Introduction
A man was discussing the fragility of many marriages with his girlfriend and posed the following question, “What if you wake up one morning and don’t love me anymore?” She immediately responded, “There’s always obedience.”
Obedience in a situation that one is not happy with is not easy.
This type of obedience is only possible because of a knowledge of it being right.
This is the obedience that we will learn about today.
This is an obedience to the authorities and government.
This is a touchy topic and one that is not easy to speak on.
There are cautions to be taken but one thing we see in the text we will look at is that the Lord states we are to be subject to the governing authorities.
We are to be subject to the laws that are established and only break them if they are against God and specific commands He has given for us.
When the governing authorities, that have been established by the Lord, resist what the Lord has commanded they too will face judgment.
They will not go free from their crimes and wickedness.
In the previous section in Rom. 12:18-21 Paul writes that we are to live peaceably with all as much as possible. We are not to avenge ourselves because the Lord is the one who will take vengeance. That we are not to be overcome with evil but overcome evil with good.
We do this by living a God-fearing and righteous life before all people.
We do this by Living with the Government even when we cannot stand what they are doing. We seek to make change by the method of how we are governed to do so. We only revolt and stand against the government when it stands against God.
But even then we must be prepared to receive the judgment and wrath that will come. But as Peter wrote, “when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is gracious in the sight of the Lord” but right before this he wrote, “what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure?” (1 Pet. 2:20).
If we are to stand against the governing authorities at all, we must do it by the basis of what God has said.
We must do it by what our laws say.
We must be prepared for the repercussions of these actions too.
It is God’s will that His children are faithful to Him and obedient and not trouble makers. That is what this text is about.
It is not telling us that government is perfect and the way they run is how it is to be.
No, it is telling us that in our living in this world we are to be well-behaved and by that some may believe.
Let us look at the text today, Rom. 13:1-7
What we see in this first is:
Respectful Living (1-2)
When Christ was crucified and the chief priests said they had no king but Caesar (John 19:15 “They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”).
This thought carried on and developed into the “followers of Jesus have another king and are subversive, treasonous.” Many still say this today about believers. They say that all we want is a Theocracy: a society ruled by God.
The people saying this do not even know what we as Christians desire in the world. They just sling this out and try and cause grief for anyone who is a Christian.
Also, there are those who are trying to force Christian laws into effect for non-Christian people. We see in 1 Cor. 1:18 “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
So many people attack what we believe because they do not understand it and when some try and force this on others as laws, we get attacked even more and more.
This will never work because people who are not saved will not see the wisdom or virtues of such aspects.
Paul is saying that we are not to be subversive but obedient because we know that “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me [Jesus Christ]” (Matthew 20:18). We are obedient because we know where the real authority is.
As believers we are to live our lives as lives of love. We will look more closely at this aspect of God’s will for us next week.
We see this in the chapter preceding this section and in the section immediately following. If one is living the Christian ethic of love out correctly, then they will be able to submit to the authorities. Even though these authorities are part and parcel of a world system that rewards evil and opposes God.
How, then, is obeying them honoring God?
It is, as Paul explains, because they are only in power because God is in power. They are where they are because God has allowed them to be. They only have a limited amount of autonomy and authority which they frequently use in a poor and bad way.
These authorities are in place by God as agents of law and order. God created the government. He did so because He is an organized God and He knows that people cannot rule themselves correctly. He has a purpose for every created thing.
Governments establish laws and order. This is done even if imperfectly. This means that government is a divinely established institution much like family and church are and it is essential to society as are those two.
They only thrive with His permission and they cease when they no longer serve His plan. Daniel 2:21 tells us that “He [God] changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings…” Also, Jeremiah 18:5-10 “Then the word of the Lord came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it.” Even evil governments are in place by the Lord.
Simply, God ordains all governments, even the wicked and evil regimes. Simply, no governing agencies equals anarchy. Anarchy is not good for anyone because that becomes Judges 17:6 “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
When all do what is right in their own eyes, there is chaos and wickedness a muck.
Look at our world around us today. Many people are running around for themselves and we see evils committed to the extreme. Even bad government helps to keep the evils down. Even evil governments help to keep bad down.
We must know and understand the government we live under. If we know it and know the laws that it has then we can properly submit.
Submission is not saying you stand by and let someone run over you with falsities. If the authorities have vested power in the people then the people best know what powers they have in the government before the governing authorities seek to take them away.
This is proper submission to the authorities because we know the authorities. But even if things are bad and life is hard in the government we are under we still need to show respect and love because we are believers. Ranting and raving and cussing and screaming does not win anyone to Christ.
If we were made slaves we need to live our lives for Christ because regardless how bad it is here, we have Him and eternity. Most others do not.
This means we are to:
Live Rationally (3-4)
This means we do not go around terrorizing the world and stirring up strife.
In the time of this writing the Christians were being expelled from areas and being cast out of others because they were refusing to pay taxes and other things.
By being cast out they were missing the opportunities to witness and share Christ with the pagan culture and the lost.
This is why submission to authorities is so important. It is not because we are weak, but because we are strong in the Lord. His glory and salvation from Him is more important than what we desire in our lives in the here and now.
If we behave correctly we will not be cast out or have other smears said against us that ruin our opportunities.
We can only rightly submit when we have transformed our minds by putting on the Lord Jesus Christ. When we have done this we hate evil and love good. We share Christ and seek to have others believe and by this the government may change for the better. But even if it does not, we do not worry because we serve God and He is the ultimate authority.
Also, when we are obedient and not trying to be subversive; We have a few benefits of being obedient to authorities and therefore living without fear of them.
- We are free to fear God and respect His authority and do right because it pleases Him.
- We are more free to serve God because we are not stuck in a prison somewhere.
An example of this concept can be found in Acts 18:2 where Paul meets a couple from Rome who had been commanded to leave. This command went to Jewish Christians as well. They were ordered to leave because of insubordinate behavior. The chance to witness was lost because of this insubordination. Paul is warning all to be subordinate and be able to remain and witness. When we are obedient to authorities we are obedient to God and able to continue His purpose over our own.
Swindoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations & Quotes (Obedience)
Mark Twain encountered a ruthless businessman from Boston during his travels who boasted that nobody ever got in his way once he determined to do something. He said, “Before I die I mean to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I’m gonna climb Mount Sinai. And when I’m up there I’m gonna read the Ten Commandments aloud at the top of my voice!” Unimpressed, Twain responded, “I got a better idea. Stay in Boston and keep ’em.”
Too many times we want to change the government rather than see ourselves changed by the power of the Lord and see others changed by the power of the Lord.
We are saved by the Lord and left here to do His work and reach others. We need to live out faithful Christian lives and seek to see others saved and to live out the same type of lives.
This is where change comes from not trying to overthrow or complain about government.
When we change peoples hearts by the message of the gospel, then government will change. Until then we share Christ and continue to:
Live Responsibly (5-7)
In these final verses we see the way we are to live how we are to respond to the government even if we do not like it.
When we are trusting the guidance of the Spirit because of our transformed minds we will obediently pay taxes to the authorities because they are ministers of God and God’s servant for our good.
Even Jesus stated that that one was to render to Caesar what was Caesar’s and to God what was God’s (Matthew 22:21). Even though Caesar was not a righteous man the government was established and it needed funding to stay active.
As Paul is saying here, paying taxes is contributing to the common good because the authorities are God’s ministers, God’s ministering priests in the government, for approving the good behavior and punishing the bad behavior.
You see, the authorities, all the powers that be are the servant of the people as we see in verse 4. The word Paul uses for servant is the same Greek word we get deacon from. Just as the deacon is the servant of the church, the governing authorities are the servant of the people. This as well as the ministers to the people as we see in verse 6.
As the ministers, the same word used for priest elsewhere, and the priest was the servant of the people to God, they meet our needs for schools, relief agencies, postal services, roads, and transportation, and many other functions. They need funding, as the priests did in the OT, so they can provide services to the communities. That is why Paul says we should pay taxes to whom taxes are owed and revenue to who revenue is owed.
We see God telling the Israelites through Jeremiah that they are to “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you have welfare” (Jeremiah 29:7). This was for the nation that took them captive. Took their freedoms. Took them from their homes. God told them to seek its welfare and pray for it. Crazy, Huh?
Through this we show respect and honor. By showing respect and honor we may win some to the Lord because we are not living as the world does. No, we are faithfully serving God by faithfully being obedient to the government and authorities. By this I mean we are not going out and willingly rebelling against the authorities. We do things rightly as our government has established it. We don’t go around killing and bribing people. No, we obey God and serve Him and are obedient to the governing authorities.
Even though this is the case, there are times when we are to not be in submission.
We see this throughout the book of Acts. When the Apostles were ordered to stop preaching Christ, they did not (Acts 4:17-22; 5: 17-42; Peter and John arrested Acts 21:27-28:31 Paul arrested and tried and escorted around and he never tried to escape he stayed in custody).
No, they stood up and preached but they knew the consequences and they obediently accepted them. They did not fight and kill anyone to get away. No, they went peacefully to jail to await their punishments. But many were won to Christ by these actions. Many saw that they rejected the government abuse of religion and proclaimed Christ anyway. They also saw humble and obedient men who accepted the punishment rendered them because of their disobedience to mans law.
They disobeyed with their morality still in place. They rejected the wickedness of the authorities but not violently but through love. They did not get mad and incite riots.
No, they made their arguments for faithfully following God over man and then took the punishment, persecution, or had to flee. Never once do we see them taking up arms and killing the authorities.
Some authorities become so vile and so against God that there may be a need to remove it from power. This is not going against God because they have already gone against God with their vileness and rejection of God. Remember that those who resist will face judgment. God will judge wickedness and sometimes it is through the removal of the wickedness.
We may have to defend the innocent from these regimes. We have to always gauge what we do against what God says. That is our standard, not our emotions. We have to make sure whatever we do is by God’s standard and not ours. This is how we show honor to whom honor is owed, by being faithful to God and obeying Him as He has commanded us.
We must remember that the government is God’s servant for the good and against the evil. They are God’s servant, they are not God. Any government that seeks to fill the role of God is directly in opposition to its divine mandate.
Conclusion
God has given us clear instructions for life in His Word. We can make calls to stand against the governing authorities but these must be based on what God’s Word says and not our emotions.
The main point of this entire section from chapter 12 to the end of chapter 16 is that we are to be transformed and live an entirely different way than the world. We love good and hate evil. We cling to good and overcome evil with good. Simply, we love God and we love people. We seek to change the world by how we were changed. We strive to reach people for Christ and show them His love. Then we demonstrate this love by following Him and not being rebellious because our emotions were offended.
We serve God and follow God so when laws are not overtly against Him, we obey them and live as much as we possibly can in peace with others. But when those laws are against God we stand with God and live or die on that stance
This is why it is important to seek to put the right people in the right places of authority. But to place our hope in them as the ones who will fix this broken world is woefully misplaced hope.
As we sit and watch our crazy governing authorities and the craziness in this country continue to happen, we must place our hope elsewhere. Our hope must be placed upon God the Father. The all-powerful creator of the heavens and the earth.
Even if the party you want wins the election, hope in man will be misplaced hope. Our only hope is in the creator God..
This is only accomplished by your faith resting in Christ alone. If you haven’t already done this please do so today.
