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Turn to Romans 13:1-7. Verse 1 reads, Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. This passage came under intense scrutiny in the spring of 2020, the year of Covid. Does the church obey every government order or are there times when the church disobeys the government to obey the Lord Jesus Christ? Some church leaders criticized other church leaders for refusing to obey the government order not to meet together as a church. On July 24, 2020, Pastor John MacArthur made this statement that caused quite a stir:
When any one of the three institutions (family, church, and state) exceeds the bounds of its jurisdiction, it is the duty of the other institutions to curtail that overreach. Therefore, when any government official issues orders regulating worship (such as bans on singing, caps on attendance, or prohibitions against gatherings and services), he steps outside the legitimate bounds of his God-ordained authority as a civic official and arrogates to himself authority that God expressly grants only to the Lord Jesus Christ as sovereign over His Kingdom, which is the church. His rule is mediated to local churches through those pastors and elders who teach His Word (Matthew 16:18–19; 2 Timothy 3:16–4:2). (Christ, not Caesar, Is Head of the Church, by John MacArthur)
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
We always want to start with the sovereignty of God. God is sovereign over all of life. Psalms 103:19, The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all. That includes every ruler who ever sat on a throne in all of history, every king, president, governor, attorney general, mayor, police chief, every father, and every elder and leader in the church. We rejoice that God rules over all of life and everyone and everything in life. God even rules over the sparrows. Not one falls to the ground outside God’s sovereign plan. We are in an election year. We pray for a good outcome of people committed to what is good and right. Personally, I favor the Make America Godly Again movement. We pray in His good sovereign providence God would deliver us as a nation from the insanity we are seeing in every part of our culture. George Washington never dreamed of trans-gender surgery.
What do we do when the state overreaches its authority? There are some crazy laws on the books. In 1961, Gainesville, Georgia, passed a law making it illegal to eat fried chicken with anything but your fingers. Ginny Dietrick was celebrating her 91st birthday when she was arrested for eating her fried chicken with a fork. Turns out it was all just a publicity stunt to promote the fried chicken business of Gainesville, and the mayor immediately dismissed the charges. But there are serious legal overreaches that must be resisted. We see this struggle every day on the news. New York is trying to force all highway rest stop restaurants to be open on Sundays. What about Chic-fil-et? California is forcing some stores to have an area for gender-neutral toys and by 2026 K-12 schools must have gender neutral bathrooms. Governor DeWine of Ohio vetoed a bill to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth, stop boys who think they are girls from competing in sports with real girls, prohibit gender reassignment surgery, or prescribe puberty-blocking drugs to assist a minor with gender transition. The governor later reversed himself on the trans-gender surgery issue. When the Federal Government fails at the southern border, lesser magistrates like Texas Governor Abbot must protect the citizens and take matters into the state’s hands. Now the Federal Government is suing Texas for doing what the Feds should have been doing all along.
There are three main realms of authority and each one has its responsibility and may not cross the line into the other’s responsibility. The child does not belong to the state. It takes a family to raise a child, not a village. The state should not pay the salary of pastors, like it did in most of church history. The church has a responsibility to disciple fathers and mothers, but not to discipline the children. Is the church responsible to Christianize the state? No, the church ministers to and is responsible for individuals, not a political entity. Now, individual Christians can run for public office if they desire to make a difference, but that’s not the church. Remember Wilberforce in England? He served in Parliament and brought the slave trade to an end.
One more thing. Only the church has the message that can change the hearts of people. Just being born in a Christian family doesn’t make you a Christian. We agree with organizations designed to honor God’s law. Working to end abortion and any other evil practices in the land is good. But you must remember, it is impossible to legislate regeneration. Only God can do that. Government can put outer restraints on people’s behavior, but government cannot change people’s hearts. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can change people’s hearts and therefore people’s desires. When you come to Christ you want to please God. When people come to Christ, they stop having abortions, stop watching pornography, thank God for their gender, stop cussing, stop watching immoral, filthy movies. Why? They have a new heart, something the government can’t give them. They become new creations in Christ and everything changes! The church’s main purpose is to prepare people to meet their God! That doesn’t mean individual Christians shouldn’t try to influence the political realm.
In Romans 12:1-2 God says He wants to transform our way of thinking about everything. Don’t be conformed to this world’s way of thinking but be transformed in how you see all of life. As you build a biblical worldview for interpreting life, you learn to prove and apply God’s will to your life and all your relationships, even your enemies. Now God tells us in chapter 13 how we as believers are to relate to human government.
GOD COMMANDS SUBMISSION TO GOVERNING AUTHORITIES
Romans 13:1, Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities.
God says our duty as Christian citizens is to submit to the governing authorities. While there were Jewish Zealots who tried to overthrow government from time to time, Paul wants the church and the state to know that the church is not a threat to human government. Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it was my followers would fight so I would not be handed over to the Jews. But My kingdom is not of this realm.” Believers are citizens of two kingdoms, the kingdom of heaven and the earthly kingdom. Paul said our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20), but while we’re here we’re also citizens of the United States. Paul declared and made use of his Roman citizenship from time to time. He even appealed to Caesar as a Roman citizen. So, Paul is clear that it isn’t the church’s role to form an army to overthrow the government. During the Reformation in the 1520s, the radical Anabaptists did just that in the town of Munster in northwest Germany. They declared Munster to be the new Jerusalem. One of the leaders, Jan van Leiden, anointed himself as King David, legislated polygamy, and the whole enterprise was finally crushed as a combined Catholic-Lutheran army swept into the city and killed nearly everyone. They tortured van Leiden and two others and hung their carcasses in cages from the city tower. The cages are there to this day. Lesson: armed resistance is not the purpose of the church!
As we’ll see, this doesn’t mean we owe the government unlimited obedience. When government crosses the line and commands something contrary to God’s Word, we don’t obey. The Hebrew midwives did not kill every male baby. The three Hebrew youths refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s statue. Daniel refused to stop praying. Mordecai refused to bow to Haman. When the Sanhedrin commanded Peter and John to stop preaching the gospel, they declared, “We must obey God rather than man!” God commands submission, but not obedience when contrary to God’s commands. Submission means we are to have an attitude of respect and honor, even when disobedience is required. Paul gives several reasons.
GOD HAS ORDAINED ALL HUMAN GOVERNMENT
Romans 13:1, Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.
First, all rulers function under God’s sovereignty. All human authority is delegated authority, derived from God. When Pilate told Jesus he has authority to free him or have him crucified, Jesus told him, “You wouldn’t have any authority unless it was given to you from heaven!” (John 19:11). Oh, isn’t that good?
Second, God has designed that all people everywhere live under human authority. God created us to need authority, especially as sinners, to restrain evil and promote good. Every coach, teacher, school principal functions with God-given authority. That authority is there to maintain order, the rule of law. Have you ever watched a classroom of Junior High kids when the teacher leaves the room? At first, it’s not too bad but as the seconds tick by, things get worse and worse until you have total anarchy on your hands. The more sinners get away with, the more they tend to take. We drive carefully and lawfully when the patrol car is following us. But as soon as the coast is clear, we’re back to driving “normally.”
Paul says God has established all human authority, whether parents, governors, police officers, state and federal authorities, or commanders in the armed forces. But what about evil government? God surely hasn’t ordained evil government, has He? But has there ever been a righteous government? All governments and all authorities in this world are made up of sinners who are easily corrupted, some worse than others. Lord Acton said, “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” And that’s when you have tyranny. Amazingly, God has used evil rulers to accomplish His purposes down through the ages. He raised up Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Pilate, even a Hitler and Stalin for His purposes and greater good. Calvin warned, “A wicked prince is the Lord’s scourge to punish the sins of the people.” We pray for our nation and leaders.
God used the evil of the Jews and Gentiles to bring our salvation, as every aspect of Jesus’ trials was unjust, corrupt, and based on lies. God has used the unjust persecution of His people to purify and empower the church. The early church refused to confess Caesar as Lord and paid a stiff price of persecution. Second century Tertullian wrote, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” We don’t like what’s happening in our beautiful nation today. We’re disgusted by it. People in high places hate our nation, our Constitution, our liberties. Decisions are being made every day that fly in the face of biblical teaching. Decisions that disregard the sacredness of life in the womb and promote legalized same sex marriage (which isn’t marriage). But God is still sovereign and has His purposes. Someday, God will even allow the Antichrist to rule the world.
GOD HAS GIVEN HUMAN GOVERNMENT THE AUTHORITY TO ENFORCE OBEDIENCE
Romans 13:2-5, Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’s sake.
Here Paul reveals the purpose of government, and it is all wrapped up in two words: good and evil. Government is responsible to protect its citizens. If you are a good citizen, you should have no fear of rulers. If you do evil, fear! God has given government the right to bear the sword to punish evil. This means if you disobey, you pay. God ordained capital punishment for murderers in Genesis 9:6, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed.” God never rescinded that law.
God has given human government the authority to execute His wrath on bad guys. Is the government always good and right and just? Not even close. That’s one of the hardest things to deal with. There are numerous examples of innocent people either executed or imprisoned for crimes they didn’t do. Jesse Johnson in his book, City of Man, Kingdom of God, talks about Rubin Martinez, who was charged with a series of robberies in 2008 and given 40 years in prison. Eleven years into his sentence it was discovered that he was falsely accused. Amazingly, and as an example of Romans 8:28, Rubin says he’s not angry at God or the government. In fact, he had become a believer in Christ while in prison, plus his wife came to Christ also. In our own day there appears to be plenty of evidence Derek Chauvin didn’t murder George Floyd. But there he is, accused of murder, sitting in jail for 22 years, and now knifed 22 times.
Government is often unjust. But there is the doctrine of the lesser magistrate developed in Germany during the Reformation. When the Romans Catholic Church accused Luther of being an arch heretic, the church charged the emperor, Charles the V, to have him arrested and killed. Frederick the Wise was a lesser magistrate (or authority) under the emperor. He was the elector or governor of Saxony, Luther’s county. As they were taking Luther out of Worms, a gang of hooded horsemen ambushed them per order of Frederick the Wise. They took Luther to a hideout at Wartburg Castle, where Luther was kept as Junker George until the coast was clear.
Verse 4 says governing authorities are God’s ministers or servants, deacons. They are serving God Almighty. God ordained government to praise the good and condemn the evil. Ideally if you are a good citizen, you will be honored by the government. However, this isn’t always the case. As our government has become increasingly pagan and corrupt, it is penalizing those who are determined to honor God. We detest the government supporting the abortion industry and exporting the LGBTQ+ and transgender agenda to foreign countries. There are times we must disobey government in order to honor God and protect our families. Paul is simply telling these early Romans as well as us, that it is not God’s will for the church to gather its forces, form an army, and try to overthrow the government. As God’s church, we should submit to the government as much as possible. And when we have to resist, we have to be willing to pay the consequences.
Titus 3:1-2, Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, 2 to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.
1 Peter 2:13-17, Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, 14 or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. 15 For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16 Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. 17 Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.
Were those early colonists right in seceding from England? Should the church have been involved? The question is irrelevant since it wasn’t the churches who decided to secede. Some of history’s greatest minds and characters gathered from the colonies and decided as a political group it was time to secede from England since they were facing tyranny. So, the world heard that first shot and the war for independence began.
Would you have joined the Continental Army? Some pastors preached the gospel on Sunday mornings and then took off their ministerial robes, picked up their muskets, and went to fight for freedom and liberty from the tyranny of England. Right or wrong, the greatest nation in world history was hatched and men who loved freedom and many who claimed Christ drew up the greatest documents of human governance known to man. I’m thankful they fought and by God’s good providence they won! Then the colonists submitted to the leadership of their united colonies.
Notice verses 4-5, God has given government the power to punish disobedience. Wrath means the government bears the sword to execute especially murderers. This is God’s temporal wrath on criminals. And Paul adds that God is behind the justice systems, and we should be in subjection for our own conscience’s sake before God. So, believers must submit to the ruling authorities for two reasons: to avoid being punished by the government, and to avoid disobeying the will of God “for conscience’s sake.” Be a good citizen, avoid the wrath of government, and maintain a good conscience before God.
GOD COMMANDS HIS PEOPLE TO HONOR HUMAN GOVERNMENT AS GOOD CITIZENS
Romans 13:6-7, For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7 Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.
This is easy. Pay your taxes, fear with a sense of respect, and give honor to those who serve to protect us and to promote good among us. First Timothy 2:2 says we are to pray for all those in authority that we might live peaceful, godly lives. This doesn’t mean we don’t speak truth, even to those in authority. John the Baptist spoke truth to Herod and lost his head over it. Jesus called Herod a fox (Luke 13:32). Paul spoke truth to Felix and King Agrippa. Speak the truth in love and above all, keep the gospel front and center.
Let me conclude with this. Our church is not post-millennial. We do not believe the church’s task is to take over all of human government around the world to prepare this world for Christ’s return. Martyn Lloyd-Jones so eloquently and strongly asserted, “The world can never be reformed. Never! A Christian state is impossible. You can never Christianize society.”
We’re here to exhort and warn people to be ready and prepared to meet God when they stand before Him in judgment. Every human being needs the gospel, regardless of their religious, economic, social, moral, or political persuasions. Ben Shapiro and Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson need the gospel. Everyone sitting here needs the gospel. You need the gospel. You need to acknowledge you have sinned before a holy God and bow your knee to Christ right now!
Our church is pre-millennial. We believe Jesus Christ could come today and rapture His church to heaven (1 Thess. 4:16-18). And seven years later after the tribulation period, He will return from heaven to earth (Revelation 19) and set up that thousand-year reign (Revelation 20). There Jesus Christ will rule this world the way it’s supposed to be ruled. Finally, world government will be perfect, completely just and righteous.
Isaiah 9:6-7, “’For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore.’ The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”
Zechariah 14:9, “And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.”
In the meantime, submit yourself to your God-ordained human authority whenever you can without disobeying God. And pray for those in authority to punish evil and praise the good. And as a church we give out the Gospel message and keep preaching the Word (2 Timothy 4:2)!