Submit to Government Authority

if you have your Bibles turn them to Romans chapter 13 tonight Romans chapter 13 I have a ironically fun passage to be in this evening we'll talk about why a little bit later but Romans chapter 13 is where we're going to be at we're going to be looking at verses 1 through 7 so I'm going to start reading verse number one and then we'll read through verse 7 and we'll come back and start talking about what's going on here in this passage and verse number one Paul says this let every soul be subject unto the higher powers for there is no power but of god the powers that be are ordained of God whosoever therefore resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God and they that resist shall

receive to themselves damnation for rulers are not a terror to good works but to the evil wilt thou then not be afraid of the power do that which is good and thou shalt have Praise of the same for he is the Minister of God to thee for good but if thou do that which is evil be afraid for he beareth not the sword in vain for he is the Minister of God a Revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil wherefore ye must needs be subject not only for wrath but also for conscience sake for this cause pay ye tribute also for they are God's ministers attending continually upon this very thing render therefore to all their dues tribute to whom tribute is due custom to whom custom Fear To whom fear

honor to whom honor if we were to study through scripture we'll find that God has established three very explicit institutions within our world and the first one that we see established is the Home in Genesis chapter 2 God puts in place the home and and he sets in an order of authority and Leadership within the home and it's interesting this morning in the the Bible class the Bible study here in the auditorium during our Sunday school hour uh there finishing up in Colossians chapter 3 moving over into Colossians 4 and there in that passage at the end of three going into four it begins to talk specifically about husbands loving their W or yeah wives respecting their husbands and and

submitting to them husbands loving their wives and and parents uh uh showing love and and not provoking their children to wrath and so this home is something this idea of the home is something that's very important to God because he himself has established it all the way back in the Book of Genesis we also see not much later in the Book of Genesis that God himself establishes the idea of civil government and civil government and whether or not we think of it this way is an establishment an organization that has been established by God to function in a specific way within our world and then finally in the New Testament we see that God establishes the church as an organization uh to carry out

his will and when it comes to religious and spiritual things and in all three of these different established institutions God has given a specific role for each of them to fulfill and if I could put it this way a lane for them to stay in in where in which to carry out that carry out that role and really we have to be very careful to not try to overlap The Authority structures of those different institutions into ways that they are not intended to be for instance we would all readily agree that the government should have no say in the authority structure within our church we are very much ready to say I agree to that I affirm that wholeheartedly as Christians and that's a good thing because

those two institutions and Authority structures are separately instituted by God and have separate ways of functioning according to what God put them in place for and so we're very happy to say yes those in governmental Authority should not be able to say who can what we can and cannot do within the church structure itself but in the same way when we look at the comparison between the church and the home theur Church Authority structure does not have a direct uh application to the home God has put a structure of authority within the home as well as in the church and it's a good thing to say hey pastors you don't have any Authority within my home the man the the wife the mother the father

carry that before God and if we can look at it this way the supreme authority in all of these structures is God alone and he gives authority to each of those different institutions to be carried out how he has commanded them to be so and those Authority authorities have their own lane and their own area to stay within and it should be done that way and it's a good thing and here in our passage Paul is approaching the specific Authority structure of government the governmental Authority it's interesting to look at well how does this play into what Paul has been doing if you remember just a few weeks ago as we came into Romans chapter 12 Paul began to turn a corner of making a going from a

very heavily doctrinal uh exposition of the power of the gospel and what the gospel is all about and that's what we've said that Romans is all about discovering the power of the Gospel into applying the power of the Gospel into our day-to-day lives as Christians and he says in Romans 12: 1 and2 that he he he begs of us or he beseeches us that we would be not conformed to this world but instead we would be transformed and that we would submit ourselves to God that that we would offer ourselves as a Living Sacrifice which is uh unto God and as Paul goes throughout chapter 12 he begins to explain how that looks for us in the relationships that we have around us and this is a continuation of

that thought you see consistent um William Hendrickson and Simon kissm kiss maker wow that's a weird name I didn't look at that before today I was reading their uh their commentary uh on this passage and I love how they put it here they said this consistent with the starting point the Apostle has indicated what should be the relation of Believers to God Romans 121:2 to one another Romans 12 3-14 and to Outsiders even including enemies Romans 12:1 14-21 it is then so or is it then so strange that he now also comments on the proper attitude of Believers to the Civil Authorities you see this is a continuation of how Believers should act in relationships that we have to ourselves around us

whether it be within the church or to those that would hate us or in this case to the Civil Authorities on which we uh interact with on a regular basis the government it's it's also important for us to acknowledge that Paul is trying to temper his earlier command and saying hey we are not to be conformed to this world but be transformed he's saying you are not a citizen of the earth you are a citizen of heaven but does doesn't mean that you no longer have a responsibility to carry out on this Earth and there is without a doubt a danger for us as Believers to develop a mindset of well as a Christian I am an exception to the rule I do not need to care about what Civil Authorities or about what

things of this Earth have to do with me because I only live for God and for him alone and Paul is saying that is not what God is leading Us in and so as Paul comes into this passage he's going to give us some guidance in this in this relationship to government authorities the first thing that he says is this be subject to the government verse number one let every soul be subject unto the higher Powers now this word subject has the idea of to submit and it's interesting here that Paul uses the word submit instead of the word obey and I believe that's very intentional here um another commentary by Donald hagner and Everett Harrison they they explained it this way what he requires here is

submission a term that calls for placing oneself under someone else here and in verse 5 he seems to avoid using the stronger word obey and the reason is that Believers may find it impossible to comply with every demand of the government a circumstance may arise in which they must choose between obeying God and obeying human authority we see this later on in Acts 5:29 where the the the disciples say we ought to obey God rather than men but even then I love this statement because it's so important for us to remember as Christians but even then they must be submissive to the extent that if their Christian convictions do not permit compliance they will accept the consequences of their refusal we

have an incredible example of this in the Old Testament the lives of Daniel Shadrach Meshach and abedo and how they said you know what before God with our conscience clean before him we cannot submit to this this this commandment of authority that goes against what God has explicitly explicitly told us we should not do and so therefore we must not comply but they also received the punishment as part of the working of God well we're going to talk about this a little more later so I don't want to get into it too much right now but Paul says that we ought to submit to the government submit to these authorities why why should we do this well because God ordains it continued on in verse number

one for there is no power but of God and the powers that be are ordained of God whosoever therefore resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God and them and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation you see I I believe what Paul is getting at here at the second half of verse number one is that God is the only one is the only one who has the ability to give authoritative power okay nobody can have power outside of what God has given to them but here's the thing God has given government authoritative power with in their realm it is something that has been given to them by God himself now again like we talked about before this does not mean blind obedience to every order we

as Christians have a higher authority and sometimes we have to look at the immediate Authority above us and say you know what I respect you I honor you I I acknowledge the position of authority that you have given to you by God but in this instance I must pass your authority to go to one that's greater and that is God's Authority because ultimately he is the authority that is is above all you know sometimes this has to be done in relationships within the home too as well because at the end of the day my my my uh situation of authority does not supersede my wife's Authority that she or my my wife's uh being under God's Authority and sometimes my wife has had to do this she's had to look at me

and say sorry I'm going to obey God rather than you and she was right to do so and in situations hey can I guys let can I let you guys in on the secret sometimes pastors we get it wrong and sometimes you have to look at a pastor and say you know what you got it wrong here and I'm going to obey God rather than you because at the end of the day God is the ultimate Authority and we know that this is true because Paul clearly outlines that any Authority that any person has has been given to them by God as the ultimate Authority giver but like we said before punishment received for resistance to government exec um the punishment that we can re that we would receive by resisting resisting

government executing just Authority can bece be conceived as coming from God I really could have written that phrase a lot clearer but look at verse number two whosoever therefore resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation as I was thinking about this verse the word damnation it it it connects to the idea of of ultimate damnation when it comes to the idea of salv of eternal life but I don't believe what the Paul is painting because I know the theology is Paul is taught throughout the rest of Romans he's not saying that if we disobey the government we no longer have salvation and we're going to hell for ultimate damnation

right but he's connecting it to the idea that we receive damnation and Disobedience to government authorities not just from the government Authority themselves but also as an extension of God's punishment you see when I disobey a just law of the government when I say just I mean a law that is within their scope of authority to give a law I am not just in danger of receiving punishment from them but by proxy the punishment is of God it is ordained punishment of God because it is ordained pun it is ordained authority of God you see the idea here is that we obey we are submissive excuse me to government Authority because God has ordained it Hendrickson and kiss maker kisser whatever his name is

who says this Paul does not within the compass of these few verses give us a complete Treatise on the respective rights of church and state he does not give us explicit answers to such questions as if the government orders to do one thing and God through his word tells me to do the opposite what must I do and does the moment ever arrive when because of continued governmental oppression and Corruption the citizens have the right and perhaps even the duty to overthrow such a government and to establish another one in its place Paul doesn't lay that out here nor does it get laid out anywhere else in scripture other than the statement in Acts we see we ought to obey God rather than men and these

things are not easy to discern and we'll talk about that a little later on this evening but but the idea here is that there is a right that government has to be in their role of authority and there is a responsibility that we have to submit because of God ordaining that Authority the Apostle here is referring to the normal and not the outrageous or mistaken government function as is clear from the next verse you see Paul is talking about when government is functioning within its role that God has given them obviously we can see times throughout history and no doubt as Paul writes this in the face of the tyrannical reign of the Roman Empire and its neros or excuse me and it and its Caesars

including ones like Nero there was situations where the government was unjust no doubt about it there were situations where the government did not function in a way that that perfectly coincided with Christian beliefs and values but look what Paul begins to tell us in verse number three he says this for rulers are not a terror to good works but to the evil wil thou then not be afraid of the power do that which is good and thou shalt have Praise of the same for he the government Authority is the Minister of God to thee for good but if thou do that which is evil be afraid for he beareth not the sword in vain for he is the the minister of God a Revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil

you see when government is functioning within the realm of authority that God has given it given to it it is something that we ought to look at with reverence with respect and with submission the proper function and authority of government comes from God and we should rejoice when the government works to punish evil and rejoice when or rejoice when the government works to punish evil and reward good even when I disagree with the leadership in the government even when I have a tough time respecting a leader within the government I still have a responsibility as a Christian to step back and acknowledge that there is a role that the government is fulfilling that those in those positions of

authority are fulfilling that is within their god-given rights and they ought to fulfill that and I ought to Rejoice that they do so because it's what God put it in place for the idea we saw in verse number four where Paul talks about the government bearing the sword here is even very likely as I was reading and studying this is very likely a connection to punishment for rebellions or uprisings for those that would would put a a danger on the safety of that state itself and Paul seems here it seems that Paul is trying to disconnect the church from the Jewish zealots just like Jesus did remember when the Jewish zealots when when Jesus was put in a corner on whether or not he would support the

Jewish zealots or those that were were trying to promote uprisings and rebellions against the Roman rule Jesus very much disconnected from from that and said this is not what I'm here to do this is not the kind of Kingdom I'm here to promote I'm here to promote a Heavenly Kingdom not an Earthly one and Paul here does the same thing he he notices he he knows what the Israelites excuse me what these Jewish Christians particularly have already faced in the ways of persecution and the Temptation that was no doubt in their hearts about the idea of rising up against the Roman Empire empire and and breaking out of that bondage in just a few years we're going to see Nero and his persecution not just

against Jews but against Christians as a whole begin to come up and begin to become uh more mainstream and again these truths are going to be uh preached to Christians about hey we're not here to be a part of those political uprisings as the church as the church we have our role and government has its and let's keep those in its place you know honestly it's hard for me sometimes to take Christians seriously when they complain about unjust governments when so often they also complain and rebel against just and right government leadership my friends if if we can't stand up and rejoice when government does its job that it's been ordained by God to do we're going to talk about some of that in a

little bit here because it's in the passage then maybe we ought to stop complaining about that and stop complaining When government doesn't do things justly too there's a a famous uh Christian apologist evangelist creationist he he traveled the country trying to promote creationism and and show Arguments for it as AOS opposed to Evolution and that man spent quite a bit of time in jail because it turned out he hadn't paid his taxes in over 30 years I don't care what that man has to say anymore because he usurped The god-given Authority that had been placed over him he turned Christianity into a joke because he refused to obey God when God said government is here for a reason you see

Christians we have a responsibility to hold a good testimony before Mankind and how we respond to these kinds of situations a Christian who breaks the law when it's within the god ordained right of government to create that law absolutely should pay the penalty for doing so a Christian who pays a penalty for an unjust law should by Faith remember that God is in control and ordains all things for good Romans 8:28 you see so often we get caught up in complaining about government and complaining about the ways that they put laws into place and we like to throw out our little py statements like taxation is theft and and things like that right we want to be against the government so many ways and

God says this is not what I've called you as Christians to do I've called you to obey the government as an extension of my authority that I have given to them and that's not a fun thing to say or to do it it sickens me when I hear of churches who have allowed something that is distinctly against the law to go by without real just punishment from the government or allowing that to be played out in the way that it ought to be when churches would hide somebody from governmental Authority who has absolutely broken the law and should be punished by that governmental Authority that is not okay and if you're ever a part of a church that does that you have a responsibility to go to that Church's

leadership and call it out and if they will not be heard you should find a new church full stop because that is an absolute breaking of what God has written to us in his word here in Romans that we ought to obey the establishment of governmental Authority when it is placed over us so Paul says we ought to submit to government because government is ordained by that their Authority is ordained by God and because government can and should punish you and we disobey but then Paul again says in verse number five that we ought to submit to government Authority verse number five he says wherefore ye must needs be subject or be submissive and he says not only for wrath's sake or not only because of

Wrath not just because they can punish you but also for conscience sake you see again Paul reminds us to be in submission to Civil Authorities but not just because they can punish us but our subm submission to government authorities is a reflection of our submission to God it's a matter of conscience in 1 Peter 2: 13-16 Paul um Peter writes this submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake whether it be to the king as supreme or unto Governors as unto them that are sent by him for punish for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of them that do well for so is the will of God that will with well-doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men as free and

not using your Liberty as a cloak of maliciousness but as the Servants of God Paul Peter here he writes that hey your Liberty in Christ is not to promote Uprising but to be a servant of God it's not to be a cloak of malicious intents to to do harm in this world but to serve others for the gospel's sake so this is why we submit to government because it's a matter of conscience before God because when we submit to government we submit to God so Paul says therefore in verse number six pay your taxes now this is why it's ironic that I get to preach this tonight because guess what tomorrow is it's tax day tax yeah fun verse number six for this cause because you submit to government because for

your conscience sake for this cause pay ye tribute also or pay your taxes also for they are God's ministers they being the government are God's ministers attending continually upon this very thing render therefore to all their dues tribute to whom tribute is due custom to whom custom Fear To whom fear honor to whom honor now this one isn't Fun okay but Jesus himself when he was try again when the Pharisees tried to Corner him about paying taxes he says give me a penny who whose picture whose image is on this Penny well Caesars and he said render therefore to Caesar the things which are Caesars and unto God the things which are Gods Jesus says hey my kingdom is not of this world so don't

worry about the riches of this world either that's Caesar's riches let them have them I'll take care of you with eternal riches and Paul here he says Hey the government they have civil authority of this world so allow them to do with that as they will pay your taxes give your tribute render your custom that's not what we're here to debate about we're here for that spiritual kingdom of heaven and we have far more riches than we could ever imagine in that Kingdom not riches that we would feel gold and silver rich but Riches of spiritual blessings you see taxation according to both Jesus and Paul is not an exercise in tyranny or theft but it's an exercise in God's work within the Civil realm in

in doing God's work within the Civil realm you see Paul himself he says that in collecting taxes the government is doing what God has ordained them to do they are God's ministers attending continually upon this very thing Paul refers to the government as Ministers of God this word ministers here it's a very explicit term that when we see it used elsewhere in scripture is describing spiritual offices or religious offices it's the it's the term luras or like liturgy a lurgical ro within the church or within a spiritual realm this is not the same word as like deinos that would use in other instances to refer to Simply someone who's a servant or carrying out a a service role God Paul explicitly

uses language to connect this to the realm of obedience to God and accomplishing God's work the government does not owe its authority to the people but to God because God established and ordained government and uses government to accomplish his work and his will in the realm of civil Affairs that's just biblical truth and it's supported all throughout scripture but it's not just our normal taxes that should be paid in verse number seven Paul goes much further than just that statement of pay your taxes he says render therefore to all their dues give to everybody what they are due he says tribute to whom tribute this idea of tribute it's taxes but it's it's more than just that in our mind this

is likely a reference to the taxes that would be needed to be paid to the Roman government their oppressors Paul is telling the Jews hey you're under captivity right now and Rome demands tribute so pay it so this isn't even like the Jews own government that they get to vote in and have a say in this is this is a literal tyrannical government and Paul says pay your tributes to them just do it he says custom to whom custom this idea of custom is is likely a reference to taxes like tolls or or import taxation or or like a duty tax right when you when you bring something when you when you get something from a foreign situation that's the idea of custom again pay pay your taxes based on the

things that you buy and sell your just normal everyday uh Commerce then he goes on he says but also render to those that it's due fear the word fear here is like when we talk about the fear of God it's appropriate respect for governing authorities appropriate respect for those that are in that position of authority he says acknowledge them with respect give them the respect that is due to them and honor to whom honor the word honor has the idea of to esteem someone with dignity o that one's hard isn't it is the way that you've spoken about those in government leadership honoring have you esteemed them with dignity I'm going be honest when I scroll through my Facebook and I see what a lot of

Christians write about government authorities there is no esteeming with dignity present there is there is no respect based on the position that they have been given by God I I don't agree with a lot of what government Authority does in many instances or says in even more instances but that does not give me a license to be dishonoring and disrespectful to a position created and ordained by God God has put these things in place and Paul says we ought to live with respect towards those positions we ought to live out our lives in a way that does not diminish our opport to spread the gospel in a civil situation when God has put those those authorities in place what Paul I'll read this last quote

and we'll we'll close out what Paul probably means here in this last verse verse number seven is something in on this order simply paying your taxes is not enough telling the officials here's the money and now get out we'll never do you should respect these men for the sake of their office and honor them in view of their faithful Devotion to their tax to their task excuse me remember they are God's ministers and by means of what is done with this money is not not only the people in general including you yourselves are benefited but also but so is the cause of the gospel Paul used his Roman citizenship the the citizenship that he had for a tyrannical government in multiple occasions to

further the cause of the Gospel he took advantage of of his rights as a Roman citizen to accomplish God's work but he did so with respect and honor to those in those positions of power my friends this is not just some easy thing to to say or to do right it's not fun I I'll be very transparent uh we God has been good this year and my wife has got had a lot my wife teaches private music lessons she's had a lot of students and you know what that means uh we file self-employed taxes which means I have to write that check to the government when tax time comes and it's it was bigger this year than it's ever been before that was not fun I I have to see that money go out I have to write that check

prepare for and it it is not fun but God commands me to do justly and pay those taxes every once in a while when we when we're doing something someone will offer to pay us in cash so that way we don't have to report it for our taxes and I looked them dead in the eye and said I will report every dollar that you give me whether it's in cash or otherwise because that's what I'm commanded to do by God it is the Christian thing to do because it's what the Bible has commanded us to do my friends we should not just be afraid of evading our taxes because of the potential of jail but because it's what God has commanded us to do in our conscience before him requires it but more than just the

illustration Paul gives of taxes we ought to carry ourselves in relation to the government with as much dignity and respect towards them as we can possibly muster not for our sake but for the sake of the Gospel so that we might find every opportunity to spread it and when the government Rises up and is unjust towards us just like it happen St was towards Paul Paul still utilize that unjust government to spread the gospel because Paul himself wrote the words hey all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to the His Image Paul knew that God was doing something in and through him that was greater than he could ever imagine I mean Jesus himself

utilized the unjust actions of government to accomplish his Saving Grace in our lives I think you and I can find that opportunity to respond with dignity and With Honor as God commands us so let's live not conformed to this world but transformed Even in our relationship to government as we break out in a second I'm going to pray but I don't think we were able to get the questions printed after all something was going on with the printer tonight so if you have your phone pull it out real quick I'm going to talk through our questions for our small group time I'm gonna say these real real slowly uh so we can get them written down and the first one is this what are the reasons Paul gives for

obeying government authorities I don't think they're on the screen either what are the reasons that Paul gives for obeying government authorities that was the first question what are the reasons Paul gives for obeying government authorities number two how can we as Christians develop better discernment on when to obey and when to possibly disobey government authorities how can we as Christians develop better discernment on when to obey and when to possibly disobey government authorities and number three based on Paul's teachings how can you personally give better tribute custom fear respect or honor to those in governmental Authority again based on Paul's teachings how can you personally

give better tribute custom fear respect or honor to those in governmental Authority I'll I'll Stick Around up here for a little while after if some of you need help getting those written down uh we're going to break up into our small groups we have one in kind of each section of the chairs here I don't remember who all is supposed to be in leadership tonight we got a little mixed up um but try to find somebody in each of these sections or a group that gathers each of these sections to spend some time discussing uh if you're unable to to stick around for our groups we'll just assume that you're running home to get your taxes paid uh say you're going to try to apply the sermon real fast

tonight but uh I hope that was a blessing to you and I hope we have a good time in the groups just sharing how we can apply this in our lives let's have a word of prayer and then we'll break up father we thank you tonight for the opportunity to be challenged by Your Word in a way that we probably don't like in every instance and Lord sometimes obeying the government is hard because we don't always agree with every rule they put in place even when it doesn't go against your word or your commands but Lord you have told us clearly that government has ordained their authorities ordained by you you've given it to them to rule in civil matters on this Earth and Lord when we obey government

authorities it's not just for fear of punishment but it's also to have a clean conscience before you so Lord help us to live this out with respect with dignity with honor towards them so that we can better spread the gospel uh in the situations that we Face L we love you pray all these things in your name amen