When Government is Challenging

The passage in the first half of Romans chapter 13 isn’t really a lot of fun, as I look at it from a preaching perspective. I’ve had a lot more enjoyment when I see amazing things in the scripture that I find are exciting to share in a message. But when the passage is fairly mundane, but still important, I start to wish that I had release to pass on it. But I don’t, so I must preach the passage. Still, I think we will know some important things God wants to teach us in this passage that begins Romans 13. In fact, in preparing this message, I got more excited about sharing it the further along I went. So lets begin with...

Submit to Authority

Submit. There’s a word we don’t want to be on the wrong side of. I grew up with a brother a year older, and in the days when it was OK to settle things with what we would call unnecessary violence today. We just called them fights. We would find all matter of things to wrestle over, kind of WWW style. Sometimes all bets were off and it was the last brother standing. But when we had the better of the other one, while we had him pinned down, there was only one way to get up again. Cry “uncle” . You couldn’t just say stop, or I give up, or you win. We had to say “uncle”. That was the word we used that meant submission. And we fought until one of us finally cried uncle.

To submit to the stronger force is something we don’t want to do. We’ll do whatever we can to hold out against the other. We don’t want to submit.

We don’t want to take the second or third seat. We want to drive the bus.

Paul had just finished telling us “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” And next he tells us...

Romans 13:1 CSB

1 Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God.

OK, so when the authorities begin to walk all over us, we are supposed to just “cry uncle” and let them have their way? That’s what it sounds like, if we just stop at “submit to the governing authorities.” Because the sentence hasn’t finished yet. Paul tells us Submit to government, because authority only comes from God; then Paul goes even farther and says when a government exists, it’s because God made it that way.

So here’s where it gets a little hard. God institutes governmental authorities. Without God’s backing, there is no authority. Now if it were clear to us that God is the authority in charge, certainly, submit to God. You won’t win a wrestling match with him. He’s not trying to get us to cry uncle. Doesn’t need to. He’ll just give us a look and move on.

Paul says that resisting an authority established by God is opposing God’s command. God’s command? We’re talking about government here, aren’t we? The governments that operate in cities, in counties, in states, in nations, and even larger realms.

We never think of that as being face to face with God. We are just trying to check on a water bill or a traffic ticket or a building permit. We want to see a pothole fixed, or a traffic light installed, or a blighted area cleaned up. We want fire protection and utilities that come to our home and work.

We look for laws about our social and civic behaviors that are needed and are just. We want courts and judges that are unbiased and capable. We might want to shake our fist at God because of the emotions of the moment, but we never expect that when we argue about our government we are arguing about God’s establishment. We certainly don’t expect judgement from God because we oppose our government.

We have seen or even lived under governments that are immoral, unjust, and oppressive. Some of us or our families have faced unfair actions of police, DCFS, courts or military deployments. Some have “slipped under the radar” on purpose to avoid government intrusion, and some have been under the radar in terms of getting help that is needed for daily living.

There are all those things that have happened about which our friends and colleagues have said “are you kidding?”

And in our day, we also have to think about...

Government in Times of Pandemics

I think that during these last 6 month of the global pandemic we know as COVID-19, I have seen a lot that has helped to contextualize this conversation about submission to government authorities. And it’s clear that some authorities are doing well and some are not doing so well in governing during these times.

Let me state something I think is obvious to people who look at evidence independently and are actually thoughtful, instead of swallowing propaganda whole: There is a difference between exercising authority and actually governing people.

In a time when Government must step in to insure the long-term health of the greatest possible number of people, and do all they can to help us as citizens prevent more deaths than are unavoidable, we have seen governments both fail and excel. We have seen it on the national level and the local and county scale, and in the actions of states. We have been able to compare the effectiveness of one city or county compared to another. We can see what has worked and what hasn’t. We can see how problems are different in those neighborhoods and counties that are wealthy or poor.

And we have seen the results of people, either segments of larger groups or sometimes whole populations, refuse to trust governmental officials and ignore the health guidelines that are designed to contain the infection and protect the population.

While some governments have been more effective than others, some have truly excelled and some have somehow abrogated their responsibility.

Governments have had good results when responsibility has been more important to them than authority. In New Zealand and Thailand, both of which have heads of state that carry a strong moral authority among their people, have already had runs of 100 days, more than half the time since this crisis began, where there were NO NEW INFECTIONS in their respective countries.

And governments have failed when personal authority has been more important than public responsibility. Sadly, this is the state of America, where the infection and death rate is 5 times what it should be according to the size of our population. And this in the country we like to claim has the most advanced health system in the world!

When leadership is responsive, people will follow the rules and health orders that are given because there is a trust that authority is being used for the general good of all its citizens.

When governments gave a clear message that we were facing a deadly infection, and that it would overrun us if we did not immediately take drastic and necessary precautions to protect ourselves and others, results have been good.

When leadership is reactive, there is little trust. When evidence is set aside, there is paranoia, resistance, denial and rebellion. “My Rights” become more important than “My Responsibility.” When governments have not been trustworthy nor clear about what, how and why, results for control of the situation have been poor.

On the inverse side, people who have carefully submitted to the authority of their governments, that were acting according to science, found more safety, and the number of deaths drop. Those places opened again, more people went back to work, and fewer people face hospitalizations. Submission to good leadership saved lives.

I know there are things I am repeating here, while I am trying to say them from some different perspectives.

We have experienced weak and untrustworthy authorities as well as respected authorities We have seen sceptical and stubborn people that have rebelled against the simple things that make a difference, and those that are careful all the time.

Science has proven that isolation, distancing, and mask wearing are tremendously effective in reducing the spread of the Corona Virus, as long as everyone submits to the science and puts up with some discomfort and inconvenience for the good of others.

Faithfully following God does not mean we can be stupid about science. Science is simply what we have discovered about how God’s universe works. When science comes from a practitioner rather than a politician, it carries an authority that does not negate faith but continues to prove the genius of the God behind it all.

Yet some Christians and some churches have thought it more faithful to reject science for a feigned faith in God that will protect them from any disease. I say a feigned faith in God because these same people will wear eyeglasses, a scientific device, not a tool of faith; they will visit the dentist for a rotten tooth and a doctor for health care instead of praying deeply and faithfully for healing. They will take medication but not eat well. A more balanced faith in God has faith in God’s supervision of science as an authority, and remembers that we live in a broken world filled with disease and corruption.

So: Is Resistance Futile?

The question is real, but it needs the right context. Can we resist the sovereignty of God? Can we resist his ultimate authority over each of us and large-scale management of our universe? Of course we can’t resist or successfully rebel against God. Remember the message of John’s Revelation: God wins, Satan loses, so be on the right side. That context does not change.

But resisting good science and governmental guidelines for this virus is just dumb. And if you aren’t willing to take care of yourself, at least think of me, or think of Bobbi if you like her better, or think of others of our congregation, who, like Bobbi, have 2 or 3 risk factors that could turn an infection deadly. Paul says,

Romans 13:2 ESV

2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

Put that into the context of COVID-19, and it makes good sense to us. Resist good governmental authority and face judgement. Resist ANY Authority God has established and face God’s judgement.

So perhaps resistance is futile.

Next, remember that...

Appointed Rulers Have Their Realm

Those whom are governing us have a role to play for our good. And in the next verse, Paul is somewhat optimistic in saying...

Romans 13:3 CSB

3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval.

This is of course how things are supposed to work. Do good and live unafraid. Do good and be commended. We only wish it were so all the time!

We need to understand that when Paul was writing this, the Emperor Nero was just coming into power. The persecutions in Rome had not yet become deadly for Christians, but it was only 10 years before that the Roman Emperor kicked all the Jews out of Jerusalem after some street riots because of all the new Christians, Gentile and Israeli, that were showing up in Rome.

It was nearly time for Paul to carry the offering of the Gentile churches to the needy Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. And then he would be arrested for his own protection, imprisoned for protection for a couple more years, then shipwrecked on his way to Rome, then under house arrest in Rome until a day that he would lose his head, literally, over hanging on to Christ in a secular world.

It would be under Nero that Christians would be blamed for the fire that devastated Rome—Not the Democrats, because the politics were not divided into organized parties at that time. Oh, and the line that “Nero fiddled while Rome burned” is just a complaint over his leadership during crisis.

That’s the context for Paul as he continues his optimism about the Roman government, of which he was a citizen, which was designed to be a government of laws. Most of our legal language to this day, 2,000 years later, is in the Latin language of Rome.

When we live in a nation of laws, we expect laws to fairly judge us in our good behavior as well as our bad. So Paul goes on, saying,

Romans 13:4 CSB

4 For it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For it is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong.

“It is God’s servant” does not say “Who is God’s servant.”

Did you get it? The IT is the servant of God. In this whole passage, verses 1-7, an individual person in authority is never discussed except the person of God. Not a governor, president, or emperor is listed as God’s servant; the “governing authorities” , “the authorities that exist”, “the authority” is directly equal to “God’s command”. In verse 3, “rulers” means government as a whole; “the one is authority” is directed towards God’’s authority not an individual; in verse 4, “IT is God’s servant” at beginning and end of the verse, and “IT does not carry the sword without cause”; in verse 6, “the authorities are God’s servants”.

Government is the establishment of God so that God’s people can live in a realm of laws and management. Laws for our good, and punishment when we are unlawful. Have respect for the government God has established; have respect for the various offices that flawed people inhabit.

Be afraid if you are a lawbreaker. Be afraid if you reject God’s established authorities. Understand that as the servant of God, the authority of government may become an avenger against the unlawful.

....

Paul also says to us that, as citizens, we should...

Be Subject With a Conscience

Romans 13:5 CSB

5 Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath but also because of your conscience.

At verse 13:1, Paul put it as a standard that those who read this letter should submit to government. Here, at 13:5, Paul says, “you must submit.”

He gives us good reason: Avoid the wrath of the authorities, and remember your conscience. There is a guilt involved in lawbreaking. That’s why most California drivers take their foot off the gas pedal when they see a highway patrolman. That’s why people leave the house where they have a stash hidden if the cops are on the block. That’s why we hate to get a registered letter from the IRS or be called into the “Big Boss’s” office at work.

Be a good citizen for the sake of a clear conscience as well as for obedience to God’s care over you.

Earlier in Romans, Paul wrote of how God’s law is already written on our conscience:

Romans 2:14–15 CSB

14 So, when Gentiles, who do not by nature have the law, do what the law demands, they are a law to themselves even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts. Their consciences confirm this. Their competing thoughts either accuse or even excuse them

When Jesus was confronted about the Temple Tax all Jews owed each year, and amount equal to about two days’ wages, Jesus chose to avoid offence to the local authorities in order to lessen offence:

Matthew 17:27 CSB

27 “But, so we won’t offend them, go to the sea, cast in a fishhook, and take the first fish that you catch. When you open its mouth you’ll find a coin. Take it and give it to them for me and you.”

Although Jesus had just taught his disciples that the Son of the King does not pay the King’s tax, he put himself subject to the local authority for the sake of conscience—that none be offended and nothing held against him in this area.

Paul comes to the end of this paragraph reminding us that “not of this world” because of our heavenly citizenship does not mean away from the responsibilities of living in this world and he discusses...

Taxes and Trust of God’s Ministers

Romans 13:6 CSB

6 And for this reason you pay taxes, since the authorities are God’s servants, continually attending to these tasks.

So as an example of good citizenship, pay your taxes. Why? They are paid to the governing authorities who are God’s servants. An Paul reminds us that they “give full time to governing”, or “devote themselves to this very thing,” or, as in this translation, they are “continually attending to these tasks.”

While it is true that elected officials get paid from taxes, and even more from outside engagements, the real core of government is not the politicians but the bureaucrats, the ones behind the scenes. That’s the managers, accountants and secretaries, the operators and inspectors and pavers, the plumbers and police, the painters and builders and armies and healers. Those are the ones whose days are immersed in the work of government’s tasks. Those are the ones whose pay is dependent on taxes. They serve God when they serve us; They are his servants for our good.

This passage does not give clearance for the Christian to withhold taxes on moral grounds. And that follows Jesus’ own theme to the Pharisees and Herodians that tried to trap Jesus by making the paying of the imperial tax a moral issue. Here’s what he said:

Matthew 22:19–21 CSB

19 Show me the coin used for the tax.” They brought him a denarius. 20 “Whose image and inscription is this?” he asked them. 21 “Caesar’s,” they said to him. Then he said to them, “Give, then, to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Roman coins always had the Emperor’s likeness stamped into them. That would have been idolatry to the Jews, so the denarius had to be exchanged for a Jewish shekel to pay the Temple tax (that’s part of the problem of the moneychangers in the Temple in Jesus’ day).

Don’t use moral or political arguments to avoid taxes. Be subject to the government God has given you. And,

Be Responsible Citizens

The last verse of this section can be summed up pretty simply and in fact is rather mundane. Pay your bills. Yet this message is attached to our tax responsibility as citizens, which is the immediate antecedent, and adds a responsibility to love and honor others even outside the Christian Community.

Romans 13:7 CSB

7 Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor.

“Pay back a debt” is the sense of the phrase from Romans 13:7.

Pay to everyone what is owed. This is to fulfil the opening phrase of the next paragraph, our lesson for next week, in v. 13:8, “Owe no one anything.”

Pay to everyone what is owed. Governments, overseers, creditors, people, and colleagues.

To governments, taxes, tolls, customs. In Paul’s day, there were the direct property taxes and the head taxes paid as tribute to the government of the Roman Conquerors. Roman citizens didn’t pay these.

Then there were the other taxes that everyone paid: sales taxes, customs duties, and tolls. We of course need a civic infrastructure, roads, bridges, defense, schools, water supplies, sewers and trash controls. We benefit from a local fire department, and a local police that is on the side of the people. We want to know that there is a structure to take care of our practical needs as a nation, a state, a city or a community. So pay the taxes. Do your part.

As a Christian, be a good citizen. It is a witness to the world. As a Christian, be a lawful citizen. That too is a witness. As a Christian, be a responsible citizen. Show by your actions that you care about others.

Now check your attitudes.

Pay your obligations of respect and honor as it is due.

Respect to whom you owe respect. In the original Greek, this word is literally “fear” or “reverence” as we would show to God. Respect government because it is the instrument of God. “When government is evil, the Christian places it in the hands of God, and he removes it in his own time.” [Romans: Verse by Verse. Osborne, Grant R. ( Bellingham, WA., Lexham Press) (c) 2017 p. 416]

Now, I mentioned earlier that because governments are the instruments of God, that offices within governments are due respect even when they are occupied by flawed humans. So, no matter who is in the White house, or VP or Cabinet member, Senator, member of Congress, Governor, Alderman, or Mayor, the office receives respect from the careful Christian.

Finally, Paul says, pay honor to whom honor is due. Just as the office of government is due a healthy respect, it is also due a sense of honor, as we would honor God’s appointment.

Submission is Not Blind Obedience

Don’t allow the “honor to those you owe honor” give you permission to dismiss the appointment God has made. But don’t simply fall in line when the person of structure in charge leads you in a way that is clearly wrong.

This passage is not about giving leaders permission, as Hitler did, to denounce whole segments of society and demonize any opposition. Submission to authority because it is instituted by God does not mean that someone made of evil will not try to derail what God has made.

Police states, people who foment genocide, structures that abuse and oppress populations, systems that steal from the poor in order to make the elite rich even richer and farther from the common people shows an abuse of God-ordained government.

When things go so wrong, we must do as did the early apostles:

Acts 5:29 ESV

29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.

Prophets must speak into evil, and conscience stay on the side of the Holy God, who will judge all.

Remember It is possible to protest without dishonor; It is possible to morally disagree without dishonoring another person.

It is possible to stand firm in your convictions without denigrating the office or the person whom you have contact with and against whom you must stand so that you follow God rather than Man.

There are permissive laws in our nation that are not Biblical. They range from simple sexual encounter to marriage and divorce. Permissive laws go so far as to confront our beliefs in the sanctity of life, and protection of the unborn and the elderly or disabled. I’m not going to go into any depth here; but the imperfection of those who have made our civil laws has meant that those laws are unholy, unrighteous, and flawed.

So when you stand against those laws and immoral judgments. be certain of your place with God in your argument, faith, and courage. Let the light of Christ in you shine in those dark places, for they will continue to be a part of our world until God removes them.

Good Citizens Stay Involved

I would add one more thing Being a good citizen means that not only do you pay your taxes, but you vote. Register to vote, ask for a ballot by mail, and educate yourself as well as you can.

God has given us this opportunity to give input to what he has established. Remember we have nothing but imperfect people to vote for, but vote. AFTER you have carefully studied, paid attention to voices you agree with and disagree with. I have never told a congregation of God’s people how to vote, and I never will. Your vote is a very nearly sacred privilege, and I would never steal it from you. Just ask Bobbi—I don’t even do that at home.

Pray it through—in submission to God, not telling God what to do.

Even Paul makes no mention of whom he would rather have in power; he simply knows that no matter who, God can still be trusted.