Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 10
Tertullian says, “nothing more entirely foreign to us than the affairs of state…we acknowledge one all-embracing commonwealth, the world,” and David urges possibly sitting out an election to pray for God’s will rather than candidates; what would have to change in your identity, fears, and hopes for you to treat political involvement as “down in the mud,” and what concrete habits would move you toward living as an “ambassador” whose primary loyalty is the kingdom of God?
Another way to ask: Tertullian and David suggest Christians may need to hold politics loosely and focus on God’s kingdom, even skipping an election to pray. What would need to change in your identity, fears, and hopes to see politics as secondary, and what daily habits would help you live first as an ambassador of God’s kingdom?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
You would need to shift identity from national loyalty to citizenship in God’s kingdom, exchange fear about elections for confidence that God “removes kings and raises up kings,” and set hopes on eternal outcomes rather than political wins. Concrete habits include prayerful dependence, refusing party-branding of Christianity, and practicing a “kingdom of God” worldview that treats all believers worldwide as fellow citizens.
- Tertullian’s stance: “All zeal…for glory and honor is dead in us…nothing more entirely foreign…than the affairs of state…We acknowledge one all-embracing commonwealth, the world.”
- David clarifies this means loyalty to God’s kingdom over national boundaries; a Christian in another country is “my fellow citizen,” so “I can’t be at war with them.”
- He imagines early Christian counsel: “What are you doing down there in the mud…toiling after earthly things instead of after your citizenship…in the heavens?”
- He grounds this in God’s rule over rulers (Daniel): God “removes kings and raises up kings…gives it to whomever he wills and sets up… the basest of men.”
- He says Christians shouldn’t be associated with parties; politics is “rearranging the furniture,” while the gospel “remodel[s]” by addressing sin.
- Final exhortation: possibly “sit out an election…approach it on your knees…pray that God’s will would be done…more…look to his kingdom.”