Governing Authority

Introduction

Yesterday our country recognized its 222 year as a nation. For many it was a day to eat watermelon, homemade ice cream, cookout, and to watch a fireworks show. How many actually thought about country is hard to tell. Most of us take our country for granted. The freedoms and advantages are for the most part taken for granted. Picking up our newspaper off of our front lawn is as common as driving our car to work. Being able to elect those we think will represent us best is no different than selecting a vacation site for the year. American privilege has become routine.

Almost 2000 years ago, Jesus came into the world. Poor and without privilege he taught us something about living in this world. The government of the day was a republic unless you weren’t a Roman citizen in which case it was a compassionate dictatorship. The world was ruled by an emperor and the bureaucracy was abundant. Taxation was high. There was no representation. Jewish Zealots had tried to overthrow the government many times before. Success was limited and most of the time resulted in further restrictions. The relationship between the Jews and the Romans could best be described as tolerant. Jesus had little to say about government. The one thing he did say is found in Mark 12:17: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” Profound words which do not answer a lot of questions we may have. But it does recognize one thing—there is a distinction between government and the divine. Although Jesus’s kingdom could be seen in this world, this world was not the final place for Jesus’s kingdom, as we see in John 18:36.

And yet we live in a very real world, with real government, with national boundaries and we might wonder what the Christian’s response to government is to be. We will concentrate on our nation this evening looking primarily at Romans 13. Let’s begin with some singing.

Paul’s View of Government

When Paul wrote Romans 13, he was living at a time when Rome ruled the known world. By a series of wars, Rome had established itself as the most powerful military in the world at that time. Paul was a Roman citizen. Paul was also Jewish. While maintaining his Jewishness, he was allowed to travel all over the world as a Roman citizen. Roman citizens were given privileges and opportunities that others were not given. Roman citizens had certain rights that other human beings did not have. We know of a couple of times that Paul used his citizenship to help him in his mission work.

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas are beaten for instigating a riot in the city of Philippi. In verse 37, Paul upon being released uses his Roman citizenship to force the city officials to apologize. While not knowing what Paul and Silas received from the officials, we can speculate that they probably secured at least good will for the new Christians. Then in Acts 22, the city of Jerusalem is in an uproar because of Paul’s presence. A Roman commander instructs his centurion to flog or whip Paul in an attempt to find out the truth of his presence. Paul claims his Roman citizenship to avoid the beating.

The point is that being a citizen of a particular nation is a fact and as that citizenship allows you certain privileges and opportunities as long as it does not go against the will of God, we should utilize such privileges. However, when Paul wrote Romans 13, he was quite aware of the inconsistencies of the government’s treatment of Christians. While it had not yet reached its height in persecution, the Roman government was not entirely pleased with the direction Christianity was going. Yet, notice what Paul says about government and followers of Christ.

We are to submit to governing authority because God has established that authority. One might quickly ask, if God established all governments. A democracy such as ours even with its faults might be easy to say yes to. But what about a Nazi Germany, or Uganda under Idi Amin, or a Cambodia under Pol Pot. Did God establish those governing authorities as well? Paul was living under a republic for Roman citizens and a tyrannical system for all others. Paul says that all governments were established by God. But the establishment of a government doesn’t mean approval of governmental practices. But Paul’s point is that Christians submit or yield their will to those who are governing authorities.

Paul goes on to say that rebellion or resistance against a governing authority is to rebel or resist God’s directive and such rebellion will be judged severely. Paul has in mind the judgment which comes at the end of time. An attitude of rebelliousness against the governing authorities is the same as rebelling against God and it will lead to God’s judgment. The Christian’s attitude is not one of rebelliousness against government but one of submission.

Paul gives two other reasons for our submission. First, government rewards the good and punishes the bad. Paul is probably speaking in the ideal. Already, Paul’s good has been punished. Government then punishes. Christians are to submit so as to avoid punishment. Do the right thing and government will leave you alone. Ideally this is true although history tells this is not always the case. But the point doesn’t change. Second, because of conscience. Paul has in mind that as Christians we recognize that government is God’s servant to carry out part of God’s will. Thus, Christians recognize the ideal servant nature of government and submit to it. There is a clear example of this in Isaiah 45 when God announces that he will use Cyrus to do his will or in Ezra 1:1, when this same Cyrus is used to help the Israelites return from Babylonian Captivity. Government then is God’s instrument intended by God to reveal his nature and glory.

Thus, because we recognize government as God’s servants then we pay taxes. For Paul the paying of taxes is to help God’s servants do their jobs. For Paul taxes, revenue, respect, and honor are part of the Christian’s response to being submissive to a government.

There are a lot of questions that we might still have. Should Christians vote? Run for political office? Fight in wars? Take up social causes to change laws? The principle for Paul is that we are to submit. From Acts 5 we see that we are to stand against the government when it violates God’s law. 1 Timothy 2 tells us to pray for government. And we are going to do that now. I have asked Brian Stewart and Wayne Mathis to pray specifically for our government and to pray for us as Christians to have submissive attitudes.

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