Temporal Duty with Spiritual Authority – Romans 13:1-6

 This is one of those scriptures which separates the liberals from the conservatives. You’d think that it would be the more theological scriptures which raise people’s ire, but it rarely ever is. Those scriptures may actually divide people, but they really get angry over the more practical issues. And this is one of those scriptures where if there were a hundred ears listening to the sermon, there would surely be people offended no matter what the preacher might have to say. Some would decide that he is far too soft, and others would say that he’s too hard. Some would say that he is a traitor to God, and others would call him a traitor toward the civil government. Some would call him a “patriot,” if went contrary to the government and others would call him a “patriot” if he supported the king. All the preacher can do is interpret the scripture as best he can and then apply it accordingly. When the pilot flies his B-17 across the channel and over the mainland, he knows he’s going to get flack. But he has a payload to deliver – it is his God-given responsibility – he must follow his orders.

There is a parallel scripture to this – found in the writings of Peter – I Peter 2:13 – “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.” When the Bible repeats itself, I tend to think that what it has to say must be important. Both of these Apostles declare our responsibility toward our government, but perhaps Peter applies that responsibility more clearly – “that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.” Paul merely says, “Ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.” Remember that we live in a world which feels no allegiance toward God, and which cannot understand why anyone should follow Him. We live in a world where the civil government is often put in the place of the Lord Himself. And our reaction to the wicked, as we said this morning, says something about our relationship to the Lord.

Let’s think about these six verses, but keeping the history of David and Saul in our minds to help us. I think that David sheds light upon the principles that we find here. There are questions about duty – duty to God and duty toward the “higher powers” which come below God. And there are questions about God’s authority over both ourselves and those “higher powers.”

Let’s begin with what the Bible says is THE DUTY OF civil government.Is it the duty of congress to pay off the debts incurred by incompetent businesses between its borders? Paul doesn’t mention this in these verses, neither does Peter, nor do Moses or David, so answer is “no.” Does the Bible say that it is the duty of government to regulate trade? Here is a debatable point, but I think that in some cases the answer is “yes.” Was Israel, for example, supposed to have free trade with the wicked nations surrounding her? And what did the Lord think about selling animals for sacrifice on the grounds of the temple? Generally speaking, I think that the Bible teaches “free trade,” – but with some exceptions. Certainly “free trade” doesn’t permit the inclusion of “free sin” into that trade. And what about the “slave trade” for example? But the question remains: is it the business of government to regulate these things? Is it the duty of government to create artificial money or to artificially stimulate the nation’s economy? Is it the duty of civil government to legislate morality or to veto the morality which God has established? Does God authorize the government to encourage the growth of greed among its people? We could profitably spend more time thinking about what God doesn’t say is the duty of government, but we’re more responsible to examine what God actually does say than what He doesn’t say.

What does the Bible say is the duty of civil government towards its people? I have read the Bible a great many times, and I think that the answer to that question is quite simple. Peter says that governors and kings are sent by the Lord for the purpose of PUNISHING EVILDOERS. The natural antithesis of that is the ENCOURAGEMENT OF THOSE WHO DO GOOD. Paul says that government is supposed to be a terror towards those who do evil. That man in the seat of authority has been given a veritable sword, and he “beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” A few weeks ago, we heard the priest of Midian telling Moses, his son in law, to “provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers” and judges over the people. It was their job to study the problems and differences that arose between the citizens of Israel, and to determine who was right and who was wrong. It wasn’t their task to determine WHAT was right and WHAT was sin, but WHO had sinned. They were to make sure that the right things were understood, and if necessary, to punish those who were acting contrary to the revealed will of God. If there were questions about that divine will, those matters were to be referred to the prophet of God, who would seek the face of the Lord for clarification. Of course those instructions were given before the completion of the Bible which spells out the general principles of righteousness and evil. The Bible also describes a great many details and even some of the methods of punishment. So again, what is the duty of government? “The punishment of evildoers, and … the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God.”

With that in mind, what is the CITIZEN’S DUTY toward his government?I think that it is only fair that if we are going to be precise and Biblical in our interpretation of the responsibility of government that we be just as precise in the responsibility of its citizens. Peter says several things: “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme, or unto governors…Also “honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.” Paul essentially says the same thing but with a small addendum: “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. Wherefore ye must needs be subject.” And you are obligated to “pay ye tribute also.” Remember we can’t demand that the government take her God-given duties literally, while we pick and choose among our own duties.

And again, what are our duties? Basically they are submission, support and respect. We are to respect the position of authority which God has established – whether it be that of king, president, governor or mayor. Then after our tithes and offerings to the Lord, we are to “render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” We may not like government’s bailout of General Motors or AIG, and we may hate the government’s support of stem cell research, but we have a responsibility to help maintain the roads on which we drive and the jails that house some of our criminals.And we have the God-given command to submit to, or to obey, the laws that the government lays upon us.

Now think back upon the relationship between David and Saul. As I’ve been suggesting for the last couple of Wednesday nights, David could be viewed as a type of either the Christian or of the Lord Jesus Christ, and Saul makes for a good illustration of Satan. I might add that Saul was the secular king – approved by God, but contrary to the perfect will of God. We can easily look at Saul as a type of the government of the United States or of our individual states.

As we shall see as we continue through our study of the life of David, that man of God showed a great deal of respect toward the office of king. He said repeatedly that it was not within his purview to kill or even touch the man that God had anointed. As Paul said in chapter 12 – David did nothing less than bless the king who cursed him, and he did good toward the evil nation which supported that king. David did not recompense evil for evil, and he didn’t become wise in his own conceit, pointing to the fact that he had been anointed of God himself. Did he attempt to overthrow the wicked government of Saul? No he did not. Did he refuse to risk his life in protecting the nation or the citizens who still served Saul? No, he did not.

However – and here is the big “however,” – David recognized the difference between being subject to the king and being subject to God. When he finally convinced himself that there was a government conspiracy against him, he didn’t lay down to await his fate. Contrary to the implied command that David be present at the table of Saul, he left town. Contrary to the law and custom, he took the sword of Goliath and the week-old shew bread from God’s tabernacle. Contrary to the king’s command to surrender himself he jumped like a flea from hiding place to hiding place.

David knew that he had been ordained by God to become the second king of Israel. He knew that Saul, contrary to the will of the Lord, wanted to prevent that. And David therefore had to make a choice between the two authorities. The choice wasn’t between staying alive or being killed. It wasn’t a choice between submitting to the wicked king or living like a rebel. It was a choice between the authority of God and the temporary authority which God had given to Saul. In essence it was a question of the direct authority of the Lord and secondary authority which had been given to Saul.

And here is where the rubber meets the road as far as you and I are concerned. The general principle is that we are obligated to obey all higher powers, “for there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.” Are you willing to testify at your own defense before the bema Judgment of Christ, that God did not authorize the current government of the United States? I think that you’d be making a mistake. Even though it may have only been God’s permissive will to put Saul on the throne, there he was. And when that king, or any other king, is acting contrary to the distinct will of God, then the righteous man is obligated to put the Lord first and the government second. The great problem is correctly interpreting the situation. Just because we hate the government’s support of the murder of the unborn, does that mean that the city ordinance requiring us to drive 35 mph is null and void? Simply because we disagree with the principles of income tax, and we believe that it is unconstitutional, that doesn’t mean that the government doesn’t have the right to demand our financial support. “For this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers.” Just because we think that David should be on the throne instead of Barack Obama, that doesn’t mean that we can live as though there isn’t any king at all. And yet, we still must put God first when it comes to His clearly revealed will.

This brings us back to a problem which I haven’t addressed as yet. “Rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil.” Mr. Obama received a great many votes from people who claim to be Christians. Part of the reason for that was that he claims to be a Christian. But as we all know there are Christians and there are Christians. Similarly, what some people look at as good works, are not good works in other people’s minds. Abortions and using those dead babies for stem cell research are considered good works in some people’s eyes. But we know better. Likewise, what many people consider to be evil works, are not evil to others. David, the son of Jesse, chose to leave the palace of Saul and the wicked practices which were there. He would have said that he chose the right thing, but Saul, of course, would have disagreed. David became an outlaw, but he would have said that the law from which he went out, was not God’s perfect law. In those things which Saul and the government of Israel did according to the Lord, David remained obedient and faithful.

If you and I decide to stand contrary to some law of our state or of the nation, we may or may not have the approval of God. But remember that the man who is in authority has been given a sword, and it was not given to him in vain. You may decide that some speed-limit law is stupid or unconstitutional – that is your choice. I hope that you have plenty of scripture with which to support your case. Because if the sword of the king catches up with you those scriptures may be your only defense. As I have said several times, it is illegal in Canada for churches to address political issues. And according to the king, political issues include the subjects of capital punishment and abortion. This puts the Biblical preacher in a difficult position: do I teach the Bible or do I skip those scriptures. The position may be difficult, but the choice is clear: the laws of man must be defied in this case, and the consequences must be faced, should the sword be drawn against him.

When David chose to extricate himself from the authority of Saul, he put himself in the way of Saul’s sword. His choice was the right one, but what about ours? You may say that the Constitution of the United States gives you such-and-such a right. Whether that is true or not, remember that the Constitution will not be brought up when you stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ. You must have scripture on your side or you will suffer loss at that time. But in today’s secular court, the government judge may not even let you speak of God’s Word. And then at God’s judgment bar, it might be that those things for which you are fighting are actually made of wood, hay and stubble.

Here are some considerations to keep in mind when it comes to any “conscientious objection” toward the king: Is that government any less ordained of God than Saul was? Are you willing to be physically punished with jail or worse, because of your political stand? You have little reason to expect God to step in to protect you against the king. So can you say that your position on this issue or that issue is perfectly consistent with the Bible? Who are you putting first in your decisions: the authors of the Constitution or the Author of the Word of God? And last, does your stand actually give God the glory that He deserves?