City of Man, Kingdom of God: Why Christians Respect, Obey, and Resist Government

(Hardback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

When government overreaches, how are Christians supposed to respond What should we do when governments act outside their God-given scope of authority The Bible commands Christians to submit to government, but what if government restrictions interfere with worship

City of Man, Kingdom of God: Why Christians Respect, Obey, and Resist Government answers these questions by looking first to Scripture, then to church history. Guiding readers through key passages in Genesis, Ecclesiastes, Romans, and the Gospels, Pastor Jesse Johnson traces the broad yet limited scope of authority God has given government. Then he maps out where the Christian's duty to obey begins and ends.

"When government does what is right by protecting rights given by God, then it is owed obedience, submission, and honor," Johnson writes. "But when government violates those rights, Christians are no longer bound to submit to laws that do not serve the purpose for which God made government."

Developing the Puritans' understanding of religious freedom, Johnson shows how Christ followers have reasoned through this tension in past centuries, and he identifies biblical principles for navigating government restrictions in the future.

Author Bio

Jesse Johnson is the dean of The Master's Seminary in Washington, DC. He pastors Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield, Virginia, and is a trustee of The Master's University in Los Angeles, California.

Jesse has degrees from The University of New Mexico (BA in Sociology and Spanish) and The Master's Seminary (MDiv and ThM in theology), and he is a current PhD student at Christ College in Sydney, Australia.

Jesse is the editor of Evangelism in the John Mac-Arthur pastoral library series, published by Thomas Nelson. He teaches theology and evangelism at The Master's Seminary and formerly was a chaplain for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's department.

Jesse and his wife, Deidre, live in the Washington, DC, area with their three children, Madison, Savannah, and Geneva.

You can follow Jesse's writing at thecripplegate.com. Michael T. Hamilton is the founder of Good Comma Editing, which has edited more than five million words for clients leading in liberty, clarity, and conviction, in fulfillment of its mission to help leaders state the most important things clearly. Good Comma Editing's team of biblically and constitutionally fluent editors help pastors shepherd their congregations by deepening and extending the impact of their sermons, through Good Comma's program called Sermon TRANSCENSION: Transcription for 21st-Century Churches. Michael can be reached for editing and publishing consultation through GoodCommaEditing.com.