Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20). On Citizenship Day, September 17th, 2009, my friend Bolos, along with hundreds of other immigrants in the Denver metro, became a citizen of the United States. Bolos was a Christian pastor in the Sudan who fled Muslim persecution in his country during the civil war. Half his kids were born in a refugee camp in Egypt. They came to the United States as refugees and asylum seekers. Only the youngest child (and only son!), Saul, was born in the United States. Everyone else in their family had to apply for citizenship.
Bolos worked hard at his job driving a limo. He learned English and studied hard for the citizenship exam. He rarely missed church. So I was proud of Bolos when he raised his right hand on Citizenship Day and repeated the Oath of Allegiance that all naturalized citizens must take (and which, quite frankly, might be good for natural-born citizens to take as well):
“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic…; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.”

So help me God! Wow!
Then, having spoken these words, Bolos and the others were sworn in as U.S. citizens with all the same rights, privileges—and responsibilities—that we have. They can vote, serve in the military, and appear in court before a jury of their peers. They have the freedom of speech, freedom of religion and the rights to bear arms, petition our government, and not be subject to unreasonable search and seizure.
As Americans we are proud of our freedoms and rights. Our military personnel have paid dearly with their blood to preserve our Union and protect our freedom. We stand for the National Anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance, because we are proud of our country. When we travel abroad, we take comfort knowing that our U.S. Passport grants us access to all kinds of embassies and consulates if we find ourselves in trouble. The Stars and Stripes are a friendly, welcoming sight wherever we see our flag flying high.
The people of Philippi had a similar pride in their city and country, the Roman Empire. Philippi was a Roman city in ancient Greece, a colony for Army veterans. Rome was a crowded place, the first city in the world to boast more than a million people (Jerusalem, by contrast, only had about 20,000 to 30,000 inhabitants in the early first century). In order to release the pressure of urban sprawl—and keep armed, well-trained veterans away from imperial politics—the Roman Senate gave land grants to disbanded Army units so that they could enjoy a new life in a new place.
These Roman colonies were little outposts of Rome and also ensured that loyal Roman citizens were peppered throughout the Empire in hot zones like Egypt, Gaul (France), Britannia (England), and, of course, Judea. The Roman colonies helped spread Roman law, culture, and rule. They also provided a ready reserve of experienced soldiers who were ready to be called up at a moment’s notice.
Many of the Christians in Philippi were Roman citizens. Of course, some were Greeks. Many were slaves. Others were Jews of the Diaspora. Paul himself was a Roman citizen, a status which he sometimes used to earthly advantage (Acts 21:39; 22:25-29). So also we should not be ashamed or hesitant to exercise our freedoms and enjoy our rights as citizens of the United States. Indeed, Scripture commands us to pray for our leaders and obey the government (1 Tim. 2:1-2; 1 Pet. 2:17; cf. Rom. 13:1-10). Jeremiah told the Jewish exiles in Babylon to invest in their city and raise families (Jer. 29:7-11). “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jer. 29:7).
But ultimately, the Apostle Paul tells us, “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20, ESV). And if our citizenship is in heaven, then what does that say about our allegiance to this world—and the nations of it, including the United States?
The Church has a saying that Christians are “in the world, but not of it.” In other words, we live in this world that God has made, along with all the unbelievers and skeptics. But we don’t belong to this world. “Our citizenship is in heaven.” The hymn we just sang puts it this way: “I’m but a stranger here/Heav’n is my home” (LSB 748:1). This is not just a New Testament idea. Even the Old Testament saints “acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth” (Heb. 11:13). That’s why theologian Stanley Hauerwas calls us resident aliens. As the Letter to the Hebrews says, “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (Heb. 13:14).
This world and the things of it are passing away, and if we are too much tied to the earth, then we will pass away with it. As the people of God, we need to remember that heaven is our home. “Our citizenship is in heaven.” And so our ultimate allegiance is not to our country, political party, favorite sports team, or even to our family. First and foremost in our hearts and minds is the Lord Jesus Christ and his kingdom. Indeed, we wait for our Savior Jesus to return from heaven someday and gather his Church to go home (Phil. 3:20b).
Until then, as we live and work and serve in this world, we have to be careful about having too many attachments and misplaced allegiances. Christians must talk, act, think, and live differently than our non-Christian neighbors. We must be more kind and loving, more faithful and honest, less selfish, and more self-sacrificing than those around us. Indeed St. Paul urges us to imitate him and his manner of life, even as he patterns his life after the example of Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:17; cf. 1 Cor. 11:1). We don’t want to live like our pagan neighbors who are concerned only with this world and enjoy indulging the sins of the flesh. “Their end is destruction,” Paul warns. “Their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things” (Phil. 3:19). So they are doomed to destruction. And without faith in Christ, they will perish without entry into heaven or the world to come thereafter.
“But our citizenship is in heaven,” Paul writes, “and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself” (Phil. 3:20-21). All this is the doing of Christ. We cannot buy our citizenship in heaven. We cannot earn it by working hard and doing good works. We cannot even be born into it. In fact, you must be born again (John 3:3-5). Our citizenship is given to us through Baptism and the preaching of the Word, when we first hear and believe the Good News.
Jesus is our Savior, the one who saves us from our sins and rescues us from this fallen world. And when he comes, all will be well for the people of God, the citizens of heaven. You will not need a passport to enter the new heaven and the new earth. You need only faith in Christ, the wonderful gift of grace, which is given to you. The Apostles’ Creed and not the Pledge of Allegiance is what matters for eternity. We are Americans for this life only; but we are Christians for eternal life.
Our citizenship is in heaven. We are strangers and aliens on this earth. And because we are in the world, but not of it, the world will hate us and mock us and kill us. They call us bigoted, intolerant, or just foolish, for believing in Christ and his Word. They oppose all godliness. They live only for food, money, sex, power, and entertainment. We live and long for something greater, for Someone greater, the Lord Jesus Christ. So we must keep our focus on the home that waits for us and the hope of the resurrection on the Last Day.
Jesus was a stranger and exile too. He gave up his home in heaven to come down to earth in human flesh and live among us—and die for us—to be our Savior. At his trial, Jesus was asked, “Where do you come from?” (John 19:9). But Jesus did not answer. His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). And neither are we. “Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved” (Phil. 4:1). In the name of the Father and of the Son and of + the Holy Spirit. Amen.