Civic Duty Romans 13:1-7

-Christian love for God and community are expressed through obedience to governing authorities

From the Desk of:

Don Genereaux

Honorable Secretary of Agriculture

Washington, D.C.

Dear Sir,

My friend, Dan Hansen, over at Honey Creek, Iowa, received a check for $1,000.00 from the government for not raising hogs. So I want to go into the "NOT RAISING HOGS" business next year.

What I want to know is, in your opinion, what is the best kind of farm not to raise hogs on? And what is the best breed of hogs not to raise? I want to be sure that I approach this endeavor in keeping with all government policies.

As I see it, the hardest part of the "NOT RAISING HOGS' program is keeping an accurate inventory of how many hogs I haven't raised.

My friend Hansen is very joyful about the future of the business. He has been raising hogs for twenty years or so, and the best he has ever made on them was $422.90 in 1968, until this year when he got your check for the $1000.00 for not raising 50 hogs.

If I get $1000.00 for not raising 50 hogs, then would I get $2000.00 for not raising 100 hogs? I plan to operate on a small scale at first, holding myself to about 4,000 hogs not raised the first year, which would bring in about $80,000.00; then I can afford an airplane.

Now another thing - these hogs I will not raise will not eat 100,000 bushels of corn. I understand that the government also pays people not to raise corn and wheat. Would I qualify for payments for not raising these crops not to feed my hogs I will not be raising?

I want to get started as soon as possible as this seems to be a good time of the year for the "NOT RAISING HOGS" and "NOT PLANTING CROPS" business.

Also I am giving serious consideration to the "NOT MILKING COWS" business and any information you would have on the endeavor would be greatly appreciated.

In view of the fact that I will be totally unemployed, I will be filing for unemployment and food stamps, and was wondering how long that process takes.

Be assured, Mr. Secretary, you will have my vote in the upcoming election.

Patriotically yours,

Don Genereaux

P.S. Would you please notify me when you plan to give out the free cheese again?

I. The Foundation of Civil Obedience v. 1

In the previous passage, Paul invites us to demonstrate the genuine nature of our love

Now, he continues that thought, in a way that few of us would consider an expression of love: obedience to our governing authorities.

There is a question before us: Why should a Christian obey the government?

First, we see that this is a form of submission to God.

Paul’s command is grounded in 3 truths:

The authority of a government is given by God- it is His extension

The institution of government is from the will of God- it is His invention

Every government is ultimately under the authority of God- it is in His hands

750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers and Writers 263: Government

In the early nineties, the leaning Tower of Pisa began to lean too far. Seeing that the 180-foot-high tower would soon become dangerous, engineers designed a system to salvage the twelfth-century landmark by holding the lean constant.

First the engineers injected supercold liquid nitrogen into the ground to freeze it and thereby minimize dangerous ground vibrations during the work that followed. Then they plan to install cables to pull the structure more upright. Engineers hope that the underground cable network will pull the tower toward center by at least an inch.

Left to itself, our world resembles the leaning Tower of Pisa: tilting and heading to catastrophe. To prevent total anarchy, God establishes governments to maintain order. Governments and their laws function like the steel cables that will hold the leaning tower. The tower still leans. It’s not perfect. But the cables prevent total destruction.

II. The Purpose of Governments vv. 2-4

Next we see that government has a two-fold purpose

First, we see that government has an incarnational purpose: It is an appointed representative of the authority of God

Effectively, to disobey the government is a rebellion against His authority

Understand, this does not mean that every government is good

However, they are all a part of God’s intent for governing His people

Second, we see that governments have a moral purpose

They are a terror to bad conduct and they approve good conduct

They help to define and enforce standards that are good for human flourishing

Most especially, the government should punish what is wrong

This leaves us, however, with a question: is there ever a time when a Christian should engage in civil disobedience? Yes!

When we find ourselves at the place where the laws of God intersect with the laws of Man, our consciences must be subject to the higher authority of God

We believe that the children of God are free to serve Him and we have no higher calling than serving Him

When our governments become expressions of misrule and are an abuse of authority, we have every right to pursue justice and good governance

Our relationship with government lives in a tension

There is a great danger from tyranny

However, anarchy is a danger that is equal to or greater than tyranny

Judges 21:25

[25] In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (ESV)

October 7, 1969 the Montreal, Canada police force went on strike. Because of what resulted, the day has been called Black Tuesday. A burglar and a policeman were slain. Forty-nine persons were wounded or injured in rioting. Nine bank holdups were committed, almost a tenth of the total number of holdups the previous year along with 17 robberies at gunpoint. Usually disciplined, peaceful citizens joined the riffraff and went wild, smashing some 1,000 plate glass windows in a stretch of 21 business blocks in the heart of the city, hauling away stereo units, radios, TVs and wearing apparel. While looters stripped windows of valuable merchandise, professional burglars entered stores by doors and made off with truckloads of goods. A smartly dressed man scampered down a street with a fur coat over each arm with no police around, anarchy took over.

III. The Expression of Civil Obedience vv. 5-7

Paul wraps this section with two more important notes:

First, because this subjection is a matter of obedience to God, it must come from the heart

We obey, not only because we want to avoid the wrath of God, but also out of a genuine desire to please God, from the heart

Second, we express this obedience in practical ways:

First, we see this through financial means, the paying of taxes. Where taxes are due, taxes are to be paid

Second, we see this in respect and honor. The attitude of our heart ought to be to honor the governments put in place over us

We are all facing the same questions: What does our attitude towards the governing authorities over us say about our heart towards God?

The Preacher’s Notebook: The Collected Quotes, Illustrations, and Prayers of John Stott Historic Prayers on Behalf of Government

In Tertullian’s “Liber apologeticus” (AD 197): “We Christians … do intercede for all the emperors that their lives may be prolonged, their government be seemed to them, that their families may be preserved in safety, their senates faithful to them, their armies have, their people honest, and that the whole empire may be at peace …” and he quotes 1 Timothy 2:2 as his reason. He goes further and says that only the continuance of Rome’s Empire delays “the great upheaval which hangs over the whole earth.”