Justice: God's Intended Role for Government

Introduction

What this series is NOT about:

Whom to vote for or to support a particular candidate.

Defend or deny that America is a Christian nation.

To provide a Christian view on political issues and policies.

Definitely not about composing or singing a hymn for a political campaign slogan as one large church did in Dallas, TX several years ago. We sing hymns and songs only to Jesus Christ our Lord.

Many may be disappointed, then.

What this series is about:

(1) To provide a biblical teaching on the role of government.

(2) To lay out how Christians are to relate to government, no matter what government is in charge.

Sometimes Christians are to obey governments and sometimes they are not. Christians, however, are always to pray for leaders and act as the conscience of society and government.

My hope: to teach you how to fish rather than giving you a fish, i.e., learn the biblical teaching on the role of government and how Christians ought to relate to it. Then, you will be able to reason well to make good decisions that pertain to candidates and issues. Another way to say this: give a Christian biblical worldview of government so we can live in accordance with God’s will in our government and politics.

We begin with God’s Intended Role for Government.

1. Justice is Not Yours (12:19-21)

What is Justice? (13:7)

Different kinds: distributive, restorative, social, and economic

Romans 13:7 “Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.”

Slide: “Justice is giving someone what he deserves.”

What is due to the righteous: protection.

What is due to the evildoer: retribution (punishment).

Do Not take Justice Into Your Own Hands (12:19a)

Romans 12:19–21 (NASB95)

Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

v.19: “Revenge” (“avenge”) = ἐκδικέω (ekdikeō), vb. grant justice; vindicate

Love Your Enemy (12:20-21)

“But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Quotation from Prov 25:21-22

“Heap burning coals on his head” = metaphor = Moffatt’s translation gives the sense of it: “for in this way you will make him feel a burning sense of shame”

[Leon Morris, The Epistle to the Romans, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1988), 455.]

Rom 12:21 “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

It is evil to take justice into your own hands. It is evil because it is not your role to do so (it’s God’s, see below). Your role as a Christian is to forgive and love, and offer mercy and grace.

Illustration

In Feb of 1993, Mary Johnson lost her 16 year old son when Oshea Isreal shot him four times in a gang related dispute. Isreal the shooter confessed to the murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Mary the mother recalled, ““The grieving process, I think it began for me, after the trial,” Mary said, “wave after wave after wave--the tsunami--of just ‘stuff.’ Hatred. Here I am a Christian woman and I hated this 16 year old boy. And I never ever thought I would be put back together.”

10 years later, her pastor asked her to teach a class on forgiveness. You can imagine what the must have been like. Mary recalled that she was convicted that she had to repent of her hatred toward her son’s killer.

She recounts:

“Then I heard, ‘Mary, pray for him like you pray for yourself,’ I’m praying for him!

‘Okay,’ so I prayed for him like I pray for myself. Then I heard, ‘Every time his name comes up, every time you hear it within yourself, say, ‘I choose to forgive.’ So, I repented and I really believe it was a true repentance. It was for real. It was for real.”

Then, in 2005, she visited her son’s murderer in prison. During that visit she said the following to him: ““I said ‘Look, I told you in court that I forgave you. But today, from the bottom of my heart I want you to know that I forgive you,’ Mary said. “And he was like, ‘Ma’am how can you do that?’ I said, ‘Because of Who is in me.’”

https://cbn.com/article/sin/forgiving-your-sons-killer

Application

When evil is done to us, we show grace, love, and forgiveness. This is what Christ meant when he said to “turn the other cheek”:

Luke 6:29 “Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.”

This is a command concerning interpersonal relationships (not gov’t). Some have thought this is stating how gov’t works or they try to apply it to gov’t.

But imagine always “turning the other cheek” for criminals in society. Evil would be allowed to flourish. Innocent people would constantly be in danger. Chaos and anarchy would result.

No. Forgiveness, grace, and turning the other cheek are how we as individual Christians and the church are to act.

Remember Christ’s admonition: Matthew 6:14–15

“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”

Although justice is not ours to mete out, justice does belong to God. In particular, God has given the role of justice in society to government.

2. Justice is God’s (12:19b)

Romans 12:19 (NASB95)

. . . but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

Quotation from Deut 32:35

Again, “vengeance” = avenge, take retribution, grant justice

Throughout Scripture we consistently see that God is the one who brings justice upon the wicked (never an individual person). He is the one who avenges the innocent and righteous.

When Cain murdered Abel, God meted out the punishment. Adam or Eve did not.

It was God who administered justice to the world by flooding it. Noah did not avenge.

Even Joseph, when he was wronged by his brothers and eventually Pharoah’s wife, he did not take justice into his hands to avenge.

God was the avenger of the Israelites when they were enslaved by Pharoah.

Then the exemplar who did not take justice into his own hands was Jesus. God the Father avenged him.

Illustration Avengers

Application

When someone harms you, do not take justice into your own hands. Allow time for God to avenge you. Let him be your Avenger.

Do not retaliate. Do not take revenge.

Justice is God’s domain. And within this temporal world, God has given the administration of justice specifically to government.

3. Justice is the Role of Government (13:1-7)

Government is Established By God (13:1-2)

Romans 13:1–2 NASB95

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.

=> We are to be in subjection to governing authorities (we are to obey them).

=> Why obey governing authorities? Because God has established government.

We should not think of this as God establishing specific governments. If we did, then we would have to conclude that God made the Third Reich and Communist China and North Korea’s dictatorship. And this would make God the author of evil.

Rather, we should think of this as God establishing the institution, or sphere, of government. (Think of it like how God est his church, but he did not est all the divisions that are within Christianity—Baptists, Presbyterians, etc. We did this.)

Because God est the institution of gov’t, we are obligated to obey it:

Romans 13:2 “Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.”

The Living Bible: “So those who refuse to obey the laws of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow.”

Application:

You fail to pay your taxes, you are sinning against God.

You break the laws of driving, you are sinning.

You download material from the internet that is illegal, you are sinning. You hack a person’s account, you are sinning. You send a computer virus, you are sinning.

God has established government to make laws, and when these laws are broken, you are sinning against God. (The only exception is when government makes laws that directly contradict the laws or commands of God. To be discussed later.)

What has God established gov’t to do specifically?

Government serves Justice to the Righteous (13:3-4a)

Romans 13:3–4a (NASB95)

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.

Recall: justice = to give someone what he deserves. What does a righteous person deserve? I.e., what do law-abiding citizens deserve? A life free of fear. The government serves justice to righteous law-abiding citizens by leaving them alone and protecting them from evil-doers.

This is good, is it not? Paul even says this specifically: “It is a minister of God to you for good.”

“minister” (διάκονός) = servant

In a real sense, then, God created the institution of government to serve a good purpose. (This may seem somewhat ironic or counterintuitive.) However, they way God designed gov’t is to serve the good purpose of protecting innocent people by restraining evil.

Imagine a world with no government whatsoever—total anarchy. It would be “Lord of the Flies” (more contemporary analogy: “The Hunger Games”).

Unfortunately, God’s design for gov’t to work for good does not always happen (it never does perfectly). Thanks to sin.

Government does not exist solely to serve justice, or protection, to the righteous. God also designed it to serve justice to evildoers: to give to criminals what they deserve.

Government serves Justice to Evildoers (13:4b-6)

Romans 13:4b–6 (NASB95)

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. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.

If you commit evil acts in society, Paul says to be afraid. Why? Because God has created government to serve him as “an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.”

Government is the avenger of the righteous/the innocent. It avenges by bringing wrath (punishment, retribution) upon the law-breaker.

Notice the strong language Paul uses in v.4: “for it does not bear the sword for nothing.”

Sword certainly implies death penalty. But it includes much more. At the time, Rome was in power. Roman law was referred to as ius gladdi (eeus glawdee-i), or “the law of the sword.” Grant Osborne explains:

Romans: Verse by Verse The Ruler Is God’s Servant, an Agent of Wrath (13:4)

“Bear the sword” primarily connotes the death penalty, but actually the whole emphasis of Roman justice was on the fairness of the system. Lawbreakers would receive only what their crimes deserved, and it was called lex talionis, “the law of retribution,” meaning the punishment was to exactly fit the crime.

Bearing the sword, therefore, means that the gov’t has the right by God to punish those who do evil.

Application

The primary role of government is to serve justice.

To protect innocent, law-abiding citizens and bring retribution upon those who practice evil.

This helps us to discern some ethical and political issues a little easier or with more clarity. For example, because the role of gov’t is justice, it should help us discern better which candidates to vote for: those who best understand the role of gov’t.

It also helps us to understand that the government is supposed to protect every innocent human being, not just some.

The appropriate governmental response to evildoers is wrath, i.e., punishment.

It is not rehabilitation. Although it could include it, but it is not primary. Gov’t is to have prisons and other consequences for evildoers as punishment not merely having correctional facilities to modify behavior. Primarily, prisons are a means to punish lawbreakers.

The primary role of government is not to provide mercy and grace, forgiveness, leniency, or compassion.

About 20 years ago, a popular politician who ran for president once coined the phrase “compassionate conservative” for his campaign. But this flips the role of gov’t with the church’s role/mission. Gov’t is about justice, rendering to someone what he deserves. Criminals deserve punishment at the societal level, not compassion, mercy, and leniency. It is the church’s role to show lawbreakers these things. It is up to us as Christians to provide, or offer, the compassion, mercy, and grace that is available only in Jesus Christ. This is the only thing that can rehabilitate a criminal: a changed heart by the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion