LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 368

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368

THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
III. Living in God’s Two Realms:
On the Activity of Christians in the World as Church and as Citizens
Genuine diversity among Christians in approaching the issue of illegal
immigration results from the inherent tension between fulfilling the commands to love the stranger in our midst regardless of his/her legal status
and to submit to the authorities and their laws regulating the legal status of
immigrants. Such tension can also be seen as an attempt to be faithful to God’s
call to be both a citizen of the heavenly city (that is to say, a faithful member of
the church who supports her mission) and a citizen of the earthly city (that is
to say, a responsible citizen or resident who upholds the civil law). Christian
attitudes about illegal immigration are often shaped by a genuine desire to
live faithfully in God’s two realms, kingdoms, or governments—namely, the
spiritual and temporal.
The teaching concerning God’s two realms has an honorable place in
Lutheran biblical and confessional catechesis.53 This teaching addresses questions about the proper distinction and relationship between God’s work in
the world through the church and through civil government, and therefore
also deals with the activity of Christians in the world both as members of the
church and as citizens or residents of the state. Therefore, it serves as a promising interpretative framework for dealing with questions regarding what a
Lutheran response to immigration issues in general and illegal immigration
in particular might look like in the contemporary context.
The doctrine of the two realms is grounded in the assumption and
acknowledgment that God wills to preserve His fallen creation in two distinct
ways and thus for the sake of accomplishing two distinct goals. The Lutheran
confessors teach “the difference between spiritual and secular power, sword,
and authority,” and that “for the sake of God’s command, everyone should
honor and esteem with all reverence both authorities and powers as the two
highest gifts of God on earth.”54 In the spiritual realm (also known as the righthand kingdom), God preserves His fallen creation by forgiving sinners on
account of Christ. The confessors state: “According to the gospel the power of
the keys or of the bishops is a power and command of God to preach the gospel, to forgive or retain sin, and to administer and distribute the sacraments.”55
Thus God uses the church and her ministers to reconcile sinners to Himself
through the preaching of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments (means of grace). The priesthood of all believers, which includes each
individual Christian in the context of his or her vocation, also engages in the
“mutual conversation and consolation of brothers and sisters” as Christians
53
See Martin Luther’s classic treatise “Temporal Authority: To What Extent It Should Be
Obeyed,” AE 45:75-129; AC XVI and Ap XVI; FC, Ep XII,12-16 and SD XII,17-23.
54

AC XXVIII, 4.

55

AC XXVIII, 5-6 (citing Jn. 20:21-23).

share the Gospel with one another and with those outside the community of
faith as opportunities arise.56
In the temporal realm (also known as the left-hand kingdom), God preserves His fallen creation by promoting peace and justice in society. Through
the “sword” or “secular authority,” God uses government servants to restrain
sinners from gross manifestations of evil and reward good behavior in society.
The confessors state: “Secular authority does not protect the soul but, using
the sword and physical penalties, it protects the body and goods against external violence.”57 Under the temporal authority, each person, and indeed each
Christian, has a role as a resident or citizen to obey the authorities and follow
the laws of the land. Each of us also—particularly in the contemporary United
States context of a representative democracy where the governed have a voice
in the establishment of laws through their elected government officials—has
the opportunity and responsibility to work within our own particular vocations towards the promotion, enactment, and enforcement of laws that are
good, right, and salutary.
The distinction between “the powers of church and civil government”
must therefore be maintained, so that one power “should not usurp the other’s
duty.”58 In the spiritual realm, the church is engaged with those activities that
center in the message of justification by grace through faith in Christ. Through
the “word” of the Gospel, the church deals with our spiritual condition and
relationship before God. In the temporal realm, on the other hand, civil government is engaged with those activities that promote justice, peace, and
order in civil society. Through the “sword,” civil government deals with our
relationships and responsibilities before others. As members of the church and
as citizens or residents of the land, Christians seek to live and work faithfully
in both of God’s realms or kingdoms.
The Lutheran distinction between the two kinds of authority reminds us
not to confuse the activities and aims God intends to accomplish through each
realm. On the one hand, the responsibility of the church in the spiritual government does not consist in the formulation, enactment, and enforcement of
immigration laws. Under the spiritual power, the church is called to proclaim
the Gospel and administer the sacraments in accordance with Christ’s institution.59 On the other hand, the responsibility of civil government or temporal
56
“We now want to return to the gospel, which gives guidance and help against sin in more
than one way, because God is extravagantly rich in his grace: first, through the spoken word,
in which the forgiveness of sins is preached to the whole world (which is the proper function
of the gospel); second, through baptism; third, through the holy Sacrament of the Altar; fourth,
through the power of the keys and also through the mutual conversation and consolation of
brothers and sisters.” SA III, 4.
57

AC XXVIII, 11.

58

AC XXVIII, 12 (Latin text).

59

“That is why one should not mix or confuse the two authorities, the spiritual and the secular. For spiritual power has its command to preach the gospel and to administer the sacraments.

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authority does not consist in the proclamation of the Gospel, the administration of the sacraments, or the promotion of works of mercy that flow out of
the Gospel. The government can enact and enforce temporal laws dealing
with illegal immigration, but it does not teach the church how or whether she
should carry out her Word and sacrament ministry among undocumented
immigrants.

proclamation of the Gospel without potential interference from civil authorities due to unresolved legal issues.

Confusion of the two realms happens when obedience to government and
civil law concerning the legal status of immigrants interferes with the church’s
responsibility to proclaim the Gospel to them and do the works of mercy
that flow from the Gospel for them without regard to their legal status. For
example, a form of such interference would take place if, hypothetically speaking, civil legislation penalized individual Christians or church workers with
fines or possible imprisonment for proclaiming the Gospel to undocumented
immigrants or doing mercy work among them. Similarly, civil legislation,
applications of law, or regulations that might hypothetically prevent the faithful from doing the mercy work of visiting persons in immigration detention
centers could also be seen as an example of such interference. In a more likely
scenario, imagine vocal public opposition to illegal immigration by a zealous
citizen, who is also a member of the congregation, in the particular context of
church-sponsored missionary activities in an increasingly immigrant neighborhood. This can be seen as an example of the interference described above
insofar as his opposition will most likely become an obstacle to the proclamation of the Gospel in the community.60
Confusion of the two realms also happens when the church’s zeal to
proclaim the Gospel among the nations in her midst interferes with the government’s responsibility to regulate and enforce immigration laws according
to what is reasonable and just. For example, missionary efforts and mercy
work among immigrants who live in the United States illegally should not,
as a matter of course, avoid dealing with concrete ways to seek legal status
for them. In particular, the Synod’s leaders, workers, and congregations who
identify potential church leaders from immigrant communities for service
in the church should be prepared to do everything in their power to seek
legal status for them (e.g., obtaining or sponsoring a religious worker visa).
Such investment of time, effort, and financial resources can itself be seen as a
testimony to the church’s sacrificial love for the stranger. In the long run, it is
also likely to prevent the invisibility and marginality of immigrant workers in
church and society while at the same time maintaining the church’s ongoing

It should not invade an alien office. It should not set up and depose kings. It should not annul
or disrupt secular law and obedience to political authority. It should not make or prescribe
laws for the secular power concerning secular affairs. For Christ himself said [John 18:36]: ‘My
kingdom is not from this world.’” AC XXVIII, 12-15.
60
Leopoldo A. Sánchez M., “Misión e inmigración: Pedagogía para trabajar entre los inmigrantes,” Missio Apostolica 16/1 (2008): 72, 74.

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A related form of confusion of the two realms would take place if a church
provides an undocumented immigrant with employment and thus a salary
on the grounds that “the laborer deserves his wages” (1 Tim. 3:18). While it
is possible under the spiritual realm for immigrants to volunteer in church
activities—even in duties related to the ministry of the Gospel—without
holding a green card or a special visa that allows them to work in the United
States legally, employment practices are still a matter regulated by the state.
The church as a legal entity must adhere to such laws and regulations in the
temporal realm.
The Lutheran distinction between the two realms or kingdoms also
reminds us that the unity of the church is grounded in and nourished by
the Gospel and the sacraments. This means that such unity neither depends
on nor is determined by a particular position on current immigration law.61
Disagreements among Christians on civil law should not in principle prevent them from sharing in the Lord’s Supper.62 Such disagreements arise in
part from diverse views about the degree to which immigration law—either
in its totality or, more often, in certain aspects—can be considered just and
reasonable. Some Christians feel that they can obey the current law in good
conscience. Others feel that they cannot. While all Christians agree that they,
as a matter of course, must submit to the civil authorities in all things, some
also find that there are certain situations where they believe they cannot do
so “without sin.”63 They recognize that “a command of a political authority”
may at times be set in opposition to a divine command.64 To put it differently,
Christians can acknowledge that at times particular civil legislation may not
be in agreement with the law of God in some respect.
Responses among faithful Christian citizens to such incongruence vary
from voicing one’s concerns through the power of the vote to acting on one’s
conscience through temporary forms of peaceful or nonviolent disobedience.
Beyond dramatizing injustices through public demonstrations, some Christian citizens and residents of the state patiently allow immigrants who are in
the United States illegally but who are not malevolent or an imminent danger
to society to coexist among them until current immigration law can deal more
adequately with the complexity of some particular situations that raise important moral questions. Think, for example, of children who, through no fault
of their own, were brought by their parents to the country illegally, and thus
think of no other nation except the United States as their own. How should

61

Sánchez, “Immigrants Among Us,” 58.

62

Sánchez, “Misión e inmigración,” 72, 74.

63

AC, XVI, 6-7.

64

AC, XVI, 7.

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