Rom 13-Civil Disobedience
| Civil Disobedience! Romans 13:1-7
June 15, 2008 (New Living Translation) 1Obey the government, for God is the one who put it there. All governments have been placed in power by God. 2So those who refuse to obey the laws of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow. 3For the authorities do not frighten people who are doing right, but they frighten those who do wrong. So do what they say, and you will get along well. 4The authorities are sent by God to help you. But if you are doing something wrong, of course you should be afraid, for you will be punished. The authorities are established by God for that very purpose, to punish those who do wrong. 5So you must obey the government for two reasons: to keep from being punished and to keep a clear conscience.6Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid so they can keep on doing the work God intended them to do. 7Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and import duties, and give respect and honor to all to whom it is due. PRAY Scripture Memory:If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. – Romans 12:18 (NIV)Intro:Historical dilemmas:· Colonial America – patriot? Or loyal citizen?· Civil War – R. E. Lee and the Virginians…· Nazi Germany – Corrie Ten Boom· China – smuggling Bibles· Modern America: Taxes – contributing to abortion… Principles:1. God is Sovereign. This includes ALL human governments.· Verse 1 – God is the one who put [government] there. All governments have been placed in power by God.· Verse 4, in the Greek, twice refers to governmental authorities as “God’s servants.”· Daniel 4:17, 25, 32 – the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes. 2. God commands His people to obey lawful governmental authority. (v. 1) V. 1 – Obey the government, for God is the one who put it there. All governments have been placed in power by God.· God wants law and order vv. 2 & 42Those who refuse to obey the laws of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow…. 4…The authorities are established by God….· God has given government “the power of the sword” (v. 4 – The authorities are established by God for that very purpose, to punish those who do wrong.)The issue of light and darkness / fear of consequence, vs. fear of God · 2 reasons to obey: to keep from being punished and to keep a clear conscience (v. 5)You must obey the government for two reasons: to keep from being punished and to keep a clear conscience.1 Peter 2:13-14 – 13For the Lord’s sake, accept all authority—the king as head of state, 14and the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish all who do wrong and to honor those who do right.The follower of Jesus Christ has a higher motive for obeying than others have – we are ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:20)1 Peter 2:11-12 – 12Be careful how you live among your unbelieving neighbors. Even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will believe and give honor to God when he comes to judge the world.The follower of Jesus Christ has a stronger reason for disobeying when disobedience becomes necessary. · The rejection of authority for reasons other than biblical principle and biblically defined conscience is rejection of God’s authority. Remember, God is Lord over every human authority. 3. We are commanded to pray for our “governors & those in authority” (1 Tim 2:1-3)1I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4. We are commanded to show respect for those in office. (1 Pet. 2:17)17Show respect for everyone. Love your Christian brothers and sisters. Fear God. Show respect for the king. 5. God expects us to obey HIM over any human authority. – (Acts 4 & 5)Acts 4:18-20, 31 18Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. 20For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” v. 31 – the result: they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.Acts 5:29 – Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men!” 6. God commands His people to pay taxes. (“Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.”) (vv. 6-7; Mat. 22:15-21) | | 6Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid so they can keep on doing the work God intended them to do. 7Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and import duties, and give respect and honor to all to whom it is due.Mat. 22:15-21 – 17”Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 21He said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” Two Extremes:F Inappropriate IndependenceAnti-government – activist – the Jewish zealot in the time of ChristF Uninvolved IndifferenceAnti-government non-involvement – the monastic approachApathetic non-involvement (never challenged?) Jesus prayed that we would be IN the world, but not OF it…. (John 17:15; 1 John 2:15-17) A more God-honoring Perspective: F Involved independenceInvolvement: Accepting responsibility to do what we can on behalf of the innocentIndependence: Not looking to government to give us or our children a future and a hope…Two Other extremes:F The government is always wrong.The government is always wrong. As a citizen of God’s Kingdom, I have no obligation to any worldly kingdom. F Lawful authority should always F be obeyed.F Lawful authority should always be obeyed. – Nazi Germany – Two Motives for this perspective: · Don’t rock the boat (I have too much to lose)· Moral issues only distract people from the more important issue of the gospel… A more God-honoring Perspective: The Bible defines morality. We should never be afraid to call “sin” sin. Yet we must always remember that God is opposed to the proud and gives grace to the humble (James 4:6, et. al.). Jesus condemns the person who prays, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men…” (Lk 18:9-14) We should never shy away from the possibility that might have to suffer for righteousness sake. Yet we should always be holding forth the offer of salvation by grace to all.“Christians are not to use their freedom in Christ as a handy excuse for disobeying the laws of the state. Civil disobedience should come only after submission to authority has been practiced. We should be informed and willing to question the motives of those who govern us, but we should be more demanding and more suspicious of our motives.” (Life Application Bible Commentary)Even in places like Nazi Germany, as in 1st Century Rome or under the Babylonians, Persians or Assyrians, we see that an evil government is preferable to anarchy… Some Final Considerations:F The Issue of Citizenship:We have dual citizenship. And yet, our greater allegiance is to our Lord Jesus Christ and to His Kingdom.F The issue of trust and security – a question of kingdoms…Which kingdom are we looking to for our security?F The Issue of Submission:The issue of submission to authority, in general…On what basis do I refuse to submit to those in authority over me? How simple and easy do I find it to do that? (Is it truly for God-honoring, biblical reasons, or something else?)Our submission to human authority, or lack thereof, is usually a reflection of our attitude towards God’s authority.1 Peter 2:13-3:7 – submission to government, submission to employers (masters), and submission in marriage, all in the context of suffering unjustly… The prototype: JesusHeb. 6:19; 10:23; 1 Pet. 1:3, 13; 3:15; Rom. 8:24; Eph. 1:18; 2:12; 1 Th. 4:13; 1 Tim. 2:13; 1 John 3:2-3 F The Issue of Wickedness in High Places:Why do the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer? – Habakkuk…How can God use the wicked to punish those more righteous then they?The answer: God is sovereign….When we resist authority for any reason other than out of conscience to God… even more, for any reason other than clear biblical principle… Summary / Review:Christians SHOULD be good citizens, even under evil governments. We need to acknowledge His sovereign hand and place our trust in Him. On the other hand, we need always to remember that we are His ambassadors and what we do reflects on our Lord. We cannot compromise with sin. We MUST stand up for the helpless. We must accept our responsibility to do what we can… but we must ALWAYS be checking out motives and our hearts. A Truth to Remember: God is the one who sets up every government and tears it down in His perfect time and purpose. A Challenge to Consider: Are you willing to acknowledge God’s hand in the mysteries of this life, to submit to the authority that HE has placed over you… up to the point of disobeying God? One thing I heard this morning was… |