Core Message: Dual Citizenship and the Christian’s Role in Political Engagement

As disciples of Christ, we live as citizens of both the earth and the Kingdom of God. This critical concept of dual citizenship carries huge implications for the actions of believers on earth. We are citizens first of God’s Kingdom, second to our nations, and we play a crucial role in fulfilling the Matthew 6:10 prayer, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

The creation story in Genesis reveals that our spirit comes from God and that we were created to commune with our Creator. While our body comes from the earth (Genesis 2:7), it is designed to engage with the world around us. Each of us is a living soul spanning two realms: heaven and earth. The Bible tells us in Revelation 1:6 that we are to serve as both kings (earthly citizens) and priests (heavenly citizens). This means that we must seek to live out the Greatest Commandment in Matthew 22:36-40 to “love the Lord your God with all your heart ” and the second that is like it to “love your neighbor as yourself,” which requires both a personal life before God and a social responsibility to those around us.

It can be tempting to become so focused on our heavenly life that we give little or fragmented attention to our earthly role. This tactic of the enemy is designed to distract us into a “dualist” mentality where our Christianity is contained to Sundays, and the everyday matters of life are considered temporal, detached, and corrupt. This type of thinking can permeate every area of our lives. It can, for example, lead us to vote first by affiliation to a particular political party, rather than by the principles of the Kingdom of God—or to simply not vote at all. 

While believers are to function first as citizens of God’s Kingdom, we cannot ignore the realities and responsibilities we have as members of our respective nations. The Apostle Paul provides an excellent example of this by carefully using his Roman citizenship to further the cause of Christ (Acts 16, 22, 23). The privileged political and legal status that came with his Roman citizenship shielded him from unfair treatment and gave him access to legal protections—tools which ultimately aided him in spreading the message of Christianity. 

So, what does it mean to act as dual citizens? The Scripture provides guidance for our responsibilities in both realms. We are to:

• Recognize our responsibility to stay connected to the world yet not adopt its values (1 Corinthians 5:10-11; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Romans 12:2; 1 John 2:15-17; John 17:14, 19)
• Be “salt and light,” living out the character and values of Christ both personally and corporately (Matthew 5:13-16)
• Respect and honor God’s authority within His establishment of civil government (Romans 13:17; 1 Peter 2:11, 17; Matthew 22:21)
• Obey civil government unless it demands disobedience to Christ (1 Peter 2:13; Romans 13:1-2, 5; Acts 5:29)
• Pray for civil government (1 Timothy 2:14)
• Engage our civil duties (such as voting) and be ready to serve our communities (Titus 3:1)

As members of the Kingdom of God, our ongoing role as dual citizens should be most clearly reflected in our communities. We are ambassadors of Christ with the privilege of bringing God’s Kingdom to the earth here and now!