The Christian and Secular Government

A Christian’s Duty to Government Romans 13:1-10 Jesus was once tempted with the question whether it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. The Pharisees had carefully collected both Herodians who supported paying taxes to Rome and Zealots who thought that paying taxes to Caesar was treason against the state of Israel. They were thinking to themselves: “We’ve got him now!” But they did not get Him. Jesus told them to give Caesar what belonged to Caesar, but no more. God was to be given what was rightfully His. The relationship that we as Christians have with government is always a dilemma of sorts. We would like to have the wisdom of Jesus on this matter. Thankfully, both Peter and Paul help us greatly in this matter. This morning we will look at Paul’s teaching on our relationship to secular government in the 13th chapter of Romans. The first thing we need to understand is that at the time Romans was written, Nero was the Emperor. He killed his own mother to solidify his rule. He, along with Caligula, were two of the most evil men of the first century. Nero was in every way a moral deviant. He also thought himself to be a god and desired divine worship. He had his tutor Seneca commit suicide in lieu of being executed. If any person deserved to be despised, it was Nero. Nero would later falsely accuse the Christians in Rome of setting the city on fire. Christians were crucified, burnt, thrown to the animals and suffered torture. There was a pragmatic aspect for the Christians not to rise up against Nero and Rome. Many of the early Christians were slaves. They could look back to the way Rome dealt with Spartacus and the slave revolt. The Jews could remember what happened to a Judas who led a tax revolt against Rome. Rome could be most brutal when it needed. Active resistance against such power would have resulted in disaster to the movement. The Christians were under enough suspicion by Jew and Roman alike. So, walking circumspectly was certainly good policy. But Paul chooses a different argument why the Christian should be subject to the authorities over them. His argument is based upon the sovereignty of God. Despite all appearances, Paul says that there is no authority except by the will of God. God is ruler over all potentates, good and evil. He is not responsible for the evils of government, but God rules. He will hold those in power accountable for their administration of the states they rule over. Paul being by saying that every soul is to be subject to the authorities over them. “Every soul” is placed first in his sentence which emphasizes that every single person without exception is to be subject to this authority. This is a decree of God. These authorities rule by the will of God. Anyone who resists them is resisting God. In principal, the rulers are appointed by God to punish evildoers and not those who are good. It is obvious that on many occasions that the wicked are rewarded and the good punished. But the Christian is not to actively withstand government, even when it does evil. A Christian has to set is or her sights upon the return of Jesus and the establishment of His Kingdom. There will be an accounting for those who have ruled poorly. Vengeance belongs to God alone. If we suffer wrongfully for doing good, God takes account of this also. The wrongs we suffer for Jesus’ sake will be made right. Without this eternal perspective, remaining physically passive in the face of evil would make no sense at all. God grants authorities the use of the sword. Therefore, they are to be rightly feared. If one does evil, the government is there to punish them. Peter adds to this when he says that there is no thank for a Christian who suffers punishment before secular authorities. If it is necessary to suffer for being good, so be it. The emphasis for the Christian is that our conduct must be blameless. This means we show proper respect for our secular leaders. This includes the payment of taxes. In every way, Christians should be the example of good citizens. We should be engaged in making the world we live in better, as much as it lies within us. We should be honest in our dealings with those outside, even though dishonesty is rampant. We should be examples of moral purity in a land which seems to be devoid of them. The work which we do in society is unto the Lord and not unto man. It is a form of witness to a world which is in the dark. We should not expect accolades for this. Jesus did all sorts of good, and we see what happened to Him. But we anticipate in all that we do the coming of Christ’s Kingdom where there shall be justice and peace. We must be as those who are called not to overcome evil with evil, but evil with good. The early church made good use of this principle. The blood of the martyrs became the seed of the church. The church came to prominence in Rome not by causing suffering but by willingness to patiently suffer for doing good. Eventually the church came to rule by its willingness to die for what they believed. The movie Patton starts with Patton telling his soldiers that the purpose of war is not to die for one’s country. It was for the other so and so to die for his. But we are reminded by Paul in this same book of Romans that while we were still Christ’s enemies, He died for us. The way of Jesus is so contrary to man. Christ did far more by laying down His life than all rulers have accomplished by the force of arms. We are His disciples and must arm ourselves with the same mind. I mentioned earlier that we should not actively resist government. This is the teaching of Scripture. But should we just roll over and play dead? Should we join the government by being their agents for suppression and evil? This would be the question that Christians in Nazi Germany had to face. Should they join the army or the SS? Should they be in this kind of government? This is not an easy question to answer as we are to render to Caesar only what is his, but nothing which belongs directly to God. Yet we see brave souls like Schindler who saved countless Jews as an official in the government. If he had not been there, what would have happened to the people he protected? He did not actively oppose the government, yet he tried to mitigate the evil which it did. This is a matter of conscience which to Paul is very important. We can see in the early church how they remained obedient to the laws of the state in two ways. First of all, they did not oppose the laws concerning slavery. Slaves were property and could be bought and sold like cattle. Certainly, slavery is an evil. We still have it today. The church had slaves and masters among its members. Outside the church body, these distinctions were to be observed. But inside the church assembly, all were brothers and sisters. At the Lord’s table they were equal. Paul had to chastise the Corinthians severely for observing social rank at the Lord’s table. He reminds them of the Lord’s judgment of them. Some had become sick and others died. So here, no external law was broken, but it was clear that in the Christian assembly, such distinctions were not to be observed. When the Kingdom comes in its fullest, such distinctions will not be observed. Out church assemblies should reflect the coming reality. In dealing with slaves, the church also adopted a novel policy. As slaves could be bought and sold in the market, the Christian went out and purchased them, starting with those in the assembly. The new master also had the power to free his or her slaves, which they did. Roman Law was upheld, yet the slaves went free. Other masters in the church freed their slaves voluntarily. This is expensive discipleship indeed! If the church wants to have this kind of power today, perhaps it needs to fully commit to what the cost of discipleship is. The second way the church dealt with overcoming evil with good without taking active resistance was in adoption. Unwanted babies, almost all female, were left on the steps of the Pagan temples to die. The prostitutes who served the temple might take a few of the more beautiful girls in to become prostitutes, but the rest were left to die by exposure. This was the abortion of that day. The church, though throughly opposed to abortion, did not actively resist its practice. Instead, the church adopted large numbers of unwanted females who were considered liabilities and raised them. One of the big problems with sex selective abortion is that it leads to a lot of single men who can not find wives. This practice leads to all kinds of violence, theft and evil. Where could a man find a nice lady who would do him right? –the church, of course! The church raised these girls to be God-fearing, chaste and humble. They came to the church which had a monopoly on brides. How many men were concerted to Christianity by these women who were despised and left to die by the world, but honored by the church for which they were thankful? We can see in the early Quakers who held that all people were created equal and despised distinctions of social rank. They refused to bow and courtesy before their “superiors.” For this they had their ears boxed, were flogged, and imprisoned. If one reads what is in Romans, they rightfully suffered these punishments. They were right in principle, of course. God does not respect persons. But in their rebellion against God instituted authority, they were wrong in how they practiced this. Then, a solution was found. As the Quakers were considered the offscouring of the earth, they considered everyone their superior. The would bow and courtesy before the poorest of the poor as well as everyone else when they met them. They were showing proper respect for their “superiors.” In their observance of this law, they made utter mockery of it. These are but a few examples of how we as Christians should conduct ourselves in thie present evil age. As people of conscience which is bound by the Word of God, we must arm ourselves to being called evildoers in some case, but not evildoers before God. This means that if we do not participate in promoting evil in society which violates the morality which rightly belongs to God, then we must be willing to suffer the punishment of the magistrates. But we are not to make active resistance against them. Luther made this stand at the Diet of Worms. He would not recant what his conscience assured him was true. He was willing to be burnt at the stake for it. God had other plans for Luther, however. But we also see Luther, a little later, having to oppose the uprising of the peasants in Germany. He encouraged the magistrates to suppress this rebellion for which he has taken much criticism. But the same Luther had also stood up for the peasants. He put his life on the line as it was the magistrates in Germany who protected him from arrest from the Catholics. He severely chastised these leaders for their miserable treatment of the peasants. This is forgotten, of course. Luther tried his best to be a good Christian and a good citizen He was certainly not perfect, but we can learn much from his struggles. Finally, what does this mean for Christians in the US where I live? Do we not live in a democracy? Do we not have our rights enshrined in the Constitution? Do not the citizens rule? This is under severs stress these days as the administrative state rises in power. What might have once been said about America is less true today. We have not had a Nero rise yet in this country, regardless of what we hear bandied about. As it is our civic duty to vote, then vote, as this is our duty as citizens. The choices might not be such as we might wish, but in your conscience, do your best. We must remember that ultimately, it is God who raises nations and rulers as well as sets them down. We must not forget the sovereignty of God, even here in America. Also, our freedom as Christians are not enshrined in a Constitution but the Word of God. Regardless of what might happen to our country, we must realize that we are citizens of a heavenly kingdom not made with hands. As far as those of you who might reside in different countries under various forms of government, good or bad, we must remember that we belong to Jesus who will work out all things, good and evil for our good. As much as it lies within us all, let us live at peace with everyone.