Submit to the Government? (The Purpose of Gov't)
Jesus and Politics • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 5 viewsNotes
Transcript
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 13. Romans 13:1 and following.
We are message #2 in a series on Jesus and Politics.
This short series is born out of the desire to help each other navigate the complex and divisive political season.
It is born out of the conviction that we need to view politics through the filter of Jesus and His Word (not the other way around)
and that we as followers of Jesus should think, approach, view, behave, and act differently than the world.
Last week—we looked at the question—what we are consuming, what we are watching on our screens and devices—and it’s a call not to be consumed by the media, social media, politics, but by Jesus Christ and His Word.
This week—we are stepping back, looking at what is the role and purpose of government and how does that help us. I think if we can answer this—according to the Bible, it will help us have the right expectations and know how to think about government overall.
The Apostle Paul is writing to the church in Rome
Chapters 1-11 are all about the Gospel—the good news of Jesus how God saves us through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ…and now, he talks about how that works out in all our relationships, including with the gov’t.
1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.
4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.
5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.
7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
And all God’s people said.... “Amen???””
what did you learn at church today… “Submit to the governing authorities. pay taxes. in Jesus’s name. Amen.
that will give you your Sunday dose of sermon inspiration.
I remember when I got my first real job…and noticed how much in taxes was deducted from my paycheck, and I said to my parents “that doesn’t seem right.” Their response: welcome to being an adult.
Paul is writing to Christians here...
before we dissect this passage..
Theologian John Stott talked about 4 main models of relationship between the church and the state/gov’t
Erastianiam: state (or gov’t) controls the church (attributed to a guy name Erastus—but he never advocated this)
Theocracy: church controls the state
so far both of these are incorrect according to Scripture...
3. Constantinianism: a compromise in which the state favors the church, and the church makes some accommodations with the state in order to preserve its favored status.
named after the Emperor Constantine in the 300’s in Rome—He made the official religion of the Roman Empire “Christian”. While that’s amazing—Christianity had spread so much since it began—it caused a lot of problems—when the church and state are in power together—some may convert b/c it’s popular or favored by the gov’t rather than b/c of Jesus.
4. Partnership: church and state recognize each other, and they each have distinct God-given responsibilities, and encourage and collaborate with each other in fulfilling these roles.
This 4th one is what Scripture has in mind...
that both the church and the gov’t have their distinct spheres of God-given authority....they are to partner together under the authority of God— (that’s the ideal but not always reality)
in other words—theologians mention there are at least 3 institutions that God has made:
Marriage and family—(Genesis 2:18-25.)
The Church (Eph. 1:22-23)
Government (Romans 13:1-7)
this 3rd one - gov’t may be hard for us to accept b/c we see corruption in our gov’t and the world—but Romans 13 clearly says
1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
If you go back even further—you might say that gov’t began with Adam and Eve
Genesis 1:28 (NIV)
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
ruling…they were called to rule, have power over all creation
and of course—they were to do this under God’s Rule...
that was the perfect form of gov’t—humans ruling all of creation—under God’s rule...
or go to Noah...
or go back to Genesis 9:5-6 (right after God punished the earth b/c mankind was so evil towards one another, he sent a flood, rescued Noah and his sons and their families by having them build the Ark)—we see some gov’t structure. (you have 4 families—8 people)
5 And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.
6 “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.
though there was no official gov’t structure as we know it—God was requiring a sense of collective law, order, and justice—that human life mattered, punishment and justice would happen for the taking of life—and this was all under the authority of God.
so this takes me to 3 roles that God has given the government to have according to Scripture (from Jonathan Leeman “How the Nations Rage”)
3 Roles of Gov’t:
to render judgment for the sake of justice (Romans 13:3-4)(Genesis 9:5-6)
3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.
4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.
Scripture says the gov’t bears the sword—a symbol of power, of force if necessary, even potentially—some argue of capital punishment—b/c the sword in chapter 8 of Romans represents death.
if you go back to Genesis 9 after Noah—life for life. The punishment must be fair and fit the crime. God values life so much that if someone takes a life, a reckoning from God will be demanded!
when the state punishes evildoing and wrongdoing justly—it is acting as God’s servant. it brings justice for the crime, it values life—it restrains evil. a sense of law and order is necessary, and God has given human governments this authority to do so. when they are following God in this way, they are God’s servants.
to build platforms of peace, ordering, and flourishing (Romans 13:3-4)
one theologian says to “promote and reward goodness”
governments create a culture of laws and order that promote peace and human flourishing…enabling humans to flourish and thrive
verse 3
Romans 13:3 (NIV)
3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.
Romans 13:4 (NIV)
4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.
Jonathan Leeman: 15). And we see commendable examples of governing authorities doing this in the Old Testament:
Joseph as prime minister of Egypt helped the nation prepare for famine.
•Israel’s law included provisions in its agricultural policy that cared for the poor.
•King Solomon pursued an astute export and import strategy that made Israel prosperous. These leaders were concerned with more than punishing crimes and administering justice; they were looking to establish a foundation of provision from which the people could pursue God’s greater calling.
Sometimes people describe government as a necessary evil. But that’s not right. Even in a perfect and unfallen world, someone has to decide whether cars are going to drive on the right or left side of the road. Order must be established for people to flourish.
(Leeman, Jonathan. How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Faith and Politics in a Divided Age (p. 113). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.)
now a couple caveats—how do you decide what is for the good and human flourishing? as Christians - we define it acc. to God’s Word. but we live in a culture that doesn’t always agree with it...
now, some have argued this is such a big category—that it can promote big government unnecessarily…b/c for example—think of the FAA—the US Federal Aviation Administration—do we need laws to make sure that airplanes are safe or is this gov’t intrusion? airplanes have been very safe and one could argue it’s because of this. building codes and laws....when is gov’t considered gov’t over-reach
but then what about more complicated debates—should gov’t fund health care for everyone? welfare? social security? education? can we argue that from this principle of Scripture? maybe/maybe not—it takes some wisdom and good respectful debate should take place over that....
one commentator says if we balance punishment and the good—Romans 13 probably rules out extremely limited gov’t or a very powerful one of either totalitarianism or libertarianism - (points #1 and #2)
third role of Government —not just to render judgment for justice sake, or reward the good and human flourishing...
3. to set the stage for God’s purposes of redemption
what does that mean? if the gov’t is doing its job of #1 and #2—rendering justice, promoting peace and good, then that enables the church to do its job...
and what is our church—overall — glorifying God — it’s about giving glory to God and His Son Jesus Christ...
—Great Commandment - loving God and loving others...
—Great Commission - of showing and telling the Gospel of Jesus Christ, making disciples or followers of Jesus...
of forming communities, gatherings of churches under the lordship of Christ who love one another...
(more on this later) but when the gov’t does its job (#1 and #2), it enables us to do our job to go and make followers of Jesus to all nations, of being his witnesses to the ends of the earth.
so this takes me to my application…what do we do with this so far:
Pray (1 Timothy 2:1-4)
1 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—
2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior,
4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
pray for our local, state, and national and world leaders
pray for the other person who got elected even if you don’t care for them.
pray—that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
notice that connection of praying for good governments, peace, holiness and salvation. when there is peace and order, law and justice, promotion of the good—it enables us to share our faith openly, gather freely and spread the Gospel.
Jonathan Leeman: Christians like to quote the early church father Tertullian, who famously said that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Sometimes that’s true. A few martyrs can hearten believers and ironically strengthen the church in a certain place. Yet sometimes it’s not true. (page 99).
for instance, in Central Asia in the 1300’s Tamerlane the Executioner as he was called…persecuted and killed Christians and nearly wiped out the Christian faith in Central Asia.
Some places in the world today—it is illegal to share about Jesus or convert—you could be shamed, disowned, imprisoned and killed. that makes it difficult for the church to do its job. as much as we like to say that purifies the church and God can work through that (He can and does...
pray that our governments would see themselves under God’s authority.
so pray… (do it now?)
Engage - get involved:
Leeman: We render to Caesar what is Caesar’s by paying taxes, yes, but in a democratic context we also do this by voting, lobbying, lawyering, writing editorials, or running for office. Even in an empire, Paul, for the sake of the gospel, pulled the political levers he had. (we will see that in Acts) He invoked his citizenship and appealed to Caesar. Steward opportunities while you have them. You may not have them forever. (pages 127-128). this takes a lot of wisdom, counsel and discernment...
often, we can get involved more with local politics—it’s hard to change national or global politics—but at the local level—get to know your city council and mayor and his/her office, run for office, serve on boards, make a difference, volunteer.
if you have political power—try to live out this vision for gov’t from Scripture...
Submit (Romans 13:1, 7)
1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
now, that word “submit or be subject too...” we HATE that.
some of you probably shuddered when you heard that...
it means to follow or come under the authority of the government...
and there are at least 3 reasons in our text why...
Why submit:
because God’s authority is behind it .. (vs. 1-2) “the authorities that exist have been established by God” (vs. 1) - vs. 2- whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted!”
because it is wise - (vs. 3-4) God made gov’t to punish wrongdoers and promote good or wellbeing (vs. 3-4) without this threat of punishment—chaos would ensue. but Paul says it is wise—to do to be “free from fear of the one in authority…the one in authority is God’s servant for your good, but if you do wrong, be afraid---for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason (vs. 3-4)
because it is fair (vs. 6-7) governing is hard work, they deserve their income. this is why you pay taxes—they are God’s servants who give their full-time to governing...
now certainly, someone may be asking, “Surely, we don’t submit in everything...”
True…and this is where it gets tricky!
vs. 2 makes it sound like it
certainly the gov’t Paul was under was difficult…the Roman Empire and the Emperor Nero—very difficult—he was a wicked emperor. yet he said submit. the default position of a Christian is to submit to the governing authorities (seems shocking to us!)
but it is not unqualified obedience and submission? Why?
look at Romans 13 —
God’s servant - mentioned in vs. 4 and 6—they must follow God at some level. if they are not God’s servant and trying to be God instead—that’s a problem—there are times to disobey and possibly rebel.
vs. 7 - give everyone what you owe them—do we owe unconditional obedience, not questioning? no!! there are times we don’t owe unconditional obedience if the gov’t is asking us not to spread the Gospel or be the church.
vs. 5 - conscience - we obey out of Christian conscience.
“we obey the gov’t even when there is no civil consequences, b/c our motivation is obedience to God who established the state. on the other hand we cannot submit uncritically to what the state tells us” (page 134-135)
see Acts 5:29
29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!
“so the Bible gives a very clear basis for civil disobedience; namely, if the state command what God forbids, or if the state forbids what God commands, then civil disobedience is a Christian duty.”
now, when you think of characters in the Bible..…who worked in the gov’t and also rebelled against the gov’t
you have examples of believers supporting and working in pagan gov’t - Joseph in Egypt, Daniel in Babylon, Nehemiah in Persia.
and you have examples of rebellion - Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Hebrew midwives with Moses — didn’t kill Hebrew baby boys…when Pharaoh of Egypt urged them.
the reality is though we are called to Romans 13…sometimes the government is more like Revelation 13.
What is Revelation 13—it describes a Satanic Trinity behind the kingdoms of this world—they are beasts with the dragon, Satan leading them. one writer says there is always a demonic thread behind the kingdoms of this world…and the empires...
and if the government is acting more beastly like Rev. 13 than Rom. 13---we have to still keep being the church—loving God, neighbor, sharing the Gospel, loving one another as Christians—to a watching world, even if the gov’t is against it.
There are places in the world where the gov’t feels beastly—places like North Korea or Russia—how would the church hear a sermon on Romans 13? or China, or places where the Islamic State oppressively rules.
how would Christians there show honor—and be calm—but follow with some conditions?
What did the church do in the time of Hitler and Stalin? some were too submissive...
Here in the united states today..
we keep being the church God has called us to be—living our Christian life.
we don’t disengage from society, nor do we start a rebellion.
but our overall posture is one of Romans 13 with Revelation 13 in mind...
Tim Keller calls it Calm, Qualified Respect
Respect - even to non-Christian gov’ts we give this (Jer. 27:6) Nebuchadnezzar “God’s servant” - respect
Calm - we don’t get anxious or fearful over non-Christian gov’ts (Jer. 27:7) - calm
but this is qualified—it’s not unconditional. There are conditions -
probably avoids very conservative view of gov’t should not do anything but basic law enforcement, but also avoids the liberal view of government as Savior.
4. last but not least…Trust. Trust God (Romans 13:1)
1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
God has established every human authority and government. They all fall under God’s sovereign will and plan.
this doesn’t mean he supports every gov’t or approves, but God is still king.
He oversaw the rising and falling of many empires in Biblical history—Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome…and through it all…none of the kingdoms lasted.
Only Jesus’ has.
Jesus came and he preached the kingdom of God is at hand---you want to be part of it—don’t spread it through force, repent and believe in Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ kingdom was completely counter-cultural to its day. In a time when Rome exerted its power and top down leadership, Jesus identified with the lowly, the poor, the broken, the sinners and prostitutes, the blind, beggars and those with leprosy.
When Jesus was on trial before the Roman Governor Pilate--
11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
Jesus was reminding Pilate that his authority had been established by God.
while we try to follow and support gov’t authority—they shouldn’t have our ultimate allegiance—Jesus and His Kingdom do.
this doesn’t mean we rebel or start a violent revolution—we spread Jesus’ kingdom not through the sword or guns, but by humbly loving and showing and speaking the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
b/c Jesus conquered through service and suffering...
ultimately dying on the cross.
His throne was not like Caesar’s—his throne was a wooden cross where he bore our sin our place, so we could be forgiven and be a part of God’s kingdom forever—a kingdom that will never end. that has begun and will one day fully arrive.
I think if we remember this—this keeps us from making politics and our candidate or party an idol…our hopes are not in gov’t. they are not God, nor the Savior. It helps us keep the proper role of gov’t in mind to do justice, reward and promote the good and peace, so we as the church can do what God has called us to do.
I want to close by looking at Peter...
we heard Paul...
now Peter...
and interestingly—both Paul and Peter would be killed by the Romans gov’t for their faith:
13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority,
14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.
15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.
16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.
17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.
let’s pray...
pray for a local politician—mayor, city council member
state - Governor Eric Holcomb and Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch
President Biden and VP Harris
World Leaders -
—Russia - Putin, and Ukraine - Zelenskyy
—Israel - Netanyahu