THE CITY OF MAN AND THE CITY OF GOD
THE FALL OF ROME left the Christians of the Roman Empire feeling disillusioned and devastated. During this time of great suffering and confusion, God raised up a man from North Africa named Augustine (354–430). His Latin name was Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis. Augustine disliked the name Aurelius because it was the name of a Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius. So he chose to be known as Augustinus Hipponensis—Augustine of Hippo.
During Augustine’s early years, his mother, Monica, had one passion in her heart: that her beloved son would follow Jesus as his Lord and Savior. She prayed for him day after day—and she is an example to all of us godly parents and grandparents: don’t ever give up praying for your children and grandchildren, no matter how far they have strayed.
Augustine was in North Africa in AD 354 and spent his early years in Milan, Italy. There he lived a wild and hedonistic life. Yet God abundantly answered Monica’s prayers for her wayward son. Augustine experienced a dramatic conversion in 386, at the age of thirty-one. His mother had prayed fervently for him for more than three decades.
Around the year 400, fourteen years after his conversion, Augustine wrote and published his Confessions—his Christian testimony. In the thirteen chapters of that book, he explained how the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, through faith alone, could save and redeem sinners like himself. On the first page of his Confessions, Augustine addressed God, saying, “You have formed us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.”1
After his conversion to Christ, Augustine was baptized and placed himself under the tutelage of Ambrose, the godly bishop of Milan. Augustine delved deeply into the Scriptures—and there he discovered a profound truth: salvation is by grace through faith alone. That, of course, is the same world-changing insight that, more than a thousand years later, would transform the thinking of a monk named Martin Luther, who would become one of the founders of the Protestant Reformation.
In 388, Augustine moved to Hippo Regius (where the city of Annaba, Algeria, stands today), and in 395, he was made bishop of that city. There he became a famous preacher, striving against the false doctrines of the Manichaean cult.
Then, in 410, news of the sack of Rome came to Augustine. Just as the Babylonian captivity led the people of Israel to rediscover the Word of God, and just as the abuses and injustices of the Dark Ages would later lead the Reformers to rediscover the Word of God, so the fall of Rome led Augustine to a rediscovery and reaffirmation of the authority of God’s Word.
Augustine saw the suffering and bewilderment of the Christian community in Rome. He wanted to console and encourage the believers, and refute the claim that the sack of Rome was the revenge of the pagan gods against the Christianized Roman Empire. So he picked up his pen again and began writing.
TWO CITIES
In his book The City of God, Augustine argued that there are two cities in opposition to each other—the heavenly City of God and the earthly City of Man. Augustine wanted believers to know that the City of God would ultimately triumph.
The City of God, he said, is made up of all those who love God and want to serve Him faithfully. It is made up of all people who dedicate themselves to living out the eternal truths of God’s Word. The City of Man, by contrast, consists of those who chase the pleasures and priorities of this dying world.
These two cities are at war with each other. They come from different origins. They are progressing along separate paths. They have radically different destinies.
But here is an all-important truth about these two cities that we must clearly understand: We who are citizens of the City of God must, at least for now, live as sojourners in the City of Man. We are of the City of God, yet we are in the City of Man.
Augustine wrote The City of God to help us understand how we ought to live as God’s people in the City of Man. We must live in the City of Man without being tainted by its philosophies or stained by its sins. We must not only survive in the City of Man, but we must thrive here, so that we can proclaim the good news and attract people to the City of God.
One of the great illusions the City of Man clings to is that the City of Man can become the City of God. There is a mind-set in the City of Man that says human beings are perfectible through education, through indoctrination, through political initiatives and social programs. This view holds that if we provide the right cultural environment, we can perfect the human race and bring about a utopia—a humanly designed, completely secular “City of God.”
But the City of Man can never become the City of God. The human race is not perfectible by education or politics or social engineering. The human race, though created in the image of God, has been broken and bent by sin. There is no human agency that can repair or perfect humanity.
Only the good news of Jesus Christ can move a human being from bondage in the City of Man to salvation in the City of God.
THE BOOKENDS OF THE BIBLE
When you read through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, you are struck by its consistency. There are certain themes that echo and re-echo down through its pages, from the Old Testament to the New.
The Bible begins with a wedding in the City of God, in a paradise called the Garden of Eden. In that wedding, God joins together a man and woman, and the man says, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” And the Bible adds, “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Genesis 2:23–24).
And how does the Bible end? With a wedding in the City of God, in a paradise called the New Jerusalem. It is the wedding supper of the Lamb, a symbolic wedding between the Bridegroom, Jesus, and His bride, the church (Revelation 19:6–9).
The Bible begins with Adam and Eve as vice-regents—rulers over creation under the authority of God the Creator. The Bible ends with the redeemed saints reigning as vice-regents with Jesus in the new creation. The Bible begins with a scene of peace, tranquillity, and joy in the City of God, and it ends with even greater peace, tranquillity, and joy in the City of God.
Between the beginning and the end of the Bible, we see story after story of men and women who are citizens of the City of God, yet they live faithfully and fruitfully in the City of Man. The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to the world—a world that hates God and rebels against His plan. That’s why the systems and leaders of this world want to remove God’s Word from the public square, from our schools, and from our media.
The Bible begins with the City of God (Eden) and ends with the City of God (the New Jerusalem). But between the beginning and the end is the story of the city where we now live—the City of Man. And that city is a battlefield.
IN THE CITY OF MAN, BUT NOT OF IT
As Christians, we are not of the City of Man, but we are in it. We are engaged in a good fight against our implacable enemy, Satan. We struggle against the corrupting influence of the world. We struggle against the temptations of our own flesh. This struggle will not end until we reach our eternal home, the City of God.
Like Eve, we often question God’s intentions and His Word. We say, “We’re not sure what God really said. We’re not sure what God really meant. We’re not sure if what He said is relevant for us today.” Some even say, “We know what God said, but we can’t help our urges. We choose to live according to our feelings and desires, not God’s commandments.” Our disobedience produces the inevitable consequences: God must cast us out of the City of God and hand us over to the City of Man. He must send us into exile, in order to bring us back to our senses and call us to repentance.
The first City of God, the Garden of Eden, was created by God in perfection and beauty. It provided everything human beings needed for a utopian life, including delightful food and secure protection. Yet Adam and Eve found themselves evicted from Eden, cast out into the City of Man, because they wanted independence from God. They did not want to submit to God’s loving, sheltering authority.
This tragedy has played out countless times throughout human history. God provided for His people in the City of God—but they chose self-will over God’s will and were cast out into the cold and cruel City of Man. After their expulsion from the City of God, they lived lives of suffering, sorrow, and regret. In our fallenness and willfulness, we repeatedly choose the reeking, smoldering garbage dump of the City of Man over the beauty and splendor of the City of God.
We know the consequences of sin, yet we glare at God in defiance and bite down on the forbidden fruit. The Bible tells us that the pleasures of sin are fleeting (Hebrews 11:25). We know it’s true. Yet we willingly choose the fleeting pleasures of sin, fully aware that the consequences of our sin may haunt us for a lifetime.
I have talked to a number of high school graduates who told me they couldn’t wait to get away from home and be out on their own. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s normal and healthy for young people to seek the independence of adulthood. But many of these same young people, when they confront a major problem in life, can’t wait to hurry home, back to the safe and secure arms of Mom and Dad.
There is an analogy here to the human being who seeks to be independent from God. We may think it’s great fun to ignore God and His law, to indulge every selfish desire, to live as if there were no consequences. Then one day, disaster strikes—and we cry out to God, “Lord, rescue me! Make me safe and secure once more!”
God will always love us, accept us, forgive us, and restore us—but He won’t always erase the consequences of our sinful choices. When we refuse to live by God’s law, when we choose to live by our own selfish desires, we move ourselves outside the protective walls of the City of God—and we take up residence in the dangerous slums of the City of Man.
Sin is pleasurable for a moment—but a moment of drunkenness can leave you paralyzed for life. Sin is pleasurable for a moment—but a moment of getting high may condemn you to a lifelong addiction. Sin is pleasurable for a moment—but a moment of sexual indulgence could destroy your marriage or give you AIDS. Sin is pleasurable for a moment—but a moment of pleasure could end your life and condemn you to eternal destruction.
The first City of God, the Garden of Eden, was a paradise of God’s endless provision. God gave Adam and Eve purposeful work to do. They tended the garden that produced the food they ate. The people of the City of God view their work differently from the rest of humanity, as Paul explains: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart.… It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23–24).
Unbelievers tend to resent their work. That’s why many of them are clock watchers and goof-offs. That’s why some of them steal from their employers and pad their expense accounts. A lazy, dishonest worker is fit only for the City of Man. Such people have a sense of entitlement and no sense of responsibility.
When you work for the glory of God, you can’t wait to go to work. You don’t see work as drudgery. It’s a privilege and a ministry. All day long, your work brings you face-to-face with people who live in quiet desperation in the City of Man. You can display to them the joy of knowing Jesus. The light of the Lord Jesus can shine through your life, even when you are not witnessing with words.
Even if your job involves picking up trash or crawling under buildings or performing some other unpleasant task, you can honor God with your labor. You can bless others with your attitude of joy. You can know that your work is purposeful and meaningful, because you touch many lives throughout your workday.
Honest work creates wealth and blessing for you, your family, and your society. So the work you perform is much like the work Adam and Eve performed in the first City of God. You can take pleasure and pride in your work, knowing that God takes pleasure and pride in you.
When Adam and Eve were in harmony with God, they were in harmony with each other. When they were in harmony with God, they were in harmony with their environment. That’s what made the Garden of Eden a paradise.
What was true of Adam and Eve is true in my own life. When I am not in harmony with God, when I have un-confessed sin in my life, I am not in harmony with myself or others. No matter where I physically live, when I am in harmony with God, I’m in paradise—I’m in the City of God. I experience God’s provision and protection.
The Bible describes the coming City of God, the New Jerusalem, as a city enclosed by walls of protection. The first City of God sheltered Adam and Eve in much the same way. God provided for Adam and Eve and protected them in the Garden. When they chose rebellion and self-will, they removed themselves from the protective walls of the City of God. They made themselves vulnerable to danger and death.
When you live according to God’s will and God’s Word, you are surrounded by the City of God wherever you go. You may be in the City of Man, but you are not of the City of Man. You are of the City of God.
TRUE SAFETY
I have traveled to places that are considered dangerous, places where there is political unrest or crime or terrorist activity. While I was preparing to depart, my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ have said to me, “Oh, Pastor, are you sure you should go? Please be careful. Stay safe. Don’t take any chances. We will be praying day and night for your safety.”
I appreciate the loving concern of these brothers and sisters more than I can say. But let me tell you something: I am safer in the middle of a battlefield when I’m in the will of God than I am in my own bedroom when I’m outside the will of God.
The same is true for every believer. If it’s safety and protection you want, make sure you are walking in the will of God. Make sure the City of God surrounds you wherever you go.
Over the years, many people have asked a good question: Why did God plant the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in that perfect place? Why was that tree planted in the Garden of Eden, where Satan might use it as an object of temptation?
I can answer that question: The tree was there to remind Adam and Eve that they were not their own. It was there to remind them that they were God’s own possession. The tree was there to remind them that they were accountable to God and that they could not escape judgment for the moral choices they made.
The tree was not placed there by accident. God deliberately placed that tree in the Garden of Eden. And there in that Garden, the first man, Adam, met temptation—and he was defeated by sin.
But thousands of years later, there was another garden—the Garden of Gethsemane. In the Garden of Eden, Adam fell and we all fell with him (Romans 5:12). In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was victorious, and all who belong to Him are victorious as well. In the Garden of Eden, the disobedience of one man caused sin to infect all of humanity. But in the Garden of Gethsemane, the obedience of one Man produced the antidote for sin.
In the Garden of Eden, Adam experienced death as a consequence of his rebellion. But in the Garden of Gethsemane, we all experience life—eternal life—by grace through faith. One tree in Eden defeated Adam, and another tree, the cross of Christ, defeated sin and Satan. One tree brought the knowledge of evil, but the other tree gave us power over evil, power over temptation, power over death, the power of salvation.
So the question is, which tree do you look to? The tree by which humanity was tempted and fell? Or the tree by which God gave us eternal life? Do you belong to the City of God—or to the City of Man?
WHICH CITY WILL YOU CHOOSE?
From biblical times to the present day, we have always had a choice between two competing ways of life, two civilizations: the City of God or the City of Man. One choice leads to blessing; the other brings a curse. Those who make the rebellious and self-destructive choice will reap the harvest of that choice.
Adam and Eve chose—and they were exiled from the Garden of Eden. The nation of Israel chose—and the people were exiled from the land of promise. We in the church today are making our choice. What harvest will we reap?
The door of repentance, the door of blessing, still stands open—at least for a while. The church can still return to the purity of God’s truth. And if the church would be faithful to the Word of God, if we would stop adulterating His Word with the philosophies and false religions of this dying culture, we might yet see the rise of a New Reformation instead of a descent into another Dark Age.
For now, we all must live in the City of Man—but we don’t have to belong to it. Our citizenship, if we know Jesus as Lord and Savior, is in the City of God. Only the cross of Jesus Christ, who shed His blood for us, can bring us a life of purpose. Only the cross of Jesus Christ can give us hope in a world of hopelessness, light in a world of darkness, joy in a world of sorrow, peace in a world of turmoil, and confidence in a world of terror.
That is why we must choose to belong to the City of God. That is why we must choose to follow God and live according to His will. We can walk the dark and dangerous streets of the City of Man with our heads held high. If we belong to Jesus and He is our security, we do not fear the threats of the barbarians.
We are citizens of the City of God.