Champions Network: Christians Can Be Champions For Religious Liberty
The Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty works to encourage Christians to engage people in their community and beyond with a Biblical wisdom that is centered in God’s
two-kingdom engagement of the world to preserve and save. This is a thoroughly Lutheran (and Christian) approach to public engagement on issues related to public issues and public policy.
Is this the same as evangelism? Well, Scripture does encourage Christians to be ready to give witness to the hope that is in us. Most often we think of that as an evangelistic opportunity for our local congregation and kingdom work. Without a doubt, telling others about God’s saving work, that Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again for them is the ultimate mission. We want others to enjoy the forgiveness of sins and the hope that springs unto all eternity. However, giving witness is not relegated only to evangelistic efforts.
But also, in service to that great work, Christians are able to witness to others another work of God, that of God’s preserving work in the temporal realm. Such work civilizes and maintains peace, all in service to sharing God’s Good News in Jesus. In fact, Christians give witness to this purely temporal work of God on a daily basis more often than Gospel-telling. Christians do this through their daily vocations, where God has them positioned to interact with people.
At the Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty, we help others better understand how God works preserving the world through families, community authorities, state, and federal governing officials. Let me clarify. God works in our world in His two distinct ways: to preserve and to save. He works through governing authorities, which includes families, law enforcement, organizational leaders, etc., to order humanity in a helpful way so that peaceful relations keep order in society. God works through His means of Grace (Word, sacrament, the church) to proclaim the saving love of God in Christ Jesus.
God’s people never forget that the church’s ultimate work is the latter: proclaiming the good news of Christ unto all eternity. But God is also at work to curb our worst intentions, to preserve us even from ourselves, maintaining temporal peace for all. This temporal peace provides so that the Gospel can be freely proclaimed and enjoyed while there is still time, before the last day of earthly days.
Christians are called to be faithful to God’s preserving and saving work, to preach Jesus, yes, but also to support God’s ordering of humanity. In Matthew 22, Jesus is asked about the specifics of the temple tax at the Jerusalem temple. Jesus asks to see a temple coin where He draws His hearers to the images that the coin bears. One image side is that of the Roman emperor, the other temple signifying God. Jesus plainly says, “Give to Caesar what is Caeser’s and to God what is God’s.” With that differentiation in plain view, we see Jesus defining God’s two works.
The Rev. Mark Frith is LCRL Champions Network Director.
Be Informed
Get up to date on the International Religious Freedom Report, thanks to Sam Brownback of the National Committee for Religious Freedom.
Be Equipped
Christian fathers and mothers can and should desire to raise godly children in their families. Dr. Mary Manz Simon and Gary Duncan discuss raising them, their milestones, and our judgement calls while doing so.
Be Encouraged
“The true Church on earth will never concede the public square to the pluralism that posits coexisting realms of ‘truth.’ But deep confusion has been sown by the false doctrine of ‘separation between Church and state.’ Perverting the scriptural doctrine of the two kingdoms, the old, evil Foe lied about a godless, secular realm unworthy of the Church’s attention. There never was such a realm. Where we were promised a religion-less public square, we found in its place an ever-growing list of topics deemed ‘political’ and off-limits.”
God uses Caeser (representing temporal authorities) to preserve the temporal world. God uses the church to broadcast His saving work for now and all eternity. When Christians (and others) are faithful in their vocations, they promote God’s good order. How can you do this well and be encouraging to others in the temporal realm? That is what we work through in our Champion’s for Religious Liberty work.
