Note: This is the sermon manuscript that Ben carried into the pulpit. Feel free to use it in any way to advance the kingdom of God.
Christianity 101:
The Christian and Government
Romans 13:1-7
Englewood Baptist Church
Sunday Morning, July 6, 2008
God’s timing is always perfect. As I began preparing a sermon for July 4th weekend, I looked at the next chapter of Romans and what did I find before me? I found Romans 13 which deals the Christian’s role in government. How timely.
Remember, the Apostle Paul shifted gears beginning with Chapter 12. We have moved from learning to living. We are no longer talking about doctrine; we are talking about duty. Last week, we looked at the opening verses of chapter 12 and Paul said, “Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”
Our duty as Christians, first and foremost, is to give ourselves entirely to God—our bodies, our minds, our wills. Now if we had time, we would explore the rest of chapter 12, but let me hit the highlights to set the context for today’s passage. In the rest of the chapter, Paul makes it clear that our belief system affects all areas of our life. It affects our relationship with other believers. Look at 12:5. It says, “So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” What he is saying is—there can be no “lone ranger” Christians. That’s why we believe in Sunday School here. Everyone needs a place to belong—a place to exercise his/her gifts. I like to call these “divine enablements” and you have some. When you are saved, you are saved into a body and in order for this body to be healthy, each member must function.
I heard a pastor speak at a conference last year. He was talking about a problematic, troublemaking member of his church. This person kept causing division and unrest and stirring up gossip. He looked at that member and he thought to himself, “What part of the body are you?” And his flesh gave him the answer. His flesh said this, “He’s the appendix. He’s going to blow up and kill us all.” This pastor was struggling to see where this member brought health to the church. All believers are designed to pull their weight in the body. And so, in view of God’s mercy, we don’t live isolated from other disciples. We live in fellowship.
Now, skip down to v. 14, and you see that our faith not only affects our relationship with God, and our relationship with other believers, our beliefs also affect the way we treat our enemies. Look at v.14, “Bless those who persecute you.” V.17, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil.” Because we have trusted Christ as our Savior, we are not like the rest of the world. We seek to live at peace with everyone and we do good to those who mean us harm. That is how this doctrine is lived out.
And now we come to Chapter 13. Paul turns a corner and says, “Now, let me address how a Christian should view his government.” This is how your faith informs your politics…
Read 13:1-7.
Dr. Chuck Story gave me a book months ago and I am just now reading it. The name of the book is When Nations Die and it talks about the 10 warning signs that a culture is in crisis. In the introduction, the author makes the point that if America wants God to bless her, then America must return to blessing God. And we as Christians, if we love our kids and if we have hope for our grandkids, we cannot afford to run from the problems that we face in our nation. We are in moral crisis and Christians must respond. This is what Jim Nelson Black says,
Our challenge today is not to run from conflict but to engage in it. Our ‘fight or flight’ reactions should propel us forward into the center of the controversy. We should also remember that in the parable of the talents, as spoken by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, the landowner tells his servants to go forth into the vineyard and “occupy till I come.” That should be a vital lesson for every Christian today. Jesus Christ did not want us to run away, to flee to the hills, or to hide our eyes, but to go into the fields and bring forth the harvest. We are to occupy as faithful soldiers of a loving God until the Commander himself returns.”
--Jim Nelson Black, When Nations Die
And this is the point that Paul makes in Romans 13. Paul says that we must occupy our land. We have a responsibility to the government and he explains the rationale behind why we should support an organized government. Let’s look at this.
Why Should A Christian Support the Government?
Because human government is ordained by God. (v.1)
Now you and I think about pastors and deacons as being ordained. That is, God has set these two groups of men apart for a special role of service. But the Bible says that all government officials are “ordained.” That is, God has set them apart for special service.
The Bible says this in Daniel 2:21 that God “sets up kings and deposes them.” Just like pictures on a wall, God puts them up and when he is ready, God takes them down. He is a God that is in control. Sometimes he sets up an evil ruler. A perfect example of that is in that same book—the book of Daniel with King Nebuchadnezzar. This king ruled over ancient Babylon and the Lord gave Daniel the ability to interpret some of his dreams. And when Daniel stood before him, this godly young man recognized the king’s authority. He said to his king in Daniel 2:37,
“You, O King, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power…” Daniel 2:37
Later on, that King developed such an ego and so much pride filled his heart that God took away his sanity. Just like you and I would take a screwdriver out of the hand of a child, God took away this man’s ability to reason. He lost his mind. Soon he was crawling around on all fours and eating grass like a cow.
God took Nebuchadnezzar down and then he set up another king in his place. God does that.
Now you and I are going to go the ballot box later this year. We are going to vote for a president—the leader of this mighty nation. And hear me—your vote matters. It is important for you to cast your vote. But also hear this, God is not going to stay up late, anxiously waiting to hear how the count comes in. He is not going to be pacing the floors of heaven hoping that America makes the right choice. He is in control. And no matter who is president—whether it be a young, charismatic African American from Illinois or a gray-headed war hero from Arizona—our role as Christians is to support the government, to impact the culture, and to be salt and light in the world. Whoever God allows to become our president, we are to show him or her respect because we respect the office. We may struggle to respect the individual, but even still, we pay that person honor because we respect the God-ordained office.
Now there is one caveat here. It is the Acts 5:29 principle. There are times when we are told to protest the laws of government. In Acts 5, Peter is thrown in jail for preaching about Jesus. An angel appears to him and opens the doors to the jail and says, “Go, stand in the temple courts and tell the people the full message of this new life.”
So Peter obeys the Lord. He walks out of that jail, goes immediately into the public square and begins teaching about Christ. Of course, he is seized by the Jewish rulers and brought before the governing council and they tell him, “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name…”
And Peter responds, in Acts 5:29, here is the principle,
“We must obey God rather than men.”Acts 5:29
If the government ever commands you to commit murder, or to hurt your children, or to curse the name of Christ, then you have permission from Almighty God to rise up and rebel and to speak in one accord with Peter, “I must obey God rather than men.” But, so long as the requests of the government do not violate Scripture, then you and I are called to submit. Why? Because, again, these people have been appointed by God for their work. Look carefully again at 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.” By God’s own sovereign decree, presidents, kings, prime ministers, governors, mayors, police, and all other governmental authorities stand in His place for the preservation of society. To resist government is therefore to resist God.
Why Has God appointed Human Government?
Two reasons…
1. To restrain evil. (vv.3-4)
Look at vv.3-4. The government is established to keep people from doing wrong—from committing evil crimes against one another. It has been said that you cannot legislate morality. That is absolutely true. There is no law that can make a person good or moral. So what do we have laws for? We have laws, not to legislate morality, but instead, to legislate against immorality.
Think about it this way. There is no law that can make you honest, but there is a law that can keep you from stealing my wallet. There is no law that can make you love me, but there is a law that keeps you from killing me. We need the government to protect us from evil doers, because that is what human beings are. If you and I really understand the depravity of man described in Romans 1,2, and 3—that mankind is polluted and corrupted by sin—then we support the idea of a local police force. This world is made up of sinful people—most of them have no relationship with God so they are slaves to their sinful nature. By default, human beings are selfish, egotistical, prideful, and arrogant, and when you throw all that together in a community, you are going to have crime.
And it is time that we as a community begin to celebrate and appreciate our police officers. These men put their lives on the line every week so that you can live without fear of evil. My brother is a police officer and he is “a small town” cop. But when we get together, he tells me stories that make me worry for him. Even in small town Illinois, he walks into houses where there are loaded pistols and bags of drugs. He pulls people over that are drunk and violent and have knives. The Bible says that those who hold an office on the police force, they are officers of God. Look what v.4 says, “He is God’s servant to do you good.” From this moment on, every time I see a police officer in a restaurant or at a gas station, I am making a commitment to stop, shake his hand, and say thank you for his or her service to the community. Did you know that less than half of 1% of police officers ever discredit their uniform? That is a better percentage than pastors. These men are honorable and v.7 says, if you owe someone honor, then give him honor.
Now, I want you to notice in v.4 that the government “bears the sword” and he does not bear it for nothing. Why does God give the government a sword? For the same reason he gives the parent a rod! There has to be painful consequences for evil or wicked men will not be restrained. The sword is a weapon of death and this is Scriptural support for capital punishment.
But someone will say, “What about the 10 Commandments, thou shalt not kill, Exodus 20:13?” That is true. The Bible does say that we are not to kill one another, but also understand this. The same author who penned those words in Exodus 20:13 also wrote these words in Exodus 21:14,
“…if a man schemes and kills another man deliberately, take him away from my altar and put him to death.” Exodus 21:14
In one chapter it says, “Do not kill.” In the next chapter, it says, “Take him away and kill him.” He that kills shall be killed. This is what God taught from the beginning.
Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed;
for in the image of God
has God made man. Gen. 9:6
And so God said from the beginning that if you deliberately take someone’s life, then you will lose your own. All murder is killing, but all killing is not murder. The God that gives life is the God that has the right to take it. And God has ordained servants to carry out his work for him and in this case that servant is the government. The Bible says that God finds no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but capital punishment saves lives. The coddling of the murderer is really cruelty to the community. God has given the government a sword and he does not bear the sword for nothing. If you do wrong, v.4, be afraid.
Why do we have government? Number 1, to restrain evil. The second reason for Human Government is…
2. To reward good. (v.3)
Look at v.3…
If you are doing good, then the government should seek to promote your welfare. You should be commended and protected. The framers of the American Constitution understood this. They wrote in that marvelous document the government is to promote the general welfare of the people and provide the common defense. Do you see how wise they were? They took their cues from Scripture and stated what God had already stated—that the government is to reward good and restrain evil through defense.
If you believe in a local police force, then surely you believe in an army. A police force is simply a local army. When those officers strap on bullet proof vests and invade a drug house, that is a battle. They have put on their armor, and they are soldiers called to protect those who follow the law. They are there to help the good by detaining those who seek to do evil. And we should thank them. They are God’s servants to do us good.
Those are the reasons for government. Now let’s talk about…
Our Duties Toward the Government
We have certain duties that God has called us to maintain.
Look at vv.5-6..
Turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew 22. In this chapter, Jesus is confronted by some teachers who are hoping to get him into trouble with the government. If they could get him cross-ways with the emperor, then they wouldn’t have to worry about killing him. That was going to be messy. It would take all kinds of planning. It would be much easier if Rome would simply execute him. That is what they were seeking to do. Look what happens…Read Matt. 22:15-22…
Now remember, Jesus was not live under a benevolent ruler or a pleasant democracy. The Roman government was corrupt and evil. It was this government that would execute him as an innocent man. If ever there was a person that should have said, “Render to Caesar nothing!” It was Jesus. But shockingly, Jesus says, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s.”
This leads quite naturally to the first duty we have toward the Government…
1. We should pay for the government.
Jesus paid his taxes and so should you. In the last part of Matthew 17, Jesus tells Peter to go and drop his line into the lake. “Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and there you will find money. Take it and pay my taxes.” Look back at Romans 13:6…
Now, ever-increasing, mounting taxes are a burden to us as citizens and sometimes we don’t know what to think about our money vanishing into thin air. One of the most brilliant men to ever walk the earth, Albert Einstein, he could comprehend the laws of physics, but he also said this,
“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.” --Albert Einstein.
Arthur Godfrey once put it this way,
"I’m proud to be paying taxes in the United States. The only thing is -- I could be just as proud for half the money." –Arthur Godfrey
There is not one person here that loves filling out their taxes in April and come to the realization that Uncle Sam wants a sizeable chunk of your savings. That hurts. But I can tell you something that hurts even worse—a nation without a government. That is a recipe for anarchy. It is God’s will for men and women to live in order and to have a government that rules with wisdom and justice.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. said,
Taxes are the price we pay for civilization. –Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
I know it is frustrating, but you and I are commanded by God to pay for the government. This doesn’t mean that we don’t hold them accountable and question the logic behind increased taxes. In my estimation, a nation is in big trouble when half the people don’t want to work because the other half will pay their way. And the other half doesn’t want to work because somebody else gets what they work for.
As a nation, we should be concerned about higher taxes, but this does not excuse us from paying them.
2. We should pray for the government. (1 Tim. 2:1-3)
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 1 Tim. 2:1-3
We are called to pray for our government. Let me confess something to you. I used to be a huge David Letterman fan. I used to watch that show because I enjoy stupid human tricks and I think it’s fun to watch watermelons being thrown from tall buildings. The show can be quite humorous. But, I just can’t stand the way that he and Jay Leno and all the others make a mockery of the President of the United States. And it doesn’t matter who it is. Those comedians are cruel in the way that they tear down the public image of the president. They have no respect for the office, and for that reason, I can’t watch late night shows any longer—especially the monologues. It angers me.
We, as Christians, are not called to cut down our leaders and search for their faults and make fun of their vocabularies. We are not called to drag up every wrong deed in a man’s past and shame him by putting it on display. We should not act like little children and call our leaders names. No, we should be calling out to God on their behalf. These men and women are making decisions that impact the world and wisdom is required. Let us, as Christians, pray for our mayor, for our senators, for our president, and when our leaders make decisions that we are not proud of, let us believe in the truth of Proverbs 21:1:
The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases. Proverbs 21:1
God can change any man’s heart—even a king or president. Through the power of prayer, Christians exert influence over their government—no matter how corrupt it might be. Pray for America.
3.We should praise our government.
Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. (1 Pt. 2:17)
Patriotism is not a bad thing. Romans says we are to give honor where honor is due. Is it wrong to love America? No! It is your native land. I love my family in ways that I don’t love your family. That is the way that God has designed us. We reserve a special love for our own. That doesn’t mean that we love other nations less. It just means that we have a special place in our heart for home.
The Psalmist said this,
If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill . Psalm 137:5
That writer had a special love for his native land, and we too, should thank God for America and for this nation that was founded on Biblical principles and promotes freedom throughout its land. We should speak word of praise and thanksgiving for our government when we can.
4.We should participate in the government. (Mt. 5:13)
I’m not going to say much here because this is obvious. Jesus said that we are to be salt and light in our community and in this nation, we have a government that is of the people, by the people, and for the people. Unlike many other nations, all the people of American have a say in what goes on and we do that through voting. Your vote matters and you should exercise your right to have influence over the affairs of the nation. We need as much salt as we can possibly muster. You say, “Well, my little ol’ vote doesn’t matter.” History would prove otherwise..
In 1776, one vote gave America the English language rather than German.
In 1845, one vote saved President Andrew Jackson from impeachment.
In 1876, one vote gave Rutherford B. Hayes the presidency.
In 1923, one vote gave a man named Hitler the leadership of the Nazi party.
God has given you, as an American, a voice and a vote. We are the salt of this nation, and Jesus said, once it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? Participate in your government.
5. We should persuade the government.
We are not to spread anarchy. We are to spread a passion for God. Our nation is a republic and is based on public opinion. So, how do we change the opinion of the masses? By getting the Word of God out. We need new creations, more people who are saved. It is not new laws that will change the future. It is new hearts. We can have the greatest legislature in the world. We can institute new laws every year that make this an orderly nation, and that is a good thing. But what will we have we produced? We will have produced a better country to go to hell from. America cannot save a single soul. Jesus Christ saves the souls of men, and He has given us his word as power. This is the power of God for those who are perishing. This is the truth and we must speak it boldly wherever God gives us a platform.
People are blind because they do not see the gospel and one by one, we must win them to Christ. That is the greatest hope for America.
