We learn from a young age our civic duty. What is our spiritual responsibility to our government? In two different chapters in the Bible we learn about government. Paul wrote about the Roman government, with the realization that the roads and common language afforded him greater opportunity to share the good news of Christ. Paul wrote to believers in the capital city of the Roman Empire, urging them to submit to authority. In effect, Paul says, we pay our taxes and pray for authorities so that we can say Jesus is the only way.
In Revelation 13, we read about a different kind of government in which people are being persecuted for their faith. In this case, John reminds us that believers owe our highest debt to Christ. We can never compromise our faith in order to appease the government. In the first century world, and the twenty-first century world, Christians paid and are paying the highest price for faith.
So what will we do as citizens of the United States today? We should vote. We should pay our taxes. We should pray for those in authority over us. But what if we disagree with those who rule over us and want to rule over us in the future? We should pray all the more. Are we living in Romans 13 or Revelation 13? Time will tell. In the meantime, we are citizens of a higher kingdom. As Paul said to the Philippians in 3:20: “our citizenship is in heaven.” And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.