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September 4, 2005
Pentecost 16
Romans 13:1-7
Pastor Robert Raasch

A Heavenly Perspective on Earthly Authority

1. God Established the Government for our Good
2. Christians Obey the Government to Honor God

I expect you've all heard the advice, "You shouldn't mix religion and politics." Am I right? Don't we all have this natural aversion to the idea of a politician campaigning from a church pulpit? Wouldn't you feel a little uncomfortable if you came to church today saw a big banner across the front of the church that read, "Mount Olive supports the Republican Party"? Or how about if President Bush signed into law a bill that gave a $1000 tax credit to every member of the Southern Baptist Convention? Wouldn't all those things just make you cringe? Here in the United States, we believe in the separation of church and state. We don't want the government to become our church; nor do we want a particular church to become our government.

But does that mean that we believe that religion has nothing to do with government? Or that a government has nothing to do with God? Absolutely not. As Bible-believing Christians, we recognize that there is a connection between God and the government. In fact, here in our text, the Apostle Paul makes that connection. He says that to a certain degree, religion and politics do mix. Here in Romans 13, St. Paul shares what God has to say about earthly authorities and about the Christian attitude toward those authorities. By inspiration of the Holy Spirit, St. Paul offers what we might call,

A Heavenly Perspective on Earthly Authority

In this section, Paul makes two main points:

1. God Established the Government for our Good
2. Christians Obey the Government to Honor God

Now, in order for us to properly understand these words, we need to understand a little something about the people to whom Paul is writing. Paul is writing to Christians in Rome. Both are important points. First, that he's writing to Christians. That means that Paul's readers already know how to get right with God. They know that it's not their obedience to the law that will get them to heaven, but rather it's purely a gift of God's grace in Christ. But now that these believers know that they're going to heaven, they're now looking for ways to show their thankfulness to God. They're asking in effect, "Paul, how does God want us to live as Christians?" It's in answer to that question that Paul pens the words of our text. Paul says in effect, "one of the things that God wants you to do as a Christian is to… 'submit to the governing authorities.'"

Which brings us to the second thing we need to remember about Paul's readers. These were Christians living in the city of Rome. Do you realize who the governing authority in Rome was? The highest authority in the Roman government was the Emperor. And about the time that Paul wrote this letter the Roman Emperor was a man by the name of Nero. Do you know anything about Nero? Nero was a man who viciously persecuted Christians. Secular historians record that Nero had Christians killed by feeding them to dogs. He had them nailed to crosses, dipped in tar and set on fire. Can you imagine having a guy like Nero as the head of your government?

Well, it's against that political backdrop that Paul says to these Roman Christians, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." So what does that mean? "The authorities that exist have been established by God"? It means simply this: As the Maker of heaven and earth, God has the ultimate authority over everything. But, in his infinite wisdom, God has taken some of that authority and delegated it to his representatives. God gives certain human beings the right and responsibility to enforce his laws.

One set of God's representatives is the government. God has given the government the right to enforce his laws for the good of society. For example, the government may decide that in order to protect human life, it has to make a law that says, "red light means stop; green light means go." God gives the government that authority.

But now someone might ask, "But why would God do that? Why would God delegate a certain amount of authority to particular human beings? Why would God even want there to be such a thing as earthly authorities? Two reasons: First, Paul says, "to bring punishment on the wrongdoer." St. Paul writes that the government is "God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer." There's the first and most important purpose of the government-to maintain law and order in society by punishing the people who break the law. In that sense the government is an extension of God's law. If you decide to rob a bank, God could track you down and punish you. But chances are, he won't do that. Chances are much better that he'll use a detective and police officer, and then maybe a judge and jury and ultimately a correction officer. In the end, God will use all these people as his agents to "bring punishment on the wrongdoer."

In fact, that punishment may even include the penalty of death. How does God's inspired writer put it? "If you do wrong, be afraid for he does not bear the sword for nothing." In ancient times, the sword was not used for simply reprimanding people or attempting to rehabilitate them. The purpose of the sword was to kill people. With these words, God is giving earthly governments the right to administer capital punishment.

That's the first purpose for which God established earthly authorities, namely, to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. The second purpose? Paul tells us here in our text. He says, "He (namely, the government) is God's servant to do you good." Now, how does that work? How does the government do you good?

Well, can you imagine what our society would be like if there were no earthly authorities to enforce the laws? No policemen, no sheriffs, no penal institutions; everyone doing whatever they wanted to do. It would be absolute lawlessness. Chaos. A nightmare of looting and robbery and gangs roaming the streets. We might think of what happened in New Orleans for a time. But for the most part, that's not what our society is like. Why not? Because God has established the government to do you good. By upholding the laws, by punishing the wrongdoers, the government is able to maintain a certain level of peace, a certain level of stability in society-and you and I are the beneficiaries. We can travel about freely; we can gather for worship; we can live productive lives. These are all blessings that are ours because God has established earthly authorities. Even if our government is not perfect, even if your political party is not in power, even if you don't agree with all the policies of the congress or white house or city hall, the fact remains that having some earthly authority in place, is better than having no earthly authority at all.

That's the first principle we need to keep in mind if we want to maintain a heavenly perspective on earthly authority. God established the government for our good. And because he did, we can move to our Christian response to that fact, namely that: II. Christians Obey the Government to Honor God.

Think about where the government fits in the relationship between God and the believer. First, God establishes the government to bless us. He uses the earthly authorities to bring a certain amount of peace and stability to our world. You might say that he channels his goodness to us through the government. And since God's goodness is channeled to us through the government, it's only appropriate that our response to God is also channeled back through the government. In other words, our obedience to the government is a reflection of our obedience to God. When we honor the government as God's representatives, we're really honoring God.

In other words, it is our desire to honor God that compels us to "submit to the governing authorities." But exactly what does that mean: "submit to the governing our authorities"? Well, here in our text, Paul explains it with a number of examples. He writes, "If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue." The word for taxes represents the regular payments made to support the government. Today we might call that "income tax." As Christian citizens, it's not wrong for us to implement tax-saving measures in our home or in our legislature, but the bottom line is that we must still pay what the law requires. The same thing is true for "revenue," that is, the indirect taxes we pay on the purchases we make. If we buy a used car from a private party, we would be dishonoring God if we don't report the full purchase price-and pay the sales tax on it.

And yet, our obligations to the government are more than just financial. Paul says, "if (you owe) respect, then (give) respect." Paul here is speaking about all the other laws which we are expected to respect, because we want to honor God. For example, driving 25 mph down Capital Drive is an expression of honoring God. Not shooting more than your legal limit of geese this week. Not copying music you haven't paid for. Not cracking open a beer if your not 21 years of age. Let's face it, our obedience to the laws of the government is ultimately an expression of honor for God, who established the government in the first place.

In fact, honoring God doesn't just mean obeying the laws of the authorities. It also means honoring the people who make and enforce those laws. Paul writes, "If honor, then honor." In other words, it's not just what we do that counts; it's how we speak, it's the attitude we display. If we want to honor God we must also honor his representatives. While we may not always agree with them, we must still hold them in high regard. We must honor them for the office they hold, whether it's the President or the crossing guard, whether it's the public school teacher or the probation officer, whether it's the meter maid or the guy checking my bags at the airport-all of them, by virtue of their office as one of God's earthly representatives-deserve our utmost honor and respect.

And why will we want to do that? What will motivate us to honor, serve and obey God's earthly authorities? Paul tells us right here in v. 5. "It is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment, but also because of conscience." In other words, yes, there is that external motivating force of the law, that fear of getting a ticket, or getting your name in the paper, or going to jail.

But really, there is a much greater motivator that you and I have as Christians. It's something on the inside. You see, God has given us a much better reason to submit to the government than the fact that "if we don't, we'll be punished." He's given us himself. Even though we're all rebels, even though we've all broken the laws laid down by God's reps, even though we all deserve to be punished forever in hell, still in his unfathomable mercy and love, God chose to trade places with us. He kept all the laws of heaven and earth. He offered his perfect life on a cross in our place and now he says, "You're free. Free from the law. You don't have to obey the law to be right in my eyes. I've made you right. I've made you holy. You don't have to do anything to honor me."

And our response? "Yes, Lord, I know I don't have to do anything. But I want to. Your love for me, your sacrifice for me, compels me to want to love and honor you. Even the fact that you established earthly authorities for my good, is just another reason for me to want to honor you, and in light of what you tell me here in Romans 13, I'll honor you, by willingly submitting to the authorities you have placed over me-for my good and your glory, in Jesus' name. Amen.