46 succumb to success, while the call of the Divine is to do what is right and to leave the results in the hands of the One who made us and sustains us. Conclusion: Christian Citizenship in a Republic To some degree, Paul’s admonition in Romans 12 and 13, Peter’s teaching in 1 Peter 2, and Christ’s declaration to render to God and Caesar in Matthew 22, all point toward a common idea. There is an expectation that Christians should display at least a modicum of earthly citizenship as they relate to the regimes in which they find themselves. Within the Roman world of the first and second centuries, good citizenship largely consisted of obeying, respecting, and honoring the government. Only a select few would have the opportunity to influence government policy in a meaningful way, so these admonitions, to be citizens of sound repute, would be the sum total of political obligations for nearly all Christians in that world. But these teachings were rooted in a political environment with minimal popular political influence; this creates one of the most enduring theological puzzles of the past millennium. How are we, as believers, to apply these ideas when we live in political communities that are far different from those of Christ, Paul, and Peter? As Americans, we are blessed with a government that allows for many paths of input and influence. We might vote. We can donate time, money, and effort. We could run for office, start interest groups, lobby, blog, or advocate. In short, we can care. Granted, some of us do none of those things, but our system allows for all of these and more. And, perhaps most critically, our system is built upon the idea that we, the people, are to hold our government accountable and responsible for its actions. This is, at base, how a republic is designed to function. We are the fountain of political power. Our elected officials exercise that power, but only as we allow them to do so. In order for our government to work, in any meaningful sense of that word, we must do these things or our government is no longer what it claims to be. For us, these are the traits of good citizenship. If it is true that the spirit behind the New Testament’s teaching on government is that we, as believers, are to be good citizens, we have to acknowledge that spirit, but the spirit of the text does not obviate our responsibilities to its clear teaching (to honor, obey, and respect), for that teaching still binds us. We are called to be faithful to both the letter and spirit of God’s commands. In this sense, we may have an obligation to be good citizens, so long as our political environment defines citizenship in
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