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A Free Church for Free People

Rev. Dr. Doug Pratt — July 4, 2010
 

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Introduction

The past two Sundays I have used as our text from God’s Word the first two chapters of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Today we will look at a portion of chapter 3. Because of the coincidence of the calendar, this is not an ordinary summer Sunday. Only rarely does our nation’s Independence Day fall on the same day as our Christian public worship. But when it does, it seems most appropriate that we think about the relationship of our spiritual life to our civic life. In particular, we want to try to tie together several threads of thought this morning. We will attempt to think clearly and biblically about the USA, whose birthday we are celebrating, and look honestly at our past, present and future. We will also attempt to understand our identity as “dual citizens” of both an earthly nation and the eternal Kingdom of God. And we will reflect on the relationship between the church and civil government, and what the proper role is for the church in the midst of a world of diverse people with diverse beliefs and values. And now, to Paul’s letter.

Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. ¹⁰His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, ¹¹according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹²In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Ephesians 3:8-12, NIV)

There are two insights from these words of Paul that have particular relevance to us on this Independence Day. The first, found in verse 10, is that the Christian Church has been ordained by God to be a voice of truth speaking to civil governments and authorities—which requires that the church be separate and independent from government, in order for it to speak its message without compromise. The second truth, from verse 12, is that the foundation of the church and of each person’s individual faith shall be freedom—the freedom to choose to believe and trust and follow God.

Looking to Our Past (and, possibly, our future)

As we follow with discernment what is happening in our world, we may be seeing our own potential future unfolding across the Atlantic Ocean. Our nation traces its roots to European colonizers who first crossed that large body of water in rickety ships from east to west.
Most of us trace our ancestral roots to somewhere in Europe—perhaps England or Scotland, perhaps Scandinavia or Germany, even Eastern Europe or Italy or Spain. But just as the continent of Europe was our past, so it appears today to offer us a peek into America’s future.

International headlines tell us of severe economic problems across the Atlantic, as out-of-control budget deficits in some of the countries of Europe drag all of them down through their common currency (while the U.S. federal government and many of our states are running whopping deficits as well).

We see the long-term consequences of the welfare state in Europe, as lavish government benefits are extended to everyone—and, in return, most workers pay 60% or 70% of their income back to their government in taxes (our Congress and President, of course, have started us this year down the path of much greater government involvement in our health care system—with predictions from most that our taxes will have to rise significantly to pay for them).

We notice the problem the Europeans have with uncontrolled immigration, and their failure to assimilate those millions of new residents from the Third World and Muslim countries into their cultures (and we in the U.S. obviously have immigration issues of our own that we are divided about how to solve).

And, from a spiritual perspective, we see the dramatic decline in faith and in church attendance across the continent of Europe—resulting in near-empty churches on Sundays, and a resulting decline in moral standards and behaviors (this trend hasn’t yet become as obvious across America, but there are certainly places in our country where it is).

The Roots of Spiritual Decline

The final of those deep-seated problems—spiritual decline—is most instructive for us today. For centuries in European countries, the state-sponsored denomination (whether Roman Catholic in Spain, Italy and France, or Lutheran in much of Germany and Scandinavia, or Anglican in England) dominated society and even government. The explosion of new options for belief that was unleashed in the Reformation in the 16th century was also very distressing, and people who had been used to a church-controlled state and a state-controlled church didn’t handle that freedom very well. Instead, they fought each other viciously (religious wars, inquisitions, excommunications, persecutions). An awkward truce was worked out, which had the effect of stifling religious freedom. Whoever was the king or emperor or ruler of a country was granted the right to establish his or her preferred church and require their subjects to belong to it and pay taxes to it—or face consequences. 

In the short-term this seemed like a great benefit to the various denominations. Rather than having to compete for the hearts and minds and loyalty and support of their people, those state-endorsed denominations could take their survival and prosperity for granted. They had a guaranteed income stream, and guaranteed members.

But the complacency this tended to create planted the seeds for the eventual decline of the once-mighty state churches of Europe. When you and I are forced to pay taxes to a church, rather than giving to it willingly and freely, we have less loyalty to it. When we’re required to belong to the local parish church or cathedral, rather than choosing to join because we want to be part of it, our investment in that church is minimal. When those who plan and lead worship services in a state-supported church think they don’t have to worry about competition, the quality of those worship services will inevitably decline.

This principle has been proven true in the economic as well as the spiritual realm: competition ultimately brings good results. When a bank, a retail store, an automobile manufacturer or a church gets to thinking it has a captive market, it tends to get sloppy; when it has to keep competing, however, the quality of its goods or services rises. And we’ve also seen repeatedly the principle that what people choose for themselves they tend to care about far more than anything that is forced upon them.

Spiritual Freedom

One of the most dramatic differences between America and Europe lies precisely in this principle of freedom—especially spiritual freedom. When these colonies were founded and began to move to independence, the avoidance of any “state church” or denominational requirement became a powerful magnet for people all across Europe who were unhappy with the old ways and who longed for true freedom. Intriguingly, the idea for this religious freedom came not only from Scripture but also from one of the foundational documents of the Presbyterian Church.

In the 1640’s in England, a spiritual revival resulted in a powerful change in the country’s politics. The king—who tried to rule the state church with an iron fist—was deposed and a free Parliament was elected and ruled the country as a republic for nearly two decades. One of the acts of Parliament was to convene theologians and pastors from a wide spread of denominations who would write a clear statement of Christian beliefs.

They met in Westminster Abbey in London, and produced in 1646 what is known today as the Westminster Confession of Faith. This was adopted and widely used across England and in Scotland and Northern Ireland by Presbyterian churches, and in the new Puritan colonies in New England. It is the cornerstone of our own Presbyterian Church’s Book of Confessions today. It had a deep and profound impact on John Adams, James Madison, John Wither-spoon, Alexander Hamilton and many others of our Founding Fathers a century later. Let me show you what it says about the relationship between churches and governments.

God, the Supreme Lord and King of the whole world, has ordained civil authorities to be over people under Him for His own glory and the public good. Civil authorities may not take on themselves the ministering of God’s word and the sacraments, the administration of spiritual power, or any interference with matters of faith. Nevertheless it is the duty of civil authorities to protect the church of our Lord, without giving preference to any denomination of Christians, so that every person with church affiliations or duties will be able to function with complete and unquestioned freedom.

There it is: the principle of a Free Church for Free People. This is our foundation. Inspired by Scripture and the Westminster Confession, Americans chose a new path, decidedly different from the one chosen in most of Europe. It led directly to the First Amendment of our U.S. Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

This amendment is sometimes purposely misinterpreted by judges, politicians, bureaucrats and journalists today (many of whom have an anti-Christian bias); and it is sometimes wrongly used to try to drive spiritual faith and values completely out of our public life. But the true meaning of the Constitution is to protect and preserve individual conscience and individual churches—allowing us to be the independent voice speaking truth to the “rulers and authorities” of civil governments as Ephesians 3 says we are to do. Our Presbyterian and our American traditions also defend and protect the right of everyone to make their own choices in what to believe and how to live. That’s why the Westminster Confession goes on to say: “It is the duty of civil authorities to protect the person and good name of all people so that no one is abused, injured, or insulted on account of their religious faith or lack of it.” That is true freedom, true tolerance.

Living as Dual Citizens

Let me bring these concepts home to us. There are two ways in which I believe we are called today to live out the reality of a free church for free people. First, we need to understand what it means to hold dual citizenship. Most of us are citizens of the earthly entity of the United States of America. Some of us were born within the boundaries of this nation, others were born to one or more American citizens while they lived outside our boundaries and others of us moved to this country and became naturalized citizens. But if you are a Christian, you also have another loyalty. You are a citizen of the Kingdom of God. One of the verses (from Ephesians 2) we did not have time to look at last week makes it very clear: “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household” (Ephesians 2:19).

There are people around the globe who hold dual citizenship. Sometimes that can result in divided loyalties and conflicts. I read the story of a young man who left Germany in the summer of 1939 to attend college in Boston. Two weeks after his arrival, Hitler’s Wehrmacht unleashed its attack on Poland and the Second World War began. For his first two years, he agonized over divided loyalties: he could see the evil of the Nazis, yet his extended family still lived in Germany and he was deeply concerned for them. Then, in December 1941, as America was pulled into the war, the young man made a momentous decision. He would turn his back on his homeland, apply for U.S. citizenship and fight for his new country. He enlisted in the Army in 1942 and went on to a remarkable career in the intelligence services—using his keen intellect and his knowledge of German to help crack the Nazi codes and to outwit them in the war effort. Sometimes holding dual citizenship can be complicated.

When we are citizens of an earthly nation and God’s kingdom we sometimes experience conflicts and divided loyalties as well—though not in the same way. The church of Jesus Christ and the U.S.A. will not be in armed conflict the way the Allies were with Germany 70 years ago, because we deal in separate realms. It is the clear teaching of the New Testament that we are to seek to be good citizens of both types of kingdoms. In fact, I believe that Christians should be the very best citizens of their earthly nations; the best soldiers, the best politicians, the best judges, precisely because they have the Spirit of God within to give them courage and wisdom, and the values of Scripture to guide them away from selfish gain and abuse of power to sacrifice and service.

The contrasts between the two realms in which we are citizens are very clear: one of our homelands or kingdoms is temporal, the other eternal. One is geographical, and the other relational (as Ephesians 2 says, we are not just citizens of God’s kingdom but also members of His family, loving Him as our Father and one another as sisters and brothers). One of our citizenships is in a very fallible entity, while the other is anchored in the perfection and holiness of God. And let’s be clear about this: while we love our nation, we know it is not perfect. It is not unpatriotic or un-American to speak truthfully about the flaws and mistakes of our government and its leaders. In fact, those who love our country the most are those who speak most honestly when it goes astray. There are times when Christians protest against, and work through the political system against, Presidents or Congresses or Supreme Courts, not out of a lack of loyalty, but out of a higher and greater loyalty to the Lord and the truths of His Word.

Being a Free Church

The second way in which we have the privilege of being a free church for free people is that our own church can be whatever we choose. We are free, by the willing investment of our talents and resources and dedication, to express our faith and values and love for the Lord without restraint. Everything this particular congregation is now and will be in the future will be a result of our choices.

When a number of us toured central Europe together a few weeks ago, we witnessed some amazing cathedrals and abbeys and other church buildings. The architecture was incredible, the art work world-class. Sanctuaries and altars were covered with gold leaf and were unbelievably ornate. But every one of the churches we saw was constructed and paid for by either an obscenely wealthy king, or by an obscenely wealthy state church, gorged to excess on the tax money of the people. There are very few churches built by the people themselves. That’s why I’m so proud of this, our church home. We built it ourselves. It’s far less fancy and beautiful than the great cathedrals of Europe, but every penny that comes to this church is freely given by our members and friends or those who came before us.

And as we invite others to come in and experience the love of God for themselves, we also can choose what our church becomes. If we keep telling our friends and neighbors, and welcoming them to come with us, our church will keep growing. If we turn inward and stop reaching out, our church will plateau and begin to die.

Freedom can be scary. It can also be powerfully motivating. The Lord does not force us to love Him or to serve Him. He invites us to freely choose—for in that choice lies the greatest blessing.