Though the book is seldom read these days, for 1500 years it was one of the most influential works ever penned. Augustine, writing in his native Latin, called it Civitas Dei. We know it in English as The City of God.
Augustine began writing his magnum opus as the dreadful news of the sack of Rome reached him in North Africa. Along with harrowing accounts of rape, pillage, and plunder, came the troubling news that many in Rome—and throughout the Empire—were blaming Christians for this calamity. During his reign, mad Emperor Nero had blamed the great fire that destroyed much of Rome on Christian arsonists. No one claimed this time that the Christians were actively aiding and abetting the enemy; but they did contend that what they termed the Christians’ “atheism” was indirectly responsible for the disaster.
Christians were called “atheists” because they had abandoned the traditional Roman polytheism. Instead of worshiping a host of gods, they pledged their allegiance to the one Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Their refusal to pay homage to other deities, or to burn incense for the Emperor, who was regarded as divine, was construed by their opponents as irreligious and unbelieving—in a word, atheism.
Augustine replied to these charges in The City of God. He argued that Rome did not fall because of the abandonment of its traditional gods. Instead, he argued, the city fell because the Empire failed to recognize the real source of its greatness—the presence of Christians within it. Furthermore, he vindicated Christians of the charge of unbelief, setting forth definitively the case against pagan worship and the case for the worship of Christ.
But Augustine also articulated an understanding of human history that we would do well to remember today. History, he contended, could be understood as a tale of two cities—the city of man and the city of God. Each appeals for allegiance. Indeed, each makes legitimate claims upon its citizens. But only one city has the right to demand absolute obeisance: the city of God.
The city of man—manifest in the form of Empires and nations—contributes in important ways to the welfare and well-being of human beings. Culture is, after all, a means of grace. But the city of man has an agenda ultimately at odds with the city of God. The city of man seeks its own glory; the city of God seeks the glory of God. At its best the city of man regards the temporal good of its citizens. Only the city of God cultivates their eternal good.
It is tempting for Christians to blur the distinctions between these two cities. The better the human government under which we live, the easier it becomes to confuse the two. American Christians, rightly esteeming the system of government left us by our forefathers, must beware of confusing the United States of America with the city of God. Whatever our virtues as a nation—and they are many—we cannot assume that the interests of our country are identical with those of the kingdom of God. While patriotism, generally speaking, is a laudable trait, it can blind us to the fact the purposes of God may be (at times) rather different from those that the nation pursues.
The book of Joshua records a illuminating encounter between Joshua, Moses’ successor, and an angel of the Lord. The people of Israel are preparing to take possession of the Promised Land. It is the eve of the battle of Jericho, and the people have just finished consecrating themselves to the Lord. We read in Joshua 5:13-14: “Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, ‘Are you for us or for our enemies?’ ‘Neither,’ he replied, ‘but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come…’”
Given the fact that the Israelites were God’s chosen people, that’s a startling response. We know from the miraculous conclusion of the ensuing battle that God was not indifferent to the outcome. But the angel’s words remind us that God’s agenda and man’s (however laudable our intentions may be) can’t be assumed to be the same.
Americans should love their country. We owe its leaders honor, respect, revenue, and obedience (Rom. 13). But as we render to our nation its due, we must remember that we owe to God alone absolute allegiance. Our patriotism must always be tempered by the realization that every nation (including our own) is part of the vast and pretentious city of man. Like the great empires that have preceded it—Egypt, Assyria, Persia, Greece, and Rome—America will (if the Lord tarries) take her place among the histories great “has-beens.” America—however noble, however good—is not the city of God. And only that City, whose architect and builder is God, will endure forever.
-- Pastor Andy
