The Christian's Responsibility to Government Part 3 – 4 By John MacArthur

The Christian's Responsibility to Government Part 3 – 4

By John MacArthur

Let's open our Bibles to Romans chapter 13 again tonight. And I am really excited about the things that the word of God is unfolding to me. I find myself somewhat constrained. I suppose if I had my preference, I'd just stick it in this chapter and get all three or four hours of it done in one night, but I'm afraid I would lose you all by the time we got to the end. There are so many wonderful things, and I can't really even touch on all of them, but I'm trying to be somewhat selective in unfolding the great truth of this wonderful portion of Scripture.

We're looking at Romans 13:1-7, in our wonderful time in the Epistle of Paul to the Roman Church. The title of the section is, "The Christian's Responsibility to Government." And this is our third in the series of messages on these great verses.

Let me say in the beginning that as Christians, it's obvious, I think, to all of us that we are in the world but not of the world. We're pretty clear on the fact that our citizenship is in heaven. Our allegiance is to our Lord. But at the same time, we realize that we have to exist in this world. We have to live on this earth. And so we have a certain citizenship function here that has to be fulfilled and discharged properly.

We are sort of a society within society. We are a community within a community. And we must fit within that society. We must fit within that community. And yet our priorities are totally unique and distinct from the society in which we live. We live for eternal reasons. We follow the directions, the commandments, and the standards of our God, the Lord Jesus Christ, given to us in the Scripture and energized in us by the Holy Spirit. And so we live for eternal matters. We live with a whole different set of priorities. And because of that, we need clear teaching as to how we are to relate to the government in which we exist.

We saw that film tonight about China. And perhaps you were thinking what I was thinking: "How would it be to be a Christian in China?" Now with a little bit more freedom, but even a few years ago, under the very strong and rigid controls of the Mao system. How would it be to be a Christian? How do you relate to such an oppressive narrow communistic kind of government? Whatever society a Christian may be in, he or she must ask the very same question: "How do I, as a Christian, fit within the system in which I live?"

There are many things, of course, about the Chinese form of government that would threaten us, that would impinge upon our already experienced freedoms, and that would make us very uncomfortable. There are some things we would perceive that they do not do very well in terms of providing a happy and meaningful life to their citizens. On the other hand, they might look at our government and think we have miserably failed in some areas as well. And the truth is, they would be right, and we would be right as well, because any government of man will reflect man's fallenness and certain shortcomings.

So we all struggle ... whatever government it may be, whatever society we may fit in ... we struggle with how we are to relate to that. And I fear that in our society in America, Christians have lost their perspective. They've lost the sense of their distinctiveness, and they've lost uniqueness. They've lost their moorings, if you will, and they're sort of floating on an open sea.

I see that in a couple of ways ... first of all, in the current preoccupation of American Christianity with a materialistic lifestyle. America has provided for us such an almost gross kind of lifestyle potential that Christians have been caught up in this to the point where they've lost the sense of eternal values. They've made some great exchanges for temporal things instead of eternal realities. I see American Christianity buying the whole American dream to a fault.

I don't want to talk about that anymore tonight. I want to turn the corner a little bit. We have in our contemporary Christianity an overindulgent materialistic kind of approach that really is absolutely antithetical to everything that Christianity speaks of. That isn't to say that it is wrong to be blessed by God. It is wrong to be wasteful with what God gives you and what God blesses you with.

The other thing that I see in American Christianity that disturbs me is a preoccupation with the political system. We are enamored with the American dream of capitalistic materialistic potential. And we are also enamored with the American system of democracy and politics to the point where the church today seems to be preoccupied with making its impression in the political world rather in a spiritual dimension, and I'm greatly concerned with that.

Our battle has become a battle of political weapons ... a battle of raising enough money to lobby for our particular cause ... a battle of intimidating people in office by our voting power. And millions, and literally millions more of the Lord's dollars that aren't going to fund somebody's personal self-aggrandizement and ego trip are going to buy political power. And I've often wondered if all of those tremendous dollar amounts could be channeled to reaching the world the right way, what in the world Christianity would be doing.

It's frightening to think of one television program in America needing one million dollars every three days, and it's more frightening to realize they get it. What if all of that could be channeled to the work of God and the way He wants His work done? And I think about the fact that Christian people give millions and millions of dollars to political causes in the name of Christianity that don't really touch on the heart of the real issue of reaching a world without the Savior with the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ that can change men's hearts.

Now this kind of mentality that we see in our country is contrary to the tradition of the church. It is contrary to what the church has always known. The church has always had a sense of stewardship on the one hand, where its resources ... and God has blessed us with much ... but its resources are carefully used for the glory of the Lord, not for personal embellishment. And that its stance in the world is not as a political power, but as a spiritual power whose weapons are not fleshly, but spiritual, mighty to the pulling down of strongholds, as Paul says.

Just to strengthen my own understanding on this, I went back a little bit into history. I read a book entitled, "Christians As the Romans Saw Them," written by someone who apparently is not a Christian, just a historian, a professor at Notre Dame, writing on the early church and the view of the Romans toward that early church. He basically chronicles the view of the very most well-known writers of those ancient times ... writings of ancient men like Pliney, the Roman historian who was born about 62 A.D., Galen, born about 130 A.D., the physician philosopher of Pergamus; also Selsus, a well-known rationalistic thinker of early Greek philosophy, born about 140 A.D., and then a man named Porphery, who was the most learned and astute Greek critic of Christianity ... he was born in 233 A.D. And then Julian the Emperor, born around 330 A.D., who was known as Julian the Apostate, because he was raised in a nominal Christian family and apostatized paganism, and then became a very overt critic of Christianity.

And the writer of the book, Wilkin, takes these critics of Christianity who, by the way, made such a tremendous impression on the Christian church that the Christian church spent centuries answering their criticisms. Clear up to the time of Augustine, the church was trying to deal with the criticisms that these very prolific, articulate, and astute critics were bringing against Christianity. And if you read their writings, you will get the idea of how the Christians were perceived in the first three centuries of the time after Christ. And it is very interesting to study their writings and find out what the Christians were really like from the standpoint of their critics who were analyzing their faults and would almost caricature whatever was true about them.

The sum of all of their criticisms is very interesting. They saw Christians as religious fanatics, first of all. Unanimously they affirmed that they were utterly, totally, and almost exclusively preoccupied with their religion. They also noted that they were self-righteous outsiders who very infrequently got themselves involved in the things that the rest of society was doing. They called them arrogant innovators of religion who thought only their beliefs were true, which is to say that they did not try to accommodate their world, but it made it very clear what they believed, which was in fact contrary to what their world believed.

They also said they were believers in one God who was free and transcendent, and to whom the man, Jesus, was equal. They understood that that was Christian theology. They thought that was a weakness in their system. How could they believe in one God, they said, who was free and transcendent, and Jesus be equal to Him? If He is one God, nobody could be equal to Him, which shows they did not understand the Trinity.

They also said that Christians were fools who hoped for resurrection from the dead and foolishly believed in an eternal reward. They further said that they were believers in a historical revelation given in the Scripture. So far, they're doing very well.

Further, they said they are people who are totally committed to personal virtue and piety. And they are indifferent to the matters of the world, both material and political. Isn't that interesting? The early Christians were indifferent to the matters of the world that were material and political.

Origin, writing about 250 A.D., in that particular timeframe, showed that Christians did more good for the empire by focusing on a kind of personal holiness that prayed for the wellbeing of the emperor and the safety of the empire. How interesting.

If we have lost touch with 1 Timothy 2, they hadn't, which says if you want to lead a quiet and peaceful life, and you want to get along well, then pray for the king and all those in authority over you. In other words, our means are not fleshly means of politics; they are the spiritual means of prayer. The early church knew that.

Further, it was uncommon for them to be involved in any way in the empire, even as soldiers. A Christian actually becoming a soldier was very uncommon. It did occur. It was not something they pursued as a group. Selsus wrote that the Christians were definitely not passivists ... that is, they didn't speak against being a soldier; they didn't think it wrong to be a soldier. But they felt themselves called to a higher kind of warfare. They felt themselves not called to a public and civil life in the Roman Empire as much as a spiritual life in the Kingdom of Heaven, and so their preoccupation was beyond that. In fact, one writer, Minutia, said, "Christians" ... and I quote ... "do not understand their civic duty," end quote.

Now the historian, Tasidus, reported that they were executed by Niro. And I think it's so interesting ... Tasidus said they were executed by Niro, not for their religious beliefs. Now remember that ... they were not executed by Niro for their religious beliefs, but because of their hatred of the human race, Niro said, which was manifest supposedly by their aloofness and disdain for the common ways of life. Isn't that interesting? They were actually executed for a failure to get involved in the system. I fear that, on that basis, no Christian today would be executed ... or very few.

In fact, quoting Tasidus, "They are people who wall themselves off and break away from the rest of mankind." They were very distinct. They were not unkind, they were not unloving, they were not insensitive, but they were unique.

Turtellian also replied that early Christianity was an association, he said, devoted not to political maneuvering, but to inculcating moral principles into its members and training people to live virtuously. I mean their preoccupation was with virtuous life, godliness, serving the Lord, and committing themselves to the Kingdom. And they were executed, said Turtellian, not for incendiarism, which is inflammatory teaching or behavior ... an incendiary is some kind of an explosive that sets a fire. They were not executed for incendiarism ... that is for inflammatory teaching or behavior. But, says Turtellian, they were executed for their antisocial tendencies ... interesting.

Now the point of all of this is to note that the early church, while individuals among them served in all walks of life ... some were soldiers, some were workers in the government, to be sure. And you can be sure also that they were the best at what they did if they were devoted to Christ. Some were leaders. They filled every walk of life, but they were not perceived as a group to be concerned with temporal government. They were not perceived as a group to be concerned with temporal materialism, but rather as a group ... as an association to be preoccupied with that which was eternal and spiritual. In fact, they were accused of following the pattern of Christ and the Apostles ... how is that for a crime?

Now I fear that when history is written about this generation, it will say something very different about our kind of Christianity ... that it was very much preoccupied with the things of the world, that it was very much into political maneuvering, and seemingly had little concern for holiness, little concern for virtue, little concern for piety, little concern for the spiritual dimension, and the weapons of the spiritual dimension ... prayer ... and little concern for the advance of the Kingdom in the hearts of men.

Now having said all of that, I want to go a step further, because I want to cover as much as I can in just the introduction time as we kind of warm up to the text. All of this does not preclude the fact that many Christians in the earliest days of the church served in temporal government positions. Some of you may be involved in that. But we have people in our church who serve our city in many ways, who serve our state in many ways, and who serve our country in jobs that are involved in civil service. And we honor and respect those people. And we would not at all diminish the respectability of that function. But as a group, we are not preoccupied with bringing the Kingdom of God through those means.

Jesus said it when he said it to Pilot: "If my Kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight," which is to say, "We're not on this level, so we're not concerned to fight on this level." But I want you to know that there were individuals, even in the Scripture, who were very highly involved in the governments of their time, and very honorably so. But they never banded together to become some kind of coercive Christian lobby.

But for illustration, in Matthew 8, for example, we read about a Capernaum centurion ... you don't have to turn to it; I'm going to move on fast ... but a centurion ... basically the word, "century" or 100 is identified with that ... a centurion was a Roman soldier who was over 100 other soldiers. This centurion from Capernaum ... stationed in Capernaum ... in Matthew 8 ... had authority over lesser-ranked Roman soldiers. You remember that his servant was healed by Jesus. And when Jesus healed the servant of a Roman soldier, he didn't say to the guy, "Now stop being a soldier. Turn in your armor." He said to him, "Go your way." Here was a man who came to Christ. Here was a man that Christ encountered and said to him, "Go your way. Go on with what you're doing." There was no diminishing of the role that he had ... "Keep on soldiering even though you now have a place in an eternal Kingdom."

And then we find in Mark chapter 5, there was a ruler in a synagogue who was a local leader, much like a mayor of a town would be. The chief ruler in the synagogue would be like the mayor of a Jewish community. You remember his daughter was raised from the dead. And he no doubt continued to function in that same role of leadership. Our Lord did not call him away from that.

It's remarkable too that in Luke chapter 19, we meet a short little man by the name of Zaccheus, and what was his profession? He was a tax collector. He was in the JRS ... the Jewish Revenue Service ... or better, the RRS ... the Roman Revenue Service ... it was a combination of both. And he had extorted from the people he was supposed to be taking tax money. And you know he met Jesus Christ. Christ went to his home, salvation entered his house, and he promised to pay back everybody four-fold of what he had embezzled. And the wonderful story about Zaccheus is not that Jesus said, "Stop working for the Roman government and collecting taxes." The wonderful story about Zaccheus is he became an honest tax collector ... nothing wrong with that. The Lord never dissuaded him from his profession.

The believing centurion, you remember, who looked at the cross and saw Jesus dying and said, "Truly this was the Son of God," and gave glory to God, came to faith in Jesus Christ, was a man of dignity, and a man of beauty, and a picture of ugliness as Jesus died, and stands in my mind as a very respectable and honorable man with great faith and great integrity.

And by the way, the first gentile Christian in Acts chapter 10 was a man named Cornelius who was also a Roman soldier, another centurion, a commander of 100 soldiers.

And then do you remember in Acts chapter 13 when the Gospel first went out from Antioch ... Paul and the other pastors at Antioch, you remember, were praying that the spirit of God would send ... Psalm and Paul and Barnabas were sent out to preach the Gospel, and they came to an island called Cypress, and they came to a place called Paphos, and they met there the man who is called the onthupatas ... the pro-console ... he would be the head of the provincial government of that region. He was the number one guy ... his name was Sergius Paulus. And he was saved and no doubt continued in the same governmental function as a leader there to have influence for Christ.

And then in Acts chapter 16, there was the Philippian jailer, a Roman soldier of great responsibility. Jailers were men of great responsibility who commanded all the other soldiers who had responsibility for the prisoners who were proven capable. He came to faith in Jesus Christ. His whole family came to faith in Jesus Christ. And as you read the aftermath of the story, it's apparent that he stayed there and carried on his function, even though he was a member of the Kingdom.

And then there was Crispus in Acts 18 who was the chief ruler of the Jewish community in that region of Corinth. He was saved, and all his house. Then there was Sosthenes in Acts 18, another chief ruler among the Jews in Achaia ... he was saved.

Then there was Felix and Festus who were Roman provincial governors. They were given the Gospel and in each case treated with respect and regard by Paul in Acts 24 and 25.

Then there was Harrad Agrippa the second who was the Idumian king who was in the line from Harrad the Great, who was ruling under Roman toleration. He was overseeing the Jews. He was evangelized again by Paul with great respect in Acts 26.

Then there was Paul himself who saw the importance of government by appealing to Caesar when he needed justice in his own case and couldn't get it, and you'll find that in Acts 26, 27, and 28.

And then of course, in Philippians 4:22, Paul says, "All the saints greet you chiefly, they that are in Caesar's household." There were many who were a part of the very cabinet of Caesar who had come to faith in Christ.

And those were not dishonorable roles. Since God himself has ordained government, the position within that government is a position of honor. And if a Christian is there, he should serve there as a Christian should serve. But Christians don't collectively turn to the world's means to accomplish spiritual ends ... do you understand that? That's the point.

Many key people in government, today as well as then, are Christians ... thank God for that. Even in the Old Testament, thank God for Joseph in Egypt, or Daniel in Babylon and Metopursia. Or Shadrack and Meeshack in Abednigo ... princes in a pagan government.

But wherever we are, whether we serve the government or not, we are to live as Christians whose preoccupation, whose priorities, whose perspective is at a different level, a different dimension, than to try to use political means to accomplish spiritual ends.

You say then, "What is a Christian to do with his government?" Two things Paul tells us here. First, submit to it. Secondly, pay your taxes. We'll get to that when we get down to verse 6 and 7. Submit to it and pay your taxes.

Now we're looking at the first principle of submission. And now you can go, after all of that, to verse 1 finally. But I needed to say those things. And if I don't finish tonight, I'll try to finish next time. But I won't do that either, I'm quite sure, because I haven't even started verses 6 and 7 on paying your taxes, and we'll get into some interesting things there.

You'll notice the principle that is outlined here in verse 1 ... here's the first principle, that "every soul be subject unto the higher powers." Now that's the first principle. The second principle comes in verse 6, "For this cause, pay your taxes." And then he kind of expands on that. But principle number one is this idea of submitting to the government. Every one of us is to be subject unto the higher power, and that has reference to government.

And we've looked in detail at 1 Timothy 2:1-4, Titus 3, verses 1, 2, and 8. We looked at 1 Peter 2:12-17. Those three passages say basically the very same thing. We are called to a role of submissiveness. We are called to maintain good works in a context of peaceful, honest, godly, quiet, living as model citizens who solve our problems with government by prayer, and to accept whatever situation we're in with thanksgiving, knowing God has ordained it for His own purposes, whether we are Christians in China, the United States, or anywhere else.

All we can expect from a government is the protection of life and property, and any government basically does that. We can't necessarily expect that we're going to have all that we would like to have out of a government which basically reflects sinful man. The issue here is not whether it's a good government or a bad government, whether it's a dictatorship or a democracy, or a monarchy or whatever it is. All government is constituting a higher power for the protection of life and property to which we are subject.

Now I'm not saying that our government is something special, and so we want to be sure we're subject to ours because we have a quote-unquote "Christian nation." Listen, if you think America is a Christian nation, you're wrong. There is no such thing as a Christian nation; there are only Christian people. You can't have a Christian nation.

Now we have had civil religion. I mean we have "In God we trust" on our coins. Unfortunately, we have "Me first" in our hearts, but we have "In God we trust" on our coins. That's a very vague kind of thing. That could be anything. Our tradition is a civil religion tradition.

But when I look at our government, I see a lot of things in our government that disturb me greatly. I mean I look at our government and I see graft. I see people in high places who are immoral. We hear all the time about bribery. I have very little toleration for allowing homosexuals to have freedom and equal rights with everybody else as if they're only a sort of sexual preference, rather than a vile sin. I don't like the fact that our government contributes, by its laws, to the destruction of the family, and the destruction of marriage, and the promotion of a role for women that is the opposite of Scripture. I don't like it that our government makes laws against reading the Bible in school and praying. I don't like it that our government has what I believe to be very inadequate punishment for criminals, a failure to prevent immorality in the media, and lets people publish absolute filth and splatter it all over the place. I don't like it that our government does that in the name of free speech. I don't like it that our government legalizes abortion and allows millions of persons still in the womb to be massacred. I don't like it that our government gives children rights apart from their parents so that a 15-year-old girl has the right to have an abortion without letting her parents know. I don't like it that our government seems more concerned sometimes to protect criminals than it does law-abiding citizens. I don't like it that there are stifling rules constantly being made to restrain law enforcement.

I don't really believe we have the ideal system here. I mean it's ... I'm not asking for my walking papers. I'm happy to be here. But I'm not under any illusion that we have some very special Christian approach to everything. But in spite of all of those things, I still find myself coming under the statement of verse 1 that I am to be subject to the higher powers.

I do like it that my government wants to protect my life and property. I do like it that there are laws instituted to indicate that if something is mine, it is mine, and you can't have it unless I willfully give it to you. And that anyone who tries to harm me or those I love will be brought to the law. I'm appreciative of those things. I'm appreciative of the great freedoms that we have in this country for the ministry of the word of God and the preaching of the Gospel, although I'm not under any particular illusion that the Lord needs our kind of government to build His church. China has proven quite the contrary.

There are many things I'm thankful for. And I'm not saying I'm not. I just want you to know that I don't find, as I look at this passage, that it might be any easier for me to think about being subject to the higher power than it is for somebody in a country that we might think is far worse. Any Christian is going to find difficulty in his country just as we do.

And I ask the same questions you do. It's awfully difficult sometimes to send my check to the IRS if I were to believe that the government was going to fund abortions with it. I'm called to be subject to those powers that be ... they're ordained of God ... God has His purposes, His reasons. Now the only time that I'm ever permitted to violate the government that is over me is if that government makes a law that violates the Law of God, right? And we've seen that in Acts 4 and 5.

Now for a moment, I want you to turn back to Matthew chapter 10. And I don't think I'll get done with my introduction, so it's all right. In Matthew chapter 10 and verse 16 ... and all this is so important ... the Lord gives us here some very basic information that we can assume is going to be very helpful to us. "I send you forth" ... verse 16 ... "as sheep in the midst of wolves." Now get it straight, folks. He says this in general to all who go out representing him ... "You're going to go out as sheep in the midst of wolves." In other words, "You're going to be headed for some difficulty. Whatever governmental system you find yourself in, you're going to find that your strong Christian testimony will generate certain hostility. So be wise as serpents and harmless as doves." That is such a very important statement. That tells us the profile of a Christian in a hostile environment. "Wise as a serpent" ... a serpent, of course, is the model of cunning, shrewdness, keenness, caution. A serpent is not a fierce attacker. A serpent is stealthy. A serpent is calculating. A serpent doesn't court trouble. A serpent doesn't force the issue. They were the model of shrewdness, the model of caution. And that's what he says to begin with ... "Be very cautious. Be very shrewd. Be very keen-minded."

Secondly, "Be as harmless as doves." And that was proverbial also. Nothing is more harmless than a dove. It couldn't do harm to anything. A dove was a symbol of purity. A dove was a symbol of innocence. So he says, "Whatever you are, even if you're in the midst of wolves, even if the environment is as hostile as wolves are to sheep, be wise and cautious and shrewd and keen, and don't court trouble, and don't force the issue, and be as harmless as a dove, as innocent, as honest, as full of integrity, as non-retaliatory, seeking no hurt for anyone." That's how we're to be, marked by wisdom, marked by purity, marked by gentleness without compromise.

I read, like you do, in the paper about these people back in the Midwest who were always being thrown in jail by the state authorities because they won't comply with some state law. And I see that ... to be honest with you, I don't think the state is right in those things. But I'll tell you, I don't think they're right in the way they react either. And I think if they reacted as wise as serpents and harmless as doves, if they demonstrated a little bit of wisdom, and a little bit of caution, and a little bit of willingness to work things out, and they showed some purity, and some innocence, and a spirit of non-retaliation, there would be very different things happening than turn out to happen.

But it's almost as if they seek the theater. It's almost as if they seek the conflict, which is the antithesis of what our Lord calls us to when he calls us to face the world around us. We are not to be vengeful.

You remember, don't you, Romans 13 ... pardon me, Romans 12:17, "recompensed to no man evil for evil." If they do evil to you, don't give them evil back. Don't slander, slam, and slur them. If it's possible, as much as lies in you, live peaceably. Find a way to live peaceably. If there is some paper you need to sign, then maybe there's a way you can sign the paper and not compromise your own heart conviction. And don't avenge yourself. And if your enemy is hungry, feed him. And if he's thirsty, give him a drink. And overcome his evil with good. That's the attitude of the Christian. We're not trying to pick a fight. We're not trying to start a war. We want to be as gracious, loving, and gentle as we can, and not compromise. And if, in the end, we are persecuted for the sake of our message, and the sake of our life, then let it be. But let it only be in that case.

And he goes down into verse 17. It says, "Beware" ... in Matthew 10 ... "Beware of men. They're going to deliver you up to the councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You're going to be treated unjustly. They're going to whip you. And you're going to be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the heathen or the gentiles."

Yes, the time is going to come when the state persecutes believers. It's been that way all through history. The state is going to slaughter the sheep. The kings and the governors are going to call you in. And sometimes this is going to happen. But remember this: when it happens, it'll be a testimony ... that's right. It'll be a witness. And I want you to know that whenever the church is persecuted, it tends to what? To grow, and the blood of the martyrs becomes the seed of the church. And sometimes this is what purges the church.

And then in verse 19, he says that "When they deliver you up" ... that is when they take you prisoner ... "don't be anxious." Not even then, don't make a protest. Don't make a case out of it. Don't worry about what you're going to say, "for it'll be given you in that same hour what you shall speak." Isn't that wonderful? The Lord promises to give you what to say. Be calm and dependent, "for it is not you that speak but the spirit of your father who speaks in you" ... verse 20 ... isn't that great?

So we want to do all we can to be peaceable, all we can to be loving, all we can to be the best citizens possible. And quietly and honestly, and with integrity and virtue and piety, sew the seeds of spiritual truth in our society, live godly lives, influence our world. And indeed if they decide to persecute us, let it be only for our faith, let it be only for our testimony. And even then we have no anxiety because the Lord will give us what to say in the moment that we're to say it.

And then I like what it says in verse 21-23. It says a brother will deliver up the brother to death. It'll happen even in a family. And fathers are going to give their children over to death. Children are going to rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death. And the history of the church tells us this is really true. There's conflict in a family. It's not uncommon that there's a conflict, even within a family.

And he says in verse 22, "You'll be hated of all men for my namesake, but he that endures to the end will be saved."

And then I like verse 23. You say, "Well, when they persecute you, what do you do?" Just say, "Here, hit me. Hit me again. This is wonderful."?

[Laughter]

No. Verse 23 ... "When they persecute you in this city," what? "Flee." Get out of there. You're not supposed to be cultivating a martyr complex. Get out of there and go to another place, and keep going as long as you've got another place to go. In other words, the Lord says, "I'm not asking you to stand there and get beaten to a pulp. If you can find a way to get out, get out."

I mean patience does have a limit ... leave ... but we submit quietly, peaceably ... we are as wise as serpents, harmless as doves. And we infect our society with our godliness, not with our political clout, not with our worldly gaudy showy materialism. Those things defeat us. They don't help us. The world needs to know clearly what we are, doesn't it?

And why do we submit? Let's go back to Romans 13 and at least review what I gave you last time. In Romans 13, he gives us seven reasons why we submit. Reason number one is government is by divine decree, for there's no power but of God ... the powers that be are ordained of God. And we've been making that point, I think, over and over again, that whatever the government is, God put it there for whatever purpose He wants. If it's a good government, He put it there for good. If it's an evil one, He put it there to accomplish something. I mean God has put all government into place. There's no power that isn't of God, and all the powers that are are ordained of God ... that's saying it both ways. There's no power that is not of God, and all power is of God ... same things said two ways, exclusively and inclusively.

Government is by God ... even governments that have a lack of freedom reflect the purpose of God. We ought to stand very clearly taught by the lesson of China, the absolute antithesis of everything we know in American democracy. And the church has flourished in that because the growth of the Kingdom is not related to any kind of political cult ... none. It has nothing to do with it. And the people who are under the illusion that you have to preserve American democracy to preserve the Kingdom of God are wrong. They're not connected. Even Nero, who burned Christians, was ordained by God. And the death of those Christians became the development of the church. God knew what he was doing. So we are subject because government is ordained by God.

Secondly, because resistance to government is rebellion against God. Verse 2 ... "Whosoever therefore resists the power resists the ordinance of God." So we submit because if you resist, you're resisting God. And these people who supposedly, in the name of Christian freedom, resist what the government wants to do by some ... carrying out some legal function, or having them sign some paper, or go through some qualifying thing ... they're resisting the ordinance of God. For this time and that place, God has instituted that or allowed it to be instituted. I don't mean by that that God is writing all the laws, but they're within the framework of His tolerance and purpose. And they resist God.

And then we saw the third reason, didn't we, at the end of verse 2. We submit, first of all, because government is ordained by God. Secondly, resistance to government is rebellion against God. And thirdly, those who resist will be punished. It says, "And they that resist shall receive to themselves punishment or judgment." And it's talking there not only about the judgment of God, but about the judgment of man. God has given government the right to punish evildoers. God has granted the government the privilege of punishment.

Turn with me for a minute back to the pentitute. Let's go back to Exodus. I'll just give you a little brief look at this, and then we'll wrap up for tonight. But in Exodus chapter 21, God instituted a law, and the law was that government had a right to punish ... Exodus 21:23 ... "And if any mischief, then thou shalt give life for life," eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, strife for strife. In other words, any crime committed deserves a corresponding punishment. If a life is taken, a life is owed. If an eye is taken, an eye is owed. If a tooth is taken, a tooth is owed, a hand ... a hand, a foot ... a foot. If burning has occurred, burning is owed. If strifes have been given, strifes are owed. And here is the institution of governmental privilege in punishing evildoers. This is not personal vengeance ... these were never given for personal vengeance. This is for government carrying out a punishment.

And it further goes into chapter 22, "If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep. If a thief be found breaking in and be smitten that he die, there shall be no blood shed for him." In other words, if somebody breaks in and he dies breaking in and stealing, and you defend yourself against him, you don't die. "If the sun be risen on him, there shall be blood shed for him, for he shall make full restitution. If he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft." If he lives through the night and gets up in the morning, he has to pay back every single thing. And if he doesn't have anything to pay, he is sold into slavery. And the money that is gained from his sale is given to the person he robbed.

So this is a function of government from the very beginning. When God lay down the laws of government, He established that there were principles to be followed.

Go to Deuteronomy 35, and again we find ... there are many other chapters ... I'm just giving you some highlights of it. Deuteronomy 35:19, "The avenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer." When he meets him, he shall slay him. In other words, if somebody murders someone, there is to be an avenger. And the avenger goes and takes the life of the murderer. I mean that's capital punishment ... that's the institution of the law. Again in verse 21, it says the same thing.

Then over in Deuteronomy chapter 22 ... by the way, it was kind of an interesting thing that when someone committed a murder, someone close to the murdered victim was the avenger who would go and take the life under, of course, the direction of the court ... take the life of the guilty party.

In Deuteronomy 22:18, it talks about a man who has committed a crime, and it says in verse 18 of Deuteronomy 22, "The elders of the city shall take the man, chastise him, fine him 100 shackles of silver, give them to the father of the damsel, because he's brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel, and she shall be his wife. He may not divorce her all his days." So here is a man who has slandered, he is given a fine, and his penalty is to marry the girl. And that's of course for life by God's standard. I mean it goes on and on like this.

In Ecclesiastes chapter 8 ... don't try to find Ecclesiastes at this moment ... happiness is sitting next to someone who knows where Ecclesiastes is.

[Laughter]

But in Ecclesiastes, it tells us that judgment is to be meated out immediately and hastily. And that, of course, is what causes people to fear punishment ... punishment that is hasty.

I'm just reminded also ... I think it's the 31stchapter of Jobs and verse 11 ... I might be wrong on this, but I think it ... yes, it says, "For this a heinous crime," identifying a heinous crime, "yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges." In other words, it's the same idea. The judges, the leaders, the rulers, have been given by God the right of enacting on those who commit a crime a corresponding and righteous punishment.

And when a government punishes a criminal, it is enacting the will of God ... do you understand that? And when it fails to do that, it has blood on its hands. And I believe the absence of capital punishment makes a nation blood-guilty before God. For where life is not taken for life, the ground ... even in the case of Cain and Abel ... the ground cries out unto God of unrequited blood.

Do you want to know why the murder rate in our country goes higher and higher? It's the reason. So the instruments of punishment are human, but the source is divine. It is the purpose, plan, and will of God carried out by earthly government. And when this breaks down ... when criminals are not properly punished, an institution of God is destroyed. It's like the home ... when children aren't properly punished, what happens to the family? It disintegrates. And the same is true in society.

And I really believe that America is headed for destruction. And I don't think the destruction is going to come from the Russians dropping a bomb on us. I don't think it's going to come from some outside power conquering us. I think our destruction comes from within. Our lowering of moral values, putting a high price on material things, massacring unborn babies, failing to quickly and strongly punish evildoers, tolerating vice, elevating homosexuals to places of honor, taking women out of the home ... I mean you just go on and on with this kind of stuff. And that's the devastating reality of the fall of our country.

And ultimately, as in the case of individuals, I think God will give us over to a reprobate mind. The answer, dear ones, is not politics. You understand that, don't you? And the answer is not, "Let's be like them and have our own Christian materialism." The answer is to put our money and our time and our effort and our prayers and our lives into living a godly life and speaking boldly the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which alone can change a heart. And changed hearts can turn around a nation. So we submit because government is from God. To rebel is to resist God. To resist means punishment.

And now we're up to where I left off last time.

[Laughter]

And we'll pick it up next time. I can't get to the good stuff. I just spin my wheels.

Let's bow in prayer. Lord, we want to understand how it is that we're to live in this world. We want to understand what Your word is saying to us. Help us. Help me. Help me not to say things that don't reflect your perfect will, that don't reflect a proper interpretation of Your Holy Word. And oh, Lord, help us to be in the world what You want us to be. Help us not to get diverted. Help us, Lord, to be faithful, to live as You want us to live, to speak as You want us to speak, to be bold in proclaiming the truth, to speak of the sins of our nation, the sins of our lives. But Lord, when it comes to living, help us to live quiet and honest and peaceful lives, lives filled with the love of Christ, filled with purity, filled with an uncompromising stand for truth. That Lord, it may be that we move this nation. And may it be, Lord, that we might even save this nation, not by political organization, but by the power of transformed lives. Help us to know that if the world is to be reached at all, it is to be reached with the message of redeeming faith. May we be faithful, Lord, to reach out, to so live in an uncompromising ... and yet as model citizens in such a way who govern our lives so that Christ can be seen in us. May we be like that early church, a community of people who live so much for the Kingdom, who live so much for the spiritual dimension, who are so lost in serving the Savior, that our critics might be able to accuse us of being indifferent to the world around us. And may we, like them, not gain our ends by our wealth or political power, but by our holiness and purity of life. We thank You for the privilege of following the footsteps of our Savior. May we walk as He walked, who name His name, Amen.

The Christian's Responsibility to Government Part 4

Let's open our Bibles to Romans chapter 13, and we're glad all of you are here ... wonderful to be together and look to the word of God. We're endeavoring to get through the first few verses of Romans 13 on the subject of the Christian's responsibility to the government. In the epistle to the Romans, obviously, the familiar portions are about salvation. The great sweeping argument of Romans is from chapter 1, really, all the way to the end of chapter 11, laying out the doctrine of justification, sanctification ... we went through that in great detail.

Then beginning in chapter 12, based upon the fact that we've been saved and set apart unto God, we are to commit ourselves to a certain kind of living. And within the range of the living that a Christian is to be committed to is a proper relationship to the government ... to the authority under which He exists. And so we're looking at how we are to respond to the government.

And basically in verses 1-7, Paul tells us there are two responsibilities that we have. One, in verse 1, is to be subject to ... in verses 6 and 7 ... to pay our taxes. So we are to be subject and pay our taxes. This first point ... being subject to the higher powers goes all the way down through verse 5. And in this, he gives seven reasons why we are to be subject to the government under which we live. And by the way, our subjection is unqualified. It's not determined by the kind of government, the benevolence of the government, the theology or absence of the government. It is strictly and simply a matter of obedience to the plan of God in which He has ordained governmental authority for the protection of life and property. And those are the two basic things, as we've seen, regarding government. They are to protect life and property.

Now we may not agree with all that they do. We may not like all that they do. We may feel some of our freedoms are encroached upon. But unless they countermand the specific instruction of God in the Scripture, we are to be submissive. And he lays out for the reasons for submission to the government.

Reason number one comes in verse 1, and I'll just review it. "For there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God." In other words, government is by divine decree. We submit to government because God has designed government for its role of protection of life and property.

Secondly, there is a great reason why we want to submit to the government, and that is that if number one is true, and government is by divine decree, then point number two in verse 2 follows logically. "Resistance to government is resistance or rebellion against God. Whosoever therefore resists the power" ... referring to the higher power, referring to governmental authority ... "resisteth the ordinance or the institution of God."

That leads to a third reason which flows out of the first two at the end of verse 2, and it is this: "Those who rebel against the government which is ordained of God, and are therefore rebelling against God, will be punished." Verse 2 at the end says, "And they that resist shall receive to themselves judgment." And that is not only judgment from the government, which has been given the right to exact punishment for those who violate its law, but it is the judgment of God who is behind the government as well. So government is by divine decree. To resist is to resist God. And to resist is to bring upon oneself punishment, not only from the government, but from the Lord as well.

Now there are four more reasons for submission. We at least began to look at the fourth one, and we'll move through them, I trust, in a brief time tonight. Reason number four is that government serves to restrain evil. Therefore, to go against the government is to go against the restraint of evil. So point number four, government serves to restrain evil.

Notice verse 3 ... "For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil works." Now that's a very basic thought. Government is designed to put fear in the hearts of people who do evil things, not to put fear in the hearts of people who do good things. "Will thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same." And we'll get into that in a moment.

So closely connected to the last idea about punishment ... the thought of verse 2 ... is this idea about fearing the government if you do evil. The word fear, by the way, is the word "phobas." We get phobia from it ... it has to do with a certain terror. And it tells us that that terror is not to people who do the good works ... the good works being a class of deeds which are inherently good. But it is a terror to those who do the evil works ... a class of deeds, the nature of which is inherently evil.

The people in society against whom the government moves are those who do the evil deeds ... who defy the law, who break the law, who violate the law. And the Apostle says they have reason to have a certain amount of terror, for rulers are to bring terror to those who do evil. In other words, the government, to do its work, must put fear in the hearts of evildoers. That's a very basic factor. And you and I are well aware of what happens in a government that doesn't put fear into the hearts of evildoers. The results of that are indeed tragic. Rulers should be causing evildoers to have fear.

Now what this indicates to us ... and I want to just digress for a moment ... is this. That generally speaking, rulers who are just secular ... not speaking about those who know the Lord or know biblical truth or any of that, but rulers in general know the difference between good and evil. Is that not so? They know the difference between the class of deeds that could be categorized as good, and the class of deeds that are categorized as evil. That's patently obvious to them.

And I can show you why. Go back in your Bible for a moment to Genesis chapter 2. In Genesis chapter 2 verse 15, the Lord God took man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden, thou mayest freely eat ... you can have food from everything that's here ... but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." What did Adam do? What did Eve do? Disobeyed God and what? Ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Therefore, Adam and Eve, when they sinned, entered into knowledge of what? Good and evil. That knowledge has been passed down through all the sons and daughters of Adam. And every man and woman coming into this world has an inherent and basic knowledge of good and evil.

We find in Romans a similar idea in chapter 2 and verse 14. It says, "When the heathen" ... that is those who are unconverted, those who are not a part of the covenant of God ... "who have not the law" ... that is the written law ... "those who have not the written law do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law, are a law unto themselves who show the work of the law written in their hearts." And you can stop at that point.

The unregenerate world has the law of God written in their heart. What does that mean? The knowledge of good and evil. That's a part of conscience. That's a part of what we call in theology "natural revelation," as opposed to special revelation, which is Scripture. So the government of man knows the difference between good and evil. Even pagans understand basic morality through human reason, through natural revelation, through common grace. They understand what is a basic morality.

Now that basic morality may find itself eroding over a period of time, as we see it even in our own society today. But nonetheless, there are some bottom-line principles of good and evil that all society recognizes regarding the preservation of life and property. And society recognizes that they are absolutely essential for any kind of quality of living. You cannot go around and take other people's property. Men understand that that creates an absolutely impossible chaotic situation. It'll create a situation of self-destruction. You cannot go around and take other people's life or injure other people. So there is a basic sense of good, right, and wrong built into the heart of even unregenerate people. And that is reflected in the government that God has set for the protection and preservation of man.

Now even the most evil society ... even the worst government will hold to a basic preservation of property and life. And frankly, some good governments do very poorly at this. And some evil dictators do very well at it. Even the poorest government is a blessing compared to no government. Can you imagine what would happen, for example, in a society where there was absolutely no one in control? It would be an instant self-destruct. If no one could protect his or her life, except by himself, no one could protect his or her property, except by himself, you'd have constant war.

So even in a corrupt government, there has been built in by God to the heart of man a sense of what is right and wrong, at least in very basic terms. And so government then is placed by God for the preservation of life and the protection of property, and that it functions in doing. It then becomes a terror to those who will do evil, who steal property, to take lives. It is not a terror to those who do good. Government is designed to create this fear and terror by taking swift action against those who do evil.

Now let me give you a little bit of an insight into how a government is to act if it fulfills its God-ordained role to the maximum. And I don't want to belabor it, but there are some passages that you might find interesting.

Back in chapter 19 of Deuteronomy and verse 13, we learn that a government is to act against evildoers without pity. It talks here about a murderer, someone who's taken a life. And it says in verse 13, "Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel that it may go well with thee." In other words, if you don't do to that murderer what he has done to someone else, and therefore put away the guilt of the innocent bloodshed, you can know that it will not prosper with you ... that's God's promise. This thing is to be dealt with without pity. A government is to act against an evildoer without pity, it says.

And down in verse 21 ... "And thine eye shall not pity, but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot." In other words, there is to be equal retribution without pity.

Why? Verse 20 says, "So that the people will fear and henceforth commit no more, any such evil among you." And if you do not exact punishment without pity, then people don't have that fear that restrains them from doing evil.

Back to chapter 17 of Deuteronomy for a moment and verse 12. "And the man who will do presumptuously and will not hark unto the priest who stands to minister there before the Lord, thy God, or unto the judge ... even that man shall die. And thou shalt put away the evil from Israel, and all the people will hear and fear and do no more presumptuously." In other words, when someone does not obey those in leadership, they must be sentenced without pity, and sentenced in a way that causes other people to fear the same thing if they act the same way.

Now I'll go back to Deuteronomy chapter 13, and I'll give you a second principle in which the government is supposed to express its leadership. It is not only to act without pity, but it is to act by God's design without partiality. In other words, there is to be no one set apart because of some respect of persons, because of some preference.

Verse 6 of Deuteronomy 13 ... "If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend who is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying let us go and serve other gods which thou hast not known, nor thy fathers, namely of the gods of the people who are round about you, near unto you, far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him, but thou shalt surely kill him. And thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord, thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage."

Now the principle here, of course, is unique, in a sense, to Israel because it was a theocracy. And the crime was leading people to the worship of a false God. But the point that I want you to see is, in the restriction of bringing death, there was a clear word that it doesn't matter if it's your brother, your son, your wife, your friend, or whoever it is ... there's no partiality in exacting the law of God.

And then verse 11 says, "Then all Israel will hear and fear and do no more any such wickedness as this among you." If government would act without pity and partiality, it would go a long way to convince evildoers to change their ways.

There's a third principle in the 25thchapter of Deuteronomy: "And it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten." And the judgment comes in verse 1. Then verse 2 says, "If he's worthy to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten before his face according his fault by a certain number ... 40 stripes he may give him and not exceed," and so forth and so on. In other words, when he finds him guilty, he puts him down right on the spot, and he beats him and gives him what retribution is due. This means government is to act without pity, without partiality, and without delay. It needs to be an immediate kind of punishment ... an immediate response ... so that it is apparent and obvious to all that there is fast judgment.

In Ezra 7:26, a very important statement: "And whosoever will not do the law of thy God and the law of the king" ... notice that ... you don't obey government ... "let judgment be executed speedily upon him" ... that's Ezra 7:26 ... "whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or imprisonment." In other words, you can take his life. You can banish him from the country, confiscate his goods, that is to fine him or put him in prison in some way so that he would be under some ... it isn't the idea of a prison as we know it, as I mentioned last week ... but put him into some kind of a situation where he's made to pay consequences for what he did, until he has paid back what is right. But judgment is to be executed speedily.

If government acted without pity, without partiality, and without delay, it would be a terror to evildoers, right? Unfortunately, we have seen the erosion of that kind of principle, haven't we? And very often, we hear all the hue and cry of pity for the criminal, and I understand that, and I understand the need for mercy. But I also understand what happens when that becomes the norm, and everybody thinks they can do whatever they want and escape judgment.

And then we are well aware of those kinds of times and places where some people seem to receive partial treatment for things that they have done, for which others are more severely punished. And then we all know that punishment is anything but without delay, isn't it? This will deter the criminal, and this will put fear in the hearts of the evildoers.

So we are to submit, then, to God's ordination of government. It is from Him. To rebel is to resist Him. To resist Him is to bring punishment. And government is designed to restrain evil. And certainly we, as Christians, want to hold up anything that restrains evil, don't we? We don't want to tear down what God has put in place to uphold goodness and restrain evil.

And we might stop at this moment and ask the question, but what if government treats you badly? What if government takes your freedoms? What if government encroaches upon you in ways that you feel are unfair, unjust, or inequitable?

Well, the pattern that you need to look back to would be the example of the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul was put in jail in Philippi, wasn't he? He was put in jail there. He didn't do anything to deserve it. He was accused, it says in Acts 16 ... it says, "These men being Jews exceedingly trouble our city and teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them. The magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded to beat them." The whole place is in an uproar in Philippi, and they haven't done a thing. It's just a mad mob. And they laid many stripes on him, threw him into prison, charged the jailer to keep them safely. They made their feet fast in the stocks. And what did they do? What were Paul and Silas doing at midnight? Singing praise, weren't they?

Yes, they were treated badly by a government. Yes, they were treated unfairly and inequitably and unjustly ... absolutely. But it's the same Paul that was treated that way who said that we're to submit to the government. The Apostle Paul knew what it was to endure injustice. In fact, he endured it rather frequently from place to place ... three times he was beaten with rods, once stoned.

Still, the truth stands in spite of the fact that there are those times when government oversteps its bounds, when government goes beyond its limits. There are those times when there is injustice and inequity. Still, the principle stands.

In the 19thchapter of Acts and verse 35, do you remember the story in Ephesus? When the town clerk had quieted the people, he said, "You mean of Ephesus, what man is there that knows not that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess, Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter. Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly, for you have brought here these men who are neither robbers of temples, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess. Wherefore if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies. Let them accuse one another."

And here the town clerk stops the mob that would have just eliminated those who were proclaiming Christ, and says, "Let's bring this to the law. Let's bring this to lawful assembly," he says in verse 39, "for we are in danger to be called in question for this day's uproar. For there being no cause for which we may give an account of this concourse." And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.

On one hand, we see in Acts 16 where government acts against the Apostle Paul. We go to Acts 19, and government acts in his defense and rescues him from a mob. So we don't want to obviate the principle. There are times when government may overstep its bounds. There are times when we may be very dependent upon its provision.

And you remember when they were going to scourge the Apostle Paul in Acts 22. He said to the one who was going to lead him into the scourging, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a Roman citizen?" And he pulled rank, didn't he, in a sense? He reached out for his Roman citizenship as a protection against what they were going to do to him. So the truth stands. Whether government is protecting us or seems to be overstepping its bounds, acting unjustly toward us, we need to be submissive.

Now that leads us to a fifth principle ... back to Romans 13. We are to be submissive because government serves to promote good. In verse 3 again it says, "Will you then not be afraid of the power? Do you want to have it so you're not afraid of government? Then do what is good, and you'll have praise of the same." And I still believe our government is in place to bring praise to those who do good.

I was given a plaque the other day, and there is supposed to be a formal presentation from the community and from the local state representative for the contribution that they think I made, but Grace Church made, to this area. And when things are as they ought to be, society recognizes that there is a good contribution being made.

And so Paul says, "Do what is good, and you don't have to fear, because you will have praise from the same." That is, from those in authority. If you enjoy a quiet and peaceful life, if you live a life of goodness, if you demonstrate the love of Christ and godliness and virtue, and if you are not a troublemaker and a rebel-rouser, you will find that you will receive praise. And government becomes, in a sense ... verse 4 ... "The servant of God to thee for good." Isn't that a wonderful statement? The deaconos ... the deacon of God ... to thee for good.

And here is the ruler's purpose...not only to be a terror to those that do the class of deeds called evil, but to be a praise to those who do the class of deeds called good. And his title is one of great honor ... he's a servant of God. The president of the United States is a servant of God. The senators and assemblymen of the united states, the justices, all the way down into the states, the mayors and the people who function in the city level of government ... they are all servants of God. That is, in a unique sense ... not in the sense of a believer necessarily, not in the sense of one who ministers in the church, but in the sense that they carry out a God-ordained service. They uphold the divine institution. Personally, they may not know God at all, but they represent Him. They represent His desire for peace and safety among men. And so we do all we can to keep peace, to live honorably, to live with sobriety and dignity, to cultivate harmony, to be model citizens ... that those who are carrying out a service to God in government may honor us.

And certainly, beloved ... and we've been trying to say this in the whole series ... we who are evangelical fundamental Christians who really hold the name of Christ up should be the model of what a citizen should be in society. That those who are in the governmental sense the servants of God may see in us something utterly unique and attractive.

Robert Halldane many years ago wrote a marvelous commentary on Romans. And in it, he says this: the institution of civil government is a dispensation of mercy. And its existence is so indispensable that the moment it ceases under one form, it reestablishes itself in another. That's a very good statement. When you see a coup in a country, or you see the country overturned, or a revolution, it'll never be the elimination of government. It will only be the exchange of government, because man cannot survive without that.

Halldane goes on to say, "The world ever since the fall, when the dominion of one part of the human race over another was immediately introduced, has been in such a state of corruption and depravity that without the powerful obstacle presented by civil government to the selfish and malignant passions of men, it would be better to live among the beasts of the forest than in human society. As soon as its restraints are removed, man shows himself in his real character. When there was no king in Israel, and every man did that which was right in his own eyes," end quote.

So Paul is still building his case. We are called to submission because God is a source of government. To rebel is to resist God. To resist God brings judgment. Government is set to restrain evil. And we want to uphold a government that restrains evil. And government is there to promote good. And we want to be good so that we might enjoy the benefits of government.

Sixthly ... and this is a very important one ... rulers are empowered by God to inflict the severest punishment. In verse 7 ... pardon me, verse 4, he says, just after the first sentence, "If you do what is evil, be afraid." Why? "For he bears not the sword for nothing. For he is the servant of God and avenger to execute wrath on him that doeth evil." Very strong verse. If you do what is evil, be afraid. You have every reason to be afraid because God has given to government the right to bear the sword, and he does not bear the sword for nothing. He bears the sword for something. And it doesn't take a Phi Beta Kappa to figure out what you do with a sword. You don't spank people with a sword. You don't fine people with a sword. You kill people with a sword. And what he is saying here is that government is given the right to inflict final punishment, irremedial and irreversible punishment ... the punishment of death.

Civil government is not just a pageant. It is not just a symbol of power. It is not just a weak threat. God has ordained that civil government bear the sword. And the sword means nothing other than death. If you ever question whether capital punishment is biblical, this verse should end that questioning. Indeed it is. The sword is always the symbol of death.

And you go back into Genesis 9, and there we have the institution of this principle. Genesis chapter 9 verse 6 ... when God was laying down some basic matters regarding human government in verse 6 ... "Who so shedeth man's blood. By man shall his blood be shed. For in the image of God made he man." In other words, man is so sacred, having been made in the image of God, that if you take the life of a man, you forfeit your own life ... without pity, without partiality, and speedily that should be carried out by government.

In Matthew ... have you been with us ... in chapter 26 and verse 51 ... do you remember it? Peter took out a sword and started to cut up the first person in line. And Jesus said in verse 52, "Put up again your sword into place, for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." What he meant was, "If you take a life, Peter, then you will die." Because that is the law. So if you try to fight that way, then you're going to die, and justifiably so. The Lord is upholding there capital punishment. "If you take a sword, Peter, you will die by the sword." That is a divine institution.

Over in the 25thchapter of Acts, verse 11 ... Paul, appealing to Caesar, says "If I be an offender," talking to Festus, the governor, "If I have committed anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die." Now there again is the Apostle Paul saying, "Look, if I have committed a crime worthy of death, then I ought to die." Why does he say that? Because he knows that's God's standard. That's a God-ordained principle. Paul affirms the right of government to take his life if he has violated law.

The Old Testament prescribes the death penalty for murder, for striking your parent, for blasphemy, for witchcraft, occult, false prophecy, rape, immorality, homosexuality, kidnapping, idolatry, and a blasphemous violation of the holiness of the Sabbath. God has ordained that government has the right to take a life.

And so it says ... back to verse 4 again ... "He is the minister of God. And part of the ministry of God in government for the good of man is to make evildoers afraid of the sword which is not carried for nothing, but rather he is a minister of God who further is an avenger." Now listen to me ... taking the life of a murderer, bringing capital punishment against one who has committed the crime of that magnitude, is a matter of an avenging. And it is an avenging that God requires.

One writer has said, "What must not be lost sight of is that unpleasant as is the task of the jailer and the use of the whip, the cell, the noose, the guillotine ... these things stand behind the stability of civilized society, and they stand there necessarily, for God has declared it so, in harmony with reality, rather than with apostate sociological opinion. Government, with its coercive powers, is a social necessity, but one determined by the Creator, not by the statistical tables of some university social research staff. No society can successfully vote fines and corporal and capital punishment away permanently. The society which tries has lost touch with the realities of man...his fallen sinful state ... realities of the world, and the truth of divine revelation in nature, man's conscious and the Bible," end quote. You can't do that and survive. God has ordained government to bear the sword. And vengeance belongs to God and comes often through the government.

Remember back in verse 19, "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves" ... chapter 12 ... "Vengeance isn't ours. Give place unto God's wrath, for vengeance is mine, says God, I will repay." And here's one way God says he has to channel his vengeance. That is through the government. And we as Christians can thank God for government. We can thank God that government has the right to use the sword.

Now I don't like to think of people losing their lives. And I think the way to stop it is to make it very clear and certain that if you take a life, you'll immediately lose yours. That protects the sanctity of life.

Now when this is not satisfied ... and I want you to listen very carefully to what I'm going to say in the next few minutes ... when this is not satisfied, a nation comes under blood-guiltiness.

I want you to do a little Bible study. Let's go back to Genesis chapter 4, and I want you to listen very carefully to what I'm going to say. Genesis chapter 4 verse 10 ... Cain killed Abel ... he murdered him ... first murder. And the Lord said, verse 9, "Cain, where is Abel, your brother?" He was not only a murderer, by the way, but he was a liar ... that figures. Satan was the father of lies and a murderer from the beginning. And so Cain was mirroring the one who had no doubt inspired him to do this. He said, "I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?" And he said, "What hast thou done?" Listen to this ... "The voice of thy brother's blood cries unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth which has opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand." When Cain killed Abel, Abel's blood cried out to God. It was unrequited blood. It was unsatisfied. It was a life taken with no life given. There was no retribution. And the blood cried out to God.

In chapter 9 verse 6, we come then to that principle, and God lays it down ... "Whoever sheds man's blood by man, shall his blood be shed." And so God later on puts down the principle that a murderer is to lose his life. That and that alone ... listen now ... will satisfy the unrequited blood. That and that alone will satisfy God.

Go to chapter 44 of Genesis, and I'll just show you another illustration of this. It says, "And Reuben answered them saying, 'I spoke I not unto you, saying do not sin against a child.'" Do you remember the brothers had sold Joseph ... do you remember that? And of course they're concerned and feeling guilty by now in the story.

And so in verse 22, Reuben says, "Didn't I tell you, don't sin against the child, and you wouldn't hear. Therefore, behold also his blood is" what ... "required." In other words, until there is a life for His life, God is unsatisfied. They realized the principle that had been established in Genesis ... blood for blood.

Joshua chapter 2 verse 19 ... "And it shall be that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless. And whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head if any hand be upon him."

In other words, again we just want to draw this one principle. I don't want to take the time to go into all the story here about the spies going into Jericho and Rayhab, and all the things that were happening here. But the point is this: whenever there was guilt in the loss of a life, somebody was to pay ... somebody was to shed blood. And so the statement, "his blood shall be on our head if any hand be on him."

In second Samuel chapter 4 ... and you'll see where all this is going in a moment. Again this chapter describes a murder, a murder of Ishbosheth, Saul's son. You come down to verse 11, and the principle is there: "How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed, shall I not therefore now" ... here it comes ... "require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth?" If you take a life, you give a life. And your blood is required for his blood.

First Kings ... just another passage ... chapter 2 ... just so you'll understand how really comprehensive this is. Again it's the same idea. The king said unto him, "Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him, that thou mayest take away the innocent blood which Joab shed from me and the house of my father." What God says is to executive Joab for shedding innocent blood.

Backing up for just a moment, I want to draw your attention to one verse I probably should have mentioned earlier. It's Leviticus chapter 20 and verse 9: "For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death." He has cursed his father or mother ... here it is ... "His blood shall be on him." In other words, again the idea of blood-guiltiness. He is a bloody murderer ... there is blood on him.

Verse 13 ends with, "His blood shall be on them." And I think it's verse 27 which is the same ... yes ... "Their blood shall be upon them."

So the pattern is the same all the way through the early part of the Old Testament that blood was required for the shedding of blood.

Now I want to just draw you to one other book in the old testament ... that is the prophecy of Ezekiel ... Ezekiel chapter 7 and verse 20 ... "As for the beauty of his ornament, he said it in majesty. But they made the images of their abominations and their detestable things of it. Therefore have I said it far from them?" God is talking about the temple, by the way, which they had desecrated. "And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a pray, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil, and they shall pollute it." And do you remember when the Babylonians came in and took Jerusalem, they profaned the temple terribly. "My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute My secret place, for the robbers shall enter in and defile it. Make a chain, for the land is full of bloody crimes." I want you to stop there.

One of the reasons, and a primary reason that God brought judgment on the nation, Israel, and the Babylonian captivity was because the nation was full of bloody crimes. In other words, murders for which there was no retribution. And the blood was crying out to God. And the city is full of violence. You show me a place where they don't deal with murderers, and they don't execute those who commit severe crimes, and I'll show you a place full of violence.

And that was exactly what Ezekiel saw. "Wherefore I will bring the worst of the nations, and they shall possess their houses. I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease, and their holy places shall be defiled. Destruction cometh, and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none. Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumor upon rumor. And then shall they seek a vision from the prophet, but the law will perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients. The kind will mourn. The prince will be clothed desolation. The hands of the people of the land shall be troubled. I will do unto them after their way. And according to the deserts, will I judge them. And they shall know that I am the Lord." In other words, God says, "I'm going to come in and bring a terrible judgment because there is a land full of bloody crimes, full of violence where judgment is not executed on evildoers."

In Ezekiel chapter 18 verse 10 says, "If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood" ... that's a murderer ... "and doeth the like to anyone of these things, and that doeth not any of those duties, but even has eaten upon the mountains and defiled his neighbor's wife, has oppressed the poor and needy, has spoiled by violence, has not restored the pledge that is keeping his word, has lifted up his eyes to idols, has committed abomination, has given forth upon interest, has taken increase that is extortion, shall he then live? He shall not live. He hath done all these abominations. He shall surely die. His blood shall be upon him." And there's that idea of blood-guiltiness. It must be requited. It is required that those kinds of crimes be paid for with blood.

Now why does God do that? Because God hates people? No. Because God knows that that, when executed properly, becomes a terror to evildoers and restrains them from doing evil. And men need restraints because men are basically so vile and wicked.

And you can see the same thing in Ezekiel 36. Now the point is this. All the way through here, God requires the death penalty. You say, "Is that so that God can kill people?" No. That's so that people will not have to die. That's so that there are no victims, and there are no criminals. Do you understand that? If you make the law of the land according to the law of God, it restrains the criminal. And therefore, there are not victims, and there are not perpetrators. That's the whole point. But where there is bloodshed, and where that blood is unrequited blood, the nation becomes guilty, and God moves in to judge.

Listen to Numbers 35:33: "So you shall not pollute the land wherein you are, for blood defiles the land. And the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it." Did you get that? You ought to mark that down, Numbers 35:33. The land will never be cleansed of the blood that is shed until the blood of the one who shed it is shed.

You ask yourself why America is in the mess that it's in, and I could give you a myriad of reasons. One major reason is that this nation is under the judgment of God for unrequited blood. The ground of the United States of America cries out to God for retribution against murderers, robbers, and those who are worthy of death. And were they properly dealt with, there would be the minimizing of victims and perpetrators. But instead, we do the very opposite, and our land is blood-guilty.

And friend, I want to tell you, I believe with all my heart that abortion is murder, and that we are guilty to an absolutely inconceivable extent in the matter of massacring unborn children.

Passivism finds no advocacy in the New Testament. Government is given the right to use a sword. It is true that when harlots were converted, Jesus said, "Go and sin no more." But when soldiers were converted, he didn't say, "Go and soldier no more." Government has the right to the sword. If it doesn't use it, the land cries out for unrequited blood.

And this land cries out from the blood of millions upon millions of those who are unborn, and many who were born, the killers of which have never been brought to retribution. And I believe that is reason enough for God to bring against us judgment even as He did against Israel. For we have become a land full of bloody crimes, a land filled with violence.

Finally, we are to submit to the government for conscious sake. Verse 5 ... "Wherefore you must needs be subject" ... now we're back to the key idea from verse 1 ... "You must needs be subject not only for wrath, not only because you fear God as God acts through the government, not only because you don't want to feel the vengeance of God, but for conscious sake also" ... not only because you fear the consequence, but because you know what is right, you see? So it isn't all negative. This should be the highest motivation.

Yes, there has to be a fear factor. Yes, there has to be a judgment factor, a vengeance factor. Yes, there has to be punishment that is without pity, without partiality, and without delay. Yes, there has to be blood for blood, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot. Yes, yes, we are to conform because we fear. But on the other hand, what a much higher motive it is that we conform in submission, not only for wrath's sake, but for conscious sake. That is, because we know it is right ... because we have a conscious regard for love for the law, a conscious commitment to obey God. This is a higher motive. This is a purer motive.

And that's what it means in 1stPeter 2:13: "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake." Not just so you can avoid the consequences, but for the Lord's sake. When you think about obeying the law, you think about it because you're afraid of what will happen if you don't.

Do you govern your life by fear, or do you think about not breaking the law for the sake of honoring your Lord? That's the higher motive. I mean we need them both, but I hope you've come to the commitment to the higher one.

So what did we learn here? The conscience is that inner voice. We've studied it in detail in Romans earlier. The conscious is that little place inside of us where God speaks to us of what is right and wrong. It is in that conscience, that inherent sense of what honors God, that we should find our strongest motivation. There's no place for rebellion on the part of a Christian, no place for lawbreaking, no place for uprising and resistance. We are to do what is right, to submit.

I love the story of Genesious. He was an actor. And was an actor in the days of Diocleshian, who lived about 245 A.D. to maybe 315 A.D. Diocleshian was violently anti-Christian and used to be loved to be entertained by plays that mocked Christianity. Genesious was an actor in such a play mocking Christianity. And as a play was going on and being watched by Diocleshian, according to the historian, in the middle of the play, Genesious broke from his normal lines and cried out with these words: "I want to receive the grace of Christ, that I may be born again and be set free from the sins which have been my ruin." And there before the whole audience, including the emperor, in a play mocking Christianity, the message got to his heart, and he cried out for salvation. The unbelieving crowd saw the mockery ... which, by the way, at that point in the play, was a baptism ... turned into a hallow moment of conversion. And Genesious turned to the emperor and said this: "Illustrious emperor, and all of you who have laughed loudly at the parody, believe me, Christ is true king." Unmoved except to rage, Diocleshian ordered that he first be ripped with claws, then burned with torches, and finally beheaded. Before he died, he cried, "There is no king except Christ, whom I have seen and whom I worship. For Him, I will die a thousand times. I am sorry for my sin and for becoming so late a soldier of the true king."

I like a lot of things about this guy. I want to find him in heaven. One of the things I like about him is that he came to Christ with such courage. The other thing is that when he spoke to the emperor, he said, "illustrious emperor." That tells me where his heart was. He understood the place of authority, though he knew who the true king really was. May it be so with us.

Let's bow in prayer. Oh Father, we would pray that the church would be the church, a nation of priests, not politicians, heavenly citizens, yet earthly models of citizenship. That we would so live in peace and quiet and honesty and integrity, seeking to make peace, demonstrating love and the graciousness of Christ. Accepting our lot, submitting willingly and joyously, and counting it even worthy experience ... blessed experience to suffer for Christ. And in so doing, silence the critics and attract men to the only one who can give such peace, and in so doing change our society. May we be committed to loving, living, and preaching the saving Gospel. May we be all that we ought to be, as Your children, for Christ's sake, Amen.