarize, “secular authority deals with matters altogether different from the gospel. Secular power does not protect the soul, but using the sword and physical penalties protects the body and goods against external violence.”[1] Furthermore, when good behavior occurs, the State puts the sword in the sheath and tips the hat. Good behavior merits a peaceable and quiet life before the State.
The State According to the United States’ Founding Documents
The US Constitution's Bill of Rights contains many rights meant to protect human freedom and liberty by ensuring that others do not interfere with a person’s activities, property, and possessions in specific areas. Perhaps a good way to understand this is to consider what the founding fathers meant by the phrase, “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” That is to say, the authors of the Declaration of Independence did not desire for the government to provide for citizens’ life, liberty, and happiness but instead to protect citizens’ life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness against evildoers that would otherwise destroy. And so, just like we see in Romans 13, the United States founding documents are intended to punish and limit the negative actions of other persons and entities. The State wields the sword, not an olive branch, to evil.
The State: Curb Evil & Promote Mercy?
This brings up a very important question: What is the role of the State in promoting and advancing goodness? Take a moment and examine Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation, especially the 10 Commandments. Note the twofold nature of the Fifth Commandment’s Explanation:
The Fifth Commandment:
A) We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body
B) but help and support him in every physical need.[2]
What portion of the Explanation is the State involved with? The answer is that the State works to ensure that citizens do not hurt or harm one another (See A). But what about helping and supporting citizens in every physical need (See B)? Consulting the Table of Duties in the Small Catechism, it is evident that those within the Estate of the Family are to be considerate, train, instruct, serve wholeheartedly, and love thy neighbor – to help and support neighbors in every physical need. The Seventh and Eighth Commandments have the same twofold nature as well. The State punishes theft but is not necessarily responsible for helping improve people’s property. Similarly, the State upholds the presumption of innocence and anti-slander laws but is not necessarily mandated to speak well of everyone.[3] And so, to the point, the State is an agent of wrath to bring punishment to the wrongdoer (i.e., curb & punish evil), whereas the Estate of the Family is an agent of mercy to love neighbors in need (i.e., help and support). Alas, the sword is meant to bring wrath, not mercy.
The State: Curb Evil & Evangelize?
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, many Methodists, Baptists, Quakers, and Congregationalists (to name a few) worked diligently through the State to eliminate the production, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages through the passing of the 18th Amendment. The same groups also worked through the State to uphold and expand Blue Laws (i.e., no commercial operations or alcohol sales on Sunday, to help people observe a day of worship and rest). Finally, in the late 19th Century, the same Methodists, Baptists, Quakers, and Congregationalists made a significant push through the State to have mandatory public schooling.[5] The intent of mandatory public education was not only to Americanize immigrants and provide social continuity but also – as stated by Historian Murray Rothbard - to “evangelize the liturgical sinners” (i.e., evangelize the Catholics, German Lutherans, etc.).[6] While it could be argued that prohibition was an effort to curb the evils of alcohol through Caesar’s sword, it is problematic to see Christians working through the sword of the State to advance evangelism efforts and enact compulsory morality. In other words, as it has already been established and alluded to, the sword of the State is meant to punish evil and not advance moral reform or promote religious doctrine. Criticizing this tactic, the Editorial remarks in an 1889 Lutheran Witness Magazine stated, “Instead of relying on God’s Spirit, [these tactics put] trust in fallible legislators … the tricks and treacheries of politicians.”[7] The Editor goes on to say that using the State as a method and aim for Christian morals is “directly adverse to the Spirit.”[8] So, why the harsh rebuke from the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod? Simply stated, the Church preaches the Word of God that corrects, rebukes, encourages, defines sin, grants faith, etc. Again, the State is an agent of wrath to bring punishment to the wrongdoer (i.e., curb & punish evil), whereas the Estate of the Church is an agent of grace that preaches the Word and delivers the Sacraments. Alas, the sword is meant to bring wrath, not grace.
What Goes Around, Comes Around
By 1962 and 1963, the US Supreme Court ruled that prayers by teachers in school and mandatory Bible reading were unconstitutional. Decades later, the same public school system increasingly incorporates diversity, equity, and inclusion principles into its curricula. Furthermore, instead of teaching the 10 Commandments, many public schools have incorporated social and emotional learning techniques. And instead of upholding Blue Laws, the State has recently legalized same-sex marriage through Obergefell v. Hodges (2015). In a weird twist, the State and the creation of the public school through compulsory education laws have become a vehicle for a completely different philosophical, moral, and social doctrine. Instead of Christian morals and doctrines, neo-Marxist ideology is being delivered through the same venues of the past. Indeed, what goes around comes around.
Confiscating Caeser’s Sword: Fighting the Wrong Fight?
The fight is not over. In my home state of North Dakota, North Dakota House Bill 1508 (2021) and Bill 1337 (2023) aimed to restrict the teachings of Critical Race Theory and reduce funds for DEI programs in K-12 schools and higher education institutions. It could be said that there is an ongoing fight on who wields Caesar’s sword and where the sword is swung. But is this the right fight?
As Christians, we must be able to look at history and not only learn from it but also admit when the Christian Church erred. And so, regarding the past, we can be generous in assuming that American Pietists (i.e., the Methodists, Baptists, Quakers, etc.…) were attempting to restrain evil through the sword of the State. However, we must also be quick to condemn how the State’s sword was confiscated and repurposed to evangelize liturgical sinners and enforce compulsory morality. Some 500 years ago, the Lutherans of the Reformation warned against this by saying,
“For spiritual power has its command to preach the gospel and to administer the sacraments. It should not invade an alien office. It should not set up and depose kings. It should not annul or disrupt secular law and obedience to political authority. It should not make or prescribe laws for the secular power concerning secular affairs. For Christ himself said [John 19:36]: “My kingdom is not from this world.”[9]
Furthermore, with a prophetic voice, Hermann Sasse made the following warning in the mid-20th century,
“The Lutheran Churches are still sunning themselves in the delusion that they have something to expect from the world other than the dear holy cross, which all those must carry who proclaim God’s Law and the Gospel of Jesus Christ to mankind. But this delusion will soon disappear.
Our American brethren in the faith will also learn this through painful experiences. Instead of setting up a church office in Washington [D.C.], it would have been better had they equipped some place somewhere in the solitude of their immense country where prayers would be offered day and night for their government and for the peace of the world. For the church of Christ is not a church that is always busy holding conferences, nor is she a church that does business with politicians and the press. She is ecclesia orans. And this is her main calling. Either she is ecclesia orans—as indeed she showed herself to be already in the catacombs—or she is nothing.”[10]
And so, it is imperative to understand that the fight for this current generation is not to take Caesar’s sword away from progressive neo-Marxists and put it back into the hands of evangelizing Christians to wield but to return the sword to the State for the purpose for which it was intended – that the State bring wrath upon evildoers. Perhaps if this is done properly, the Christian Church can focus robustly on preaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments without outsourcing its responsibility or, even worse, replacing the role of the Holy Spirit with Caesar’s sword. [11]
Conclusion
There will always be a need for mercy care. But we must always remember that mercy care is primarily provided through the Estate of the Family: husbands, parents, employers, supervisors, etc., are to be considerate, train, instruct, serve wholeheartedly, and love their neighbors—to help and support neighbors in every physical need.
There will always be a need for the Lord’s forgiving grace. But we must always remember that the Lord’s forgiving grace is primarily provided through the Estate of the Church: the power of the keys (via the Church) is “a power and command of God to preach the gospel, to forgive or retain sin, and to administer and distribute the sacrament.”[12]
There will always be a need for the sword. But we must always remember that the sword is primarily enforced upon evil through the State.
And so, as families are ministered to through the Church, parents will faithfully educate and raise children so that whole generations will be taught the fear of the Lord. And as entire generations are taught the fear of the Lord, there will be right knowledge so that future judges, police officers, congressmen, and voters – to name a few in the State - will execute justice truthfully, ultimately resulting in the sword of the State correctly swinging at evil.
___________
[1] The Augsburg Confession – the German Text – Article XVIII: Bishops (Augsburg Press, 2000), 92.
[2] Martin Luther, Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation (https://catechism.cph.org/), accessed August 18, 2024.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Prohibition was ratified on January 16th of 1919 and went into effect one year later on January 17th of 1920.
[5] By 1918, all states had passed compulsory education laws making education mandatory for children typically between 6-16 years old.
[6] In the early 20th Century, legislation was passed that targeted parochial religious schools, which were particularly common among Catholic and German Lutheran communities. The law that banned private schools in North Dakota in the early 20th century was known as the "Compulsory Education Act." This legislation was passed in 1923. It mandated that all children must attend public schools, effectively prohibiting the operation of private and parochial schools in North Dakota.
[7] Lutheran Witness (February 7, 1889).
[8] Ibid.
[9] The Augsburg Confession – the German Text – Article XVIII: Bishops, 92.
[10] Hermann Sasse, “Ecclesia Orans,” trans. Ralph Gehrke, in Letters to Lutheran Pastors, vol. 1, edited by Matthew Harrison (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2013), 75¬–76.
[11] It should be noted that when the State acts badly, Christians can attempt to enact change by voting for different candidates, disapproving ballot measures, and so forth. When the State compels Christians to act immorally, the Christian must peacefully disobey (see Acts 5:29). And finally, when the State permits activities contrary to God’s Law, the Christian bears witness by not conforming to the State’s laws but living and confessing as God intends.
[12] Ibid.
Comments