Subject To The Governing Authorities

Romans 13:1-10
I want to begin our meditation on God’s Holy Word at the end of our text. The Bible says:

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

These words are the summary of everything that we have heard over the last four weeks from the 11th and 12th chapters of Romans. They teach us that having received in faith God’s gracious gift of salvation in Jesus Christ, we are called to live an active life of love. The notion that we can live our lives however we see fit since God’s has accomplished our salvation for us--is simply false teaching—it is unbiblical.

The Bible teaches that we have been set free from the curse and condemnation of the law so that we can begin to freely love God and one another and fulfill the law in the only way that pleases God, by loving him and others. Love always follows faith in Jesus.

And so over these last four weeks we have heard that we are to love God simply for who he is, standing in awe of his goodness and might. We have heard that we are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, modeling our lives after the example of our Lord’s love for us at the cross. We have heard that we are to love, not only our friends, but also our enemies. And today we hear of the love that we are to have for a special category of neighbor—those who rule over us in government. The Bible says:

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

God’s Word teaches that governmental authority is not a human invention but has been established by God for the good of mankind. The state began as part of the covenant that God made with Noah when God said: “Whoever shed’s man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God he made man.” This command did not authorize private vengeance. Instead, God entrusted Noah with the public responsibility to protect human life as his sacred gift.

But the form of government was not prescribed by God. Noah and Abraham ruled as heads of large, extended families. Moses ruled the Israelites as a lawgiver and then in Israel’s there were the judges and the Davidic kings. The apostles lived under the rule of pagan emperors. In our own day Christians live under democracies and republics and monarchies.

It is not the form that governmental authority takes that makes it valid and worthy of our obedience and submission as Christian citizens--but rather, the fact that the state is instituted by God. Because he is the Giver, to rebel against the state is to rebel against God—and so every person—especially the Christian—is subject to the governing authorities. The Bible says that:

Whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

When we speed from one place to the next—when we use “creative” accounting methods on our tax forms—when we ignore copyright laws—we are not rebelling against some arbitrary law that can be ignored as long as we can get away with it--we are resisting God.

The Bible teaches that breaking the laws of the land is a direct violation of the Fourth Commandment that insists we obey those in authority over us.

God commands our obedience whether or not our candidate has won the election—whether some law is just or not in our mind—whether or not we are ruled by those who share our Christian faith. Under terrible persecution from pagan rulers, Peter wrote to his congregation and said this:

“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to the governors who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.”

Those who disobey governing authorities can expect only judgment in time and eternity-- for governing authorities are God’s servants through whom he rules the affairs of men in the world—protecting the innocent and punishing the evil. The Bible says that:

Rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.

The Bible teaches that those who are in authority over us in the state, be they: elected officials, judges, legislators, soldiers, policemen--all those who serve in the government for the common good-- are God’s servants no less than the Christian minister--though their tools and responsibilities and sphere of action differ.

Where pastors serve God for our eternal good, calling the wicked to repentance and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and administering the sacraments so that we can have peace with God--state officials serve God for our temporal good and external peace.

When the state builds roads and hospitals—when they regulate food and building safety—when they protect us from criminals and punish those who do wrong-- they are doing God’s work as his servants so that we can lead a quiet and peaceful life.

That is why God has given the state the right and the responsibility to wield the sword—that is, to command its police officers, military personnel, and executioners to dispense justice in the harshest possible way upon those who treat human life with contempt and destroy it without reason.

Just wars and capital punishment do not show a callous disregard for human life as opponents maintain—they show just the opposite: that God treasures human life and so protects it in this way. A Christian can serve with a clear conscience in those professions that wield the sword even when they are called upon to use deadly force to protect human life.

In summary, God has given us his good gift of government so that what is good among our fellow citizens can flourish-- and what is evil can be restrained. That alone is the proper, God-given function of government.

IT IS NOT the work of the government to make people Christians. The state’s God-given tools of reason, law, common-sense, and the sword cannot cause anyone to be born again.

A properly run government can make the spread of the Gospel easier by building roads and maintaining external peace and protecting travelers like the Romans did in the apostolic age-- but the work of making Christians is the work of the church. Only the church has the God-given, Gospel means of preaching, baptism, and Holy Communion that can make disciples for Christ.

Both the state and the church exist side-by-side in this world—both are gifts of God—both are God’s servants--but church and state have very different tools to accomplish their very different God-given purposes and because of this Jesus says, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar and to God the things that are God’s.

It should go without saying that before our love and loyalty to God will come before our love and loyalty to this nation. And so if the day ever comes when our government calls upon us to do something that is against God’s laws-- or if it ever calls us to yield a greater loyalty to the nation than to the Lord—it must be resisted.

The Lord alone deserves our worship and faith. It is his great work that created us and redeemed us by the blood of his Son and brought us to faith by the power of the Holy Spirit and for who he is and what he had done and continues to do—he must always come first in our hearts—even before our love of country.

But as his people, we also are called to be good citizens of the state, giving our government and its leaders what we owe them. So what are some of the things that we as Christians ought to render to the government? The Bible says:

One must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

When it comes to our responsibilities as Christian citizens, the Bible teaches first of all that we are to give the state and all governmental authorities our submission and obedience so long as they do not ask us to deny God. We do not obey out of fear of being punished—we obey because we are Christians.

Our government is not perfect, we know that some of our laws may be unjust, but we obey the law and respect those who make them and enforce them, because as Christians we know that the state and it’s officials are God’s servants for our good.

Secondly, we pay the financial obligations that we owe to the state-- whether taxes or revenues or fines. To deceive and steal from the government is still stealing.

Thirdly, we show the honor and respect to our government and its leaders that is due them. The contempt and scorn and outright hatred that we hear in the media—on the left and right— for those who serve in government is sinful and unworthy of Christians. We are called to respect and honor those who serve as God’s ministers in the government.

Fourthly, we serve our government as citizens with our abilities: service on juries or in public office or in the military when called upon to do so. We share our wisdom and insight and perspective at the ballot box by voting for those candidates who are the best equipped to govern our nation with wisdom and intelligence and godliness.

Last but not least, the greatest service that we can render to the state as Christian citizens is to pray for our nation and its leaders. The bible says that,
Requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving should be made for everyone-- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

Every week this congregation prays for our nation and its leaders and officials, knowing that God hears and answers our prayers on account of Christ.

To summarize, there are three basic biblical principles that guide our understanding of the government and our lives as Christian citizens: 1. Government is instituted by God to be his servant and opposition to it is not just a legal problem but a sin that harms our relationship with God. 2. The primary purpose of government is to promote what is good for its citizens and to hinder what is evil and force is permitted by God to this end. 3. And finally, we have a duty, not just as citizens, but as Christians to render to government its due while remembering that our ultimately loyalty is to God.

Today we thank God for his good gift of government. We re-commit ourselves as Christian citizens to making sure that our nation is pursuing a course that provides the best framework for sharing the Gospel. And we remember that, at the end of the day, we are aliens and strangers in this world and we have a higher citizenship in the kingdom of heaven through the blood of Jesus who set us free and made us his own. Amen.