Romans 13:1-7 “Government Established By God” Posted on November 3, 2008. Filed under: A Theology of Patriotism, The Christian Survivalist | Romans 13:1-7 “Government Established By God” Sunday 8-8-04 PM _______________________________________________ Introduction: When Paul wrote the letter to the church at Rome, he was writing to a congregation that had some racial/cultural problems between the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers. There had been a problem in Rome a couple of years before he wrote and the Jews had been expelled from Rome. The Christians were also forced from their homes because at that time they were considered another Jewish sect. Paul himself had experienced persecution from the Jewish people and from the governments of the various cities he had visited. Paul knew that persecution was part of being a follower of Christ, and this was being taught in the churches. Consequently, the issue of how to relate to the state was being asked. Jesus was asked this question as well in Mk.12 MK 12:13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. MK 12:17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him. When we read through the OT we see lots of cases of believers confronted with how to relate to the state: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all had run ins with the authorities. Josef became PM of Egypt. Moses was the founder of a new nation, he served as the lawgiver. The time of the judges was chaotic because everyone did what was right in their own eyes Judges 21.25 JDG 21:25 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit. In David and Solomon we see the ideal kings and through the prophets we see men of God confronting the kings and the people with their sins and injustices. Some would criticize the preacher who tries to preach on this topic saying you shouldn’t mix politics and religion, I say that the Bible is full of this subject and it needs to be taught from the pulpits of this land like it once was. If you want to see some political sermons go back in history to the various crises in our nation’s history. Last week we studied the concept of the Christian being a citizen of 2 kingdoms: the kingdom of God, our primary loyalty and true home, and the kingdom of man, where we live physically in the here and now. We must live in both realms, we must understand both realms, we must know our obligations to both realms. Tonight we will examine the kingdom of man as being established by God and seek to find out government’s role under God. What is government supposed to do? I. God Is Sovereign over Government In the last couple of years there has been considerable controversy over the Pledge of Allegiance. Why? Because of the phrase “under God” which was added in 1954. Why was it added? Because in the 1950′s America realized that we were at war with Communism and Communism was deliberately atheistic. While many people disagree with this phrase being in the pledge, saying that it turns the pledge into a prayer, I believe that it merely acknowledges the truth of what Paul says here in Rom.13. America and all nations are under God’s control and sovereign authority. Any person or political party or judge or legislature or executive who wants to remove this line from the pledge, is either ignorant, that is uninformed, or they consciously reject God’s authority over the state. Let us look at Rom 13:1 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. The main point here is that God is sovereign over government. Government was God’s idea and he allows or appoints all the governments to exist. Look at Jesus in John 19.10-11″Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” JN 19:11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” JN 19:12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” JN 19:13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. JN 19:15 But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. JN 19:16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 Pilate was doing something cowardly and unjust, yet he was fitting perfectly into God’s plan for the crucifixion. He was guilty of sin, yet fulfilling God’s plan (paradox). Obviously we have a problem when we then look at the Hitlers Stalins, Idi Amins, Sadaam Husseins of the world and say, how could God establish these monsters as governors? God has generally established government and rulers for good, but there are clearly evil men who usurp government and use it for evil. We will deal with that issue later. For now, it is a general principle that God is sovereign over all governments. The word for authority in this verse is exousia, a delegated power, not kratos, which is raw power. II. Sin and the Need for Government Why did God create government? As soon as Adam and Eve sinned, government became necessary eventually. Otherwise you would have the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, Hobbes wrote: “During the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that conditions called war; and such a war, as if of every man, against every man. “To this war of every man against every man, this also in consequent; that nothing can be unjust. The notions of right and wrong, justice and injustice have there no place. Where there is no common power, there is no law, where no law, no injustice. Force, and fraud, are in war the cardinal virtues. “No arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death: and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.” The founders of our nation realized that because man was sinful, man needed to be ruled by law, and so they sought to establish a government of law and not men. Hence our Republic as opposed to a pure democracy. Very quickly after the Fall you have the first murder, and then another murder and then mankind was so wicked that God was sorry that he made man and he sent the flood. Paul says in Rom13.3 that rulers are a terror for those who do wrong, implying that the purpose of government is to restrain evil and commend what is good. That is the essence of what government is for. There is quite a range of government theory. /–Antigovernment-anarchists–minimum government (anarchists, libertarians to conservatives) –more governmentt (liberals to socialists)—maximum government (totalitarianism, communists, Nazis, dictatorships, Islamic rule)–/ The goal is to find the forms of government that most carry out God’s mandates to government; to restrain evil and promote justice. Look at 1Tim.2.1-4 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone– 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. We are to pray for our government so that we can live in peace and godliness and that will aid evangelism. In America we have such a unique form of government that we have to look at Rom13 and 1Tim2 in another light. In America, who is the authority? The preamble to our Constitution reads We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. The Declaration reads: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. –That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. In light of Rom 13 and our founding documents what we discover is that Rom 13 can rightly be applied to the average American voting citizen, for we the people are the rulers, we choose those to rule us for a time, then we choose others. III. Government Is to commend what is right Government is to commend what is right in v.3 of Rom13. Government should promote righteousness under God’s authority. Look at some of the OT laws and how they relate to today: Lev.19.9-18, 33-36; 24.17; Amos 5.24; Eccles.8:11 When Paul says that in v.6 we are to pay taxes, agreeing with Jesus, we know that it does take money to run the govt. IV Government is to bear the sword and restrain evil. This is absolutely related to capitol punishment. Government actions are always, ultimately conducted with the implied threat of the bayonet. Therefore, government has an obligation to do as little as possible with as little force as possible. ********************************************** This was a Sunday night sermon and is just the bare bones of notes; it desperately needs more study and fleshing out. About these ads
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 13:19:42 +0000
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