Christianity and the State

“The counsel of peace shall be between them both.” This prediction, concerning the relationship between the civil and ecclesiastical, forms the climax to Zechariah’s prophecy concerning the ultimate consequences of Christ’s first coming (Zech. 6). All too often, however, the church throughout history has attempted to buy this peace through compromise, standing with civil government rather than with Christ, siding with the movable kingdoms rather than with the “kingdom that cannot be moved.” Overlooked is the fact that peace between Christ’s people and the nations is realized only when the nations themselves become Christ’s disciples. Christians today merely pay lip service to the command to make disciples of all nations, being “so dazzled with gazing after temporal glory, that the kingdom which comes not by observation hath been vile in their eyes” (Owen).



By virtue of being King of kings and Lord of lords, Christ’s reign over man and government is universal and total. “He removeth kings, and setteth up kings” (Dan. 2:21) and “increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them” (Job 12:23) because the government is on His shoulders: He is the governor among the nations (Isa. 9:7; Ps. 22:28). The need today is for the church to press the crown rights of Christ the King, confident that His government over all will increase without end: “the zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this.”



This powerful volume sets forth a biblical theology of the state, tracing in detail the history and consequences of both statist domination and Christian dereliction of duty. By firmly establishing the biblical alternative to modern Christianity’s polytheism, the author alerts us to the pitfalls of the past, and provides godly counsel for both the present and future. The crystallization of decades of research, Christianity and the State is a landmark volume of twentieth century Christendom.