God, Government and You
How many of you are ‘rule-keepers’?
• When you see a rule do you try to do everything possible to not break it?
How many of you are ‘rule-breakers’?
• When you’re faced with a rule, ….
• do you find yourself wanting to
o ….inwardly disregard it or outwardly disobey it?
I get accused of this by my family when we play a card game. They claim I cheat.
Now for all you ‘rule-keepers,’
before you start feeling self-righteous about all the rules you keep,
Lets be honest…… with each other!!
o ..don’t most of us ….pick and choose which ones we’re going to follow?
o E.g. Driving 120, well that’s just too slow.
o ..speed limit should be 130 or if you’re like me, it should be 140.
o We tend to evaluate rules according to what we think ….. should be right.
Many people believe:
• God is only interested in sacred issues!!
• And not secular issues!
Referred to as: “The great divide”
Many times…..we as spiritual leaders
• …try to make the distinction …… between what is sacred and what is not!
• And we create all these fancy rules….. (Do’s and Do Not’s)
• God does NOT!!!
David writes the following:
Psa 24:1 [NLT] The earth is the LORD'S, and everything in it. (Sacred and secular) The world and all its people belong to him.
“For God, all issues, all circumstances, and all people are part of God’s domain. Separating the sacred from the secular is a false dichotomy.” --- (Adam Hamilton, “the Separation of Church and State”).
While many say….. God and government don’t mix very well
We must realise …
o Government can only be understood to the degree to which we understand God.
According to what Jesus said in Matthew 22:21
We owe an allegiance to both God and to government:
“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
Let’s start with God’s expectation of us!!!
1Pet 2:13-17 [KJV] Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; (14) Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. (15) For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: (16) As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. (17) Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
Let’s look at the word submission
The word used…… Greek word = “hupotasso”
• which is a compound word
• means = “to line up or arrange under a commander”
It was a military term used to instruct soldiers to fall in line under the officer in charge.
• The verb is in the form of a command….
• It was a clear implication for obedience
Remember: during the time Peter wrote this letter……,
• Nero is the Emperor in Rome—probably one of the most unfit rulers ever.
Can you imagine the tension…..!!!
Illustration: At a meeting of the American Psychological Association, Jack Lipton, a psychologist at Union College, showed how members of the various sections of 11 major symphony orchestras perceived each other. The percussionists were viewed as insensitive, unintelligent, and hard-of-hearing, yet fun-loving.
String players were seen as arrogant, stuffy, and un-athletic. The orchestra members overwhelmingly chose “loud” as the primary adjective to describe the brass players. Woodwind players seemed to be held in the highest esteem described as quiet and meticulous, though a bit egotistical.
Interesting findings, to say the least! With such widely divergent personalities and perceptions, how could an orchestra ever come together to make such wonderful music? The answer is simple: regardless of how those musicians view each other, they subordinate their feelings and biases to the leadership of the conductor. Under his guidance, they play beautiful music.
---Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s non submission to the Nazi regime
We as Christians leaders are called…
• to give up striving for power and authority over other human beings
• and instead to pursue the good of others, submitting to them.
If you cannot submit….you cannot lead!!
Just to backtrack for a moment to ….. 1 Pet 2: 1-5
1Pe 2:1-5 NLT So get rid of all malicious behavior and deceit. Don't just pretend to be good! Be done with hypocrisy and jealousy and backstabbing. (2) You must crave pure spiritual milk so that you can grow into the fullness of your salvation. Cry out for this nourishment as a baby cries for milk, (3) now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness. (4) Come to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God's temple. He was rejected by the people, but he is precious to God who chose him. (5) And now God is building you, as living stones, into his spiritual temple. What's more, you are God's holy priests, who offer the spiritual sacrifices that please him because of Jesus Christ.
Our general attitude and pattern of behaviour toward the government
• …. should be submission.
(When we speak government) ….This includes ….
• law enforcement,
• toward revenue agencies,
• toward local, state, and national governing bodies and officials.
Now let’s ask a couple of questions:
• Do you respect governmental authorities, even when you disagree with their policies?
• Do you pay your taxes?
• So what about when rulers are ungodly and immoral?
The question that we should then ask is…….
• Does God only ordain governments that are Christian and Godly?
As Christians and Christian leaders we must learn to trust …..
• … a sovereign God that reigns supreme even over ungodly men.
God used ungodly men throughout the OT to accomplish His purposes.
• Why can’t He do it today???
• So the quality of the governing officials
o …..does not determine whether or not we submit.
The Reasons for Submission (v.13-16)
1. Ultimately it is ……….
• …to please God.
• Several phrases point to the fact that our submission to His ordained authorities pleases God.
• “For the Lord’s sake” in v. 13 and “for this is the will of God” in v. 15.
Additional reasons include:
2. Maintain order in society,
• …..this is part of the purpose of government in general.
• This includes retribution for crime and promotion of good.
Easy to criticise …. but we have the answer
3. Maintain our testimony, and thus silence the slander of unbelievers
• Maintaining our testimony is again in view of how others see us, and thus perceive God.
• Not supporting authorities will ……
o Portray the wrong message
o Bring discredit to the church and our message
4. Submission helps us Experience true Christian freedom.
• The great paradox of the Christian life is…..
o that freedom from sin is actually freedom to choose to do what is right.
• Freedom is actually realized in the context of …..
o submission to the God-ordained, God-controlled authorities in life.
Higher you go spiritually….the more you submit (Explain)
Illustration: “If you Trust that God has your best interests in mind and be willing to do what he asks of you, even if you don’t understand why.
• Obedience starts with having a heart that says yes to God”
Hermann Lange, facing execution, wrote from his prison cell in Hamburg on July 11, 1943: "Personally, I am perfectly calm, facing steadfastly what is to come. When one has really achieved complete surrender to the will of God, there is a marvellous feeling of peace and sense of absolute security. The gift we receive is so unimaginably great that all human joys pale beside it."
“Independence must be blasted clean out, there must be no such thing left, only freedom, which is very different. Freedom is the ability not to insist on my rights, but to see that God gets His.” –Oswald Chambers,
“only in God’s joyful slavery is there true freedom,” “Christian Freedom does not mean being free to do as we like; it means being free to do as we ought.” –Barclay,
4. As Christians, our main goal in life is to please God.
• This is the main reason why we obey government,
• because we want to obey Him, bring honour to Him, and please Him.
• By submitting to government you are helping to achieve God’s purpose of order in His world.
• God is honoured when
o Christians are viewed as law abiding, tax paying, and societally stabilizing people.
• God is not honoured when…
o we form militias and secret societies bound to overthrow governmental establishments
o or even when we constantly complain about the government, as if He was powerless to fix it, or not in control of it
C. Final Instruction about Submission (v. 17)
I would like to conclude by sharing one principle and three exhortations regarding government.
• All authority is delegated from God.
• 2) We are not to trust in (put our hope in) the government. But by submitting to the government, we are affirming that we trust God.
• 3) We are to be good stewards of the opportunities and possibilities afforded us.
• 4) We are to pray for our leaders.
Illustration: a foundation of a house must be solid, so that it provides stability for the rest of the house.
Submission to government is an act of submission to God.
• If the government says that we cannot recite “under God” in our schools,
o we will submit, and recite it at home.
Government might fail us; we could expect that.
• when it does, we simply affirm that God is in control,
• and He will vindicate us,
• provide for us,
• protect us, and cause us to triumph in all things in Christ.
This doesn’t mean that we are to be absent from the political/governmental process.
• Submission never implies apathy.
• We have been afforded great opportunities in this country to vote,
• to communicate openly about our opinions,
• to run for office;
• therefore we have an obligation, as a part of being a good citizen
Finally, we should support our leadership in prayer, whether we agree with them politically or not.
