Romans 13:1 (all verses are from the New International Version)
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there
is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that
exist have been established by God.
SUBJECT
YOURSELF TO GOD'S AGENTS ON EARTH
Christian Political Duty
The
worship God in spirit and truth and our love for one another that promotes
peace is also shown by how we submit
(hupotasso: obey, be subdued, be subordinate, yield) to
the governing authorities
(higher powers – KJV; superior
jurisdictions, supreme authorities). A kingdom citizen, being a denizen
on earth in the meantime, shows his heavenly citizenship by remaining obedient
and acquiescent to the local governing authorities, whichever they may be,
since they are established by God. Notice this important statement: there is no authority except
that which God has established! Wow! That means that any body that has some authority God has put
it there to accomplish His purpose, even though we may not agree on what they
are doing, or even if what we think they are doing is evil. Granted, God will
not control any one person or be accountable for any one person’s immoral
actions in abusing the power of his/her public office. Whatever they decide to
do against God's moral law will be on their own conscience – but the authority
they wield is given by God – that much we are told here.
“There
are governments that fail to function properly just as there are homes and
congregations that fail to function properly. Such is not the fault of God;
these exceptions to the rule simply show that human beings are not perfect.” – WVBS
Government is needed. Without it, we would be
constantly fighting someone else to be able to survive and peace would be
fleeting, even more than it is now. There are always some bullies who want to
do things their own way and are willing to stop at nothing to accomplish it. Without
a government in place, most people would be helpless against these bullies,
like in the dark ages of our history. Government is a kind of controlled bully,
in the sense that it keeps the peace for the majority of the people. A well
organized government also makes people prosper and not be in want, creating
peace and harmony on a grand scale and permitting people to be at peace in
their heart. This contributes always to the spreading of the Gospel. As far as
our government in the US, the framers of our constitution understood that
government was indeed needed. What they wanted to do was put controls on the
government in order to make it slow, stupid and unable to easily bully the
individual. Bureaucracy, red tape and the dragging of feet are all part of the
effective governing machine. You wouldn’t want a government to quickly and
haphazardly change policy from one day to the next, would you? It would create
havoc on the economy, not to mention the judiciary process.
It
is not any particular implementation of the state's authority which is
"ordained of God," but the existence of such an authority. Without
such constituted authority, the whole world would sink in me chaos and ruin.
Unbridled human nature is a savage beast that lies restless; and uneasy under
the restraint imposed by the state, being ever ready, at the slightest
opportunity, to break its chains and ravage the world with blood and terror. – Coffman
Understand
that when Paul wrote this letter to the Romans the authorities in power at the
time were not Christian-friendly and certainly did not acknowledge God's ways in
Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, they fiercely persecuted the Christians and
put them to death in the most immoral ways.
“Many
Jews during Paul’s day advocated Jewish independence from Rome. They desired to
remove the yoke of Roman bondage and were eager to declare political freedom by
naming a king of their own (John 6:15). Civil disturbances occurred
frequently, and on one occasion Claudius demanded that all the Jews leave Rome
(Acts
18:2). Two insurrectionists mentioned specifically are Barabbas
(Luke
23:18-19) and Theudas (Acts 5:36).” – WVBS
Remember
in the previous chapter Paul had finished telling the Christians to let love be
their main motivation – any form of vengeance belonged to God. Within these
next verses we are going to discover God's machinery on earth to carry out
retribution on behalf of the innocent. The idea that government is God's
establishment was not a new teaching given to the first century Christians as a
way to comfort them during the persecutions. Paul had simply learned this from
Jesus Himself:
John
19:10-11
NIV "Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you
realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" 11 Jesus answered, "You would have no
power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a
greater sin."
Daniel
2:20-22
NIV "Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom
and power are his. 21 He changes times
and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. 22 He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.
1.
Obey
the speed limit and traffic laws.
2.
Do
not hunt out of season.
3.
Pay
your income tax or any other taxes or tributes.
4.
Obtain
a marriage license if you are to be married.
5.
Drive
with a valid driver’s license and registration.
6.
Show
respect to those who have authority (Rom 13:7):
a.
Police
officers
b.
Judges
c.
Chiefs,
bosses, supervisors
We
do not submit to these authorities’ commands or instructions when they conflict
with God's teachings in the Bible. For example, if you are commanded not to
spread the Gospel, that is something directly contrary to what Jesus
instructed. The apostles were told not to do this many times. Did they submit
to that?
Acts
4:16-21
NIV “What are we going to do with these men?" they asked. "Everybody
living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot
deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any
further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone
in this name." 18 Then they called them in again
and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves
whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. 20 For we cannot help speaking about what we
have seen and heard." 21 After
further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them,
because all the people were praising God for what had happened.
Acts
5:28-32, 40-42
NIV "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 men! 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus from
the dead--whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him to his own right hand as
Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to
Israel. 32 We are witnesses of these
things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey
him." 40 …They called the apostles in and had them flogged.
Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been
counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42 Day after day, in the temple courts and
from house to house, they
never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.
What
do you think you ought to do if you are commanded by any authority not to teach
or preach the Gospel? Notice they didn’t defy or spoke against the people in
authority or complained. They submitted to them, presented themselves to them
or went with them before the courts without hesitation. However, once let go,
they continued to preach the Gospel. I
was told by a former employer not to teach the Gospel to my students. I only
replied: “I hear you”, but continued to do what I always did, sharing Jesus
with the students, particularly with those who inquired about my faith. My
bosses continued to warn me and even read all my e-mails and spoke with some
students about “keeping their eye on me” to see if I continued to teach the
Gospel. Of course I continued as if nothing had happened. Eventually I was
asked to resign from my job. They couldn’t fire me, so they asked me to resign.
Believe me they tried tripping me in all kinds of ways to find an excuse to
fire me but they couldn’t.
·
I
always showed up early for work
·
I
always obeyed all instructions
·
I
always fulfilled all the requirements
·
I
carried out my duties beyond reproach and above expectations
·
I
had many witnesses in my favor because of these things
I
eventually acquiesced and left peacefully to go to another job, despite those
who encouraged me to fight. I figured my time was up there and I didn’t believe
that fighting for my tenure was in order. I took my peace with me to grace some
other place of employment with the Gospel of Jesus.
Romans 13:2
Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against
what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
Rebellion,
subversion and revolution are unchristian actions – even when they are
so-called peaceful subversions or civil
disobedience, the greatest oxymoronic of our day. You are rebelling against
what God has instituted! Any rebellion or revolution that has succeeded in
tearing down the state has brought undue suffering unto the people and worse
conditions in the immediacy of the revolution, sometimes never recovering to
what they had before. Rebellion brings terror,
death and plenty of suffering sometimes for generations unto the people. Rebellion
brings judgement (damnation, condemnation,
vengeance), whether from God or from the powers themselves, upon those
who incite and oppose.
Jesus
Himself taught us to always uphold the law:
Matthew
22:17-21
NIV Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or
not?" 18 But Jesus, knowing their
evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you
trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They
brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked
them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose
inscription?" 21 "Caesar's,"
they replied. Then he said to them,
"Give to
Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
Often
people who call themselves “Christians” try to dress up their rebellion (resistance, opposition) against
government with so-called righteous motives. Yet they are the greatest
hypocrites in not honoring God by giving Him their due worship in spirit and in
truth which includes not rebelling against what God has instituted.
Christ
never led a riot, organized an underground, criticized the government, or took
the part of the Jews against Rome. He did not offer himself as an advocate
against society on behalf of any so-called victim of social injustice; and,
once, he even refused to aid a man who claimed that he had been robbed of his
inheritance (Luke
12:13). Jesus Christ was not a revolutionary in any sense of
that word today. Although it is true that his holy teachings had the
profoundest influence upon the course of history, it was always as leaven and
not as dynamite that his influence worked. – Coffman
Rather
than being critical or disrespectful of those in power, you should be praying
for them:
1
Timothy 2:1-4
NIV I urge, then, first of all, 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. 3 This is good, and pleases
God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of
the truth.
Pray
to become a constructive solution to the problem you see as opposed to a static,
critical discouragement. Just by living as a Christian and spreading the Gospel
of Jesus you are already doing more than anyone else could do. You are a force
of good and a demolisher of evil. Let your light so shine!
Christians
especially have an obligation to respect civil powers and submit to their
authority. – WVBS
·
Can
a woman who will not submit to her husband be pleasing to God? (Eph 5:22;
Col 3:18; 1Pe 3:1)
·
Can
a child who will not submit to its parents be pleasing to God? (Eph 6:1)
·
Can
a member of the Lord’s church who will not submit to a scriptural eldership be
pleasing to the Lord? (Heb 13:17)
·
Can
a Christian who will not submit to the government under which he lives be
pleasing to the Lord?
o
By
not paying taxes
o
By
refusing to obey the law
o
By
disrespecting government authority
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 he will commend you.
Those
who constantly reject the meek and submissive attitude Jesus taught us to have
towards government and law abiding; preferring belligerence, aggressive and
sometime violent means to accomplish their own wills will rightly be punished since
they are showing disrespect and disregard for God's agents of vengeance.
We
are not just talking about the common law breakers (petty thieves or criminals)
but about those who plan evil things against others:
Psalm
14:6
NIV You evildoers
frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge
Psalm
64
NIV Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint; protect my life from the threat of
the enemy. 2 Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from
that noisy crowd of evildoers. 3
They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their words like deadly
arrows. 4 They shoot from ambush at the
innocent man; they shoot at him suddenly, without fear. 5 They encourage each other in evil plans, they talk about hiding their
snares; they say, "Who will see them?" 6 They plot injustice and say,
"We have devised a perfect plan!" Surely the mind and heart of
man are cunning. 7 But God will shoot
them with arrows; suddenly they will be struck down. 8 He will turn their own tongues against them
and bring them to ruin; all who see them will shake their heads in scorn. 9 All mankind will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder
what he has done.
Psalm
140
NIV Rescue me, O LORD,
from evil men; protect me from men of violence, 2 who devise evil plans in
their hearts and stir up war every day.
3 They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent's; the poison of vipers
is on their lips. Selah 4 Keep me, O
LORD, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from men of violence who plan to trip my feet. 5 Proud men have hidden a snare for me; they
have spread out the cords of their net and have set traps for me along my
path. Selah 6 O LORD, I say to you,
"You are my God." Hear, O LORD, my cry for mercy. 7 O Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer, who
shields my head in the day of battle- 8 do not grant the wicked their desires, O LORD; do not let
their plans succeed, or they will become proud. Selah 9 Let the heads of those who surround
me be covered with the trouble their lips have caused. 10 Let burning coals fall upon them; may they
be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, never to rise. 11 Let slanderers not be established in the land; may disaster hunt down
men of violence. 12 I know that the LORD
secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy. 13 Surely the righteous will praise your name
and the upright will live before you.
Proverbs
14:22
NIV Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find
love and faithfulness.
All
these accomplish the same evil purpose:
1.
Terrorists
2.
Hypocritical
politicians
3.
Revolutionaries
4.
Political
assassins
5.
Radical
political activists
It
is better to plan for kingdom things – serving God and the church so that many
souls will join us on that day. When you plan to do good you may even find help
from the governing authorities to further along your godly plans. Only those
who have done evil have something to fear from the governing authorities.
Many
today cry “big brother is watching”! They complain about how their “privacy” is
being violated. First of all, God sees all things – you cannot hide from Him
who is the supreme authority (Hebrews 4:13)! Secondly, if you’ve got
something to hide you should repent before God! I have nothing to hide; as a
matter of fact, I am willing to let the governing authorities install all
manner of technology to monitor me. Perhaps they will see the glory of God in
my household and become Christians.
One
of the ways God exacts vengeance on the evildoer is through the governing
authorities. As much as criminals may try to hide, God will bring what they do
to light and they will suffer judgement at the hands of men and God. This is
why criminals fear the government or anyone in authority for that matter. Do
you fear the government? What kind of evil are you doing?
“Rulers
should be a terror to law breakers. There can be no government without laws.
There can be no law without penalty. There can be no terror of law without the
enforcement of the penalty.” – WVBS
Titus
3:1-2
NIV Remind the people to be
subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever
is good, 2 to slander no one, to
be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.
Romans 13:4
For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be
afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an
agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.
In
this passage the government is described as God's servant (diakonos:
minister, one who runs
errands, waiter). Generally speaking, governments do good on a grand
scale. There are those that would object, but when asked to show evidence of
goodness in the presence of anarchy, they shrink back. Governments, like
churches, are imperfect. However, both are established by God to carry out
their purpose. The purpose of the government is to keep the peace and to do
good for the law-keeping populace. If you do wrong, however, you will be afraid
of government for it has the authority from God to use the sword (machaira: large knife, small sword).
The government’s main purpose seems to be as an agent disseminating God's
wrath, albeit temporarily. They are sanction by God to punish the wrongdoer.
1
Timothy 2:1-4
NIV I urge, then, first of all, 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. 3 This is good, and pleases
God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of
the truth.
What
is a sword used for? Why do police bear guns? Weapons are used as a sign of
authority, judgement and punishment. Sometimes the punishment requires the use
of the weapon, as indicated in this passage. Some anti-gun advocates forget
that “God sanctioned government” can include the use of weapons for policing.
When a police use their guns, they do so under the authority not only of the
state, but also of God. Does this mean officers never make mistakes? Of course
not. Officers, like preachers, are men and make mistakes and need to repent
from them to continue to please God. However, mistakes that are made do not
invalidate the fact that weapons are to be used for punishment at times. This
is similar to the controversy of using a rod to discipline a child. Should
using a rod be forbidden because a few parents have been found guilty of abusing
their children? What is wrong, the use of the rod or the way a parent misuses
the rod? You can ask the same question here: what is wrong, the use of weapons
by God's agents to punish a wrongdoer or how an officer misused a weapon?
Thankfully, whenever an officer discharges a weapon and someone is killed (notice I did not say murdered), Internal Affairs and an
advisory board gets involved in each and every shooting to examine everything
that happened. They either sanction the shooting as a good one or charge the
officer with murder.
A
gutless namby-pambyism has come to characterize far too many Christians of this
age, who naively and stupidly suppose that police departments are dispensable,
that love can just take everything, and that our own enlightened (?) age does
not need the old fashioned relics of barbarism, such as policemen and jails.
Let all hear it from the word of God, if they are so blind as to be unable to
read it in history, that the policeman also is God's man, and that without him
there is nothing. – Coffman
Genesis
9:6
NIV Whoever sheds the blood of man, by
man shall his blood be shed; for in the
image of God has God made man.
Capital
punishment (the death penalty) is really no different than an individual officer
of the law using a weapon to punish a wrongdoer. Capital punishment just means
your due punishment (judgement) has been delayed or has been arrived at after
an investigation. It has been a legislative and judicial body, sometimes an
executive one, that puts capital punishment in place and these bodies are
established by God to do exactly that. Similarly, the use of a war machine to
punish wrongdoers inside or outside the jurisdiction of a state is at the
states discretion, which is established by God. That doesn’t mean that every
decision the state makes should not be called into question, since the state is
made of people just like the church. If someone strongly disagrees they should
be encouraged to go through the proper channels to voice their displeasure or
take legislative action against that decision. Individual citizens often forget
they hold one of the most powerful means to voice their displeasure of government
decisions: the vote. If you don’t like what someone in office did, vote them
out. That’s that! You need to be patient however, since you may need to suffer
some of the consequences of the decision while the person remains in office.
Just rest assured God is in control and can right any wrong He chooses.
Present-day
Christians are the privileged heirs of the greatest earthly inheritance ever
known in the history of the world, a fact that angers Satan. Don't throw it
away, or allow some revolutionary to rape you intellectually and rob you of it.
And if, through indifference or tacit support, you should ever contribute to
the overthrow of present institutions, and if you should live for a single day
without the legacy you now hold in your hands, an ocean of tears could not ease
your heartbreak or give you another inheritance like the one in which you now
stand secure. Keep it! We currently pass through an era that glorifies the
extremist; the seductive voices of the far left are calling; stop your ears and
bind yourselves to the mast, like the sailors of Ulysses. Death and destruction
shall reward you if you turn your back upon the teachings of the Savior and
cast in your destiny with the seditionists. The Marxists, revolutionaries,
Rousseauists, and screaming agitators are not the friends of the people but
enemies. To trust them is to have your throats cut and to lose your souls also.
– Coffman
Soldiers,
police officers and the like work as God's agents of wrath. We need to honor
and respect them and thank them for their work.
What
are we going to legislate if it is not morality? The fact that government
legislates moral issues points to the truth of God's word. If there is no
truth, or if truth is so hard to find (like Pilate scoffed), then what are the
government officials doing to promote peace? Perhaps this is why government
finds itself being punished by God Himself on many occasions. Sometimes God may
punish individuals within the government, but if the government as a whole
promotes something ungodly or immoral, then that government will find itself
severely punished in time. We have seen it happen again and again throughout
history. Remember what natural (moral, higher) law is? We talked about it in Romans
2:14-15.
This
passage indicates there is a system of natural law that we can discover, put in
place by God: a universal principle that applies to all humans. This also
teaches us how law, in general, is really a science and not a system of human
opinion like it has become in many countries (what we call political law). Natural law can be discovered as the natural laws
of science can. Of course, since we have special revelation from God about
these laws, no one is without excuse at this time (Acts 17:30-31). In all
societies, no matter how primitive or advanced, the rudiments of the
commandment of God are observed. Among these are:
1.
Honor
of God
2.
Honor
of the family
3.
No
Lying
4.
No
Murder
5.
No
Stealing
6.
No
Adultery
The
first three are derived from the first corollary of the natural law: Do
all you have agreed to do (this is the basis of contract law). The last
3 are derived from the second corollary: Do not encroach on other persons or their
property (this is the basis of tort law and some criminal law).
If
morality cannot be legislated who, then, would the government punish? Would
they punish:
a.
Killers,
b.
Thieves,
c.
Rapists,
d.
Child
molesters,
e.
Drug
dealers,
f.
Those
driving under the influence,
g.
Those
who beat their wives, or
h.
Those
who perjure themselves?
All
these are moral issues. What we cannot legislate is a heartfelt compliance to
the enacted laws of any state or country. – WVBS
Romans 13:5
Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only
because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.
When dealing with issues of government authority and the political process it is of utmost importance to keep our conscience clear in these matters. Ultimately we are commanded to willingly