Do Christians have dual citizenship in two opposing kingdoms?

No.

Many who claim to be followers of Christ but are really lovers of the world attempt to straddle the fence between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness (this world) but it cannot be done. Stephen Belokur, pastor of Crossroads Church of the Nazarene, uses the following illustration to challenge any idea of a dual citizenship being possible:

Try to imagine this. It is the year 1944 and Germany is at war with England.

Now suppose you have dual citizenship in both Germany and England and you are living in Germany. How will you be treated?

Conversely, suppose you have dual citizenship in both Germany and England and you are living in England during the Blitz; how would you be treated?

In either case, you would be forced to renounce your citizenship in the opposing country and declare your loyalty to the country in which you found yourself in that dreadful time. There would be no middle ground.

They would have never allowed dual citizenship in Germany and England during WWII and we cannot have dual citizenship in this world. We cannot belong to the Kingdom of God by living in Christ AND live in the kingdom of darkness at the same time. They are diametrically and violently opposed to one another!

The spiritual war going on for the hearts of men and women in this world is no less intense than the war that took place between the Axis and the Allies in WWII!

The only difference would be the tactics.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesian Christians, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,” Ephesians 2:19 (NASB).

To the Philippian Christians, Paul wrote, “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior,” Philippians 3:20.

And to the Colossian Christians Paul penned this message, “We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins,” Colossians 1:11-14.

Paul didn’t write that God rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and perched us on a fence between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God where we could live out some kind of dual citizenship. No! He wrote that God “… transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son” where we now hold our citizenship. And Jesus, Himself, would say, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need,” Matthew 6:33.

Are you trying to live with a dual citizenship status? Or do you obey Jesus and seek the kingdom of God above all else?

Scotty