God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life

They are to serve the community well and lead toward justice. For regular citizens, the Lord has called us to humbly submit to the leadership he has placed over us according to the law of the land. However, this does not mean that we follow blindly. Sometimes leaders do not fight for justice. For citizens in free countries it is our responsibility as believers to fight against injustice and seek the wellbeing of our community.

Fourth, he explores our calling in the church. Not everyone is called to be a pastor or church leaders. However, every believer has a way in which they can serve their local church well. Every local church needs people are willing greet people as they walk in the door on Sunday morning, work in the nursery, teach a class, help with administration, lead a small group, or help setup and break down for church plants. But there is also need for encouragers, discernment, and pastoral care. The important thing is not what role you play, but the fact that everyone is need to help the church continue in its mission.

There is nothing less God honoring than an apathetic church. The Lord has called every believer to play an important role without which the local church cannot properly function. God at Work is a highly practical book! I recommend this book to anyone struggling with calling and ways they can serve in their job, family, community, and church. I recommend this book to pastors and church leaders to use as a way to disciple the whole church in the doctrine of vocation.

Everyone in the church will benefit from reading this book. This is an excellent book and one that should be read by any one who would like a better understanding of what God intends them to do. Our should be read by those who are unhappy in their current situation. It is most important to know may have many vocations at the same time. Many of the other reveiws here have outlined key points, which I rehash, but only emphasize. Read this book and share it with those you love.

Nov 27, Seth Mcdevitt rated it liked it Shelves: Aug 26, Matthew Bane rated it really liked it. It also helps everyone understand how to live as a Christian in the ordinary things of life. In a day when many Christians want to focus on what it means to be radical, this book helps us understand that God wants us to focus on the ordinary in our lives.

This book could've been better with a discussion of methodology. Also, the book would be improved if the author would move past Excellent Book on an Important Topic for All Christians This book excels as an explanation of a theology of vocation. Also, the book would be improved if the author would move past thinking of the "purpose" of vocation to its "purposes.

Nevertheless, this book is highly recommended for the topic. Dec 21, Stephen Escalera rated it liked it. In evangelical Christian circles, you might often hear the encouragement to "do everything to the glory of God," an exhortation taken from 1 Cor. But just what this means or how this is to be done more often than not goes unsaid and ends up coming across as a meaningless platitude.

While Christians should indeed pursue the glory of God in everything they do, how to go about doing this can sometimes remain a mystery. In God At Work, Gene Edward Veith seeks to help Christians in understandin In evangelical Christian circles, you might often hear the encouragement to "do everything to the glory of God," an exhortation taken from 1 Cor. In God At Work, Gene Edward Veith seeks to help Christians in understanding what has been called the doctrine of vocation, crediting much of his writing to Gustaf Wingren who in turn wrote on Martin Luther's stance on the doctrine.

It would be safe to say that this book is largely about how Christians interact with their culture and how indeed Christians find the presence of God in the ordinary, everyday activities of life. For example, when we ask God to "give us this day our daily bread," Veith writes sensibly that in meeting this provision, God does not simply rain down bread from heaven, although this certainly isn't impossible as was shown during the Israelites' journey from Egypt.

Rather, God provides our needs by the hand of the farmer who grows the wheat, the baker who put this and other ingredients together to make the bread, and the many other people involved in the process. Or when we are sick and pray for healing, while God may indeed choose to miraculously heal us without any human intervention, the more common method is using the knowledge of physicians to diagnose and treat the illness. Vocation then, according to Veith, is seeing how we and those around us interact with one another through roles God has placed us in and how God is honored when we do so.

Veith rightly and quickly points out that while our relationship to God is not based on how we live out our vocation, our relationship to our neighbors is. He quotes Gustaf Wingren in saying "God does not need our good works, but our neighbor does. Veith provides an excellent discussion on how Christians interact with the culture around them in each of these areas, bringing it back to showing just how this does indeed bring glory to God. Two areas are worth mentioning in detail, one good and one not so good.

God at Work Quotes

First, Veith excellently points out that the work that a Christian does most often will not look any different than the same kind of work a non-Christian does. As he puts it, "There is no distinctly Christian way of being a carpenter or an actor or a musician. Christian and non-Christian factory workers, farmers, lawyers, and bankers do pretty much the same thing.

I can understand that our backgrounds and capabilities physical, mental, etc control our options as well as the desires of others in other words, I can't marry a girl who wants nothing to do with me! The problem is that he then carries this forward to an illogical and incorrect assumption that ALL choices are outside of our control.

This last point aside, however, this is a great book for providing a framework in viewing how we as Christians interact with the world around us. Veith aptly points out that we are not called to be Christians who sit in a monastery, isolating ourselves from the world, but that it is our responsibility to reach out and serve those around us. Oct 23, Jason rated it really liked it. God at Work is a great exposition, very accessible to the general Christian reader, simply on work, or more specifically all the various ways that Christians are called to work in their lives. This is about the doctrine of calling, which perhaps, is initially understood by many as calling by God to exclusive spiritual work, like preaching or some other direct type of church ministry.

Gene Veith is an academic dean at Patrick Henry College, and a frequent writer on the importance of Christians se God at Work is a great exposition, very accessible to the general Christian reader, simply on work, or more specifically all the various ways that Christians are called to work in their lives. Gene Veith is an academic dean at Patrick Henry College, and a frequent writer on the importance of Christians seeing all of life under the Lord of all. Not dividing work into a sacred and secular categories remains near constant struggle for many in the 21st century, and Veith aims to show how calling and purpose relate to anything that the Christian faithfully sets out to do.

Veith states that the motivation for every Christian, in everything he is called to is to reflect the common call that Christ demands in following him. Vocation is a matter of service and love, in everything here. So the Veith insists that way to spiritually determine value in work is can it express service and love to others. In a sense, he sanctifies all sorts of occupations with this general understanding, so that even mundane work, or work that does not appear particularly spiritual can be called up and drawn into the realm of Christ by expressing it with love and service.

Vocation in this book is not limited to ordinary work, but Veith shows how calling applies to family, citizenship and church relationships. In an era of individualism and outward separation from traditional connections, this book is a strong advocate for individuals demonstrating, through actions, that the Christian life is a whole life, one that integrates into all parts, not just a narrowly spiritual side. Other than that, this is a fine book that would be of value for individual or group study, for workers looking for purpose and calling in their careers and those looking to integrate their theology in all of life.

Jun 11, Sarah E rated it it was amazing. And with it, Veith launches into a clear outline of what Luther and others taught about the holy pursuit of Veith covers the vocations of work, citize "Luther said that faith serves God, but works serve our neighbor. Veith covers the vocations of work, citizenship, family and church membership, often using regular-Joe examples related to plumbing or farming or a host of other occupations.

The writing isn't as exciting as, say, an adventure novel, but it's sufficiently on layman's turf that you don't have to have studied Biblical languages or church history to follow what he's saying. I've read Veith's blog, Cranach, for quite some time. Topics there range far and wide, and when you learn what he believes about "vocation," or calling s for what we do with our time and talents, you understand why. For one thing, he thinks it's "in vocation that evangelism can most effectively happen. As someone who has regularly considered selling everything and flying off to the mission field -- but hasn't, at least not yet, in part because my skills are more suited to work in the continental US -- it's refreshing to learn the ways in which my faith is not only compatible, but foundational, to what I do for a living and how I do it.

As Veith explains, my reach for excellence and integrity may look the same as another good worker without that foundation, but at the end of the day a Christian's purpose in doing it is to show love for his - or her - neighbor. Even if I'm in the US heartland, my work can have eternal impact. After all, Veith points out, no one lives in a vacuum, completely capable of filling all his own needs. The farmer must still buy seed, and fertilizer, and equipment. He'll call the plumber, just like I would.

And the plumber, in turn, gets somebody else to help prepare his tax return. We do depend on other people Even overseas missionaries need their friends back home who are good at stuff like writing or computer programming. A short book on the doctrine of vocation.

If you've never done any reading on vocation, this serves as a good introduction. Vocation is not just about work, but also our callings as family members, citizens, or church members. If you've ever been curious about what it means to be a christian employee, american, wife, child, grandparent, etc. Here's an excerpt that I thought summarized the content of the book: What is distinctive about Luther's approach is that instea A short book on the doctrine of vocation.

What is distinctive about Luther's approach is that instead of seeing vocation as a matter of what we should do --what we must do as a Christian worker or a Christian citizen or a Christian parent--Luther emphasizes what God does in and through our vocations. That is to say, for Luther, vocation is not just a matter of Law--though this is a part of vocation that neither Luther nor this book will neglect; rather, above all, vocation is a matter of Gospel, a manifestation of God's action, not our own.

In this sense, vocation is not another burden placed upon us, something else to fail at, but a realm in which we can experience God's love and grace, both in the blessings we receive from others and in the way God is working through us despite our failures. Luther goes so far as to say that vocation is a mask of God. That is, God hides Himself in the workplace, the family, the Church, and the seemingly secular society. To speak of God being hidden is a way of describing His presence, as when a child hiding in the room is there , just not seen.

To realize that the mundane activities that take up most of our lives--going to work, taking the kids to soccer practice, picking up a few things at the store, going to church--are hiding-places for God can be a revelation in itself. Most people seek God in mystical experience, spectacular miracles, and extraordinary acts they have to do. To find Him in vocation brings Him, literally, down to earth, makes us see how close He really is to us, and transfigures everyday life. My personal reason for reading this book was to put my current work status in a Christian perspective.

For the past year, I struggled to find a job that is both enjoyable and worthwhile.

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Gene Edward Veith, Jr. He introduces the definition and history of vocation and how it is referenced in the Bible. With each chapter, he concentrates on a specific area of life — family, citizenship, church, profession — and with Scripture, he explains how we as Christians are called by God to act within our vocation of each area. My eyes were opened as to how many vocations I actually have. I am so focused on finding the right job that I forget I also have a job to be a good daughter, neighbor, citizen, and church member. This book reminded me that when my job or life in general becomes humdrum that I must still carry on, because God is present in even the most simple, mundane things.

I recommend this book to any Christian, because I know all of us can get burnt out in our jobs, family roles, etc. If anything, it will refresh you to go out in the world and do the best for God. Mar 12, Jim B rated it it was amazing Shelves: Vieth makes the point that the emphasis on vocation in the Reformation led to the great social changes that followed. Vocation is not restricted to callings within the church, but to every task in society. For this reason, the Reformation did not confine reading, for example, to reading the Bible, but promoted a "liberal" education -- exposure to the wisdom for all of life in order to "free" root of liberal people to serve their callings in the best way.

Veith points out other good books on vo Vieth makes the point that the emphasis on vocation in the Reformation led to the great social changes that followed. Veith credits Gustaf Wingren's book Luther on Vocation for opening his eyes to the implications of what the Bible says about our vocations. The impact of reading it, he says, was the equivalent of when he first read Mere Christianity.

He admits Wingren's book is a "complex, specialized theological treatise" and "heavy-going for those of us who do not have a theological or pastoral vocation. If you don't have time to read the book now, at least look at the quotes from this book that people have liked. But if you have a family, a career, an interest in politics and government, are a neighbor or are retired, you will find something to see your life differently in this book! Mar 12, Philip rated it really liked it Shelves: In this concise and well-directed book, Veith covers the topic of Christian vocation.

He includes excellent chapters on calling, the purpose of vocation, finding your vocations, the vocation of worker, vocation in the family, vocation as a citizen, and vocation in the church, among other related concepts. Borrowing from the Reformers, and particularly Luther mainly Gustaf Wingren's work, Luther on Vocation , Veith summarizes the doctrine of vocation in layman's terms for very practical understa In this concise and well-directed book, Veith covers the topic of Christian vocation.

God at Work Quotes by Gene Edward Veith Jr.

Borrowing from the Reformers, and particularly Luther mainly Gustaf Wingren's work, Luther on Vocation , Veith summarizes the doctrine of vocation in layman's terms for very practical understanding and application. A few things that stood out as helpful reminders: These providential means are most often other human beings, using their personality, abilities and talents to fulfill their callings and so to serve others.

God works through us despite our failings and sin. Seeing Christ in our neighbor motivates us to serve them. Jul 06, Kelli Christenberry rated it it was ok. That said, I found this book to be well written and clear. He certainly is able to convey the ideas of Wingren and Luther in an understandable way. Because it is a narration of that specific work, the scope of the book is limited to it. The chapters began to be a bit repetitive in content and ideas, probably because of that limitation.

Vocation is the sole topic and is intended to be so. That idea is credited to Luther. Nov 21, Kyle rated it really liked it Shelves: A very interesting and insightful book for our times. In a day an age where everything is focused on the individual, what we can do, what we should do, and the litany of other Franklin Covey ways of managing our lives, this little read presents a perspective which is focused away from the individual to God as our creator and as his creatures, our design.

In the hurry scurry about world we live in, with consumerism the new god, without all the rules, ideas, and the rest about how we should live o A very interesting and insightful book for our times. We rely upon ourselves or on the new idea of the day and age. We will be disappointed or will be excited only for as long as it is new or works for us.

The moment we are disappointed, it or we fail, we abandon that idea and move onto the next new mantra. Instead, this book offers an assurance and a confidence which is never changes or never disappoints. God is not a far off, disassociated, we are on our own God. Instead, he created each and everyone of us, knows our purpose, and the purpose of all his creation. When we live in His creation, we may not have riches, success, or all the pleasures the world offers, but we will have the assurance and confidence of His daily blessings, love, and grace.

I cannot encourage enough, those who are seeking answers about life to give this book a good read. Feb 13, Jennifer rated it liked it Shelves: This is a pretty basic overview of the doctrine of vocation. If you are new to the subject, this would be a great starting point.

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• Looking at contemporary culture from a Christian worldview.

I gave it three stars only because it WAS very basic, repeating much of what I already knew. I think Veith's purpose in writing the book was really to introduce his readers to a book that changed HIS life perspective, so perhaps for many readers it might be more effective to read that original book, titled "Luther on Vocation," by Gustaf Wingren. Luther on Vocation Und This is a pretty basic overview of the doctrine of vocation.

Luther on Vocation Understanding vocation can bring a renewed sense of freedom and hope to a Christian's everyday life. It ties in wholeheartedly with Luther's teachings on the theology of suffering the theology of the cross vs. Taken in together, a study of these core teachings of Martin Luther has opened my eyes to a whole new way of viewing life as a citizen of "two kingdoms.

Aug 11, Joseph McBee rated it really liked it. As a writer, Veith really takes his time to develop his thoughts. Most non-fiction books tend to be information "dumps. Often this causes the author to sacrifice craftmanship for expediency. There is a "slowness" and a polish to Veith's writing. His goal is to communicate the concepts of the book effectively, but he obviously takes his vocation as a writer seriously and so he focuses on the actual craft of writing.

As a result you have a truly excellent book. There is a high view of God's goodness and sovereignty and I appreciated the focus on the holiness of all callings whether it be business man, teacher, trash collector, postal worker, mother and homemaker, or full-time pastor.

If anyone has struggled with whether or not what you are doing in your career "matters" for eternity, then this book is for you. Such a good -and easy to read book. I suspect that one reason Christians capitulated so completely to the new God-forsaken vision of the universe is that, well before modernity, they had lost the understanding that God works through means.

Luther believed that God rules in two kingdoms: His spiritual kingdom, in which He brings sinners into the life of faith, in which He rules in their hearts and equips them for everlasting life; and His earthly kingdom, in which He rules everything that He created that is to say, everything. Just as God works through means in His spiritual kingdom, so the Reformers thought, He also works through means in His earthly kingdom.

God works through the natural laws that He built into creation. He rules the nations, including those who do not know Him, by means of His moral law. And He works in the so-called secular world by means of vocation. That is, He institutes families, work, and organized societies, giving human beings particular parts to play in His vast design. What is permissible in one vocation is not necessarily permissible in another. Rather, we are supposed to call the police. They do have the authority and the vocation to bring criminals to justice, and judges and jailers have the vocation to punish them.

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Other passages in the Bible support the notion that God works through human beings—indeed, that He is hidden in human vocations. As we shall see, each vocation, even the authoritative ones, also entails responsibilities for the well-being and care of those under its charge. The Purpose of Vocation In our vocations, we are not serving God—we are serving other people.

This is the test, the criterion, and the guide for how to live out each and every vocation anyone can be called to: How does my calling serve my neighbor? Who are my neighbors in my particular vocation, and how can I serve them with the love of God?

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But if it is true that we are supposed to be dependent on other people, it is also true that other people are supposed to be dependent on us. This is no passive, lazy, welfare-state dependence, but an active exchange: If the purpose of vocation is to love and serve our neighbors, it is worth asking, for each vocation, the question that the teacher of the Law asked Jesus: The boss is to love and serve the employees, his neighbors who are under his authority. They, in turn, are to love and serve him. Those in authority over others, by virtue of their vocations, are obliged primarily to love and serve those for whom they have responsibility.

This applies to parents, spouses, bosses, pastors, and kings. The mother dressing her baby is clothing Christ. The nursing home attendant is taking care of Christ. Employers and employees, husbands and wives, rulers and subjects, pastors and laypeople, and whoever our neighbors are in our vocations—we are all to see Christ in one another. Finding Your Vocations The Christian doctrine of vocation approaches these issues in a completely different way.

It is something to which we are called. Our vocation is not one single occupation. As has been said, we have callings in different realms—the workplace, yes, but also the family, the society, and the church. Furthermore, a person may hold multiple vocations within each type of vocation. Another aspect of our multiple vocations is that callings change. Though the world has its ways, its status games and career ladders, with good jobs and bad jobs, great wealth and the minimum wage, to the Lord all vocations are equal in status.

Despite what our culture leads us to believe, vocation is not self-chosen. That is to say, we do not choose our vocations. We are called to them. There is a big difference. Finding your vocation, then, has to do, in part, with finding your God-given talents what you can do and your God-given personality what fits the person you are. We are to plan in the here and now, but we can do so in the confidence that the Lord is acting in our lives and in our circumstances, calling us to His purpose. Our calling comes from outside ourselves. Bottom of Form In our earthly vocations we must attend to how God is calling us through other people and through the ordinary circumstances of life.

And we cannot assume that what God is calling us to is exactly what we want, though He has no doubt prepared us to be exactly what He needs for His greater purpose. Not only do we not choose our vocation, but, strictly speaking, we do not find our vocation, as if it is something unknown, awaiting us in the future. Rather, our vocation is already here, where we are and what we are doing right now. Our Christian calling is to be played out in whatever our daily life consists of. This means that vocation is played out not just in extraordinary acts—the great things we will do for the Lord, the great success we envision in our careers someday—but in the realm of the ordinary.

Your Calling as a Worker A Christian and a non-Christian may labor side by side in the same job, and on the surface they are doing exactly the same thing. But work that is done in faith has a different significance than work that is done in unbelief. The doctrine of vocation helps Christians see the ordinary labors. Ruling, subduing, multiplying, causing plants to grow, making things—these are what God does, and yet God gives them as tasks to human beings. But then came the Fall. Then all of their callings, though remaining, were cursed.

This then is the human condition: Work is a blessing; work is a curse. Work can indeed be satisfying, since it is what we were made for, but it can also be frustrating, pointless, and exhausting. Work is a virtue, but it is tainted by sin. Christians have often disagreed about how strictly to observe the Sabbath. Good works, which are primarily done within vocation, are the fruits of faith. Good works are done not for God but for the neighbor. It follows that not every occupation or way of making a living can be a vocation.

Christians are to be in the world, but not of the world. The way this is accomplished is through vocation. Christians are engaged in the world by carrying out their vocations. This is how they can be a positive influence in the culture. Furthermore, it is in vocation that evangelism can most effectively happen. In the workplace, non-Christians and Christians work together and get to know each other.

Occasions for witnessing and inviting a colleague to church come up in natural ways—over the watercooler or during a coffee break, discussing a disaster like the World Trade Center attack or a failing marriage, or in times of joy such as the birth of a child. Christians penetrating their world in vocations have access to more nonbelievers than a pastor does. Each vocation has its own purpose, and it is basically the same for Christians and non-Christians.

The Reformation theologians emphasized the equality of vocations before God. While hierarchies exist in this world, even in our more egalitarian age, which still has bosses, employees, and organizational charts, it is also true that God does not regard them in the same way that we do. Servants or employees are to obey their masters or bosses as if they were working for Christ! Masters are not to threaten those under their authority. They are to remember that they too have a Master.

If they mistreat their servants, they will be held accountable to their Master in heaven. They must realize that they too are under authority, the source of their own, but that He, unlike the social system, shows no partiality. In the workplace, whether on a road crew or in a corporate office, the passage from Ephesians applies as Christians live out their vocations: Subordinates must do their work, as instructed by their superiors.

In doing so, they find themselves serving Christ in serving their boss. Bosses, in turn, must make their employees do the work they are supposed to do, but in the way they treat them, they must remember their own accountability to Christ. Since a particular person may be both a master and a servant at the same time exercising authority over certain subordinates, while answering to the next level of the corporate chart , both injunctions will apply every day. That is the doctrine of vocation. Being a child is a vocation, according to the Reformers, and we will always be the child to our parents.

And it may be that we children, in turn, will be called into marriage—another lifetime relationship—and that we will be called to be parents, with children of our own. All of these are holy, divine vocations from the Lord. Marriage is a vocation from God. This was a major issue in the Reformation, which had to battle the notion that those who wished to be spiritual would have to take a vow of celibacy, promising never to marry or have children. Marshaling the biblical texts on marriage and the family, the Reformers insisted that there is no higher or holier calling than marriage, and that everything that accompanies marriage, including sexual relations, is a gift from God.

That is to say, Christ is hidden in marriage. Not that marriage is a sacrament as such, since even non-Christians get married. Marriage is not a sacrament but a vocation. The purpose of vocation, remember, is to love and serve the neighbor. The point illustrates a principle about vocation that will be further discussed in a later chapter: Something may be good when done inside a vocation, but bad when it is done outside that vocation. Sex outside of marriage is wrong, but not because there is anything wrong with sex. Within the vocation of marriage, it is a great good. Outside the vocation of marriage, though, it is evil.

You are not called to have sex with anyone other than your spouse. You have no authority to have this positive physical relationship with someone you are not married to. There is good reason why there must be a vocation to have sex: By its nature and its purpose, sex leads to another vocation, that of parenthood. Not only do parents—like God—bring the child into existence—they also—like God—sustain the life of the child.

He is hidden in the vocation of the parents. Not everyone is called to be a parent, of course, but everyone has a parent. Being a child is also a holy calling, with a particular work and particular obligations. Even when we are still adults, as long as our parents are living, we are children to them, and this continues as a major part of our family vocation. What children do is part of their calling. Playing, for example, is what children do and, arguably, what they are supposed to do. Learning is part of the calling of childhood.

Everything they do to grow up is part of their vocation, and it is the one vocation that everyone has had. If childhood is a vocation, how is a child to love and serve his neighbor? The answer is, the parents. Vocation is a matter of a person being called to a particular office. The authority, the prerogatives, and the divine presence belong to the office, not to the person who holds it.

There may come a time when their parents become similarly dependent on them. Though the role reversals are traumatic for both sides, repaying their parents and grandparents are all part of the family vocation. The family is the foundational vocation. Other earthly authorities grow out of the authority exercised in the family. Though authority within the family and the other vocations is very real, it is not the purpose of vocation. In a well-functioning family, the parents are loving and serving their children.

The children are loving and serving their parents. The wife loves and serves her husband. The husband loves and serves his wife. By the same token, employers and employees, rulers and subjects, pastors and congregation love and serve each other. Acknowledging authority tends to come as a response to the love and service that have been received. Children will more readily obey parents whom they know love them; citizens will more readily obey rulers who have worked for the good of their people. Your Calling as a Citizen Again, the doctrine of vocation is helpful in sorting out the thorny issues of church and state.

Being a citizen of a particular nation is a divine calling. Christians do have a vocation to be good citizens, in every way that implies. This includes obeying their rulers. In a democratic republic, however, the ultimate rulers are not officeholders but the people who elect them and to whom they are accountable. American Christians thus have the unusual vocation of being subjects and rulers at the same time. Voting, getting involved in politics, agitating for causes, and trying to make their communities the best they can—all of these are part of the calling to be good citizens.

The Reformers spoke of three uses of the Law: The civil use of the Law, then, applies to all cultures, Christian or not. What makes a person a Christian is not holding to a particular set of moral beliefs; rather, it is faith in Jesus Christ, which, indeed, can be imposed on no one. Being Christian is not a matter of behaving rightly; rather, it is a matter of being forgiven for behaving wrongly. Morality, though, is for everyone in every religion and every culture.

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Christians are right to work for social justice, to fight corruption, to defend the unborn, to crusade against pornography and sexual immorality. These are not reli- gious issues as such, but moral issues. Christians in their vocations as citizens should uphold the civil use of the Law. Because they know this law more clearly, since they have not just a fallible conscience but the Word of God, they will tend to be moral activists. This is part of their vocation as Christian citizens.

But they must not confuse their moral activism or political activism with their distinctly Christian spiritual calling to proclaim the Gospel to all nations. God created human beings to live in relationship with others, to form societies and cultures. Human societies also require governments, formal laws, and governing authorities. Filling these offices of earthly authority is indeed a worthy vocation for the Christian, and the rest of us Christian citizens have a distinct biblical calling to obey them. In response, Luther asked whether God is allowed to take a human life or to punish sin.

Luther maintained that it is God, working through the offices of the judge or soldier, who takes life and punishes sin. Christians can indeed occupy these offices, being called to them as divine vocations. So a soldier is loving his neighbor when he protects his country, and a judge is loving his neighbor when he puts a criminal in prison or delivers him over to the executioner another valid vocation.

Romans 13 makes many Christians squirm.