Romans 13:1-4: God Over Government

Revelation 15:3–4“Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Revelation 19:11–16 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”

Intro

What is the role and purpose of Government?

We’ve just come out of another difficult and divisive election season and as we look ahead to the future of our country I wanted to take this Sunday and do two things.

Number 1… give you a little bit of hope in God’s sovereignty over all things including our government.

And a solid, biblical political theology… what God’s Word says about the Government… because as you look out at our nation we have work to do.

If we are going to be salt and light and preach the whole counsel of God we need to know what God’s Word says so that we might hold government in its proper place.

What is the Government and what is it for?

And what responsibilities do we as Christians have to the Government today?

The Big Idea we have for today is…

God is the ultimate Sovereign over the Government and the Civil Magistrate is accountable to Him.

We are going to have three points today where I want to look at 3 biblical principles to build a political theology on the role of government with the hope that… being rooted and grounded in God’s Word… we might answer the political and cultural challenges of our day with proper perspective and a clear biblical worldview.

The first principle of a Christian view of Government is Put Not Your Trust in Princes.

Number 2… God is Over the Government.

And Number 3… Pray for Your Leaders.

Number 1…

I. Put Not Your Trust in Princes

Psalm 146:3–5 Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God.

This was really the idea that started this whole sermon.

The temptation we can face with the Government… especially in coming out of the last election where God was merciful to us… is that the Government can ultimately save us.

That if we could just have the right Government in place… the right laws and the right rulers… then everything would be fixed.

But politics are not our savior.

There is no government or king who can save us.

There is only one King who has the power save… and His name is Jesus.

The fundamental problem of our country is not bad government policies… it is dead… sinful… unrepentant hearts.

We don’t have a government problem… we have a worship problem.

All the darkness… all our societal and cultural woes… are just the result of our nation’s rejection of God.

We are under God’s judgment.

All you have to do is look at Romans 1 to see it.

When a nation is given over to judgment… God gives them over to sexual immorality… homosexuality… all manner of sin and wickedness (Romans 1:24-27).

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools (Romans 1:21-22).

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity… And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them (Romans 1:28-32).

That is our culture in a nutshell.

All of our “political problems” are just worship problems.

Politics flows down stream from Worship.

What do I mean?

Politics, Culture, and Worship

Politics flows downstream from culture and culture flows downstream from worship.

We get culture from cultus.

What a culture ultimately lifts up… celebrates… values and desires flows downstream from what they worship.

You want to see what a nation worships?

Look at their culture.

What do they love? What do they value? What do they see ultimately see as the True, Beautiful, and Good?

And all Politics does is tap into this to give the people what they want.

We get the leaders we deserve.

We vote for what we ultimately worship.

This is why everything is now is so political.

There is no “after this” so the only way we can build heaven on earth is if we build it now, and in a world that has rejected God, the Government is the only Sovereign that can give us what we want.

Politics flows downstream from worship and when you look at our politics we have rejected God in every way.

Big Three

Take the Big Three Issues… the three Big Three political fights of our day:

Abortion.

Homosexuality

Transgenderism.

Why are these such big fights? Such a focus of our political conversation?

Because they hit at the very heart of what our country most worships.

Abortion denies the Imago Dei.

That we are all made in the image of God and knit together in our mother’s womb and from the moment of conception worthy of value, dignity, and respect (Genesis 1:26-27, Psalm 139:13).

Human beings that we think in our rejection of God are fine to murder.

Why?

Because I worship myself and no one gets to determine anything about my own life.

Homosexuality denies God’s sovereignty over us and command on our life as God’s Image Bearers…

His creatures who were created to serve and glorify Him.

Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth (Genesis 1:28).

No.

And Transgenderism denies our very identity as a creature itself.

God will have no say on our life not even in who He made us to be.

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

What you see in the Big Three political fights of our day is just a reflection of what our culture worships.

One side of the aisle actively pushes these things while the other side has softened their stance on almost all of them just to win votes.

Why? Because we will not have God rule over us.

All our Politics is an outright rejection and repudiation of God and our identity as creatures and obligation to Him.

We are not His image bearers.

We do not have to obey Him.

We do not have to follow Him.

And we will not worship… honor… or glorify Him.

We are our own gods… will make our own name great and build a whole new Babel right here.

They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen (Romans 1:25).

Better laws and better government will not fix this problem.

Because Laws and Kings have no power to penetrate and change the human heart.

Laws

We see this with Old Covenant Israel.

They had the perfect Law… God’s own Law… they were a theocracy under God Himself and yet it did nothing to keep them from going into judgment and exile from the Land.

In fact all the Law did was serve to condemn them and call for God to drive them out of the land.

Kings/Jehoshaphat

What our Country needs is not new policies… it New Hearts.

Loot at 2 Chronicles 20:31-33.

And to give you a little bit of background, Jehoshaphat was one of the good kings of Judah.

He taught people the Law… He did His best to establish justice in the land by appointing judges who would judge and rule according to God’s Word (2 Chronicles 17:7-9, 19:4-7).

And he Bible says The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments… 2 Chronicles 17:3-4).

That His heart was courageous in the ways of the Lord. And furthermore, he took the high places and the Asherim out of Judah… where the false gods were worshiped… and that he had set His heart to seek the Lord (2 Chronicles 17:6, 19:3).

In comparison to most of the other kings, Jehoshaphat was a Godsend… but no matter how well He governed… He had no power to change the people’s hearts.

2 Chronicles 20:31–33 Thus Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. He walked in the way of Asa his father and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. The high places, however, were not taken away; the people had not yet set their hearts upon the God of their fathers.

Put not your trust in princes.

The problem is people’s hearts.

The People still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places because they had not yet set their hearts upon the God of their fathers (1 Kings 22:43).

Our problem is a worship problem… not a political one.

Yes… it is a blessing when the righteous rules and we would much prefer a righteous ruler or as close as we can get over a wicked one (Proverbs 29:2, 28:12).

But whoever’s sitting in the White House cannot save us from the judgment of God our sins deserve.

A lot of the “political problems” we are facing are not just policy… they are the judgment of God on our nation for our rejection of Him and chief of all our insatiable appetite for child sacrifice in the murder of the unborn.

Inflation… invasion and being overwhelmed by illegal immigration… wars… and division within a nation - a house divided against itself cannot stand… are all examples of God’s judgment found in the Old Testament (2 Kings 6:25, Deuteronomy 28:43, Isaiah 3:5)

And the fix is not in better government its in turning back to God and repentance from our sin.

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

And this is a promise for every nation that would turn and trust in Christ because Psalm 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.

Gospel Hope

So here’s the point… Put not your trust in princes.

The only thing that can turn our nation around is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What our nation needs most is reformation and revival.

To turn our hearts back to the Lord through the preaching of the Gospel.

That is the work… the primary work… we are to be doing.

Jesus is the King of kings.

We are citizens of a Heavenly Kingdom… ambassadors for Christ God making His appeal through us (Philippians 3:20, 2 Corinthians 5:20).

The gospel… not Caesar… is the only answer for the sin and wickedness of our culture.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God (Psalm 20:7).

Politics are not our Savior Jesus is.

His grace and His gospel is the only thing that can penetrate and change the human heart.

That’s principle number 1 for a biblical political theology.

Retreat?

But that doesn’t mean we just retreat and totally disengage from politics.

That’s the other side of the ditch.

If we abdicate our God given responsibility to engage in the civic sphere of the country we ensure that the wicked will always rule over us.

Far from retreating we should engage politically with the Word of God to teach the nations to obey all that I’ve commanded you (Matthew 28:18-20).

To be a Prophetic Voice to the government and the people about the Government’s God given role and authority.

What does God’s Word say the government actually is?

And that takes us to point number 2…

II. The Government is Under God and Accountable to Him

God is over the Government.

Romans 13:1-4 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.

Now usually when you look at Romans 13 what we tend to focus on is our responsibility to the government… Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.

That we are to submit to and honor the Government as instituted by God but what usually gets missed is Paul’s primary concern is Christians not take up arms and try to overthrow the Government God instituted in private revolution (Decker, A Revolutionary Reading of Romans 13).

Not a blanket statement that Christians must obey the government in all things… they have a sphere of limited authority and when the government commands what God forbids or forbids what God commands we must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29).

But I want to look at the God given responsibility of the government.

And the first thing we need to understand is that God is sovereign over the government.

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

And then here’s the kicker… He is God’s servant.

Literally Deacon.

The Civil Magistrate is under God and accountable to Him to fulfill the purpose and role God has entrusted to them.

And what is that?

He does not bear the sword in vain.

The role of the government is to punish and restrain evil and reward those that do good.

Peter says 1 Peter 2:13–14 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.

That praise… reward… and honor is defined in 1 Timothy 2:2 that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

The Government… as God’s servant… is to uphold peace and justice for all under its rule as a terror to the evil doer and protector of the innocent.

To restrain evil and promote the good as defined as a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

And this is controversial because what I’m saying is that according to Romans 13, the government must rule as God’s servant to promote the good and punish evil as accountable to Him.

And this is not new.

Look at the 1689 chapter 24 paragraph 1 on the Civil Magistrate.

1689 24:1 God, the supreme Lord and King of all the world, hath ordained civil magistrates to be under Him, over the people, for His own glory and the public good; and to this end hath armed them with the power of the sword, for defence and encouragement of them that do good, and for the punishment of evil doers.

To be under God as God’s servant means to be accountable to Him and under the obligation to obey God’s will and carry out their ministry… the ministry of Justice… the way God would have them.

Now does this mean we believe in a theocracy?

No.

God did not set up a theocracy in the New Testament as He did in the Old Testament.

Romans says whatever authorities exist have been instituted by God.

The Bible does not prescribe one system of government.

It prescribes the ministry of government which is a ministry justice as defined by God’s Law…

Whether that Law is the natural law… the 10 commandments written on the conscience of the human heart…

Romans 2:14–15 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness…

Or Prophetically Proclaimed in the ministry of the Church and revelation of Scripture.

If they are God’s servant… how would God have them serve?

In obedience to Him.

But how can they do that if they don’t know God.

By the natural Law written on their hearts while we pray for and work towards their conversion.

Separation of Church and Sate

And when you start talking about the Government serving under God as His servant and accountable to Him… people get a little bit nervous.

What about separation of Church and State?

Listen… as Baptists… we are jealous for our religious freedom but Separation of Church and State never meant Separation of God and State.

If they have been appointed and instituted by Him as Romans 13 says they have been appointed to serve a specific role and function that being to carry out God’s will to punish the evil door and promote the good.

And who defines what is evil and what is good? God alone.

Contrary to popular belief… the Separation of Church and State is not found in the American Constitution.

It was found in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to a group of Danbury Baptists in Connecticut in a conversation about the State’s imposition on the Churches… not the churches imposition on the state.

In regards to the Constitution, John Adams, another one of our Founding , famously said Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other (From John Adams to Massachusetts Militia October 11, 1798).

And one of the most quoted works at the Constitutional Convention which laid down our Government paved the way for what our country would look like moving forward was not political philosophy… it was Deuteronomy.

America was founded as a Christian Nation based on Christian Principles.

And that’s not just my opinion.

It’s the opinion of the 1892 Supreme Court Ruling Church of the Holy Trinity vs. United States who said “no purpose of action against religion can be imputed to any legislation, state or national, because this is a religious people. This is historically true. From the discovery of this continent to the present hour, there is a single voice making this affirmation.”

And then goes on to list all the ways from Columbus on that America was Founded as a Christian Nation (https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/143/457/).

From the very beginning of our country… the First line of the Declaration of Independence reads We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men.

That’s the punish the evil and honor those who do good.

The Government is there to protect life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - a fulfilled and virtuous life.

That’s why we have concepts like limited government, checks and balances, and the separation of powers.

The Founders understood man was sinful and must have limits on human government or that government will drift into tyranny.

What is in the constitution is the First Amendment which says Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Now who is the First Amendment limiting?

Congress.

The idea was to prevent congress from stepping into the sphere of religion as America was founded upon people seeking religious freedom.

The idea was to prevent congress from establishing a state denomination at the Federal level like the Church of England.

That all men would be able to worship God according to their conscience.

But what’s interesting is that according to 19th Century Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story the First Amendment was about tolerance within inter-Christian denominations… not necessarily other religions.

He said The real object of the First Amendment was not to countenance [support], much less to advance Mohammedanism [Islam], or Judaism, or infidelity, by prostrating Christianity, but to exclude all rivalry among Christian sects [meaning denominations] and to prevent any national ecclesiastical establishment which would give… the exclusive patronage of the national government (Quoted by Judge Brevard Hand, in Jaffree vs. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County, 544 F. Supp. 1104 (S. D. Ala. 1983) in Russell Kirk, ed., The Assault on Religion: Commentaries on the Decline of Religious Liberty (Lanham, NY: University Press of America, 1986), 84).

The Establishment clause was to prevent the Federal Government from giving any one religious denomination preference over another.

But it by no means sought to kick God out of the Government.

In fact, the day that Congress approved the First Amendment to be sent and ratified by the states in what would eventually become the Bill of rights… Congress itself called on President Washington to proclaim a national day of prayer and thanksgiving thanking God.

It read: That a joint committee of both Houses be directed to wait upon the President of the United States to request that he would recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging, with grateful hearts, the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a Constitution of government for their safety and happiness (The Annals of the Congress, The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States, Compiled From Authentic Materials by Joseph Gales, Senior (Washington, DC: Gales and Seaton, 1834), 1:949-50).

(Historical References from above from: https://americanvision.org/posts/the-first-amendment-what-it-says-what-it-means/).

It would seem odd that the very congress who supposedly kicked God out of government with the First Amendment would then turn around thank Him.

Thank you for letting us kick you out and govern as we see fit.

It makes no sense.

God is Sovereign over the State.

If there is no God over the State… the State is God.

But the State is not God because Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.

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

The Separation of Church and State means that the state does not step into and dictate the elements of worship.

But it does not mean that the state is completely independent of God.

And the Church should seek in no way to rule over the state.

They are God’s Deacon instituted by Him.

We have our own ministry and sphere of authority.

Our Ministry is the Ministry of the Sword… the Sword of the Spirit. Word and Sacrament.

The Governments Ministry is the Sword of Justice.

When we preach prophetically to the State and this is so important… when we say You are under God and accountable to Him we are not trying to be the State.

We are asking the State to be the State that God has divinely appointed and instituted them to be.

To rule justly which according to 2 Samuel 23:3 quoted in our confession means to rule justly ruling in the fear of God.

Abortion Example

So we have a responsibility to preach prophetically to the Government.

To call them to be the minister, deacon, Servant God has called them to be.

To serve justice as defined by God’s Law.

And we all know this to intrinsically be true.

Why does the Government not have the right to declare abortion good?

To praise the hands that shed innocent blood and to punish those who stand against it as our Federal Government has in the weaponization of the FACE Act… Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances.

Because there is no authority except from God.

There is a Sovereign over the government and that Sovereign determines good and Evil and the Government is accountable to Him.

You can call it Natural Law.

That’s God’s Law too and the Civil Magistrate is called to submit to and obey Him.

Psalm 2

Our Ministry is to preach to the Government and proclaim to them Psalm 2.

Psalm 2 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”

In other words we will not be ruled by the Lord or give glory to Christ.

He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.

The Book of Acts says this was fulfilled in Jesus resurrection when He ascended to the throne to sit at the right hand of power (Acts 13:33, cf. Acts 2:33-35).

Jesus is the King of kings reigning and ruling now.

And what does God say?

You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

This is Christ exercising judgment over the nations.

They are accountable to HiBe wise

And so the Psalmist says to the Kings…

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.

Be wise.

Listen to the King.

The Beginning of Wisdom is the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 9:10).

Rule justly ruling in the fear of the Lord (2 Samuel 23:3).

Be warned.

Recognize that you are under Him and serve as His minister.

Rule as He would have you punishing the evil and promoting the good lest you face His wrath.

Kiss the Son… worship Him acknowledge Him.

The Psalmist is writing this to the kings of the earth.

Lest He be angry and you perish in the way.

Rulers who rule counter to the Son are liable to His judgment and nations that rebel against Him are broken as a potter’s vessel.

He does not wield the rod of iron for nothing.

But He is kind and gracious to all those who take refuge in Him.

The Government is under God and accountable to Him.

Last one… point number 3.

III. Pray for Your Leaders

1 Timothy 2:1–4 First of all, then, 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. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

As Christians we are called to pray for our leaders.

And we are short on time so let me just skip to what we are to pray for.

Conversion

Number 1… their Conversion.

They cannot submit to and obey Christ, and therefore rule justly, without first being given a new heart.

We should pray that God who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth would save them and that they would rule as a servant of the Lord.

Wisdom

Number 2… Wisdom.

Be wise O kings.

Wisdom to uphold justice whether that’s in the natural revelation of natural law written on the consciences of their hearts or the fuller revelation of Scripture.

We want kings to know Good and Evil and to rule according to it.

Righteousness

Righteousness.

Proverbs 16:12 It is an abomination to kings to do evil, for the throne is established by righteousness.

That the King would not only have wisdom but rule righteously.

Fear of the Lord

Number 4… the Fear of the Lord.

That they would rule with the weight of eternity.

Be warned O rulers of the earth.

That our Rulers would recognize God as Sovereign and know that they are accountable to Him.

That they would serve as those who will give an account.

Reformation and Revival

And Number 5… Reformation and Revival.

We should pray for our nation.

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people.

We must pray that God would turn our nation’s heart back to Him.

That God would raise up faithful Pastors and faithful churches to proclaim the good news of the Gospel.

That Jesus died on the cross and rose again in our place for our sins and we are saved by grace through faith in Him.

We could tear down the high places, but the people’s heart could still be set against it.

Above everything else we need an outpouring of God’s grace.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:9-10).

Conclusion

God over Government.

God is the ultimate Sovereign and the Civil Magistrate is accountable to Him.

At the end of the day, Jesus is the King of kings and is sovereignly reigning over all things for His glory and the Church’s good.

And that’s a comfort.

No matter how dark or difficult things might get.

If we face Beastly governments that are given authority to trample on the saints for a time… they are still given that authority (Revelation 13:5-7, Daniel 7:21).

They are under Him.

He raises up Kings and He lowers Kings (Daniel 2:21).

The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will (Proverbs 21:1).

No matter how much the nations might rage, Christ is sovereign over them all and He is working all things even wicked nations to His glory.

We serve a Kingdom shall never be destroyed and never pass away.

One that Daniel 2:44 shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever.

And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him (Daniel 7:27).

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen (Romans 11:36).