Church and State – What Does This Mean?

Church and State Relations

The State, as we learned, is to wield the sword and keep rampant evil and sin at bay. The Church is given to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.

So, how do we citizens of the State and the Church fit into both categories? What ought we be doing? The answer, I believe, comes through vocation.

One vocation that we all have is being citizen of the State. This vocation is informed by the many others we have, as well as the Word of God, especially the vocation that comes from being baptized into Christ. Each vocation places duties on us, and the Small Catechism gives us a small picture into some of those duties. Peter in his first letter reminds us to honor all, even the Emperor.

Christ our Lord says in the Gospel of John, be in the world but not of the world. And Paul also reminds us that our citizenship truly lies in heaven. But we aren’t in heaven yet, but we live in that hope. We are here in the world to serve our neighbor through our various vocations, and that includes the State and our government leaders. The Church is in the unique position to inform the State of God’s law and gospel.

We are even given the command that when the state compels us by law to do something against the Lord’s will, we are to obey God rather than men. The Church has a voice in the public sphere, particularly to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How else will the citizens of the state receive the grace of God? Certainly, they will not see that grace from the State. That is not the State’s job or purpose.

What do we do as citizens of the State? We desire peace and prosperity. We pray for our government leaders in our worship services, even those we don’t agree with politically. We pray that the Lord God use them to fulfill their vocation as leaders and give us a peaceful and quiet life that allows us to worship our God and Savior Jesus Christ without fear.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp

Christ Lutheran Church

Noblesville, Indiana

The Church and the State

Encore Post: The Church and State have always had an interesting relationship at least here in the U.S.A. And if we look across the pond to Europe, the history is even more blurry because for the longest time the Church and the State were essentially working together. The Holy Roman Empire, for instance, was given that name because of its connections to the Holy Roman Catholic Church. The Pope actually was the one who crowned the emperor. Hence, Luther and the Lutheran Confessions dealt with both the Emperor and the Pope during the time of the Reformation. The Church and State went hand in hand, so it seemed.

However, that is not necessarily always a good thing. St. Paul tells us that the Church and the State serve two distinctly different purposes. The State was given to curb evil and violence. The State wields the sword. You could say that they help people follow and enforce the first use of the Law. The State (government) keeps its citizens from committing rampant sin against other civilians and even themselves.

The Church has the purpose of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ for the salvation of the world. The Church has no use for the sword in this endeavor. Rather, the Church’s weapon of choice is her pastors’ voices proclaiming the Word of God to sinful men and women in the world. That means the Church is to inform the people, even the leaders of the State, of their sin and proclaim to them forgiveness of their sins in and through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

This post begins a series about the State and Church relationship and we will explore a bit more how we as Christians can and should pray and inform the policies of the State as well as when the State makes us Christians do things that are against our deeply held beliefs and conscience.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp

Christ Lutheran Church

Noblesville, Indiana

Sunday School: Daniel and the Lions

Encore post: Daniel lived a long and remarkable life. As a young man, he was carried off into exile by the Babylonians. Because he showed remarkable leadership skills, King Nebuchadnezzar brought him into the court. He lived a long life in the service of Babylon, living until the Persians conquered the empire. He continued to serve the Persians.

Daniel was an honorable official and fell victim to politics in the top ranks of the Persian Empire. His enemies got a law passed that Daniel could not keep. (Daniel 6) The law required that no one pray to any god other than the king for thirty days. Even though he knew the law, Daniel continued his custom of praying three times a day, facing Jerusalem, giving thanks to God. His enemies turned him in to King Darius, who, even though he was Daniel’s friend and didn’t want to condemn him, ordered him thrown to the lions.

Being above reproach, Daniel did not respond as many politicians in his day and those in government even to this day. He did not retaliate, but allowed his innocence to speak for him. Having been thrown to the lions, God rewarded Daniel’s trust and faithfulness by sending an angel to protect his servant. When the king saw Daniel was still alive, he restored Daniel and had his enemies thrown to the lions.

Daniel has become a model for civil service for Christians. His example of faith was praised by the writer of the book of Hebrews, along with his friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He shows us the way to love God and serve our nation as well.

Blog Post Series

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Sunday School: Three Men in the Furnace — or is it Four?

Encore Post: Ancient peoples looked upon their leaders as lesser gods, worthy of worship. They built statues to honor themselves and required all people to worship them. This practice continued even in Roman times to the pagan Caesars. It was seen as a patriotic act, similar to saying the pledge of allegiance and saluting the flag. From time to time, kings would enforce public worship of their statues or the statues of their gods to test the loyalty of their subjects.

For Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, loyalty to God was more important than life itself. They trusted God could deliver them and placed full trust in Him. Yet they were prepared for God to take them to His side instead. God sent his Son as the Angel of the Lord to protect His servants in the fire. The writer of the book of Hebrews included these men in the great chapter on faith. (Hebrews 11:32-34) Christian martyrs throughout the centuries looked up to these men for inspiration when called to choose between God and country.

Faith is trusting God to keep his promises. It holds on to the fact that God kept the most important of his promises to his people in the Old Testament. In the person of the Son of God, he became a man in the womb of the Virgin Mary, lived a perfect life for us, suffered and died at the hands of a pagan government, rose again from the grave and ascended to heaven. Because he has done these things, we are certain that he will keep the rest of his promises — to bring us to be with him forever when we die and raise us from the grave on the last day. It is that faith that sustained Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, their friend Daniel, all the martyrs for the faith who obeyed God rather than man. With them numbered may we be, here and in eternity.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Blog Post Series

Sunday School: King Josiah

Encore post: King Josiah was unique. He was king at age eight. He loved the Lord and vowed to keep God’s covenant with Judah when he began his reign. Few of his royal ancestors were faithful to God and His law, most of them worshipping the gods of the Canaanites. His grandfather Manesseh was among the worst, sacrificing his own sons on their altars. His father continued the pattern, letting the temple fall into disrepair, placing idols within its walls, encouraging the people to practice the religion of their neighbors.

During these evil years, it appears that the priests removed the scrolls containing the Book of Deuteronomy from the open areas of the temple and hid them in the storerooms nearby. King Josiah ordered the temple renovated and placed the High Priest in charge. As they were cleaning and repairing the building, the priests rediscovered it.

When King Josiah heard the words of this book read, he reacted with great sorrow. He realized that God’s people had wandered far from the Lord and spent the rest of his life destroying the false gods of Canaan and calling God’s people to serve their Lord. Josiah remains an example of how a devout leader can live to serve God and His people.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2018-2024 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com

Blog post series

Sunday School King Hezekiah and the Assyrian Siege

Encore Post: Prior to King Josiah, there was another king who followed in the commandments of of the Lord. His name was Hezekiah. His story is covered in 2 Kings 18-20. There, the author of Kings tells us that Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, cutting down the Asherah poles. He recognized the idolatry which ran rampant among the people. Judah was actually bowing down before the bronze serpent that Moses made in the wilderness! Hezekiah broke it into pieces. He was zealous for proper worship of the Lord.

Hezekiah was king of Judah during the Assyrian destruction of the northern kingdom. After Israel’s defeat, Judah was on high alert. The largest superpower was knocking on their door. And Assyria was a promised instrument of the Lord to exact judgment on His people.

The Rabeshakeh, that is a spokesman for the king of Assyria, spoke to Hezekiah, telling him that no god had saved the other surrounding countries. So, would Hezekiah’s God save Judah? The king of Assyria, Sennacherib, speaks of himself as a god, able to give a land that is good as if not better than what God had promised to the people of Israel way back in his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and again to the people as they were coming into the Promised Land.

Hezekiah, though afraid of the impending doom for Jerusalem, does what a faithful Christian ought to do in time of distress. He spoke with Lord’s servant Isaiah and inquires of the Lord with prayer. God has been mocked in the speech of Sennachrib, and Hezekiah pleads that God hears it. He does and gives peace to Hezekiah, promising that Sennachrib will die by the sword in his own land.

Isaiah 37 records for us what happens to the Assyrian army. The Angel of the Lord struck the army and 185,000 died that night. The Lord preserved Hezekiah and Jerusalem for the time being.

We learn from Hezekiah to rely on God alone when we are in distress as well as times of plenty. Isaiah the prophet and this story of Jerusalem being under siege tells us to rely on God, who gives us our daily bread. For he also gives us the blessed forgiveness of sins in the saving work of Jesus on the cross who took upon the siege of the devil at the cross and won for us the true promised land, the promise of the new heaven and new earth that is to come.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

Happy birthday, Lutheran Church!

Encore Post: Most people think of October 31st, 1517 as the date of the Lutheran Church. However, Martin Luther and most Lutheran historians disagree. On the day that Martin Luther posted the 95 Theses, he was very much a Catholic. In fact, Luther on this day was upset that people did not have to suffer enough for their sins, and were being let off the hook way too easily. You could say he was more Catholic than the Pope. Considering the nature of Pope Leo X, he was.

On the first Reformation day, the Reformation was just beginning. We only first begin to recognize Luther’s complete theology in his writings in 1520. And it really wasn’t until 1529 that the reformers and their princes thought of the Lutheran tradition as a separate faith.

Emperor Charles V had many problems in 1529. The Turkish Empire of Suleiman the Great had invaded Austria and laid siege to Vienna. France and the Pope were constantly challenging his authority in southern Europe. He badly wanted to unify his German territories under Roman Catholic control. So he called all the territories together at Augsburg for a meeting of the Holy Roman Empire.

Elector John of Saxony, Luther’s Prince, commissioned Luther and his friends to create a unified statement of the disputes between the Pope and the Lutheran territories. The result was a document called the Augsburg confession. All the Lutheran princes who attended the diet of Augsburg sign the document as their own faith.

On June 25th 1530, the Augsburg confession was presented to Charles V by the Lutheran princes. To this day, June 25th is known as the birthday of the Lutheran Church.

As Time passed, the Augsburg Confession gained acceptance by Lutheran territories and theologians. It became the standard for what we believe and confess and remained so. Today, every Lutheran Pastor pledges to teach according to the Augsburg Confession and the other documents in the Book of Concord of 1580.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Thy Kingdom Come

Encore Post: When we pray the Lord’s Prayer we state our hope and belief that God’s Kingdom is different than the kingdoms of the world. As Jesus says to Pontius Pilate, “My Kingdom is not of this world.” But certainly it has entered into this world now and the world will see it in all its fullness when Jesus returns to judge both the living and the dead.

God’s Kingdom comes to us a couple of ways. God’s Kingdom comes to us through the Proclamation of the Word and Faith. Another way to say it is that God’s Kingdom comes to us when and where Jesus promises to be for the forgiveness of our sins in the divine service. Finally, what we see currently only by faith will be unveiled to the world, and God’s Kingdom will be fully known.

God’s Kingdom is not like the Kingdoms of the world. God’s Kingdom is a spiritual kingdom and it must be distinguished from the civil realm. God works in terms of the Gospel, that in Jesus Christ’s death on the cross atones for the sins of the world. Currently God’s Kingdom looks quite humble. Even the King rides to his throne on a donkey, not some regal warhorse. His crown in this world was one of thorns. He governs not with an iron fist, but through his ministers who are called to preach His Gospel and administer his gifts- namely Baptism, Bread and Wine, His body and Blood- to his faithful.

The civil realm as we are all able to look around works in terms of fear and power, certainly not the Gospel but rather Law. Of course, as we pray this petition we also express the desire for the Lord to bless our civil kingdoms (government) with His mercy and grace that we might live in peace. And we should obey the laws of the government as long as obeying the laws does not cause us to sin. We also acknowledge rightly that God does not intend to use the Gospel to overthrow secular government and public order. We reject that before the resurrection of the dead, saints and righteous people will possess a secular kingdom.

So, we as Christians see ourselves in two kingdoms. And we continue to pray this petition as fervently as ever in anticipation when the Lord will return to usher and reveal His Kingdom fully.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

Blog Post Series

And He Suffered Under Pontius Pilate

Encore Post: You say it every time you confess the Apostles’ Creed, “And He suffered under Pontius Pilate,” but what does saying it convey?

Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor who had authority over the use of the death penalty. That is historical fact. And it is important to show that faith in Jesus Christ, as recorded in Holy Scripture is historical. We can look at the historical record and see a governor named Pilate who served in Judea, and it was this man who gave the Jews the go ahead to crucify Jesus. This is extremely important to acknowledge, but there are some important theological implications of reciting Pilate’s name as well in the Creed.

We remember from Holy Scripture that Pilate desired to release Jesus because Jesus had done nothing wrong. Certainly Jesus did nothing that required the judgement of death by crucifixion. Pilate judged rightly that the Jews were bringing Jesus to him because they were jealous of him and how the people chased after him.

However, Jesus was before him, and he had to pass judgment. Due to his position as governor, his judgment was as if God spoke the judgement: “I find no fault in him at all.” And that right there is of great theological importance. Pilate, as governor, goes on record to say that an innocent man dies for the sins of the people. That is the Gospel proclamation. The innocent man receives the punishment of death while the sinner goes free. While Pilate wanted to release Jesus, he was getting nowhere with the people. The priests and the scribes had caused a riot to begin. Pilate, being afraid, gave Jesus over to them that they might crucify Jesus.

And in so doing Pilate allowed the Chief Priests and the Scribes of the Jews to actually fulfill their duties as those who would sacrifice the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Yet, Christ is the Victim and the Priest on this Good Friday at the altar of the Cross.

Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate. He was handed over to the ruthless Priests and Scribes for crucifixion, but facing the cross Jesus did not blink nor did he complain. But rather suffered under Pontius Pilate that we might be set free from the punishment of our sins and live with Him in everlasting life.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

Stephen, the First Martyr

Encore Post: “You will be my martyrs (μάρτυρες),” Jesus said to his disciples just before he ascended into heaven. (Acts 1:8) A martyr is the New Testament is a witness to the good news about Jesus. All Christians are martyrs, then. The only question is how good a witness we will be.

The apostles and early disciples were very good martyrs. In fact, all of the apostles except John the Evangelist (tune in tomorrow) validated their testimony with their lives, most of them through torturous, painful deaths. That is why we associate the term martyr with giving up one’s life for a cause. For awhile, though, harassment was the push back of the leaders who had seen to the crucifixion of Jesus.

All this changed with a confrontation with Stephen the Deacon. He was a Jew whose native language was Greek. The apostles had appointed him and six others to take care of the poor among them. He was very good at evangelism, so Jews that rejected Jesus as the Messiah lied about him to get him arrested. Brought before the Sanhedrin, he argued from the Scripture that Jesus was the Messiah and that they had killed him. He called on them to repent and believe the good news.

In great anger, they seized Stephen and took him outside the city and began to stone him to death. Following the example of Jesus, he forgave them and gave up his spirit. Among those who witnessed the stoning and approved it was Saul of Tarsus, the man who would soon become the Apostle Paul. The church remember him as the protomartyr — the first martyr. It gives thanks to God for his life and witness on the second day of Christmas — December 26.

In today’s world, Christians are still called to witness to Jesus with their lives. Even in our own country, opposition to faith is growing and Christians are called upon to testify to the gospel at a cost to reputation, property and perhaps some day freedom and lives. We have the example of our Lord, Stephen and countless martyrs to give us courage. With them numbered may we be, here and in eternity.

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Concordia Theological Seminary
Fort Wayne, Indiana