How a Christian behaves may open doors of opportunity, or it may slam them shut. Although reputation with the world should never come before love and fear of God, the New Testament clearly calls believers to lives of public repute—of humility and obedience that demonstrate the Gospel’s moral beauty and civic value to a watching world. Generally speaking, Scripture teaches that a faithful Christian is also a good neighbor and citizen.
This may seem conformist, especially in a culture that embraces non-Christian values—but the truth is it is usually a countercultural practice to be known and recognized for obedience and goodness. In the first century, for example, Crete was a place notorious for troublemakers, agitators, and insurrectionists—and so when Titus was pastoring there, Paul told him to make sure that those under his care, living in that environment, were different: “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people” (Titus 3:1–2).
We can summarize the life of Christian citizenship that Paul calls us to in three words: loyalty, community, and courtesy.
Loyalty
When Paul says, “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient,” he is reminding Titus that Christians are called to faithful allegiance to the legitimate government of the country.
This allegiance involves a respect for authority, recognizing that the source of that authority is ultimately God Himself (Rom. 13:1). Christians shouldn’t typically be defined by their engagement in civil disobedience. They are not to have attitudes of constant contention and enmity. Rather, they are to be exemplary in upholding the rule of laws that are good and fair.
And you’ll notice that Paul doesn’t say, “Remind them to be submissive when the authorities are people they like. Remind them to bow down before those who are of the same persuasion as them, to those in the same political party.” No, as Peter says, the call is to “be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution” (1 Peter 2:13, emphasis added).
Upon reading that, some may immediately protest, turning in your Bible to Acts 5:29, where Peter tells the governing authority in Jerusalem, “We must obey God rather than men.” Of course God is a higher authority! And God, our highest authority, says that as far as possible, we are to “be submissive to rulers and authorities.” But before we jump to the exception clause, we first ought to ask whether we are living lives of exceptional obedience. In other words: Is our overall lifestyle defined by a proper submission to those God has placed over us?
Community
When Paul teaches that Christians should “be ready for every good work,” he is primarily referring not to individual acts of charity but to the believer’s engagement with the community. Good citizenship demands communal action—and the Christian should be at the forefront of communal action that brings glory to God.
Our ability to obey this command assumes engagement rather than isolation, familiarity rather than estrangement. A city on hill doesn’t remain hidden, and no one hides a lamp under a bushel. The salt must be in the potatoes so that the potatoes are not just a mass of tastelessness. (See Matt. 5:13–16.) Christian citizenship means conscientious engagement that pours the love of God out in the wider community. The good news of Jesus on the Christian’s lips is matched by good deeds of his life in the world.
Church history is full of models for us. William Wilberforce, with his monumental antislavery work, stands out as a man who had good news and so did good deeds. Spurgeon was the “Prince of Preachers” in London, proclaiming the Gospel daily, hourly—and he also built orphanages. Then there are William Booth, Dwight L. Moody, and countless others—men who understood what the Bible said, and then they actually lived it out.
Christian citizenship means conscientious engagement that pours the love of God out in the wider community.
While Crete was marked by notorious badness, Titus wasn’t to teach the believers in his care to opt out of the culture. Instead, he was to teach them the good news of Jesus and then exhort them to the corresponding good deeds—even in the toxic community around them.
Courtesy
Paul further instructs that believers are “to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” This is a superlative instruction—not just courtesy but perfect courtesy, not to some people merely but to all people.
In other words, followers of Jesus are to be characterized by grace, politeness, manners, and respect displayed in their actions and demeanor. To use a somewhat childish word: We are not to be mean. We can’t always prevent the world thinking ill of us on account of the Gospel. But if as we declare God’s truth our tone, our face, or our posture conveys something not in tune with a Gospel of grace, we shouldn’t be surprised when people say, “I don’t want to listen to that. That man is uncooperative. That woman is unkind. They’re an unfair, nasty-looking bunch, difficult to deal with and, frankly, unpleasant.”
The good news of Jesus on the Christian’s lips is matched by good deeds of his life in the world.
The follower of Christ should look at the broken, wicked parts of a world like ours and feel moral outrage. That is undeniable. Yet the humility of being a forgiven sinner ought to bridle our indignation so that we don’t come to our neighbors with a proud, resentful attitude but with “perfect courtesy”—even as we tell them the truth. This is a trait of Christian character that is to be exhibited to “all people,” including those who are most hostile, including those whom we like least.
“Doers of the Word”
As the book of James reminds us, we are to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (1:22). One of the ways this will clearly be on display to the world is our citizenship. Are we people who live out the Gospel of grace in how we submit to our nation’s laws and how we treat our neighbors? Or, having received God’s grace, have we become troublemakers, agitators, and insurrectionists, like so many in the world?
Christian citizenship is not a strategy for worldly acceptance but a response to divine grace. Because we belong to Christ, we behave differently—submitting, serving, and speaking peace where others rebel, retreat, and stir up strife. This is not natural; it is all of grace. And it is only possible as we keep step with the God of all grace.
This article was adapted from the sermon “Doers of the Word” by Alistair Begg.
