Sermon Series ¡§The Gospel of God ¡V A Study of Romans¡¨
Week #7 ¡§Applying our Doctrines as Citizens¡¨
Sermon Text: Romans Ch. 13
Opening Text: Ch 13:1-7
OPENING JOKE:
INTRODUCTION: I honestly hope that the last few weeks of studying the church doctrines have been a blessing to you. When studying the doctrines of the Bible, especially in Romans, I get a real excitement because I feel as if I am getting to know better the personality of God.
„X The Doctrine of Sin gives me insight into my place
„X The Doctrine of Righteousness and justification gives me insight into the purpose of Christ¡¦s sacrifice
„X The Doctrine of Sanctification gives me insight into God¡¦s plan to make me holy as He is holy
And learning to apply these doctrines to our lives is what we began last week by discussing what it means for us to give ¡§our bodies as a living sacrifice¡¨
***This week we are going to learn about applying our Christian doctrines as citizens of the government of the United States
INTRODUCTION: Many of the early Christians believed that we should no longer obey the government because of our liberty in Christ.
Paul was answering this question by explaining How God uses the Government in the life of the believer.
I. GOD¡¦S SOVEREIGNTY (v. 1)
READ VERSE 1
Keyword: Subject (Greek: Hupotasso [hoop-ot-as’-so]; which means to submit to control)
1. Everyone of us, who are Christians, have been called to submit to the control of the government.
2. This includes paying our taxes properly, obeying civil laws and even driving the speed limit
Key phrase 1: Except from God
1. I said earlier that God is sovereign.
o Ms. Christine has a sign in her Sunday school class that reads: ¡§Nothing touches the child of God without His permissive will¡¨
o I believe that phrase, and it is an example of God¡¦s sovereignty
2. God¡¦s sovereignty is accepted by most Christians until they realize its true implications
3. If God is in control, that means we are not
4. This diminishes the popular notion that we make all of the decisions and God is just a Holy spectator with a close eye on things, but never gets involved
„X Some of us believe God is sovereign in some areas and not in others.
„X He is ¡¥on the throne¡¦ in our hymn books, ¡¥In control¡¦ in our prayers and ¡¥lord of all¡¦ in our praise choruses ¡V but many think His lordship and control only go so far
Key Phrase 2: Appointed by God (KJV says, ¡§¡Kordained of God¡K¡¨)
1) Appointed, ordained or the Greek word ¡¥tasso¡¦ all mean the same thing: to assign, to put into order, to station, or to order to a responsibility
2) Does this mean that God appointed Sadam Hussein to power in Iraq?
a. Read it again, ¡§¡Kthere is no authority except from God¡K¡¨
b. I am preaching straight from the book so that you know this is not my opinion
3) If this is troubling you and you want further evidence of this look to John 19
a. Read: John 19:10,11
b. Jesus said to Pontius Pilate, a horrible dictator who executed hundreds by crucifixion, ¡§¡KYou could have no power¡Kunless it had been GIVEN you from ABOVE¡K¡¨
4) NOTE: We often want to claim control, but the truth is that God is in control
a. I can say, Biblically, George W. Bush is in the White House because God wants him there, not because the GOP and the Republican National Committee and the Swift Boat drivers put him there
b. But I also have to say that Bill Clinton (though I don¡¦t understand why) was in power eight years because God ordained him to that position
5) God is in control - again this is not my opinion, this is the Word of God
This is all an introduction to the rest of the verses in Chapter thirteen concerning government.
Paul wants us to know that, even if we think the government is out of control, God is still in control
II. GOD¡¦S SETUP (v. 2-3)
READ VERSE 2-3
Keyword: Therefore (Basic rule of Bible study, anytime you see the word ¡¥therefore¡¦, look at the preceding verse to see what its there for) The preceding verse is about God¡¦s control, so this verse could go like this:
¡§Because of God¡¦s control, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance
of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
Key phrase 1: Ordinance of God (Greek word means ¡¥arrangement¡¦)
1) When we resist governing authority we are resisting what God has arranged
2) This verse equates the laws of the land to the laws of God
a. When we break God¡¦s law, we are no longer in our proper standing with Him
b. When we break man¡¦s law, because God has ordained it, we are also no longer in proper standing with Him
3) NOTE: There is only one time when we are not to obey the governing authority: When the laws set in place could cause us to disobey God
a. Example:#1: The Pharoah of Egypt told the midwives to kill all of the Hebrew male children when they were born and they refused because they feared God (READ: Exodus 1:15-17)
b. Example #2: Daniel was told that he could not pray to God or he would be fed to the lions. He obeyed God above the government (READ: Daniel 6:7-10)
c. Example #3: Peter and John were told they could not preach about Jesus by the Sanhedrin and their response was simply, ¡§Should we obey you above God¡¨ (READ: Acts 5:27-29)
4) REMEMBER: When you read, take the context into consideration (Who is Paul talking to?)
a. Paul makes no mention here of this exception because he wasn¡¦t pointing to people who were disobeying for Godly reasons, he was pointing at those who would use their Christian liberty as a reason to disobey the government
b. Paul himself was stoned and imprisoned for obeying God above men
i. He was saying that God has called us to obey the laws of our land, because they are ordained of God
ii. And I believe that even the laws that would make us disobey God are still ordained by Him as a test for those who believe
iii. James 1:3 ¡§¡Kthe testing of your faith produces patience¡K¡¨
Key Phrase 2: ¡§Ruler are not a terror¡¨
1) This is a generalized point, not a specific one
a. Most people in governing position do not attack those who do good
b. For the most part, if you live lawfully, you can live absent from the fear of the government
c. Example: No one here tonight would expect to go home to a police officer holding a warrant for your arrest
d. But had you robbed a convenient store on the way here to church, you would have that fear hanging over your head
2) The key word here is ¡¥terror¡¦ ¡V generally you are not in terror of the government unless you do something wrong
a. There are always cases of someone receiving a ¡¥bum rap¡¦
b. But this is not the general rule
III. GOD¡¦S SERVANT (v. 4-5)
READ VERSE 4-7
Key Word: God¡¦s Minister
1) The word ¡¥minister¡¦ is used three twice in verses 4
2) The word translated ¡¥minister¡¦ is the word ¡¥diakonos¡¦ which is where we derive the word deacon, or servant
3) ¡§¡Kminister to you for good¡K¡¨
a. The government does good by helping to restrain evil and protecting property and life
b. Even the most wicked governments act as deterrents for crime
c. Example: Paul took advantage of this when he exercised his rights as a Roman citizen to obtain justice
4) ¡§¡Kminister¡K to execute wrath¡K¡¨
a. Some argue whether or not the death penalty is a Christian principle
i. God instituted it when Noah first left the ark (READ: Genesis 9:5-6)
ii. God used it in the church when Ananias and Saphira lied to the Holy Spirit (READ: Acts 5:1-10)
b. It is sad that men are so depraved that some must be bridled by the fear of death to keep them from evil
c. Application: Not many of us have seriously considered murder (unless we are married) but many of us are held back by the governing authorities from doing things that are bad
i. How many of us have been tempted to steal, but haven¡¦t because we knew the law would find out? Maybe not many, but¡K
ii. How many of us drive crazy, until we see the police officer
d. The government is God¡¦s servant to keep us in line
e. Without it men end up doing what is ¡§right in their own eyes (Deuteronomy 12:8)¡¨ and usually end up doing ¡§evil continually (Genesis 6:5)¡¨
CONCLUSION: Paul continues on talking about our responsibilities to pay taxes and give honor where it is dues, but I believe here in this verse is the summation of his point
READ: Romans 13: 5
Did you catch that ¡V we don¡¦t just need to follow the laws because we fear the government, or we fear receiving a traffic ticket, or we fear the jail house
We need to do what¡¦s right because our conscience bears witness with the law and even if we legally ¡¥get away¡¦ with something, we can¡¦t ever escape our conscience
Illustration: ¡§Let her drive¡¨ I hear of a man who didn¡¦t believe in speeding, so every time he needed to get somewhere quick he would let his wife drive because she didn¡¦t feel the same conviction about speeding
I believe that should punch his conscience even harder, if he so believes what the Bible says about God¡¦s laws, he should be setting an example for his wife, not feeding her sin habit
Some of you may say, ¡§Well I don¡¦t feel convicted about doing this or that¡¨
If it¡¦s wrong, it¡¦s wrong whether you feel it or not
Illustration: ¡§Arguing over smoking¡¨ I once had a teenager argue with me about whether or not smoking is a sin ¡V I am not fighting that battle ¡V But if a child smokes, the government says that it is breaking the law and in turn it is breaking God¡¦s law, so it is sin
Whether you feel ¡¥convicted¡¦ or not
BUT, MIGHT I AD, IF YOU DO NOT FEEL CONVICTION ABOUT SIN, YOU MAY NEED TO CHECK YOURSELVES BASED ON THE WORD OF GOD
READ: Hebrews 12:5-8
If you sin without the chastisement of God, which is Him pricking your very soul with conviction, then THE Bible, NOT KEITH FOSKEY, says that you are illegitimate ¡V meaning God is not your Father
(Pause)
My prayer today is that we would all be children of God the Father through the adoption of Jesus Christ
But that only comes through faith and repentance
(Let us pray)
If you know you are born again by God¡¦s grace, would you raise your hand tonight
Doesn¡¦t it feel great to know God loves you, sent His Son to die for you and now He gives you eternally life despite you?
If you didn¡¦t raise your hand, and you want to join these people in the family of God because you realize that you are an orphan apart from God the father and you need His adoption, won¡¦t you come after we pray¡K
