191117 Relating to Authority

Romans 13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

Paul begins this important teaching with a positive statement. Every person should be subject to the governing authorities. Subject? To whom? The governing authorities! Why? Why must we be subject to all authority that governs? The second half of the first verse of Romans 13 gives us the answer! There is no authority that has not been instituted by God! I’m going to try to work this out with biblical responses so as not to get caught up in politics and human institutions.

Instituted by God? In Romans 12:2, Paul established a principle that we should be guided by. We are not to be conformed to this age! We are citizens of heaven rather than the earth. We have a responsibility to bring God’s authority into place all over the earth. Throughout history, this has led to many wars and human conflicts. Oh well don’t let me get caught in this trap!

Let’s look at what Jesus had to say before we explore some Old Testament examples. In the gospel of Mark chapter 12, we find an example of Jesus’ teaching. Here, a group of Pharisees and Herodians came to trap him. They had been instructed to ask him, “is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” Taxes? Why would they attack him in this manner? Ex. Al Capone

There are many examples in our own time as to why this would be an excellent subject of discussion. No one appears to like paying taxes. Turn on your TV and you will find many advertisements for companies that will help you out of tax debt. They are operating for the sole purpose of helping people escape the tax laws. So that those who pay their taxes provide the financial support of the government while those who avoid taxes take a free ride. Well, not necessarily “free” because they still have to pay the lawyers to help them avoid the government.

Jesus had a reply for them. He asked for a coin that could be used to pay taxes. They brought it to him and he held it up and asked, “Whose image is this?” They replied that it was Caesar’s image. Jesus’ interpretation of the situation blew them away! He said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21) You will recall that the gospel of Matthew ends with these words, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18). All authority resides in Jesus Christ! After he made that statement he ascended into heaven where he is seated at the right hand of power and authority.

Returning to Romans we see that the first clear statement is that all authorities are ordained by God. As we look at the corruption in government, all over the world, we want to resist the evil we see and are pained by the responsibility of helping to support this evil age. Let’s look back to previous examples.

Solomon has come to the end of his life and therefore of his government over Israel. Rehoboam, one of his sons, is made a king in his place. This new king had the possibility of exercising control over all of Israel. After all he was in the direct line of David who had been promised he would have a descendant on the throne. However, there was a condition. That condition was pretty simple Solomon was to walk in God’s ways and keep His commandments! We know that Solomon failed the test in the end. As a result, Rehoboam became king and immediately treated the people so poorly that an opposition party took away 10 of the 12 tribes.

Jeroboam was a commander of Solomon’s army who had led the opposition and as a result, was in a position to take part of the kingdom away! In 1 Kings 12:15, we are told that the king (Rehoboam) “did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word”. Jeroboam was one of the most wicked kings of Israel! Nevertheless, he was put in place by God.

Another example is Nebuchadnezzar who was the pagan Babylonian king who destroyed Jerusalem. In Jeremiah 27:6 we are told that God had given Nebuchadnezzar the conquered territories and God called him “my servant”!

Later, when it was time for the people of Israel to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple God, through Isaiah, referred to Cyrus as his Shepherd and his anointed  (Isaiah 44:28-45:1).

Paul knew from Daniel 2:21 that “God removes kings and sets up kings” — all kings. They are all under his control he puts them in office and he takes them out of office. God is still in the business of removing governments and replacing them. Often, the replacement is worse for the people than the original government.

There is no authority except given by God! All authority has been given to Jesus and is permitted by him in order to bring about God’s will in the world.

It is God’s will to govern the world of mankind through civil government. Imagine, with me, what the world would be like without government. What would you do if 911 didn’t answer? There are examples where for one reason or another 911 calls were not answered or were misdirected. The ensuing chaos is what the government is supposed to protect us from. In a world, with no police we would have to defend ourselves. Or in a world where the police are corrupt we would have to go into hiding. Without fire departments whole communities would be lost far worse than what we’ve seen in recent years in California.

Let’s move forward to Romans 13:2. The person who resists authority resists what God has appointed and will certainly experience judgment. However. there are at least three areas in which a Christian should resist authority. We have an example carried out by the first-century church. In Acts chapters 4 and 5, the authorities (remember they are ordained by God to protect us from each other) arrested the disciples for preaching the gospel and brought them up before the High Court. They were ordered not to teach in the name of Jesus! How did they respond? Of course, they went right back to preaching! Their response to the authorities was, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19, 20) The command of God always takes precedence over the command of government — no exceptions!

Millions of Christians, following the example of the apostles, have paid the price of their obedience to God. Let me share one example. In 1962 Aida Skripnikova, who was a brand-new Christian, was arrested on the Nevski Prospect in Leningrad for handing out postcards proclaiming Christ—and spent most of the rest of her life in labor camps because she would not refrain from sharing her faith in Christ. Christians can never violate a command of God, regardless of what the state says.

Second, Christians must resist authority when asked to do an immoral act. Sometimes a spouse will ask his or her partner to commit sexual sin, or some other immoral act implying that it will strengthen their marriage. But there are many other examples. Participation in erotic entertainment or working in institutions that perform abortions. Believers must never think it’s okay because the state, or their spouse, has requested it.

Third, believers must never go against their conscious to obey the government or their boss. Colonel Al Shine, who served as professor of military science at Wheaton College, writes of Romans 13:

These verses are not in good repute in some circles today, through no fault of their own, but because some have taken them out of the context of the whole of Scripture to argue that disobedience to any government, under any circumstances, is unbiblical. But it is nonetheless clear that these verses, supported and amplified by other portions of the Word, and contradicted by none, teach the legitimacy of human government. Bearing the sword, in order to execute justice, is a proper duty of human governments. The soldier does not, of course, have a blanket license to hate or kill. As an individual sinner, prone to avenge and resist personal abuse, he must, like all other believers, restrain himself. He should, I believe, examine himself. He should, I believe, examine the cause for which his nation fights, and if he concludes that it is evil and unjust he should refuse to participate. Even when he finds the cause acceptable, he may at times feel led to disobey certain orders that he feels abuse the proper use of force.

A Christian must disobey his government when it asks him to, 1) violate a commandment of God, 2) commit an immoral or unethical act, or 3) go against his Christian conscience. Now, what is a Christian conscience as opposed to a social conscience? Christian conscience is one that is informed by Scripture and in submission to the Spirit of God.

Whether we respect a leader. Whether we voted for them or not. Our response should be the same. If we believe God is sovereign this belief requires that we respect those in authority over us. We can’t always see why God is doing what he is doing. One example we might use is from the book of Exodus. There the Pharaoh was appointed by God and resisted God. Pharaoh’s resistance was used by God to bring glory to himself.

We are to honor God above every other authority. We are to submit to authority because it is placed there by God and when it is not possible to do both these things we expect to suffer for honoring God over human authority. We must never believe or teach, that obedience to God will always result in victory over the enemy. In fact, most examples of civil disobedience end in suffering, or death.

One practical example is the American Civil Rights movement of the 1950s–60s. Civil disobedience drew attention to injustice, and many people suffered dreadful consequences for protesting the inequality of segregation and Jim Crow laws. Most, but certainly not all, of these protesters chose respectful non-violence to bring about needed change. Unfortunately, what we see most often among Christians today is an appeal to the examples of civil disobedience in Scripture without a balancing commitment to the clear and repeated commands in Scripture to submit to authority. We cannot cling to one principle while denying the other. If we are forced by Scripture and conscience to resist the governing authorities we should expect to suffer the consequences.

Through Jesus we can live out our duty to obey as described in the Word of God. We can also fulfill our duty to disobey when it is the will of God to do so.

When it became clear that the Nazis were pursuing their terrible racist policies, Pastor Martin Niemoller continued to preach the truth and as a result, was thrown into prison. The prison chaplain upon visiting Niemoller asked somewhat foolishly, “What brings you here? Why are you in prison?” To which Niemoller replied angrily, “And, brother, why are you not in prison?”

Paul wraps up this section of Romans by taking us beyond the government or the workplace. He lays out reasons for submission fleshing out Jesus’ command to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21)

Romans 13:5-7, Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. ⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ⁷ Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor.

All scriptures quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton, Ill, Standard Bible Society.