Subjects and Citizens: The politics of the gospel (Lessons from Romans 12–15)

Michael writes to help Christian rediscover “a truly Christ-centred vision for human politics”. The heart of that vision is based around a careful study of Romans 12-15, calling Christians to be who they are as the church: “subjects of the Lord Jesus and citizens of the kingdom of heaven”. The aim is that this perspective will help Christians to navigate the alienation and anxiety that dominate contemporary debates, providing a fresh way to think about contemporary politics.

Michael distinguishes ‘Politics 1.0’, the politics of this world (where temporary, earthly kingdoms exist within the present age), from ‘Politics 2.0’, “where Jesus Christ reigns in the Kingdom of God” (which exists here and now within the church, but will continue into the world to come when Christ returns). The book argues that ‘Politics 1.0’ has its place, but also its limitations.

‘Politics 2.0’, meanwhile, is distinguished by three points (drawn from Romans 12-15):

• Jesus is Lord; no other ruler is Lord
• Worshipping Jesus is a political statement because he is Lord
• Jesus is a crucified Lord who rules his kingdom by humble service.

The book calls on Christians to rethink what politics is: it is not wrong to be involved in the ‘party politics’ of this world, but this kind of politics has its limits. Our focus should be on ‘Politics 2.0’—namely, “living together as the people of God as we worship and revere Jesus Christ as Lord, and call others to join us”.