(Note: This sermon was introduced with the song "Fellow Prisoners" by Michael Card from the Soul Anchor CD and a slide show about persecution of Christians in the world).
It’s sobering to realize that so many people who confess the name of Jesus in the world today are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. Much of this persecution comes from their own government. So today we’ve done what the song encouraged us to do, and through prayer we’ve lifted them up.
As we look back at history we see that the relationship between the Christian church and government has always been an uneasy one. It seems that Christians down through the years have either totally ignored government or tried to take it over. It’s almost as if every follower of Jesus needs to take a Christian Civics class. When I was a senior in high school, we all had to take civics to make sure we knew how our government functioned and what responsible citizenship was all about. It’s almost as if we need a Christian equivalent for every follower of Jesus Christ. But this Christian Civics class wouldn’t so much focus on how our government works as it would focus on the Bible’s teaching about how followers of Jesus are to live in relationship to their government.
Today we continue our series through the New Testament book of Romans we’ve called Good News for Our Times. A few weeks ago we started a new section of Romans we’ve titled "The Good News About God’s Community" a, and today we’re going to talk about "Christian Civics 101." Today I’m going to talk about the most important principle in the Bible about our relationship to government. First I’ll explain this principle, then I’ll give you some reasons for this principle, then some qualifications for the principle, and finally some very specific and tangible ways we can live out the principle. So first the principle, then the reasons for it, then the qualifications to the principle, and finally the application.
1. Explaining the Principle (Romans 13:1-5)
Let me start by just giving you the basic principle that underlies everything else we’ll talk about today: When we surrender our lives fully to following Jesus as living sacrifices, God wants us to live in ACTIVE SUBMISSION to our government’s rule.
Now the way I’ve phrased this principle reminds us of what we looked at two weeks ago in Romans 12:1-2. There we learned that the only appropriate response to God’s incredible mercy is to surrender ourselves to fully to God. Only then does God begin changing us by renewing our minds so we can then figure out what God wants us to do, God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will. Everything I’m going to say today assumes that you’ve come to a point of total surrender to Jesus, to following him as a living sacrifice. People who haven’t yet done that will find themselves unable to do what I’m going to talk about today.
Now let’s look at Romans 13:1-5 to explore this principle. The section begins with a universal command for every follower of Jesus, regardless of their circumstances, regardless of where they live, to submit to the governing authorities. Now "the governing authorities" here are those people and institutions that are part of the government of the country the Christian finds him or herself living in. For the Roman Christians Paul is writing to the "governing authorities" would include the Roman Emperor Nero, the local city governments, the Roman army, the local police force, the Roman tax collectors, and so on. This principle is stated in universal terms, with no exemptions or loopholes.
However, it is significant that Paul uses the word "submit" here instead of the word "obey" (Cranfield 2:662). Submission is to recognize an authority over us, it’s acknowledging our subordinate place in a hierarchy of authority, like a soldier to his commanding officer. But the word submission doesn’t imply complete obedience in every situation, as we’ll see in a few minutes.
The reason for this submission is given in the second half of v. 1, because "no authority exists except that which God has established." Here Paul is echoing a clear Old Testament teaching that the creator God is sovereign over all the nations of the world, not just Israel. Truly, "The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it," including all the nations on the earth. Because of this, God is ultimately in control of who is in power in every nation of the world. The prophet Daniel put it this way: "God sets up kings and he deposes them" (Dan 2:21). Even kings and political leaders who were hostile to God, like the Persian King Cyrus, were viewed in the Old Testament as put into power by God himself (Isa 45:1-5; Jer 27:5-6).
Because of this reality, to rebel against an authority that God has established is to rebel against God himself. Paul acknowledges in v. 3 that government authorities are a source of fear for those who disobey the government. He admonishes us to live lives free from fear by doing what’s right, by living in active submission rather than hostile opposition to our government. In fact, if we do what’s right in following Jesus, the government will even commend us, even a government that is hostile to God and the message about Jesus.
Incredibly, in v. 4 Paul describes government leaders as God’s "servants." The word for "servant" here is the same word used elsewhere in the Bible for ministers in the Church. Whether a government official acknowledges God or not, he or she serves God’s purposes. They are God’s servants to do good and to punish evil. It’s because of this part of the Bible that we use the phrase "civil servants" and some governments call the various departments in their government "ministries."
Paul calls the government "an agent of wrath" in v. 4, which reminds us of what Paul told us earlier in chapter 12. Back in 12:19 Paul told us not to retaliate when people do evil against us, but to "leave room for God’s wrath." One way God’s wrath comes against those who do us evil is through the government, so even though the follower of Jesus is to restrain him or herself from retaliating, we can look to the government to bring judgment on the person who does evil against us. Now obviously no government does this perfectly, and the wrath executed against those who do evil against us is partial and imperfect. In a sense, a government’s judgment against evil is an anticipation of God’s perfect judgment at the end of the age (Schreiner 684). The phrase "bear the sword" refers to the government’s ability to use the death penalty, which Paul is assuming every government will employ in certain circumstances.
In v. 5 Paul concludes by reiterating how important it is for every follower of Jesus Christ to live by this principle, not just out of fear, but also because of "conscience." The word "conscience" here refers to our knowledge of what God wants us to do, and remembering early in chapter 12, this knowledge of God’s will only comes after we surrender ourselves fully to God. God renews our mind so we know what his will is, and part of God’s will is for us to live lives of active submission to our government.
2. Reasons For the Principle
Now WHY would God want us to do this? Doesn’t God know what terrible evil some governments perpetrate against their citizens? Well we find in these verses two reasons why this basic principle of Christian civics is so important and foundational.
The first reason is because THE AUTHORITY TO GOVERN ULTIMATELY COMES FROM GOD.
From our perspective, governments come into power by force, by heredity, or by popular choice (Moo 798). Whether it’s a person born into the royal family or a general who leads his army into toppling the existing government, or a vote by the people, the ways governments come into power from a human perspective are varied. But when our minds are renewed by God, we realize that behind those circumstances is the unseen hand of God. This doesn’t mean God approves of what a person does to come into power, but it does mean that God permits it to happen. Certainly God will ultimately judge those who use evil to gain political power and God will certainly hold governments who use their authority wrongly accountable for their actions. But ultimately no one comes into power without being given the authority to do so by God himself.
Now if you don’t have a big view of God, you’ll have difficulty believing this first reason. If the God you worship isn’t the awesome, majestic, mysterious, loving, incredible creator of the galaxies described in the Bible, you’ll have trouble buying this. It takes an awesome God to do what this verse is telling us the God of the Bible does. So if you’re having trouble believing that this is true, perhaps it’s because your concept of God is too small.
Now there’s also a second reason we find in these first five verses: Because GOD HAS ENTRUSTED HUMAN GOVERNMENT TO MAINTAIN SOCIAL ORDER. By calling government leaders "God’s servants" who are appointed by God "to do good" and to "punish wrongdoers," Paul is telling us that human government has a unique role in God’s plan.
Picture the power of sin and evil in human society as being like a raging river running downhill. The faster the current in the river, the more evil people are to each other, the more violence, the more exploiting of people. Imagine human government as being like a a dam built out of rocks in the river, so a good government creates a pool where the rushing current of lawlessness slows down. There’s more stability in the pool, less chaos and anarchy, less people being destroyed by other people, fewer instances of violence and hatred. The dam slows down the current. Even a poorly designed dam is better than none at all. But make no mistake, no matter how good the dam is designed, the current is still flowing downhill. No government can stop the the flow of sin in human society. The flow can only be reversed by what the Bible calls the Kingdom of God. The Christian Church has been entrusted with the message of God’s kingdom, what the Bible calls the "gospel" or "good news" that God sent his Son Jesus into the world to die for our sins and rise from the dead.
When a government is functioning the way God intended, it slows down the rushing current of lawlessness, which enables the Church to live out its mission freely and without hindrance. But no government causes chaos and lawlessness to rule, and then the Church can’t live out its mission. Even a bad government is preferable to no government at all. You see, the Bible teaches that both Church and government have distinct and unique roles in God’s plan, and that though these roles are interdependent on each other, they are distinct and different. In this sense, the Bible itself teaches a kind of separation of Church and state, though it’s not a separation of influence but a separation of roles. Whenever the Church tries to do what God has called the government to do or the government tries to do what God has called the Church to do, evil ultimately results. As we look at the low points of church history, we find that whenever evil was done in by people claiming the name of Jesus and in the name of Jesus, it is because they had lost this distinction. Examples of this are the crusades of the Middle Ages and the Salem Witch Trials in Puritan New England. We must constantly remind ourselves of this distinction, that God has not entrusted the Church with maintaining social order, but he’s entrusted that role to the government.
Imagine human government existing on a scale, with the top of the scale being a government that has values that accurately reflect God’s values. Now the top of the scale is an ideal, and the only government that will do this completely is the Kingdom of God, which will be established when Jesus comes again at the end of the age. So no human government has ever been at the top, and no human government ever will be. We learned in Romans chapter 1 that every human society exists in a state of rebellion against God, which is the root cause of many of the social problems we experience in society. Only the good news of Jesus can address the root problem, and the government is powerless to do this. At the bottom of the scale would be total anarchy, complete lawlessness, a group with no government at all.
Now imagine Puritan New England being up relatively high on the scale. Now some people would question whether the Puritans were really this high on the scale because we have a strong tendency to idealize Puritan New England (Finke and Stark 23). I’m sure the Native Americans and the African Americans wouldn’t put Puritan New England this high on the scale, and certainly the Baptists and Quakers who were persecuted by the Puritans might argue that they belong lower on the scale. But, despite their imperfections, the intent of the Puritans was to set up a government that accurately reflected God’s values, so because of that intent, let’s put them here on the scale. This is part of our heritage, part of our story as Americans.
Now let’s put present day America lower on the scale. Now again, some would disagree with where I’ve put modern day America, with many people arguing that we’ve fallen much further down the scale. Certainly we’ve seen a terrible rise in violent crime, divorce, hatred, and so forth. On the other hand, however, we’ve seen strides forward in civil rights since Puritan New England, with slavery abolished, women allowed to vote and so forth. But all in all, I think we’ve fallen lower on the scale, with our government’s values less and less reflecting God’s values, and I don’t see any indication that this dropping on the scale will end any time soon.
But our problem as American Christians is this: Many American Christians feel like they’ve been robbed. They feel as if a line has been crossed because our culture no longer reflects the values of Puritan New England, because it seems to be sliding further and further down the scale. "Surely," we think, "there comes a time when a government crosses the line and is no longer worthy of our active submission." This is why so many Christians are angry at our government and our nation in general, feeling like victims of a government that’s increasingly secular. We feel like we’ve lost our rights, especially since Christians received special treatment in Puritan New England. So lots of Christian talk about taking back America, about reclaiming America’s soul, and so forth.
But the government at the time Paul wrote these words in Romans was surely much lower on the scale than we live today. Paul wrote to followers of Jesus living in Imperial Rome. The average tax burden of a first century Jewish person was between 30 and 50% of his or her total income (Blomberg 89). These taxes funded funded the police, upkeep of the Roman roads, and water from the aqueducts. But the taxes also went to fund the Emperor’s extravagant lifestyle, as well as pagan Roman temples, gymnasiums, public baths, and certain Roman sports.
The emperor at the time Paul wrote this was Nero, ironically the emperor who would ultimately execute Paul. Nero succeeded the Emperor Claudius, who was poisoned when someone slipped poisonous mushrooms in his food (Grant 283). At first Nero was excited about bringing about some tax reforms, but ultimately he lost interest in politics and found chariot racing, music, drama and sex far more interesting (Grant 284). Nero was actively bisexual, even going so far as marrying his male lover in a royal, imperial wedding. He had his mother killed in 59 AD, divorced his wife Octavia and had her put to death, in 63 AD, and finally committed suicide in June of 68 AD. When over half of the city of Rome burned to the ground, Nero blamed the Christians and he persecuted followers of Jesus Christ ruthlessly.
I’d submit to you that Imperial Rome was much lower on this scale than American ever has been and probably ever will be. So for Paul, even a government as low in the scale as Imperial Rome qualified for the submission commanded here.
Still lower on the scale would be Nazi Germany. Now Nazi Germany still did many of the things a government is supposed to do, but the anti-Jewish hatred that was led to the slaughter of 6 million Jews places it lower on the scale. And of course we could find other examples besides Nazi Germany of terrible evil done by the government.
This scale helps us gain perspective, to realize that though we’re not Puritan New England, we don’t have it nearly as bad as some radio hosts and authors would like us to believe. God calls us to active submission because our nation’s authority to govern comes from God and because God is using our government to fulfill his purpose of maintaining social order.
3. Qualifications to the Principle
Now there are two important qualifications to this principle that are important to mention. The first qualification is this: In our submission to our government, WE DON’T OBEY LAWS THAT COMMAND US TO DO SOMETHING THAT GOD CLEARLY FORBIDS.
This qualification isn’t stated here, though I think Paul’s use of the term "submit" instead of "obey" implies these qualifications. We also find these qualifications elsewhere in the rest of the Bible. For example, in the Old Testament book of Exodus, the Egyptian government required all the Jewish midwives to kill all male Jewish babies. But some of those midwives refused to obey that law because murder was something God clearly forbids.
This is why Christians in the city of Rome refused to offer incense as a sacrifice to the Roman gods, even though this was viewed as treason. This is why Christians of the Confessing Church in Germany during World War II refused to tell authorities where Jews were hiding. This is why Christians in China refuse to abort their children, even though Chinese law commands abortion after one child is born.
So active submission does not mean obeying a law that commands us to do something God clearly forbids.
The other qualification is this: In our active submission, WE DON’T OBEY LAWS THAT FORBID US FROM DOING SOMETHING GOD CLEARLY COMMANDS.
We find an example of this in the New Testament book of Acts. The apostles Peter and John were told by a local court to stop telling people about Jesus Christ. Peter and John refused to obey that command because it violated the command Jesus had given them to share the good news with all people everywhere.
If a government passes a law that forbids Christians from assembling for worship, submission does not require obedience to that law. If Christians were forbidden from praying, or sharing their faith, or raising their kids in a Christian home, or so forth, we would not be bound to obey those laws.
But once again, we even disobey these rare unjust laws in an attitude of active obedience.
4. Application of the Principle (Romans 13:6-7)
That brings us to the question of how in vv. 6-7. Many people here believe Paul is echoing Jesus’ words about giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and giving to God what belongs to God. Paul focuses in on paying taxes here because taxation is the most universal expression of government submission (Moo 793). But I think the principle here is broader than taxation.
How do we express active submission? We express it BY GIVING WHAT OUR GOVERNMENT ASKS OF RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS.
Taxation symbolizes giving what the government asks from responsible members of the community. Although Rome demanded taxes, in our situation, our government demands more than paying taxes. Our government asks us to fulfill civic duties like serving on jury duty, giving testimony when subpoenaed, and so forth. Our government asks us to be involved in the political process by casting an informed vote that expresses our convictions. Failing to do these things withholds what our government asks from us, just as refusing to pay our taxes expresses disobedience to God’s command.
Because of our uniqueness as a representative democracy, our government asks us to be part of our government process. And although I personally believe the Bible teaches that the Christian Church should steer clear of political involvement, I think individual Christians are perfectly free to be involved in political service and action. Although the Church should focus on its mission of sharing the good news with those who don’t know Christ and helping Christians grow into fully devoted followers of Jesus, individual Christians can and should express their devotion to Jesus in public service and involvement.
Paul also speaks here of giving respect and honor. This is the second way we express active submission: BY RESPECTING THOSE IN AUTHORITY OVER US.
Some of you might think, "Well some of our leaders aren’t very respectable people." All I can say is that the worst of our leaders look like saints next to the Roman Emperor Nero, the guy these Roman Christians were stuck with honoring. Far too often followers of Jesus feel free to mock and express contempt for those who serve our government. I can’t count the number of derogatory Clinton jokes I heard during Clinton’s four years in office. On ride-alongs as a police chaplain, I’ve seen Christians express contempt and rudeness to police officers who are just trying to do their jobs. Followers of Jesus are to honor and respect those who serve in government regardless of who those people are, regardless of how immoral or moral, regardless of how honorable or dishonorable. That includes our supreme court, our state, county, local and federal officials, it includes our president and his administration, it includes the police department and our military, it even includes the IRS. That doesn’t mean we always have to agree with them or that we can’t voice disagreement, but it does mean that we owe them a debt of honor, so when we disagree we do it in an attitude of respect and honor.
Conclusion
This principle is what a class in Christian Civics 101 would be based on. This basic principle is the foundation of everything else important to living as followers of Jesus in our society as we relate to our government.
As I think about this issue, I’m afraid the majority of Christians in America today aren’t doing this. I find myself in agreement with Pastor John MacArthur, who says, "Rather than demanding our rights and created a world where we feel safe and accepted, we need to see the deep spiritual needs of the world and concern ourselves with offering people hope through Jesus Christ" (ix). You see, if we really believe what the Bible says, the solution to the social and moral problems in our society is not better legislation or new supreme court justices, but people being reconciled to God through the good news of Jesus Christ. Alienation from God is the root problem, and only the good news of Jesus can address this root problem. Our government helps us by providing a stable social environment for us to do what God wants the Church to do, to proclaim this message and help Christians grow.
When Hitler came into power in Germany, many Christians supported him at first (Colson). But as his agenda became more apparent, many Christians began to have second thoughts. Two of those Christians were German pastors named Deitrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Niemoller. Bonhoeffer and Niemoller were both deeply involved in organizing the Confessing Church movement and they both signed the Barman Declaration in 1934 that voiced public criticism of Hitler’s agenda. Both spoke out against the heresy of what Hitler called "positive Christianity" that was based on race instead of God’s grace, and both were actively involved in hiding Jews and helping Jewish people escape the country.
But Bonhoeffer and Niemoller parted company when Bonhoeffer felt that this principle of active obedience no longer applied to him. You see Bonhoeffer got involved in an assassination plot to kill Hitler. Ultimately that plot was exposed, and Bonhoeffer was imprisoned. While in prison, Bonhoeffer’s theology became very confused and bizarre, as he wrestled with his decision to cross the line and no longer live under this principle. When Bonhoeffer was executed, it wasn’t for being a follower of Jesus, or for speaking out against Hitler, or for hiding Jews, it was for treason because he tried to assassinate his nation’s leader.
In contrast to Bonhoeffer, Niemoller refused to cross that line. Few people have ever heard of Niemoller, but perhaps you’ve heard his poem:
"First they came for the communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, but I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one to speak up for me."
But Niemoller did speak up. And he continued speaking out publicly against Hitler, he continued hiding Jews and helping them escape. But he refused to attempt to use evil to overcome evil, and ultimately he was imprisoned in the Concentration camp Dachau. It was from there that he spent the last years of the war, until ultimately the Allied forces defeated the Axis powers.
When the dust of WW II finally settled it was Niemoller who was there with the spiritual credibility to help the nation of Germany recover from the evil it had experienced. It was Niemoller who led Germany’s Protestant Churches in formally accepting their guilt for allowing Hitler’s agenda. As much as I admire Deitrich Bonhoeffer in many ways (especially his early works like The Cost of Discipleship and Life Together), may God help the Church in America be more like Martin Niemoller in our generation.
Sources
Blomberg, Craig L. 1999. Neither Poverty or Riches: A Biblical Theology of Material Possessions. New Studies in Biblical Theology. Eerdmans Publishing.
Colson, Charles. 1987. Kingdoms in Conflict. Zondervan Publishing.
Cranfield, C. E. B. 1979. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. T. & T. Clark.
Finke, Roger and Rodney Stark. 1992. The Churching of America 1776-1990. Rutgers University Press.
Grant, Michael. 1978. History of Rome. Charles Scribners and Sons.
MacArthur, John. 2000. Why Government Can’t Save You: An Alternative to Political Action. Word Publishing.
Schreiner, Thomas. 1998. Romans: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Baker Books.
