The Christian's Civil Duty

Introduction

If you are a guest today, I want you to know: I don’t preach politically. I preach through the Bible. I have been preaching Romans for nearly a year. To ignore this text would have made the text political instead of Biblical. Where the Bible speaks, I speak. Where the Bible doesn’t speak, I am quiet.

How should the Christian relate to our government? What should we do, and how do we live? These questions are some of the most complicated questions in the Christian faith. Moreover, it has been a complicated issue for every generation of Christians.

Paul takes a complicated issue and makes it much more simple.

This passage does not cover all of the, “What if’s?” It does, however, cover the basic principles. That is what I want to teach today.

Paul understands the complication:

a. Rome was an orderly nation. Rome also killed Christians. b. b. Rome provided a way for the gospel to be spread because of the complex road system. Rome had warred against many nations for ability to build roads there.

How do early Christians live in relation to this complicated relationship with the state? They both benefited and hurt from their governing authorities.

English Standard Version // 1 Peter 2:16-17

16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

Body

English Standard Version Chapter 13

13 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. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

// These verses concern individual obedience against governing authorities. //

Christians should be noted for their obedience to their government.

We are to obey the people who are in leadership over us.

The laws that govern our nation are our laws as well. We are to obey them.

This includes everything from laws that govern our financial dealings to what we can/cannot do to one another to how fast we can drive our cars.

We honor God by obeying the law. Christians should be law abiding citizens.

Sidenote: There is a BIG difference between a law that you don’t like and a law that is sinful.

b. Russell Moore says it well, “Our call is to an engaged alienation, a Christianity that preserves the distinctives of our gospel while not retreating from our callings as neighbors, friends, and citizens.”

3. God is the ultimate authority, and he institutes the rulers of the world. When Christians are civilly disobedient, they resist what God has appointed.

The nations are divinely appointed by God, because without nations, the world would dissolve into chaos.

Rome, particularly, had brought war into the world and persecution to many Christians, but they had also brought much peace as well.

Unprecedented trade routes, basic amenities, civil liberties, and social mobility were normal in the Roman empire, and they have never been normal before.

All of these things are common today, but they have not been common for much of human history.

Jesus rules the nations, and He will ultimately hold them accountable for their actions. Colossians 1:16 // For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through him and for him.

God appoints kingdoms, and he destroys kingdoms by his hand.

Nations have a temporary status (an expiration date). God, and the human soul, does not.

Submission IS NOT easy. How do we do it? We have to change our minds.

We submit to a governing authority because we trust in a higher authority.

We have too big of a view of what government can do and too small of a view of what God can do.

Paul elaborates on why we should follow Jesus in the following verses.

English Standard Version Chapter 13

3 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, 4 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. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.

God has ordained rulers for peace, so unless you do something wrong, you generally have no reason to worry.

Whether we want to or not, we cannot completely disassociate ourselves from the nations that we live.

We also owe our protection and security to the state.

There are obvious exceptions to this situation. Nazi Germany, Khmer Rouge, and other horrible governmental situations.

God will handle those situations. In our study through Exodus, we are well aware that he handled the Egyptians, and a further reading of the Bible shows that he handled the Assyrians and Babylonians alongside others.

The nations who came to the rescue of Nazi Germany and Khmer Rouge Cambodia are a small picture of this truth.

R. C. Sproul // While all governments are ordained by God, not all governments are approved by God.

He allowed other governments to come and end the atrocities that are happening in other nations.

c. Paul warns against anyone who is puffed up with pride by the fact that he has been called by his Lord into freedom and become a Christian, and therefore thinks that he does not have to keep the status given to him in the course of this life or submit to the higher powers to whom the government of temporal things has been confided for a time. // St. Augustine

English Standard Version Chapter 13

5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

We live in submission to authorities, not just to avoid punishment, but because God tells us to do so. We pay taxes, revenue, respect, and honor where they are due. We should try our hardest to be good citizens of our country. We should work, serve, give, love, and contribute to society in the best way that we possibly can.

I believe that this affirms that the Christian needs to vote.

Paul must have anticipated that people would ask about taxes. Do we really have to pay taxes? Paul affirms Jesus statement, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and render unto God what is God’s.” Matthew 22:21

Taxes and revenue are one thing. Honor and respect are an entirely different thing. Our current president, our last, and the one before him, are men that we are to respect and honor. We are to pray for them. Oh, what would happen if we spent just a tenth of the time praying instead of complaining, how different would our nation be.

However, when anyone compels us to do something that violates the Scripture, we must obey God instead of that individual, no matter their level of authority.

Acts 5:29 // We must obey God rather than men.

The Bible is full of men and women who respected the authorities over them while never disobeying God. The clearest pictures come from the book of Daniel

Daniel obeyed God by obeying Nebuchadnezzar until he was told he could no longer pray to God. Then he obeyed God. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego obeyed Nebuchadnezzer until he wanted them to bow down to Him. God honored their obedience as well as their defiance.

Their obedience to authorities meant that they not only had the authority’s protection, but they also had the authority’s ear.

Application

Why? Why do we live this way?

Titus 3:1–3 (ESV): 3 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

Titus 3:8 (ESV): 8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.

In other words, we have better things to be doing. We are about our Father’s business. The gospel is more important that the government, and when we spend all of our time devoted to what our nation does right or wrong we spend time that we should be using to know God and make him known.

“We are Americans best when we are not Americans first.” // Russell Moore

We are ultimately citizens of the kingdom of God.

1. Jesus is better than any government.

2. He ushers in a better government.

3. He does more for the citizens of heaven than any government could ever do.

Conclusion

If your hope is in government, hope instead in Jesus. He died for his people.

If your disdain is for government, know that God is sovereign and he will make all things right.

Jesus Christ on the cross demonstrates that greatest good that has ever happened. Let him be your ruler today.