Naylor Community
Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Romans 13:1-7
Romans
13:1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no
authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist
have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the
authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so
will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do
right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one
in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in
authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for
rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of
wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to
submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as
a matter of conscience.
6
This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who
give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you
owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if
honor, then honor.
-- I heard a story one time of a
little boy and his father who were on a long car trip -- the little boy was in
the back seat, and he kept standing up -- his father kept telling him to sit
down -- the little boy would sit down for a few seconds but then he'd stand
back up -- this went on time and time again -- finally, the father said,
"If you don't sit down, I'm going to stop this car and give you a spanking
and make you sit down." -- the
little boy sat down and was quiet for a few minutes and then announced, "I
may be sitting down, but I'm standing up in my heart."
-- this little story encompasses the
truth that Paul is teaching here in these verses – a passage that is very
relevant to us today in the 21st century, especially as we face such
a monumental election in our country in just 9 days
-- everything is all fine and good
if our candidate wins – if the administration that we support is chosen by the
people and the policies and the principles we stand for are put into effect in
our country – but what happens if our candidate loses? – what happens if
someone else is elected to lead us? – what then? – how are we to react to the
authorities that are above us as God intends? – do we stand or do we sit?
-- those are the questions that Paul
is addressing in this passage
-- as we look at this passage today,
there are a couple of things that we need to keep in mind in order to properly
interpret the text – first, remember the historical context and setting of this
passage – Paul and the early Christians lived within the Roman empire, which
was not always friendly towards Christians and others with contrary spiritual
beliefs
-- years before Paul wrote this, the
Roman Emperor Claudius had expelled all the Jews out of Rome because of a
dispute that arose between the traditional Jews and the Jews that followed
Christ – Claudius did not distinguish between the two groups, and expelled all
Jews – that was how Priscilla and Aquila found their way to Corinth, where they
met the Apostle Paul
-- at other times, the Jews and
Christians had been actively persecuted by the Roman government – so,
understand that when Paul is writing this, he is writing while living under the
authority of a government that is either indifferent or hostile towards
Christianity and Christians
-- so, in these verses, Paul gives
practical instructions on how a believer should live under an unfriendly
government – but, as we’ll see, he doesn’t address what we are to do if a
government departs from the role God has given it and begins acting unjustly or
immorally, as Germany did during the Nazi regime – for questions such as those,
we will have to rely on the Spirit’s leading as we seek to follow God’s law and
commands, including those here in these verses
-- the second thing we need to know
is that when Paul wrote this letter, Nero was emperor of Rome and he had
allowed the Jews to return to the city – and while he was not actively
persecuting the Christians systematically at this point, his government could
not be considered friendly towards the Christians – and the fact that he was a
Gentile caused enormous problems for the Jewish Christians
-- as Wuest explained in his
commentary, “The Jews of the Roman empire were notoriously bad citizens.” –
this was because of Deuteronomy 17:15, which reads, “"You may indeed set a
king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. One from among your brothers
you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is
not your brother".”
-- because of this, many Jews and Jewish
Christians believed that acknowledging a Gentile ruler was sinful – this was
the same reason that led the Pharisees to question Jesus, “Is it lawful to give
tribute to Caesar, or not?”
-- in light of Claudius’ earlier ejection
of the Jews and Christians from Rome, Paul may have been concerned to make sure
that the Christians in the city did not apply this verse in such a way that
their actions would be considered anarchy or rebellion, which could increase
persecution of the faithful in Rome – he wants to make sure these Christians understand
their relations and obligations to government – the point that Paul is making, in
the words of the commentator Denney, is that “Law and its representatives are
of God, and as such are entitled to all honor and obedience from Christians.”
-- so, it is a fine line that we
tread as Christians and members of God’s Kingdom living in a secular world – it
is the line between submission and obedience to authority and submission and obedience
to God’s word
-- in an ideal situation, those two
should align – but, as we know, they rarely do – and so we have this tension in
our lives that is made evident in this passage -- we read here we are to live
in submission to the authorities above us to the point where they follow God’s
plan for their appointment as our leaders and only disobey if their demands and
laws are contrary to God’s word
-- that point is not always clear –
and it can be difficult to determine how to live in such a situation – we must
trust in the Spirit and follow His leading while we try to fulfill the commands
of God, including those in this chapter
-- so, let’s look now at this
passage and see what we can learn about the authorities that God has placed
above us and how God intends for us to live in submission and obedience to
their leadership
II. Scripture Lesson – Romans 13:1-7
-- verse 1
Romans
13:1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no
authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist
have been established by God.
-- in the verse right before this
one, we read, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” – and then
Paul tells us here, “everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities”
– putting those verses together, in context, leads us to see Paul’s reasoning
on submission to the authorities in place above us
-- the issue he had been addressing
in Romans 12 was how to live with those who are opposed to you – how to live
with those who act unjustly and unfairly to you – who persecute you – who hurt
you
-- and he reminds us of the way of
the Lord – the command of the Lord – to love – to love our neighbors – to love
our friends and family – and to love our enemies
-- it is through loving like this
that we overcome evil – because the good that pours out through our love
touches hearts and lives and can melt the hardest heart
-- most people are not brought to
Christ and do not become Christians through reason or argument – most people
come to Christ because of love – because someone loved them in the name of
Jesus and through that love, they came to know the saving grace of the Lord
-- so, it is no stretch to say that Christians
are made through love – for it’s God’s love that changes a person, even the
most evil person in the land
-- and that’s the basis for Paul’s
argument and instruction in regards to relating to authorities here in Romans
13
-- he tells us here in verse 1 that
everyone – including the Jewish Christians who were hostile to Gentile
leadership – everyone was to submit themselves to the governing authorities
-- submission is an act of love –
remember that love is a verb – love is action – love is what we do – and submitting
to authorities is an act of love if done for the right reasons – in this case,
as a response to those in authority over us or as a counter to evil or hatred
directed against us
-- also, remember that submission is
an act of faith – it is trusting that God will direct our lives and accomplish
His will, regardless of the actions of the authorities above us – whether we
are talking about governments or churches – our bosses – or our family
structure
-- so, by submitting to the
authorities over us, we are showing them the love of Christ – we are showing
them the goodness of the gospel, which can overcome any evil in our lives
-- that is the first reason we
submit to the governing authorities
--
the other reason Paul says we are to submit to the governing authorities is
because these authorities have been established and put into place by God Himself
--
it is a reminder that God is sovereign and that He uses people and places and
things in the world today to accomplish His will and purpose – to that end, He
puts people and governments into place to serve as authorities over us to
accomplish His will
– God is ultimately
in charge of everything that happens in our lives – nothing happens in our
lives that God has not allowed – that is not to say that everything that
happens is good, but God allows these things to happen and turns them for our
good
-- that is true
also with governing authorities – so, sometimes God has godly rulers and godly
governmental systems put into place to accomplish His will – but sometimes God has
unbelievers or ungodly persons put into place as an agent of His will – such as
the Egyptian Pharaoh or Saul, the first king of Israel that we looked at over
the last couple of weeks
-- so, all
authorities have been established by God – and we should submit to those authorities
with love and respect for that reason
-- verse 2
Romans 13:2
Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what
God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
-- without a doubt,
this is a difficult verse – on the surface, the instruction here in God’s word
is clear – all authorities have been established by God, and we are not to
rebel against the authorities since that would, in essence, be an act of
rebelling against God
-- but most
Christians and most commentators and scholars agree that the instructions that
God gave Paul here are not black and white, but are more nuanced – but that introduces
the tension I was talking about earlier
– do we continue
to stand or do we sit? – do we do what an unjust and immoral government tells
us to do or do we rebel?
-- this is a case
where we must seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our particular
circumstances
-- to give you an
example from my own life, when I was first called into the ministry, I served
as a local pastor under the United Methodist Church – under their authority –
and, as a local pastor, I was limited in what I was authorized to do and in
what I could not do
-- for instance, I
could only offer the sacraments of communion and baptism in the local church
setting – I could only conduct marriage ceremonies for people associated with
my local church and in that community
-- and, as long as
I was under their authority, I remained bound by that authority – I complied,
even though I came to disagree with their understanding of the sacraments and
when and where those could be administered
-- I was told I could
not lead at a Walk to Emmaus or Chrysalis event because I was not authorized to
lead the sacrament of communion in those settings – and I was told I could not
offer communion or baptize people in our outreach to Kim’s employees and
customers in Valdosta, because that was outside the local church
-- so, I had a
choice to make – I could either follow their rules because I was under their
authority or I could rebel and disobey them and do what I wanted to regardless
of the consequence
-- after praying about
this for some time, I continued to follow their rules while I was under the
authority of the Methodist Church, but I started taking steps to separate
myself from their authority – because I felt God was calling me to do something
different, I separated from the Methodist Church and became an independent
pastor, not bound to any denomination – and I administered the sacraments as I
felt God had authorized
-- and while this
was an enormous concern in my life, this situation I dealt with was really nothing
major in terms of life – but when you are talking about resisting or rebelling
against a governing authority that is commanding you to do that which God’s
word calls unjust or ungodly, you can see the tension
-- do we follow
the word of God here and not rebel against the authorities God has established
over us? – or do we follow what we believe the word of God is telling us to do,
even if that means rebelling?
-- these are the
questions that Christians in Nazi Germany faced – and this is the situation
that many in the world face on a daily basis
-- so what do we
do? – what is our way forward if the election doesn’t go our way or our country
goes down a path that seems contrary to God’s commands?
-- the problem is
that God’s word is not clear – and we must depend on the leading of the Holy
Spirit in order to discern God’s way
-- in the book of
acts, we read about Peter and John being arrested by the Jewish leaders for
preaching Christ -- hold your place here and follow along or listen as I read
Acts 5:27-29
Acts 5:27 The
apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be
questioned by the high priest. 28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in
this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are
determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”
29 Peter and the
other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!
-- I think Peter’s
response back to the Jews is the key that we must have in order to under the instructions
of Romans 13:1-2 – “We must obey God rather than men”
-- Christians are
to submit to the authorities that God has established over us to the point
where we are not required to obey if the government orders us to sin or
compromise our loyalty to Jesus
-- in other words,
we submit and obey the governmental authorities as best we can, until they tell
us to disobey God or God’s commands – in that case, we are released from the
command to obey the authorities because we must obey God rather than men
-- there are many
examples of this in the Bible – think of Daniel continuing to pray to God in opposition
to Darius’ decree that all men must pray only to him – or to Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego going into the fiery furnace rather than bowing down to the golden
image
-- in these cases,
it is clear that we must obey God rather than men, even if that means the consequences
of our actions are persecution, imprisonment, or worse
-- but keep in
mind that what I am describing here are individual responses to ungodly
commands – not the wholesale rebellion against God’s established authorities
-- remember, both
Peter and Paul were imprisoned by Emperor Nero and eventually executed because
of their faith in Christ, but neither advocated rebellion or the establishment
of a new government
-- so, there is a
difference between an individual response and an institutional response –
rebellion against the authorities, especially in the form of a civil war or
secession, needs to be something that is only undertaken in the most extreme
situations and only if God directs
-- my
recommendation is that you do what God’s word says – submit to the governing
authorities over you as best you can – and only refuse to obey those laws or
commands that are in clear violation of God’s word
-- let’s move on
-- verse 3
Romans 13:3 For
rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do
you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right
and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your
good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no
reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the
wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only
because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
-- we read here that
there is nothing to fear if we obey the governing authorities over us – and there
is truth in that – whether we are talking about godly governments or ungodly
governments
-- in some of the
political rhetoric that we have heard this election season, some candidates
have spoken favorably about the regimes of recognized dictators – that their
communities are relatively safe and secure and have low crime – and that is
true
-- crime doesn’t
exist because the people are scared of disobeying the government – the consequences
in these dictatorships are harsh and inspire compliance
-- that’s not to
say that these governments are good – I’m certainly not saying that or
advocating for them in any sense of the word – but I am saying they demonstrate
what Paul is saying here
-- rulers – even ungodly
rulers – hold no terror for those who do right – only for those who do wrong
-- and until you
reach the point where you have to disobey the rulers to follow God’s law, you
can live safe and secure in these circumstances
-- the early
Christians lived under such hostile regimes, and were only persecuted when
their faith required them to disobey the rules of the authorities – when they followed
the basic rules of their society and government, the rulers did not harass them
-- it is always
right for us to do good and to follow the law, unless those laws are
specifically opposed to God’s commands
-- what we see in
these verses is that Paul is giving us the broad reason why God established
civil authorities over us in the first place -- he is giving us the general
purpose and practice of government, which is to protect those who do right and
to punish those who do wrong
-- the point that
is being made here is that these civil governments are established by God for a
reason – they exist as His servants to take care of the citizens under them –
and the citizens have no fear of the rulers, so long as they follow his rules
-- when
Governments function as they are supposed to, they protect law-abiding citizens
and punish law-breakers
-- that’s why we
can turn to civil authorities for protection and due process when we are
wronged or when someone disobeys the civil law
-- Paul did this
himself when he was unjustly beaten and imprisoned without a trial – he called
on the authority of Rome to protect him – and the Roman soldiers put him under
their care and protection from the Jews until he could stand trial
-- so, God
established civil governing authorities over us to protect us and care for us
and lead us
-- one more point
here in this section – notice that we read that the governing authority is
called “God’s servant” – in fact, several times in these verses we are told the
ruling official is “God’s servant” – and that’s something that we need to remember
-- we have been
told to submit to the rulers over us because God established them – they exist
to serve God and administer His will and purpose
-- and while some
of these people may be godly people and some may be ungodly people, God’s word
demands submission and obedience unless we are commanded to break God’s law or
we are commanded to do that which is immoral or unjust
-- Paul reiterates
again here in verse 5 that we are to submit to the authorities, not only because
of possible punishment, but also because of conscience – it is what God
commands
-- as part of that
submission, we are to respect the authority that God has established over us –
that doesn’t mean we have to like them or agree with them – but we have to
submit to them and respect their position of authority because they have been
established by God
--
there have certainly been presidents and other elected officials in this
country that I did not like or agree with – a lot of them I felt were immoral
or unjust persons – or their policies or positions on issues were contrary to
what I understood God’s word to be
--
but still, I tried to submit to them and respect the position they were in – if
a president that I did not vote for and whose policies I opposed showed up at
work one day or in a meeting I was at, I would still give them the respect
their position demanded because they had been established and put into place by
God
--
so, I believe God’s word is clear that we are not to denigrate or speak of
these people in ungodly ways simply because we disagree with them or their
policies – we can speak out against policies or laws without being
disrespectful in our response – we do so at the ballot box or by contacting our
elected officials and letting them know what we think about their policies or
proposals
--
I’m going to put this out here – for the last four years, people in this
country – including many Christians – have used the phrase, “Let’s go, Brandon,”
in their speech, on flags, on signs, and on t-shirts – we all know what that phrase
means – and Christians have no business saying that about anyone – even a
person that we disagree with politically – it is not right and it clearly goes
against what God is telling us here in these verses
--
the same is true for those who speak ill of another person without cause – who gossip
or lie or spread rumors or hateful speech about others – especially those in
positions of power or authority
-- we need to recognize
the authorities put into place by God, we should respect their position – it is
fair for us to judge their actions and to speak out against immoral or corrupt
and ungodly actions – but we have crossed a line when we speak of an authority
person – as Paul puts it here, “a servant of God” – in a disrespectful manner
-- and, just in
case there are not any toes I haven’t stepped on yet, let’s go on to talk about
taxes
-- verse 6
Romans 13:6 This
is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give
their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe
taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor,
then honor.
-- Mark Twain once
said, “The tax man will take every last thing from you, at least the
taxidermist leaves the outer layer for people to admire.”
-- no one likes
taxes – I know that we hear that one political party favors taxes over the
other, but I guarantee you they don’t like paying taxes – they just like
receiving taxes
-- no one likes to
pay taxes – but God’s word says that we are to pay our taxes, because this is
how his servants – the governing authorities – are able to take care of us and administer
the government on His behalf
-- Jesus recognized
the need for taxes to fund the civil authorities established by God – as He said
in Mark 12:17 when asked if it was righteous to pay taxes, “Give to Caesar,
what is Caesar’s and give to God, what is God’s”
-- God has
ordained the collection and use of taxes by the civil authorities as a means to
provide for citizens
-- now, we can
certainly complain when taxes exceed what is fair and right – we can certainly
vote our conscience and let our elected officials know when they are collecting
more than they should or using our tax dollars unwisely – but God’s word
requires us to pay tax when requested
-- I would say it
is a necessary evil, but since it is God-ordained, I can’t say that – I can say
that paying taxes – the fair and right amount of taxes – is something that God
tells us to do in His word
-- so, Paul tells
us here in verse 7 to give everyone what you owe them – if taxes, then pay taxes
– if revenue, then pay the revenue – if respect, then give them respect – if honor,
then give them honor
-- that is the way
of God – that is the word of God – and that is His direction when it comes to
dealing with the civil authorities that He has established and put in place
over us
III.
Closing
-- let’s bring
this to a close
-- In his book “Up
with Authority,” Victor Lee Austin uses the analogy of an orchestra to explain
why we need human authority.
-- Orchestras need
conductors because the musicians don't have a single right answer to questions
like, "What should we play at the concert?" or "What should we
practice today?" or "How should we interpret this passage?"
-- Each musician
might have a perfectly reasonable opinion, but their opinions will inevitably
be different and will almost always be incompatible with one another. And it's
no good for each musician to do what is right in his or her own ears.
-- An orchestra
cannot function if the brass section insists on playing one musical piece while
the strings play a completely different piece – there must be order -- If the
orchestra is to perform coherently and make music rather than just noise, somebody
has to have authority over the orchestra to decide what pieces should be played
and when
--
so, by submitting to the authority of a conductor, individual musicians attain
musical expression they could never realize individually or even as a
collection of free-wheeling players.
-- Authority is
necessary for classical musicians to bring musical fulfillment to others.
-- In the words of Victor Lee Austin, the
conductor's authority yields "a greater degree of human flourishing than
we would have from the musicians separately or individually." [Source:
Adapted from Peter J. Leithart, "Miracles of Authority," On the
Square (2-10-12)]
-- What is true
for orchestras is true for human life in general and especially when it comes
to governing authorities
-- we cannot
function without an authority in our lives – we just can’t – anarchy doesn’t
work – and so God, in His infinite wisdom, established governing authorities
over us to accomplish His will – to serve as His ministers of grace – and to
protect and provide for us as we live in and under their authority
--
as Christians, we have to understand God’s grace in the appointment of civil
authorities over us, even if they belong to a different political party or have
beliefs that we do not share
--
regardless of who they are, we owe them our submission, respect, and obedience –
at least until the point where their laws and demands run counter to God’s law
--
as Jusin Martyr, one of the early church leaders wrote, "Everywhere, we,
more readily than all men, endeavour to pay to those appointed by you the
taxes, both ordinary and extraordinary, as we have been taught by Jesus. We
worship only God, but in other things we will gladly serve you, acknowledging
you as kings and rulers of men, and praying that, with your kingly power, you
may be found to possess also sound judgment."
-- It was the
consistent and official teaching of the Christian Church that obedience must be
given to, and prayers made for, the civil power, even when the wielder of that
civil power was someone like Claudius or Nero
-- thankfully, we
live in a country where we have the opportunity to have a say in who we want to
lead us – we are free to express our opinion on those who are running for
office by voting for the person and the proposals that we feel most closely
align with God’s word and our individual beliefs
-- but whether our
candidate of choice is ultimately elected or not, we are still supposed to
submit, respect, and obey whoever wins because God has allowed them to do so –
so, as we approach the polls on November 5th, remember that God is
ultimately in control – and approach the ballot box in humility, with prayer,
and with faith in God’s will and wisdom
-- let us pray
No comments:
Post a Comment