2 Kingdoms: A Crucial Biblical Duality

As I anticipate the release of my book Faith That Sees Through The Culture (June 13th by Concordia Publishing House), I am reminded of just how important the two kingdom biblical teaching is. When Luther expanded on the Kingdom of the Left, he did not reduce it to government. This is a monumental point. We are in error if we assume that the two kingdoms -- the left hand kingdom of power and the right hand kingdom of grace -- are synonymous with the current use of "church and state." "Church and state" talk is reductionistic and misses the fuller realms of kingdoms. Too often when we are confronted by senseless and horrific violence, the knee-jerk answer centers upon government. "If only the government would do x, instead of y, then utopia would ensue." When Luther expounded on the Left-Hand kingdom, it always included the family. In fact, the family outranks government when it comes to this kingdom. Consider this Scripture that finds fulfillment, not so much in a village, government, or even from pastors, but is fundamentally from parents to their children: "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6)." If we are going to live in the biblical dualities and at the same time have a faith that is clear with both lenses fully functional (both kingdoms in this case), then we will strive to defend and nourish the family. Nothing provides stability and strength to a society like the family. Nothing -- in the Left Hand kingdom that includes government -- comes close to the importance of the family. Soli Deo Gloria!