Submission and Rule in Obedience to God

Introduction

Please turn with me in your Bibles to the Book of Romans. We are going to be looking at Romans 13:1-7 this morning.

One of the Baptist Distinctives that we hold to as a church is that we believe in the “Separation of Church and State.”

We’re very familiar with this phrase, but it means different things to different people.

To evangelical Christians, and particularly to Baptists, it means that we do not believe that there should be a state church, or a state sponsored church.

Separation of church and state historically ensured that:

the church as an institution does not hold power to legislate or enforce the law,

but it also ensures that the state will not dictate the church’s doctrine, work or worship.

But if you ask most people, including many Christians, the separation of church and state has come to mean something different.

For many people it has come to mean that religious beliefs have no place in public life.

And by religious beliefs, they mean all appeals to Christian morality.

This is called secularism - Secularism is simply “rejecting any religious influence in all aspects of life.”

Through promoting their own definition of the separation of church and state, secularists have been very successful in silencing Christian influence culturally, and politically too.

And many who claim to belong to Christ have gone along with this secularist project as well, either out of ignorance, or in order to please the culture.

But as we will see in our passage this morning - though we believe in the separation of Church and state; God, and his commands give us the basis for civil government and it’s role in our lives.

Romans 13:1-7

Romans 13:1–7 ESV

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Context

In light of Romans 12:1-2

You may think that this section of Romans seems out of place in a book so full of Christian doctrine.

I mean, what does salvation have to do with the government?

But as we saw two weeks ago when we looked at Romans 12:1-2,

the Christian faith is not just an inward belief, but it is lived out in the body.

We are not only saved from a life of sin, but we are saved to a life of obedience and good works for the glory of God.

Last week we saw how the new life in Christ is lived in community, through love for others.

This week we will see how that new life is lived out in how we relate to the civil government.

Exposition

Submission to Authorities (v. 1)

Our passage begins with a very clear command in verse 1, and then Paul gives commentary on why the command is given over the remaining six verses.

Paul says in verse 1:

Romans 13:1 ESV

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

The Command (v. 1a)

Here we have the command and it is very clear.

Romans 13:1 (ESV)

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.

No one is exempted, this is for all of us, we are all to be subject, to be submissive to the governing authorities.

The word that is translated as “authorities” is the Greek word “Archon”, and in Paul’s day it was used to refer to Roman rulers.

This command is very clear and it is consistent with what we see commanded throughout the scriptures.

And the reason for this command is consistent with what the scriptures say about God’s sovereignty over all things.

The Reason (v. 1b)

Paul gives primary the reason for this command when he says:

Romans 13:1 (ESV)

For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

Hierarchy

The whole idea of submitting to authority is very countercultural. We have a tense relationship with the word authority in our society. We don’t like any sort of hierarchy.

We like to think that we have levelled everything out, that no-one should be able to tell anyone what to do.

And, if you watch the news, you can see the fruit of that.

We’re sleeping in the bed we made.

If you want more proof ask a teacher about what it’s like to deal with kids nowadays.

We tend not to like hierarchy, authority, or submission.

But God delights in hierarchy, he has built varying levels of authority into the very fabric of creation.

From the very beginning we see authority being ordained by God.

In Genesis 1:26 God created mankind to, “‘have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’”

Actually I would encourage you to look at Genesis 1 and see just how many times the words “Rule” and “Dominion” are used in that passage.

God built a hierarchy and rule into his creation.

But God has also organized mankind into hierarchies, requiring us to submit to other people who have authority over us.

We see these expressed within the three institutions that God has established among mankind:

The Family, the Church, and the Civil Government.

We see submission within the Family in Ephesians 5 and 6; “Children obey your parent’s, wives submit to your husbands.”

We see submission in the church in Hebrews 13:17 where it says to, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” (Amen)

And we see submission exercised in the civil realm towards our governing authorities, not only in our passage this morning but also in 1 Peter 2:13-14.

1 Peter 2:13–14 ESV

Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.

The scriptures are clear, God has built hierarchy into the very fabric of his creation.

The Purpose of Authority

But we ought not to think of hierarchy and authority the same way the world thinks of it.

See, the world thinks of authority as being about power, having power over people who are under you.

Now those in authority do wield power but that is not the purpose of the their authority.

Power is the means by which authority is exercised, but it is not why authority is given.

A gardener has authority over her garden, but she doesn’t delight in merely wielding power over her plants.

What she delights in is helping her plants to grow, in making her garden flourish.

Authority is responsibility, given to someone so that what they rule might flourish.

We even see this in one of the qualifications for church elders in 1 Timothy 3:4-5

1 Timothy 3:4–5 ESV

He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?

If the prospective elder’s household isn’t flourishing under his authority as it’s head, what makes him think that the church will?

The purpose of authority is not power, it is flourishing.

God created authority for this purpose, and he places people in authority for this purpose, that the people under them might prosper and succeed.

Authority Instituted by God

Paul says in our passage,

Romans 13:1 (ESV)

For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

God in his sovereignty, not only created the idea of authority and submission,

but he is the one who gives people authority over others.

As the passage says, “Those authorities that exist, have been instituted by God.”

God, by his sovereign will, places people in authority over others.

And this he does this according to his plan.

As we will see in a moment, this does not mean that those in authority can do whatever they want without repercussions.

But listen to the words of Jesus, as he stood before Pilate, the ruler who condemned him to an unjust death.

In John 19:11 Jesus says to Pilate,

John 19:11 (ESV)

“You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.”

Even the man who delivered Jesus over to be crucified, was placed in his position of authority by God.

God institutes the authorities that he commands us to submit to,

this is why he commands us to submit to them.

Resisting Authority (vv. 2-3)

We see this very point in vv. 2-3:

Romans 13:2–3 ESV

Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval,

When Paul speaks about judgment here in v. 2, he means temporal judgment.

Judgment will come from the authorities if they are resisted.

And resisting authorities includes everything from insurrection and rebellion, all the way to petty crimes.

I love how Paul clearly Paul lays it out in v. 3,

“If you don’t want to fear the one who is in authority: then do what is good.

ie: don’t do bad stuff.

A few years ago I had an 18 year old who came to our youth group who was involved with a break and enter.

I actually went to court with him a couple times.

He ended up getting a light sentence, but had a record now.

After his sentencing he was complaining to me in my office.

He said to me, “A criminal record’s going to ruin my life, what happens the next time I get arrested?”

I was just shocked.

“What do you mean next time?!

People go their whole lives without getting arrested - don’t be an idiot, don’t commit crimes!”

This was one of the more bizarre conversations I’ve had, you have a lot of them in youth ministry.

But this is great piece of advice for all of us to follow,

nice and simple, “don’t do bad stuff.”

If you don’t want to be looking over your shoulder, don’t do bad stuff.

Now, I was someone who looked over my shoulder a lot in my youth, for petty stuff, foolish stuff.

If thats you, If you live your life looking over your shoulder, I want you to know that you don’t have to continue to live that way.

You can repent, you can change, through Jesus Christ your life can be made new.

I know that because I received that new life myself, as have so have many of us here. Repent and believe in Jesus Christ for your salvation, and you can receive a new life in him.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences for our actions, but it’s truly great to live your life not to having to look over your shoulder.

The Civil Government As God’s Servants (v. 4)

Paul goes on in v. 4

Romans 13:4 ESV

for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.

Now here’s where many of us need to correct our thinking about the civil government.

Many of us think that the civil government does nothing but get in the way,

I’ll admit to feeling like that sometimes.

It can especially feel that way when the government overreaches and overtaxes, or when there is injustice, or corruption, or when evil is promoted.

Look at what this says here,

that the governing authorities, the civil government, is God’s servant for our good.

This is why God has set governing authorities over us, because they are his servant - to do us good, to help us flourish.

And here’s where a proper understanding of the Lordship of Christ is crucial.

Christ as Head

After Jesus had died on the cross and risen from the dead, he gave his followers a mission.

And Jesus based that mission on the boldest claim ever made by anyone, he said:

Matthew 28:18 (ESV)

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

I talk about this all the time, but I don’t think we understand the gravity of this statement, I don’t think we really believe it.

All authority, in heaven, and on earth, has been given to Christ.

This is why he is referred to as the “Ruler of the kings of the earth” in Revelation 1:5.

This is not something that we are waiting for, this is the reality right now.

And this is not a rule relegated to the heavenly places, he HAS BEEN given “all authority in heaven and ON EARTH,”

he is the “ruler of the kings of the earth!”

As 1 Timothy 6:15 says, “he who IS the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,”

Who do you think those Kings and Lords are?

God’s Servant for Justice

The kings, and lords, and emperors, and prime ministers, and presidents, ruling over us right now, have a real living king ruling above them.

Since they are servants of the King of kings, they have a responsibility to fulfill the purpose he has given them.

That is promoting justice, as 1 Peter 2 says, “punishing those who do evil, and praising those who do good.”

And when I say the words “justice”, and “good” and “evil”, I mean those things as God defines them, not as godless define them.

No amount of popular opinion can change what God has said is evil into that which is good.

They are to promote and enact the King’s justice.

Bearing the Sword

One of the most controversial parts of this passage is here in verse 4 where it says that “he does not bear the sword in vain.”

This is referring to capital punishment.

And I understand why people are against it, and don’t like the idea of it,

but I’ll tell you the weight of scripture points to the civil government having authority to bear the sword; to punish heinous crimes like murder with death.

We see it very clearly in Genesis 9:6. When God tells Noah,

Genesis 9:6 (ESV)

“Whoever sheds the blood of man,

by man shall his blood be shed,

for God made man in his own image.

Jesus tells his disciple the same thing at his arrest in Matthew 26:52. He said,

Matthew 26:52 (ESV)

“‘Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.’”

He’s not speaking of some kind of vague karmic fulfillment, he is referring to the law that God gave Noah.

And we all know that in the Law God gave to Moses, there are certain crimes for which the maximum allowable penalty is death.

God does not give everybody this authority, not the individual, not the family, not the church.

But he gives the civil government this authority to bear the sword, “For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.”

The civil authorities are the servants of God.

Ordained to promote and carry out justice.

Unjust Rulers

But what about when the authorities are not promoting justice?

What if instead of carrying out justice, they allow the evildoer to go unpunished?

What if instead of punishing evil, they promote it?

What if instead of rewarding the righteous, they oppress them?

What if instead of bearing the sword against the murderer, they bear the sword against the innocent? Or like in our own country against the unborn, and the sick, and the elderly?

God’s Servant for Chastening

Something that we have to take into account is that sometimes God gives us exactly what we’ve asked for.

Throughout the scriptures we see over and over again that when people are in sin, God hands them over to foreign nations and wicked rulers in order to chasten them.

He even raises up adversaries to fulfill that specific purpose.

Just one example of this is in 1 Kings 11, where God raised up Hadad the Edomite to chasten Solomon.

John Calvin says in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, “that they who rule unjustly and incompetently have been raised up by God to punish the wickedness of the people,”

and that, “a wicked king is the Lord’s wrath upon the earth”.

Secularism

I said earlier how secularism is the rejecting of any religious influence in all aspects of life.

and that secularists have been very successful at silencing Christian witness in the public sphere.

But I’ll tell you that the evangelical church over the last few decades has made it very easy, because we’re secularists too.

We believe in Christian influence, but really only in for the individual, the family, and the church. It doesn’t extend to the civil sphere.

Though our own country was founded on Christian principles and laws; we have rejected those and have chosen godlessness and lawlessness in our civil sphere.

Even as Christians we tend not to believe that the government has a responsibility to obey God as his servant, but to obey the people in whatever they ask.

We even tend to be comforted when the few Christians who step up to civil leadership promise “not to let their faith affect how they govern.”

It shouldn’t surprise us then when they cheat on their wives or embezzle money, they were fulfilling a campaign promise.

Jesus Christ, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, has been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

We, as his people in the west, refuse to release to him the civil sphere.

We want secularist rulers. We want our rulers to follow the spirit of the age and not even the most basic commands of God.

We want secularist rulers who obey the demands of culture and not the commands of God, and so God has given them to us.

Before we start complaining about whom God has put in authority over us, we need to be honest about what we’ve been asking for.

And perhaps repent of it, and ask for something better.

God’s Judgment on Unjust Rulers

Even though unjust, incompetent, and wicked rulers may be sent to chasten us, that does not mean that they don’t have to answer for their actions.

Servants have to answer to their master.

The kings, and lords, and emperors, and prime ministers, and presidents, have a real living king ruling above them.

And they will have to answer to him for how they rule.

Psalm 2 is all about the kings of the earth having to answer to Christ, the Lord’s anointed. It says in vv. 10-12,

Psalm 2:10–12 (ESV)

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;

be warned, O rulers of the earth.

Serve the Lord with fear,

and rejoice with trembling.

Kiss the Son,

lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,

for his wrath is quickly kindled.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

God Will Avenge, We Must Not

We can take comfort that God is the perfect and righteous judge, and that he will judge rulers for how they rule.

But we must trust him to judge wicked rulers in his time.

And not take vengeance into our own hands.

This goes back to what we read in chapter 12 vv. 17-18 last week,

Romans 12:17–19 ESV

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

When to Resist

As we saw last week, times may come when we cannot obey particular commands from the authorities if we are to be faithful to Christ.

In those cases we must say to the authorities what Peter and the Apostles told the Sanhedrin in Acts 5:29 “We must obey God rather than men.”

Not only will rulers and authorities answer to God for how they rule, but we will answer to God for how we live.

And sometimes that means having a prophetic role in confronting those in authority.

But it needs to be done shrewdly; with wisdom, sobriety, respect, and love.

Too often, people demonstrate none of those things.

Those are the kind of people rulers don’t take seriously.

Living in Submission (v.5-7)

See disobedience is the exception to the rule, done in rare cases.

What is normative is this: We are to live in subjection to our rulers, we are to respect our authorities, we are to honour those whom God has put in charge of us.

Romans 13:5–7 ESV

Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

The Example of Daniel

The Prophet Daniel is a fantastic example of all of this.

The Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar led Daniel and his people away as captives; he destroyed the temple of God, built an idol of himself, and put three of Daniel’s friend’s in a furnace.

Daniel refused the kings food, his friends refused to bow to the idol, he told the king things he didn’t want to hear.

Yet Daniel treated the king with honour, respect, genuine concern, he cared about his soul:

We read Daniel’s words to Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:27, “O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

Application

How do we respond?

How do we live in light of this.

1. Submit

First of all, let’s be obedient to this command. Let’s let our demeanour be one of submission. First to King Jesus, then to the authorities he has put in place over us.

He has instituted them for our good.

Let’s be the very best of citizens; honest, hard working, dependable, kind.

Not just showing respect, but showing honour to those God has put in authority.

Let’s live our lives as Paul encourages us to live in Titus 3:1-2,

Titus 3:1–2 (ESV)

To be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

Let’s submit, out of obedience to Christ.

2. Pray

Secondly, lets pray.

Are we praying for our leaders? For righteous rule, for justice, for wisdom, for peace, for their salvation?

Paul writes in 1 Timothy 2.

1 Timothy 2:1–2 (ESV)

I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

Let’s commit to pray regularly for those whom God has put in authority over us. They need it, and we need it.

3. Serve

Finally, let’s serve.

We have the very unique position in history to live in a democratic country.

We enjoy a lot of freedoms because of it.

But we also have a lot of responsibilities too.

I didn’t plan on preaching this sermon on Canada day weekend, by God’s sovereignty this was the text that was next in my preaching calendar.

As Christians we are citizens of heaven yes, but we are also citizens of Canada. We have a dual citizenship.

And that means we have a responsibility to love and serve our country in the name of Christ.

When things get bad, we can be tempted to hide out and wait for the end.

But the only thing hiding out ensures, is that you’re not part of the solution.

The prophet Jeremiah in his letter to the exiles going to Babylon wrote in Jeremiah 29:5-7

Jeremiah 29:5–7 (ESV)

Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

This is to people who were taken from their lands into exile. By the weeping prophet of all people.

We have not been sent into exile.

These are our neighbourhoods, this is our town, this is our country.

God has placed us here, we have a responsibility toward it, and we need to take responsibility of it.

The Church as an institution cannot do everything; as an institution we teach, preach, lead God’s people in worship, and serve some needs in the community.

The church does have a prophetic role in calling the state to repentance, righteousness, and justice.

But we need godly Christians, individuals and families, to take the centre and lead in this community and in our country; unashamedly being obedient to God and heralding the Lordship of Christ.

Let’s take care of our community, lets love our neighbour.

Jut one way to do this is by serving in some of the community organizations that already meet needs in our town.

If your looking for a way to serve the community and be around people who need to hear the gospel, that is a great way to serve and evangelize at the same time.

And we do need genuine, God fearing christians to serve in the civil government under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Being salt and light does not mean letting the godless govern everything so we can sit back and criticize what they do.

We believe in a separation of Church and state, but not a separation of Christian and state.

Conclusion

Jesus said, “to make disciples of all nations, and then teach them everything that I have commanded.

I believe the evangelical church has lost so much of it’s public influence because we have been neglecting the second part of that command, especially as it applies to public life.

We need to recover and teach a robust Christian worldview that goes beyond the inner man and speaks to all areas of life: the personal, the familial, and the civic.

Fortunately God’s word gives us this worldview, as well as principles that apply to all areas of life.

The question is, will we trust that God knows what he is talking about? Will we be obedient to his leading.