What's a Lutheran? (9) The Two Kingdoms and the Priesthood of All Believers

Lutherans believe that church and state – the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world – have separate and distinct roles and that both are willed by God.  The church witnesses to God’s mercy and compassion for all people, while the state provides order and security and restrains those who would do evil or disrupt the peace of others.  For the church to try to use violence or coercion to enforce the law, or for the state to interfere with the church’s proclamation of the gospel, are both inappropriate confusions of the proper role that God has assigned to each.

As a result, we recognize that every person has a God-given vocation or calling in life.  The call to be a spouse or parent, the call to exercise responsibility in society as voters or government officials, the call to work in an occupation that serves society in some way, the call even to participate in the lawfully and justly exercised coercive power of the state in the police or military, all of these are equally valid and holy vocations as a call to ordained ministry in the church.  The variety of human gifts and roles in society and the church are given by God for the good of all, and all of these gifts are to be celebrated, carefully discerned, and supported by the community of believers.

We therefore reject all attempts to suggest that some callings are more holy than others, that it is more holy to renounce participation in secular society than to live out one’s calling in everyday life, or that some callings bring one closer to God than others.  We are also deeply wary of any identification of any particular political leader or party with Christian faith.  Unhappy experience has taught us that confusing the distinct roles of church and state inevitably corrupts both, and especially corrupts the gospel witness of the church which always transcends any purely political project.