Sermon Recap: Allegiance to the King & His Kingdom
Becoming a Redemptive Resistance – Week 5
This week in our Becoming a Redemptive Resistance series, we step into one of the most charged arenas of modern life: politics. While many believers instinctively want to avoid political conversations altogether, Scripture and history show us that disengagement is neither faithful nor tenable. Jesus reigns over all of life, which means His lordship necessarily touches our civic life as much as our spiritual and personal lives.
Compartmentalization is not compatible with the biblical vision of discipleship. The life Jesus calls us to isn’t divided between an “ordinary” life over here, a “spiritual” life over there, and a “political” life somewhere else. Our allegiance to Him shapes every sphere we inhabit.
This truth becomes crystal clear when we look at the Greek word Paul uses in Philippians for “citizenship” – politeuma – the same root behind our words “politics” and “policy.” In other words, when Paul speaks about discipleship, he is speaking of our civic and political identity as well.
A Biblical and Historical Reminder
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible speaks into environments shaped by governments, power, and political systems. The prophets confronted kings; Jesus proclaimed the arrival of a new Kingdom; the early church disrupted the socio-political order of the Roman world.
Furthermore, our own modern history reminds us of the consequences of what happens when the church remains silent in the face of injustice, most notably the Holocaust and the Segregation Era in the American South. In both cases, many Christians insisted that the church should “stay out of politics,” a posture that produced complicity rather than faithfulness. Voices like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Karl Barth, and Martin Luther King Jr. remind us that silence in the face of dehumanization is itself a political act – a deeply unfaithful one. They called the church to courageous engagement. Not partisan allegiance, but Kingdom fidelity.
Philippi: A Case Study in Political Identity
The early church in Philippi understood this tension firsthand. Philippi was a proud Roman colony, a “miniature Rome” where Roman identity, customs, and allegiance to Caesar shaped everything. In Acts 16, Luke even pauses to name Philippi’s political status, something he does for no other city in the entire book. Why? Because this context is key to understanding the clash between Rome’s kingdom and Jesus’ Kingdom.
When Paul writes to the Philippian believers, he knows they are steeped in patriotic pride. Many were Roman citizens, a rare and coveted privilege. Paul meets them where they are, listing his own impressive credentials, then dramatically declaring them all as “loss” – even “dung”, compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ.
From there, he delivers his central claim:
“Our citizenship is in heaven…” (Philippians 3:20)
This verse has often been misunderstood as a promise that our true home is heaven and our hope is to escape the earth. But Paul means something very different. Just as Philippi was a Roman colony planted in Macedonia, the church is a heavenly colony planted on earth. Our hope is not fleeing earth for heaven—our hope is the return of our King to renew all things.
As N.T. Wright puts it, “The point of being a colony is not to go back home but to bring the life and rule of the home country to where you are.”
So, what does this mean for our political lives today? Consider these five guiding principles for how Kingdom citizens can engage politics with integrity and hope:
Engage as ambassadors, not partisans.
We represent Christ’s Kingdom above every earthly tribe.Let Kingdom ethics shape your political posture.
The Kingdom prioritizes the dignity of poor, the oppressed, the sanctity of life for the unborn, the stranger, and the marginalized. We can differ on which policies will best deliver compassion and justice, but compassion and justice are not optional.Pursue civic faithfulness without idolatry.
Love your country, but worship only Christ.Resist outrage and practice redemptive engagement.
The Gospel not only shapes what we believe, but how we engage those who do not believe what we believe. Followers of Jesus should be the calmest, least fearful voices in the room.Prioritize local faithfulness over national fear.
Like Philippi, the church is a colony of another Kingdom—an alternative society marked by justice, generosity, and peace. The Kingdom advances most clearly in neighborhoods, tables, and churches.
In all this, we remember the beauty of the early discipleship community: Matthew the tax collector and Simon the zealot—political opposites—sat at the same table with Jesus. That’s the kind of community the gospel creates.
As a Redemptive Resistance, we engage our world not as culture warriors or escape artists but as citizens of a better Kingdom—calm, courageous, and confident that our King will one day set all things right.