No King But Christ

Good morning,

I want to ask that you take your Bibles and turn with me to Romans 13. It is my prayer this morning that the Lord might see fit to use this message to enlighten you to the world that we live in and that He may use this to encourage you through Biblical truths.

It was Thomas Jefferson who said, “a little rebellion now and then is a good thing.” and his wish was granted. In the founding of our nation we were granted with the right to revolt every four years through what we call a ballot and our nation, to our knowledge, has spoken and in the weeks to come we will be living in a new America with new leadership that has promised to press forward with the most liberal agenda we have ever fathomed. However, in the midst of all of this change we must understand the Word of God. The passage that we will first address this morning has been horribly misunderstood, one commentator said that few verses in the Scriptures are a misused as this one and I find that to be true and if you and I misunderstand this passage we will find ourselves in utter confusion with the climate we will witness from our government in the years to come.

Illustration: On October 8th of 1985 Michael Cassidy, was granted an interview with President P. W. Botha in Pretoria. It was the time of the National Initiative for Reconciliation, and Michael had hoped for signs of repentance and for the assurance that apartheid would be dismantled. He was to be bitterly disappointed. This is his account of what happened: ‘I was immediately aware on entry to the room that this was not to be the sort of encounter for which I had prayed. The President began by standing to read me part of Romans 13! He evidently imagined that this passage was enough to justify unequivocal support of the Nationalist Government’s apartheid policy

About 150 years ago, a great revival took place in Wales.

As a consequence, many missionaries went to North-East India to spread the Gospel. The region known as Assam consisted of hundreds of tribes who were primitive and sometimes aggressive.

A group of Welsh missionaries spread the message of love, peace and hope in Jesus Christ to these communities. They were not greeted with love, however. One Welsh missionary was able to convert a man, his wife, and two kids. This man’s faith was contagious, and many villagers started to embrace Christianity.

Angry, the chief of the village gathered all the villagers. He then called the man who had first converted and demanded he renounce his faith in public or face execution. Moved by the Holy Spirit, the man instantly came up with a song which became famous for years to come. He sang:

“I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back.”

Outraged at the refusal of the man, the chief told his archers to shoot down his two children. As both boys lay twitching on the floor, the chief asked, “Will you deny your faith? You have lost both your children. You will lose your wife too.”

But the man responded with these beautiful words:

“Though no one joins me, still I will follow. Though no one joins me, still I will follow. Though no one joins me, still I will follow. No turning back, no turning back.”

The chief was going crazy and he ordered for his wife to be shot down as well. In an instant she joined her two children in death.

Now he asked for the final time, “I will give you one more opportunity to deny your faith and live.”

In the face of certain death, the man bolted out the final memorable lines:

“The cross before me, the world behind me. The cross before me, the world behind me. The cross before me, the world behind me. No turning back, no turning back.”

He was killed like the rest of his family. But with their deaths, a stunning revelation took place within the village. The chief who had ordered the killings was shaken to the core by the faith of this man. He wondered, “Why should this man, his wife and two children die for a Man who lived in a far-away land on another continent some 2,000 years ago? There must be some remarkable power behind the family’s faith, and I too want to taste that faith.”

In a spontaneous confession of faith, he said, “I too belong to Jesus Christ!” When the crowd heard this from the mouth of their chief, the whole village accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior.

The Righteous Government (Rom. 13:1-7)

What the Government is (v1 notice “higher powers”)

The Government is an entity that has been given authoritative oversight over the people within it’s borders

How the Government Got It’s Power (v1-2)

John 19:11 “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above.”

What the Government is To Do (v2-3)

They are to judge evil.

God uses the government as a means for immediate judgement on this Earth upon the wicked (v4)

They are to promote good and to reward those who do right

What this Government is to Expect (v1)

They are to expect submission.

But what if the Gov. abuses their power? What if they rebel against their God-given duty and reward evil and condemn good? Should we totally submit in such a morally perverse situation? Quote by Origen:

Paul’s Letter to the Romans C. Christians and the Roman Authorities, 13:1–7

Origen asks: ‘Is an authority which persecutes the children of God, which attacks the faith and which undermines our religion, from God? We shall answer this briefly. Nobody will deny that our senses—sight, sound and thought—are given to us by God. But although we get them from God, what we do with them is up to us.… God’s judgment against the authorities will be just, if they have used the powers they have received according to their own ungodliness and not according to the law of God

As we begin to ask ourselves about this hypothetical scenario, I want to invite you to look with me in the book of Exodus. When we read about the Government doing and praising good we must ask ourselves “What is good.” In Noah’s day it says that men did was seemed good in their own eyes but is this what God meant? Did a Holy, Righteous, and Sovereign God put depraved men in office to do what seemed good to their flesh? You see, when we have a society that has influencers like Oprah Winfrey who encourage people to “tell your own truth” we begin to have a problem. If truth is objective then there is no basis for anything and the order of all of civilization falls apart, for instance, if we reject that God is the basis for all morality then what is the basis for right and wrong? If Darwin was correct and we are the result of a singled cell organism, a fish, or a silver back gorilla then where is this great divide where cannibalism, murder, and rape become evil. It was Paul, in 1 Timothy that said that the Law is good and without the Bible there is NO worldview that is consistent. So, I want you to join me as we take a look at Exodus 20. It is here we will find what is good and we will be able to examine the condition of our nation.

The Scriptural Revelation our Nation’s Heart (Ex. 20)

Abortion (v13)

Number one cause of global deaths with 42.7 Million Babies murdered last year

61+ Million plus murdered in the US alone since 1973

Socialism (v15)

What is Socialism?

It is defined as being a political and economic theory which advocates that the true means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned by the community.

The Unity Task Force Recommendations that have been signed by AOC, Bernie Sanders, and Joe Biden call for major reforms to our tax system that ensure the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes so we have the additional trillions of dollars needed to create an economy that works for all of us.

Karl Marx, famously said, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."

LGBTQIA+ and The Attack on the Home

Genesis 2 the Creation of the Home

President Trump most pro-gay president in history

President Elect Biden publicly encouraged an 8 year old to transition from a boy to a girl.

It doesn’t matter what office you hold, you have been called to uphold, not redefine the Law of God.

The education system

If you still don’t agree with me, let me tell you about an organization called “Black Lives Matter”. Now, I want to very very blunt that racism is a blatant sin and injustices that go against the law of God must be addressed. However, in the last year, this organization has been praised and endorsed by those who will be our leaders soon. As I’ve watched other leaders call this movement out I also watched as they took down the page on their websites that listed their believes. However, I was able to find what it used to say.

But isn’t it only about real racism? let’s ask the founder Opal Tometi who said, ““When we started Black Lives Matter, it wasn’t solely about police brutality and extrajudicial killing, The issue was just “a spark point” to begin “calling for the defunding of police, a moratorium on rent, a moratorium on mortgages and utilities” and issuing “demands” relating to “housing and education and health-care systems.”

Their view on the home: “We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.”

Their view on socialism, or theft: “ The M4BL platform, which BLM endorses, states, “We demand reparations for past and continuing harms,” including both “corporate and government reparations” for a litany of ills that include “food apartheid” and “racialized capitalism.” Government reparations will take “the form” of “a guaranteed minimum livable income for all Black people.” M4BL/BLM’s “universal health care” policy mandates that “wealthy residents pay for a portion of their services while low-income and working class folks receive free services.” The new system will be modeled on France or Germany. Black Americans will also receive government-funded “control of food sources, housing and land.” Robust reparations programs will include “full and free access for all Black people (including undocumented and currently and formerly incarcerated people) to lifetime education” at any university, community college, or technical education facility, as well as “retroactive forgiveness of student loans.” They go on to say, “All “tax reform legislation” must be drawn up “in accordance with racial equity goals” to “help build the wealth of households of color.”

Their view on sexuality and gender: “We foster a queer‐affirming network. When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking, or rather, the belief that all in the world are heterosexual (unless s/he or they disclose otherwise). We are guided by the fact that all Black lives matter, regardless of actual or perceived sexual identity, gender identity, gender expression, economic status, ability, disability, religious beliefs or disbeliefs, immigration status, or location. We make space for transgender brothers and sisters to participate and lead. We are self-reflexive and do the work required to dismantle cisgender privilege and uplift Black trans folk, especially Black trans women who continue to be disproportionately impacted by trans-antagonistic violence.

The Realization of Revelation 13

In this passage you find will find a depiction of the Roman government which John nicknames “Beast”. He goes on to use imagery to describe how horrifying this government was, about how they are empowered by Satan, or the Dragon. Paul tells us we fight not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers. In verse 3 we see him describing what seemed to be an injury to the beast which is referring to a time when Nero dies and Rome almost falls but comes back powerfully to which we see people worshipping it and giving it praise that belongs only to God and it’s this government that we find in v6 blaspheming God, Heaven, and all the believers. But I want you to notice that v5 says “it was allowed” and I want you to notice how v7 says “It was allowed” But I want you to ultimately notice v8 where we find that God wins completely. And so, in the midst of a wicked world full of terror, murder, blasphemy and wicked sin the Church found hope in the fact that they serve a God who is sovereign, a God who knows them, and a God who will keep them!

Daniel 2:21 “He changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings:”

And so, in Romans 13 we see the righteous government that should be pursued called the deacons of God. In Revelation 13 we find the wicked government that has rebelled against the God that gave them their authority. With this being the case and with us seeing the condition of our world we must answer the question: “Must the Church submit to all commands of a wicked Government?” In short No. The principle is clear. We are to submit right up to the point where obedience to the state would entail disobedience to God. But if the state commands what God forbids, or forbids what God commands, then our plain Christian duty is to resist, not to submit, to disobey the state in order to obey God.

The Message of Romans 1. The Authority of the State (1–3)

When Pharaoh ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill the newborn boys, they refused to obey

The Message of Romans 1. The Authority of the State (1–3)

When King Nebuchadnezzar issued an edict that all his subjects must fall down and worship his golden image, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to obey. When King Darius made a decree that for thirty days nobody should pray ‘to any god or man’ except himself, Daniel refused to obey.22 And when the Sanhedrin banned preaching in the name of Jesus, the apostles refused to obey

We need the Church to echo what Peter and decide in our hearts “We must obey God rather than men!”

In 1957 Hendrik Verwoerd, as Minister of Native Affairs the year before he became Prime Minister of South Africa, announced the Native Laws Amendment Bill. Its ‘church clause’ would have prevented any racial association in ‘church, school, hospital, club or any other institution or place of entertainment’. The Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town at the time was a gentle scholar called Geoffrey Clayton. He decided with his bishops, although with reluctance and apprehension, that they must disobey. He wrote to the Prime Minister that, if the Bill were to become law, he would be ‘unable to obey it or to counsel our clergy and people to do so’. The following morning he died, perhaps under the pain and strain of civil disobedience.

The Reaction of the Church Matthew 28:18-20

A. We Must Rest In Our Calling

It is Christ Who Instituted the Church

Matthew 16:18 “That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

The word “Church” there comes from the word “ekklesia” or called out ones. If you want to study more about how this I would encourage you to go home and read Romans 8-9 and Ephesians 1-2

B. We Must Rest In Christ

His Power in Conquering

Col. 2:13-15 “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”

And Through This, the Father has given absolute authority to Christ. Not some, no, no, no, Christ is the Authority. Matthew 28:18 “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”

C. We Must Run With Our Calling

He, being our Commander, has given us a message to carry. We will either obey or disobey. But how should this passage effect our hearts?

We Should Be Humble

We Should Be Bold