Tomorrow, the nation will be celebrating the 250th anniversary of its founding in 1776. It will be a day of patriotism—wearing red, white, and blue, parades, barbecues, music, fireworks, baseball, political speeches, and other traditional expressions of pride in the United States of America. Except perhaps for a firecracker accident or being hit by a foul ball, all harmless fun, right? (This essay will not deal with concerns about the Sabbath, on which July 4 falls this year.)

Some Christians frown on national patriotism—"affection and vigorous support for one's country"—because of the church's teaching on spiritual citizenship. In Philippians 3:20, the apostle Paul clearly writes that "our citizenship is in heaven." He says later in Colossians 1:13 that the Father "has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love." Jesus Himself explains that, though we are in the world, we are not of it (John 17:14-16; see 15:19; 18:36). The apostle John echoes our Savior's teaching by commanding Christians, "Do not love the world or the things in the world" (I John 2:15).

In addition, some say that patriotism is a form of pride, making it an obvious sin. This argument, however, teeters on a semantic seesaw. The sin of pride can be defined as "having an excessively high opinion of oneself or one's importance." It is placing oneself before God, as Satan did, which is idolatry. However, pride over another's achievements is a kind of deep pleasure, satisfaction, or admiration, which are not sinful except when taken to an extreme. One can legitimately be proud of a daughter who crushes her flute recital or a son who pitches a no-hitter in Little League. In this way, patriotism as admiration for one's country falls in the second, non-sinful category.

Similarly, other anti-patriotism Christians go straight to saying it is rank idolatry, breaking the first commandment, "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3). Of course, this argument can be used against anything practiced in excess. However, many normally permissible activities can slip into idolatry when they become the primary focus of a person's life, displacing God's preeminent place in their priorities. By itself and practiced in a God-honoring manner, patriotism for one's native land is not sinful.

The first-century church faced a similar question. What should a Christian's posture be toward the nations and governments of this world? Most of the earliest converts came from Judaism. How should they respond to the Jewish rulers, especially the office of the high priest? Recall that it was the office of the high priest that sent out the likes of Saul to haul Christians to prison or worse (Acts 9:1-2).

Other early Christians were called out of paganism, but they had to deal with secular rulers, especially those who were officials of the Roman Empire, which dominated the regions where Christianity soon spread. Should they obey the often cruel and oppressive dictates of the emperor or his appointees?

At that time, emperor worship, known as the Imperial Cult, was sometimes brutally enforced. Romans regarded sacrificing to the emperor as a test of loyalty to the state. Refusing to do so was considered impiety toward the empire's gods, thus endangering the empire's welfare by angering those gods. Christians, of course, believe that there is only one God and that to worship another in any way was idolatry, a sacrilege against Him. Yet, in various places around the empire, zealous officials occasionally rounded up Christians as traitors to Rome for refusing to offer sacrifices to the emperor. Those who did not recant and refused to offer the sacrifice faced capital punishment as the penalty for treason.

The apostles, then, needed to expand on Jesus' teaching and instruct church members on what their relationship to human government should be. Jesus had spoken about going the extra mile when forced by a Roman soldier to carry a burden for him (Matthew 5:41), implying compliance with onerous laws, and also about paying taxes to both the Temple and pagan governments (see Matthew 17:24-27; 22:15-22), showing that paying taxes was a duty of citizenship and submission to legal authority. He also submitted to Pilate's authority to crucify Him, giving the ultimate example of submitting to human government (see John 18:28-36).

Both Paul and Peter wrote instructions to their congregations about this subject. Paul famously writes to the Romans, who were right at the heart of the empire, about submitting to government (Romans 13:1-7). He teaches that God had appointed the authorities over them (verse 1) and that they should render to all their due taxes, customs, fear, and honor (verse 7).

The apostle Peter does the same in I Peter 2:13-17, commanding Christians to "submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good" (I Peter 2:13-14). He finishes much as Paul does: "Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king."

The key point from the apostles' instruction is that Christians should not have an adversarial relationship with the governments over them. They are to be model citizens, conforming to its laws and customs in every way as long as those laws and practices do not contradict God's higher laws and way of life. God expects this of us. Peter writes, "For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men" (I Peter 2:15). In other words, the Christian's exemplary conduct would show that true Christianity produced loyal, productive, level-headed citizens, not the traitors and weirdos the ignorant rumors depicted.

In II Corinthians 5:20, Paul gives the principle of being "ambassadors for Christ," which parallels Peter's statement in I Peter 2:15 (see also I John 4:17, "as He is, so are we in this world"). While this concept, coupled with the fact that our citizenship is in heaven, provides Christians with a new and higher identity and allegiance, it does not altogether remove their previous ones. An individual born in America is still an American after he is called and converted. His being a child of God imposes new obligations and restrictions on him, which he must prioritize, but he can still love his native land and want the best for it without contradicting his ultimate loyalty to God.

With His calling, God does not wipe out our natural affections and loyalties. He simply demands that He become first in our minds and hearts. As long as we love God first and foremost, thanking Him for His manifold blessings, we can express our patriotism for the nation and celebrate its achievements without guilt.