Civil government, Calvin argued, was not a construct of society but was itself ordained by God: “[T]hey have a mandate from God, have been invested with divine authority, and are wholly God’s representatives, in a manner, acting as his vicegerents” (4.20.4). He goes as far as to say that civil authority is “by far the most honorable of all callings in the whole life of mortal man” (4.20.4).

One of the challenges of this last year is the way in which Christians have been confronted with the need to think carefully about what it means to be a godly citizen — or, to write it this way, to be those whose Christianity self-consciously informs our responsibilities as citizens. Especially in the United States few of us, if pressed, could identify where the requirements of our citizenship have collided with our Christianity in a way that disrupts, inconveniences, or compromises our obedience to God. But the current societal climate has taken this topic off of the dusty shelf and put it into our every day conversations: “How can I be a godly citizen?”

Personally, I’ve been a bit disappointed by most of the public dialogue I’ve heard and read on this topic. Even among Christians there’s been over-the-top rhetoric about tyranny, a brutish need to self-assert “rights,” a cowering in fear and anxiety, and a general lack of a wise and discerning spirit. Such responses don’t inspire a lot of confidence that if true tyranny and persecution break out forcibly in our land we’ll know what to do. Thankfully, we aren’t left to contemporary voices. The church has a long history of people who have struggled in far worse conditions and under far worse governments than are present in our small corner of world history. As we seek guidance for the present we should seek help from the past.

In my own efforts to untie some of the knots in my thinking one particular guide who I have appreciated is, maybe unsurprisingly, John Calvin. Individually and pastorally Calvin had to deal with the question of godly citizenship. At a young age he fled Paris due to contacts he had developed with anti-Roman Catholic people, eventually he would be expelled from Geneva for his uncompromising attitude, and in Strasbourg and again later upon his return to Geneva he ministered to persecuted French refugees. Calvin’s view on citizenship was informed by the Bible and forged in the flames of adversity.

In his most important work, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin takes up a discussion on civil government in his section on spiritual government. From the outset he recognizes how strange it may seem to some that these two things — spiritual and civil government — should be joined together. Nevertheless, he understood it as necessary. That’s because a right understanding of the civil government will demonstrate how God has lovingly provided for mankind and a “greater zeal for piety.”

In his teaching Calvin wrote that “Civil government has as its appointed end, so long as we live among men, to cherish and protect the outward worship of God, to defend sound doctrine of piety and the position of the church, to adjust our life to the society of men, to form our social behavior to civil righteousness, to reconcile us with one another, and to promote general peace and tranquility” (4.20.2). Because of this Calvin regarded civil government as absolutely necessary and even honorable: “Its function among men is no less than that of bread, water, sun, and air; indeed, its place of honor is far more excellent” (4.20.3). Civil government, Calvin argued, was not a construct of society but was itself ordained by God: “[T]hey have a mandate from God, have been invested with divine authority, and are wholly God’s representatives, in a manner, acting as his vicegerents” (4.20.4). He goes as far as to say that civil authority is “by far the most honorable of all callings in the whole life of mortal man” (4.20.4).

After discussing the responsibilities of civil authorities —forms of government, use of force, waging war, taxation, public law, etc — he comes to the Christian’s obedience. Calvin regarded our attitudes as the place of first obedience: “The first duty of subjects toward their magistrates is to think most honorably of their office, which they recognize as a jurisdiction bestowed by God, and on that account to esteem and reverence them as ministers and representatives of God” (4.20.22), see e.g. Proverbs 24:21, 1 Peter 2:17, and Romans 13:5. Additionally, he said: “From this also something else follows: that, with hearts inclined to reverence their rulers, the subjects should prove their obedience toward them, whether by obeying their proclamations, or by paying taxes, or by undertaking public offices and burdens which pertain to the common defense, or by executing any other commands of theirs” (4.20.23), see e.g. Romans 13:1-2, 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Titus 3:1, and 1 Peter 2:13-14.

But, what about an unjust civil magistrate? Calvin isn’t ignorant enough to think that every civil authority does what they’re called by God to do, and often are careless and lazy and do things for their own pleasure (ahem…United States!). He also recognizes that the heart isn’t easily persuaded to obey the authority of tyrants in as much as is possible: “Indeed,” he writes “this inborn feeling has always been in the minds of men to hate and curse tyrants as much as to love and venerate lawful kings” (4.20.24). In answering this question Calvin offers a number of extremely useful comments —:

First, he answers that we need to remember a wicked ruler is God’s judgment on a people: “They who rule unjustly and incompetently have been raised up by him to punish the wickedness of the people […] A wicked king is the Lord’s wrath upon the earth” (4.20.25), see e.g. Job 34:30, Hosea 13:11, and Isaiah 3:4.

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