GOD & GOVERNMENT
God’s Invitation to Grace ❧ Part 58
Romans 13:1-7 ❧ Pastor, Dr. John Denney
I want to begin this morning by taking us back in time. Imagine for a moment with me it’s the year 1760. For generations your family has lived in England but recently made the long voyage across the Atlantic to what many are calling New England, the newly formed American colonies to start a new life. You’re a proud and loyal citizen of Great Britain, always have been, though you don’t always agree with King George’s policies. Not long after your arrival you begin hearing talk of a revolution, but it is nothing you want to get wrapped up in. The everyday demands of work and family are more than enough to fill your plate. As time goes on though it is becoming more and more difficult to make a living. King George’s taxes are consuming the colonies like a plague of devouring locusts eating up everything in their path. And the only one benefiting is the king. Frustration, irritation, concern fill your thoughts as well as most of your conversations. Sleep escapes you and worry hounds your every waking moment. You’re still a loyal subject of the crown, or at least you want to be, but you are beginning to severely question the intentions of the king. The leaders of the American colonies have done everything in their power to peacefully resolve the growing injustices of the crown, but nothing has succeeded. The reality of a revolution is unavoidable. You must now choose where your loyalties lie. On the one hand you want to be a loyal citizen of your native land, but on the other, you can no longer tolerate the tyrannical injustices of the government. What do you do?
Speed forward now to 1857. The U.S. Supreme Court has just rendered their ruling regarding the Dred Scott v. Sanford case. The court has formally decided that Black people are mere property and could be owned and sold like chattel. You’re shocked beyond belief. Based on God’s Word and your conscience, you know this is an outrageous and evil decision. What do you do? Do you wait patiently and pray the Supreme Court will reverse its foolish decision knowing full well this leaves millions of human beings made in the image of God unjustly shackled in slavery? What do you do?
Now, race forward to the year 1939. You’re a German Christian living in Berlin. A young dictator by the name of Adolf Hitler has recently risen to power. His plans to bring Germany out of a long economic slump sound promising. His influence among the masses, especially the young, is breathtaking. For reasons you don’t fully understand, the Jews, many of which are your friends and acquaintances, are being forced to wear a gold Star of David. Many begin disappearing without explanation. Senseless violence and hostility are spreading like a raging fire that is out of control across your homeland. With each passing day there is a growing pressure to choose your loyalty. You know what is taking place is horribly wrong. One day you see train cars excessively filled with Jews passing by. Their faces are filled with utter terror and helplessness. What do you do? You know this is wrong both in your conscience and according to God’s Word. What do you do?
Sadly, history is chalked full of high-pressure scenarios like these where believers are forced to choose whether to obey God or obey government. There is no middle-of-the-fence position. And perhaps even more sadly, we find ourselves on the verge of repeating history once again in America. The ideological tensions between maintaining our tried-and-true God-given Judeo-Christian values as a nation or jettisoning God and those values altogether have placed our nation in a very precarious position. What should we do as followers of Christ? Do we stand against a government that has rejected God or do we go along with it and obey its tyrannical demands?
It’d be nice to say believers are all on the same page on this issue, but they’re not. History has shown us there are those who tuck their heads in their shells like a turtle and hope it will all pass quickly and everything will be restored to normal. They are silent pacifists. They believe the Bible commands we’re to quietly obey the whatever government we live in. Others disagree and are not silent. But they are lone rangers, defiantly independent – even from other believers. The Apostle Paul points us to a third option, one that is neither silent nor selfish. One that is, dare I say, sacrificial.
Turn with me to Romans 13. By now you know Romans 1-11 are all about what we’re to believe as followers of Christ. Romans 12-16 are all about how we’re to behave as followers of Christ. In chapter 12 Paul showed us how we’re to apply God’s love in four different relationships: 1) to God V.v. 1-2 (present our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to God in light of all He’s done for us in Christ) , 2) to ourselves V.v. 3-8 (our gifts and abilities), 3) to others 9-16 (fellow believers), and 4) to our enemies V.v. 17-21. Now, in chapter 13 he addresses how we’re to apply God’s love in our relationship with the government. Read Romans 13:1-7, NAS.
Before we begin, I want to point out what this passage does NOT say before we look at what it DOES say. It does not specifically say what we ought to do when a government misuses its God-given authority. On the other hand, it does not say that we’re to do nothing. People on both sides of the isle have tried to make this passage say more than it does. We need the rest of Scripture to fill in the blanks where Paul is silent. What does this passage say? Three things: 1) Every government derives its authority from God. 2) Every government is accountable to God to promote and maintain justice. And 3) Every government should see Christ in the attitude of believers.
- Every government’s authority comes from God. For there is no authority except from God, and
those which exist are established by God (Romans 13:1b). Paul begins first by giving a universal command that everyone is to submit to governing authorities. Some have firmly held that this passage is not speaking about earthly authorities, but heavenly. There are a number of problems with this view. The major one is that if this view is true, we are to pay taxes to them! It is very clear that Paul has in mind earthly authorities.
Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. Why? Because their authority comes from God. This does not mean that the Herods, and Neros of the NT and the Hitlers, Stalins, and Putins are personally appointed by God, or that God is responsible for their behavior, or that their authority is not to be resisted. But that they receive their authority to rule from God. Jesus said to Pilate during His trial before Pilate, You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above (Jn. 19:11). Pilate misused his God-given authority, but it still came from God.
Notice, Paul doesn’t say what form of government we are to submit to. He just says government. There are many forms of government, some better, some worse, none are perfect. Aren’t you glad the Bible does not say, “You have to be a Democrat”? Or, “You have to be a Republican” ?
Throughout history Christians have lived in many forms of government. When Paul wrote this, he lived in a government that was less than friendly towards Christians. It was the Roman government that would later behead Paul, and according to tradition crucify Peter. But Paul never changed his stance on it.
Are we then to always obey those in authority over us? No. We are to obey the law wherever possible. When authorities told Peter and John to not share about Jesus with others, they said: We must obey God rather than men!(Acts 5:29). Whenever and employer, a husband or a wife, the government, the military asks you to do what you know is in direct violation of God’s law, then you have a higher responsibility obey God. I want you to notice Peter and John disobeyed in order to show their obedience to God, not their defiance toward those in authority. Sometimes we may have to make moral choices that are unpopular and maybe even illegal if the law is in direct contradiction to what God has said.
- Every government is accountable to God to promote and maintain justice. For rulers are not
a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good(Romans 13:3-4a). Paul is speaking in general terms here. Most governments and government officials are set in place for the benefit of the people. That’s what Paul has in mind: it is a minister of God to you for good. The Roman government had great laws, but they were not always kept by those in authority. Paul knew this from experience when he penned these words.
On Paul’s second missionary journey (Acts 16) he and Silas were publicly stripped and beaten, then thrown into prison. You may be familiar with the events that followed; they are amazing in themselves. But what I want you to notice is Paul’s response to the authorities after they realized they’d made a mistake by illegally beating two Roman citizens. They asked Paul and Silas to quietly leave the city, but Paul would have none of it. Listen to what he says,They have beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out(Acts 16:37). When the authorities heard this, they were terrified. If Rome heard of their abuse of the law, they knew they’d be in hot water. Paul was holding their toes to the fire of accountability. They did what Paul asked them to do and you never hear about it again in a negative way from Paul. Paul’s point was not to show disrespect for their authority, but to hold them accountable for what was right.
The point is we should influence our government for good. While I was I grad school I worked for a time at UPS. It was during the holiday season and our hub manager asked each of us to make a financial donation to an organization that I knew advocated abortion. For years the hub manager had had a hundred percent participation from his crew in giving. That was until I came along. I knew in my conscience I could not give. I wasn’t opposed to giving a donation, as long as it was a charity of my own choosing. He would have none of it. The good news was I didn’t lose my job, but I can tell you he wasn’t my best friend after that! God put me in a position where I had a choice to make – silently promote the evil abortion or speak up and hold my employer accountable for what is right.
While Martin Luther King Jr. was in the Birmingham Jail for peacefully demonstrating against racism, he penned on a few scraps of paper what would later become known as his infamous Birmingham Letter. In it he wrote these words that have long been etched on my mind, Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Jesus said it this way, You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men (Matthew 5:13). One of the main functions of salt is to prevent decay and rot. That’s what God has called us to do in the world – be a preservative of good. Preventing injustice from going unaccounted.
This is especially true in light of what Paul says next in verse 4: But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.God has given the government the power of to take human life when that person has committed an evil worthy of death. The sword is a symbol of capital punishment and meant to be a deterrent to crime. I’ve read that some say capital punishment is not a deterrent to crime. That sounds odd because I’ve never heard of one person who received capital punishment that committed a crime afterwards. If that is not a deterrent, I don’t know what is. One of the purposes of government is to protect human life. In order to do that, God has given the government authority over life and death.
- Every government should see Christ in the attitude of believers. Render to all what is due
them: tax (tribute to persons) to whom tax is due; custom (custom for goods) to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor(Romans 13:7). Paul is simply saying, we need to give what we owe. I know, paying taxes can be downright frustrating. It’s not the paying part that bothers me. We enjoy the benefits of our taxes in many ways – highways, (unless you live in N. Idaho), law enforcement, sewer systems, and so on. It doesn’t take but a brief visit to another country to see how blessed we are. When I was traveling through the Baltic States we stopped at a “public” restroom. The experience gave me a whole new appreciation for America! Jesus put this in perspective for us when He said Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s (Mark 12:17). How we obey shows our level of commitment to God.
A man once sent a letter to the IRS: I’ve had a guilty conscience because a year ago I cheated on my taxes. I haven’t been able to sleep for a year. I’m enclosing $100. PS If, after this, I still can’t sleep, I’ll send you the rest. The bottom line is we’re to pay our taxes. Jesus did.
Notice Paul says Render to all what is due them… whether taxes, fear (respect), or honor. Paul is saying believers are not simply to be good citizens, but the best citizens. As such, we may not respect the person, but we’re to respect the position.
We all have people in authority over us who we do not like or respect. But that doesn’t mean we thumb our nose at them in disrespect or rebellion – though I’ve been tempted! Paul tells us we’re to render to all what is due them. This lesson came home to me while I was in the Naval CB’s. Each morning at 0700 we had role call. Boots spit shined s you could see your reflection in them, shirts carefully ironed with razor sharp creeses, gig-lines perfectly aligned, eyes firmly fixed strait ahead. We stood at attention each morning like that for inspection. One morning while our commanding officer was doing his routine inspection; carefully eyeing every detail of our uniforms, I noticed he did not seem okay. Then suddenly the nauseous smell of old alcohol combined with a bad case of halitosis suddenly filled the air. At that moment my respect for my CO left me like the air escaping a popped balloon. Still, I knew to treat him with respect even though he showed up drunk. Why? I knew to respect the position God had given him.
So what is Paul telling us? What should our attitude toward the government be like? We’re to obey those laws that don’t conflict with God’s. If you want to bring change, be an influence for good – then speak up, get involved in such a way to help the government be accountable to maintain justice and peace. Paul is not saying we should never resist. But we’re to do all that is possible to be at peace.
