Feb 22nd 2009 Preach
ECF 22nd February 2009 Romans 13:1-7 Our Attitude to the Government
It’s not a very good time to be in government! Across the world economies are struggling, banks are going bust, companies are going bankrupt, and people are losing their jobs. And so politicians are not the most popular people today.
Our own government is no different. An opinion poll from earlier this month declared that only 14% were satisfied with the government’s performance. Taoiseach Brian Cowen’s own satisfaction rating was down to 24%, and his party has now been relegated into 3rd place.
Of course we’re not here to talk politics. We’re not here to decide whether these opinion poll figures are justified or not. But we do need to think about how to respond to our government.
As children of God we are called to be different: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed…” Romans 12:2 We are to have a different attitude to God, to ourselves, to the church, to others and to our enemies. In his prayer in John 17, Jesus said that we are “are not of the world.” John 17:16. Paul said in Philippians 3:20: “Our citizenship is in heaven.” Heaven is our home. Our behaviour, attitudes, morals should be those of heaven, not those of earth! Our first allegiance is to God!
But we still live in countries run by human governments. We still earn money. We still need food, healthcare, housing, protection. We are citizens of heaven, but at present we’re resident on earth.
And so how should we be different in our attitude to our government? How should we relate to the laws of Ireland? Do they still apply to us? Paul answers these very practical and relevant questions in Romans 13. Read Romans 13:1-7.
1) Submit to the Government
Paul declares: “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities.” v1 Paul’s reference to swords and taxes makes it clear that by this he means human governments. And so, Paul wants us to submit to our government.
Paul’s real home was heaven, but he still saw himself as a citizen of Rome and lived out the responsibilities and privileges of this (Acts 22:25-28)!
In the same way we are citizens of heaven. As to our relationship with God: “You are not under law, but under grace.” Romans 6:14. But we are still subject to the rules and laws that govern Ireland. We not above the laws of our country! We need to obey them.
a) Pay our Tax
And so, “If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue;” v7.
Our attitude should be like Mrs Gardel, who lived in rural France. When she was 88, she received a tax bill that needed immediate payment. Counting up her money, she found she had only enough to pay the bill. So she set out to walk 14 miles to the nearest tax office to pay the bill.
“We need to take care of our government financially so that it stays democratic,” she explained. “I don’t have a current account, and can’t afford the bus fare. I thought of hitch-hiking, but it isn’t proper for a lady.” Officials in the tax office arranged to give her a lift home.
The level of taxation may not be perfect, the government may or may not do what is right with it. But as followers of Jesus, we are called to pay what we owe!
When Jesus was questioned on taxation to Rome, he said these amazing words: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” Matthew 22:21
b) Give Honour and respect
But we are called to do more than just outwardly obey the government authorities. A little boy finally sat down after first resisting his parents’ command to do so. He said to his parents, “I’m sitting down on the outside, but I’m standing up on the inside.”
“respect” and “honour” v7
We are called to submit on the inside as well as the outside. Paul says we should give those in authority. Not treat them as better than others, but treat them with the proper reverence and esteem for the role that they have in our country!
c) Only when They Don’t Go Against God
Of course there are limits to this. When Pharaoh ordered the Israelite midwives to kill all the male children born in Egypt, they refused to obey (Exodus 1:17). When King Nebuchadnezzar ordered everyone to bow down to his statues, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to do so and were thrown into the blazing furnace (Daniel 3:17-18). Daniel kept praying even when it was against the law and led to him being thrown in with lions (Daniel 6:10).
The early church also refused to be silenced by the Jewish authorities. This is what Peter and the other apostles said: “We must obey God rather than men!” Acts 5:29
Today there are many Christians who have to choose to do the same. Open Doors state that there are 2,000 Christians imprisoned in Eritrea in "inhuman circumstances"
including in "containers, underground cellars, and prisons," where they "get little food and are sometimes tortured." This is because independent churches, like our own here are illegal in Eritrea.
In February of last year 13 Christians, most of them teenagers, were jailed in China because they attended a Bible study. One of them is the daughter of a Pastor who in October 2006, was imprisoned for 32 days along with three other church leaders for organizing a house church. Each day they were severely beaten by guards and inmates.
So our submission to human governments is always second to our submission to God! But thankfully, at the present time, we do not face these problems. And so our normal behaviour must be one of submission to the government in power!
2) Recognise the Government’s God-given Role
But why should we do this? It is because they have a God-given role.
a) They are Established by God
3 times Paul states: “The authorities that exist have been established by God.” v1 This doesn’t so much mean that everyone in power was personally appointed by God. We can’t hold God responsible for their actions. It isn’t always wrong to resist them.
But it does mean that even when they abused and misused the authority they had, their authority came from God’s. Jesus said to Pilate: “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.” John 19:11
This is something that many rulers forget. God had to teach Nebuchadnezzar this important truth through his 7 years of madness: “Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.” Daniel 4:25 God is sovereign! He is in control. And he has established human governments on earth and has given them a level of delegated authority.
i) Don’t rebel against God
And so “He who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted.” v2. To rebel against the laws of our country, unless they are against God’s law, puts us in opposition to God.
As Christians we’re called to be counter-culture. We’re called to work for a transformation of society. But we’re not called to be anarchists. We’re not to abolish or take over government. Instead we need to respect God’s role in establishing authorities on earth.
Saul was an unjust ruler. For years he tried to kill David for no other reason than he was jealous. But when David had a chance to take Saul’s life and his throne, David said this: “I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the Lord’s anointed.” 1 Samuel 24:10 God had established Saul as ruler, and so only God had the right to remove him.
We should work to make our government better. We should confront injustice and oppression. In a democracy we have the right to work to impact the way our country is governed. But we should do it from the perspective of recognising God’s role in establishing human government.
b) They are Servants of God
And so Paul says 3 times that those in government are “He is God’s servant.” v4. It might be a strange to think of government ministers as God’s servants. It must have been even more difficult for the Christians in Rome to think of the emperor and his governors in this way. But this is not a comment on their relationship with God or the morality or goodness of their character. It means something different.
Jeremiah 25:8-9 says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, I will summon… my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants.” . As Nebuchadnezzar attacked Judah and took them into exile for 70 years, God called him his servant. He was not consciously doing God’s will. But God was consciously fulfilling his will through Nebuchadnezzar.
In a similar way, God is fulfilling his purpose through those in government today. They have a two-fold purpose.
i) To Punish Evil
First of all, they are “An agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” v4. Last week, we saw that as individuals, we must not retaliate. Instead we are to “leave room for God’s wrath.” Romans 12:19. There is a future day when God will perfectly and finally punish sin. But until that day, God has delegated the job of punishing criminal acts to the state.
And so Paul says, “He does not bear the sword for nothing.” v4 Many executions were carried out by the sword! It was also carried before, or even by, higher magistrates. It symbolized the power of life and death which they had.
Today Christians differ over whether a government has the right to exercise capital punishment. But we can agree that God has ordained a measure of force to be used by human authorities in to punish those who break the law.
As private individuals we are not authorized to take the law into our own hands. This is God’s right, and at present he exercises this right through human authorities.
ii) To Promote Good
The role of the authorities is not only to punish evil, however; it is also to promote goodness. “He is God’s servant to do you good.” v4
They have to encourage people to keep the law and reward those who do good: “Do what is right and he will commend you.” v3
Of course some governments do this better than others. Some have completely failed in their God-given role, but this is the role that God has given to human authorities. To punish evil and promote good. But why is this role needed?
iii) To Protect Society
The answer takes us back to Romans 3 where we saw the heart of humanity without God:
“There is no-one who does good,
not even one.”
13 “Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practise deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood.” Romans 3:12-15
We are sinners and so our tendency is to do evil. God has established human government to keep this in check. To protect society from sin!
In the 1990’s the leaning Tower of Pisa began to lean too far. It was becoming more and more in danger of falling down. And so engineers began to work to try to stop this 12th century landmark lean too far. They installed underground cables to pull the structure more upright. It didn’t stop it leaning. But it prevented it from going too far.
Left to itself, the world would go further and further off balance that would end in catastrophe. To prevent total anarchy, God has established governments. They work like these steel cables holding the tower. It still leans away from what it should be, but the system of laws and governments prevent total destruction.
Its like with the speed limits. In Ireland we know all too well the dangers of speeding on our roads and yet we know that without the threat of fines, penalty points and court many of us would not be able to resist going faster than we should!
Without the human authorities that God has established, human sinfulness would go unchecked. But these authorities, when they work as they should, protect us by punishing evil and promoting good.
The more we recognise this God-given role, the more interested we will be in doing what we can to ensure that the government’s policies and actions are as good as they can be!
It’ll also encourage us to pray for them. Paul says that: “Requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made… for everyone— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” 1 Timothy 2:1-2. We need to pray that they will fulfil God’s will for those they govern. That they will not work to prevent the spread of the gospel.
3) Two reasons for Obedience
All of this should help us to understand Paul’s two reasons why we should obey the laws they do make.
a) It is the smart thing to do
First of all, “because of possible punishment.” v4. If the government’s job is to punish evil, then we can avoid punishment by doing what is right! This is the general principle: “Rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong.” v3
It is amazing the number of people who live in fear of being found out. I’m not sure if it is true or not, but the story is told of a practical joke that Arthur Conan Doyle played on 12 prominent people in England. He sent them each a telegram that read, “Flee at once. . . . all is discovered.” Within 24 hours, all twelve had left the country.
Many people live with that fear of being found out. Perhaps they are cheating on their tax returns, claiming benefits they don’t qualify for, made fraudulent insurance claims, not paid their TV licence… Coming back from Scotland on Friday I heard on the radio that a UK government minister is being investigated by the authorities. She was claiming expenses on a house in London as her main residence, but neighbours reported she was there only 2 days a week.
But we don’t need to live like that. We can live free from fear. “Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right.” v3 If we obey the laws, we can experience peace because we don’t need to be afraid of being caught out.
Of course, we might do everything right and still get prosecuted. There are miscarriages of justice. Maybe we won’t get the job because we are committed to doing things honestly. Maybe we won’t get that promotion. Maybe we won’t be able
to afford that luxury because we declare all our income. But we will be able to rest in knowing we have done what is right. And as Peter says: “Even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed… It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” 1 Peter 3:14, 17
b) It is the right thing to do
But there is another reason why we should do this: “Because of conscience.” v5 We should not be people who obey the law because we don’t want to get caught. We should obey the law, because our conscience should lead us to!
Not in a half-hearted way like the conscience-stricken taxpayer who sent the Revenue a letter: “Dear Sir: My conscience bothered me. Here is $175.00, which I owe in back taxes. P.S. If my conscience still bothers me, I’ll send in the rest.”
But we should express a dedication to submit to the authorities because we know that it is the right thing to do. If God has established them, if their God-given role is to protect society, then we should submit to God by submitting to them.
We might not agree with their taxation policies but we care called to pay our taxes, because if “the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.” v6, then we need to be willing to support them in this role.
And that is why we are called to honour and respect them. We might not appreciate their policies. We might not even respect their character and their private life, but we are to respect their God-given role. We should respect them as God’s servants, to help people do what is right, whether they know that this is their role or not.
Conclusion
So this morning is not about our party politics. It’s not about whether our government is doing a good job or not. It’s not about whether we agree with their policies. It is about our willingness to honour God by honouring what he has done.
Peter writes: “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men.” 1 Peter 2:13 We can still examine them. We can still criticise their faults and celebrate their successes. We can still work to make government better and encourage better decisions and policies. But our responsibility as a follower of Jesus is to honour what God has established for the good of mankind.
This then is our attitude to our government. We need to submit to them. We need to honour and respect them. We need to pay our taxes. And we need to obey their laws as long as they don’t go against God’s, not just because it is the smartest thing to do, but also because it is the right thing to do.