Anabaptist Theory Of Christian Government

In John 18, Jesus told his disciples: "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place." Since the beginning of the New Covenant, as introduced by Jesus, a complex dual has risen between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of this world. While believers throughout the ages have taken various positions on different aspects of the two kingdom theory, the issue of government and the Christian’s place in government has become a central part of the Anabaptist tradition.
Purpose of the Government While the role of a Christian in government was debated among the first Anabaptists, the role of government itself was commonly agreed upon. Peter
The majority demanded that instead of serving in office, the Christian’s duty to government was to honour and respect it in all ways possible. Numerous Bible verses supported this common position. For example, Riedeman quoted 1 Peter 2, which states: “Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors.” Riedeman goes on to state that “for whoever resists this [obedience to government], resists the ordinance of God.” One exception to this rule was when a Christian could not follow both government and conscience. In such a situation, “there one must leave their command undone, and obey God rather than
While many, as noted above, did take a strong position against it in the end, I am amazed how many wavered for a while. I wonder if part of the reason that I thought the early Anabaptists would have been unified and bold concerning this issue is because of the general unification amongst Anabaptist’s today about our involvement in government.
Because of the varying and shifting views among the Anabaptists, it is difficult to go to one person to comment on how my views align. In a general sense, though, I agree with the early Anabaptists in that the church and government should stay separate. The government was not designed to handle issues of Christian value. God ordained the church for this to take responsibility in administering.
Concerning a Christian’s role in government, I tend to side with the more conservative minded Anabaptists. I believe that as Christians we are called to a higher calling so we need to be vigilant that we do not become entangled in earthly affairs. Furthermore, how is a Christian supposed to remain true to Christ while being involved in a system that does not follow God’s plan or His