A Controversial Text
This is now the fifth message in our summer series on Political Theology. Thus far, we’ve considered what politics is; why it should be studied; its biblical basis in terms of the doctrine of the trinity and the creation account; how the sphere of the state is related to other spheres of authority, including the church, and how all such spheres are related to the kingdom of God; and in the fourth sermon, we considered the role of God’s law in relation to the sphere of the state.
We’ve covered a lot of ground over the last four weeks, but there’s one last “big picture” aspect that we have not yet discussed: the proper role of government, and whether or not we may resist governmental authorities. Therefore, that is the subject that we shall take up today, and our text shall be Romans 13:1-7. So, let’s begin by reading the text.
"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed."
This text is one of the most well-known passages in the Bible. Not well understood, but well-known. A lot of Christians know about Rom. 13, but they don’t know how to properly interpret and apply it. Many Christians misapply and misuse this text because they don’t understand this text within the context of the book of Romans as a whole, and within the broader context of the entirety of Scripture with regard to the role of government and political authority.
Many Christians don’t know how to talk about the role of government or about political authority from a biblical perspective because they’ve never really been taught how to do so. Not only are many Christians not taught how to think these things through from a biblical perspective, but what they are taught—either implicitly or explicitly—is that they shouldn’t really be thinking about such things at all, and should simply obey whatever is said by those who are in governmental positions of authority. Why? “Because that’s not our turf, that’s the government and we’re the church.” Consequently, Romans 13 has historically been a convenient and controversial text to justify every sort of political abuse imaginable.
To give but one example, this text was used with regularity in Nazi Germany in order to tell the Lutheran church to just keep its mouth shut and let Hitler do what he wanted, and tragically this is what the German Lutheran church did. Why? Because Hitler was an elected official who had been placed in authority by the will of the people, and therefore according to Romans 13, he was to be obeyed.
Hitler’s Nazi Germany used Romans 13 as a theological gag and rope to silence and bind the Lutheran church from resisting the Nazi agenda. “You Lutherans, who are all about Sola Scriptura, it says right here that you’re to obey and submit to those whom God has put into power.” And by the time the Christians in Germany woke up from their stupor, millions upon millions were dead.
Ironically, during the Nuremberg trials in the aftermath of WWII, some of the same Christians who persistently argued, “Romans 13, Romans 13” in the years leading up to the war, were condemning Nazi military officials who essentially argued the very same thing— “I was just following orders.” The defense that many of the Nazi military officials gave was that they were simply obeying the authorities that had been placed over them. And some of those Christians who had basically held that same view during Hitler’s rise to power were now saying, “No, no, no, you should’ve known not to obey those orders.” But why? Where’s the line? “Oh, come on, we all know where the line is, right?” Do we? Obviously, most of the Christians in Germany didn’t know where the line was during the political ascendancy of Hitler.
And lest we think that we’re wiser today than they were, let us not be too quick to cast the first stone, for look at the American church’s response to the governmental tyranny that took place during the years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
How many times was Romans 13 trotted out and appealed to by pastors and prominent Christian leaders to convince Christians to just obey the arbitrary mandates of the government against local churches, to unconditionally comply with the despotic dictates of those who had determined that the church of Jesus Christ is not essential!
If we don’t talk about the proper role of government from a biblical perspective, then we’re not going to know when or how to draw the line of political resistance, when such resistance becomes necessary and is our moral obligation. What is Paul teaching us here in Romans 13? What is the proper interpretative approach to understanding his meaning? Well, to begin with, it’s always helpful to know the context of a passage, so let’s start there.
The Context
It’s not surprising that this passage about submitting to governmental authority would appear in a letter that Paul is writing to Christians who reside in the city of Rome. Rome was, after all, the original capital of the Roman Republic, and was the political and cultural heart of the empire at that time. Furthermore, Roman hostility against Christianity was already beginning to ramp up, and full-scale persecution under Nero was just around the corner. Therefore, it makes sense that Paul would include within this letter some words regarding how Christians are to view governing authorities.
But in order to understand what Paul is saying in this passage, we need to know something of what came before it in the preceding chapters. Approximately two-thirds of the letter (the first eleven chapters) are indicative in nature. In other words, these chapters are primarily instructive; they are dealing with doctrine; they indicate what we are to believe and why we are to believe it.
For example, in the first three chapters, Paul develops the doctrine of the total depravity of man and the wrath of God toward sin; in chapters 4-8, he develops the doctrines of justification, sanctification, and glorification; and in chapters 9-11 he develops the doctrines of election and salvation.
Then, at the beginning of chapter 12, we arrive at the “Therefore” clause (therefore…present your bodies as a living sacrifice), where Paul begins to apply the indicatives of chapters 1-11 with several imperatives or commands.
For example, in chapter 12, Paul commands us to not be conformed to this world; to not think more highly of ourselves than we ought to, but to think with sober judgment; to abhor evil and hold fast to what is good; to repay no one evil for evil; to live peaceably with all, in so far as it is possible and depends on us; not to seek to avenge ourselves, but to leave it to the wrath of God; and not to be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good.
It’s at this point that we arrive at Romans 13; thus, this is the context in which these verses about submitting to governmental authority appear—abhorring evil and holding fast to what is good, not repaying evil for evil, living peaceably with all, not seeking revenge against those who wrong us, and not being overcome by evil, but overcoming evil with good. Paul’s concern in this passage on governmental authority is not to distinguish legitimate from illegitimate governments, nor to deny this distinction. His concern is pastoral. This little band of new believers living in the very lair of the Beast needs to guard their hearts against pride, bitterness, rage, and self-reliance. He counsels these Christians according to the overarching and indisputable principle that God gives government for our good. All governments, no matter how corrupt or unjust, provide a public good of some sort. Thus, generally speaking, governmental authority is good and merits our obedience. Obviously, even though all governments are God’s servants, some are more faithful than others. But all of them, whether intentionally or not, do whatever it is that God has appointed them to do. It may be to bring justice to the oppressed (as it should), or it may be to bring judgment on everyone, or it may be to bring suffering to the church—to test and purify Her. But at bottom, it’s to bring some degree of societal order that allows people to go about their daily business in relative peace.
Again, the context of Romans 13 is the application of a broad biblical principle to a concrete pastoral situation, in which relatively immature Christians are living in an unsympathetic pagan community.
Alright, having looked at the general context of the passage, let’s now take some time to consider what is meant by submission to the governing authorities. Following that, we’ll consider some questions regarding resistance to the governing authorities.
Submission to authority
Verse 1—Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
In sermon 2 of this subject - 'The Kingdom of God and Sphere Sovereignty' - we spent some time considering the concept of Sphere Sovereignty, and we learned that Sphere Sovereignty begins with the axiom that God is the only one with absolute authority, and that God has delegated a certain degree of authority to man according to various spheres, including the sphere of the state. And right here in verse 1 we see both of these notions being expressed—there is no authority except from God (God alone has absolute authority), and those that exist have been instituted by God (delegated spheres of authority).
Now, it should come as no surprise that God is the source of all governing/state authorities. This is made clear in many places of Scripture. For example, in Acts 17:26, Paul states that God, “made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.”
In Daniel 2:21, we read that God “changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings.” This verse appears in a chapter in which Daniel is interpreting a dream of king Nebuchadnezzar that deals with the subsequent rise and fall of human empires: the Babylonian empire, the Medo-Persian empire, the Greek empire, and the Roman empire. Thus, every kingdom, every empire, and every ruler that has ever been or will ever be is the result of God’s sovereign decree.
Again, in Isaiah 44:28-45:1, God declares that Cyrus shall be His shepherd and shall fulfill all of His purposes, thus predicting the subsequent rise of king Cyrus the Great, founder of the Medo-Persian empire. Furthermore, God uses and directs kings whether they acknowledge Him or oppose Him. “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He will.” (Prov. 21:1) We are given a striking example of this in Daniel 4, when God takes king Nebuchadnezzar’s reasoning.
God is the source of all governing authorities, not merely all godly governing authorities, which is why the prophets frequently speak to pagan nations and call them into judgment.
For instance, in Ezekiel chapters 25-29, Ezekiel pronounces judgment on seven pagan nations: Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre, Sidon, and Egypt. Every nation, no matter how ungodly or pagan, has been instituted by God and is therefore required to obey and uphold His law.
Moreover, if all governing authorities that exist have been instituted by God, then to submit to the governing authorities is to submit to God (and vice versa—to not submit to the governing authorities is to not submit to God). By the way, this principle is true with regard to any authority that has been established by God, and ultimately flows out from the 5th Commandment (honor your father and your mother). The essence of the 5th Commandment is submission to all God-ordained human authority; it’s not limited only to children submitting to their parents within the home.
Remember, the home is the first polis (city), it’s where we learn how to be “citizens” within the “city” of the home. As humans, the 1st God-ordained authority that we must learn to submit to is the authority of our parents, which sets the stage for our submission to all other God-ordained authorities that we encounter over the course of our lives. Thus, the primary principle of the 5th Commandment is that all governing authorities that exist have been instituted by God, and that submission to these governing authorities is submission to God. In marriage, the wife is to be submit to the husband as to the Lord (Eph. 5:22); in the home, children are to obey their parents in the Lord (Eph. 6:1); in the workplace, employees are to obey their employers as bondservants of Christ, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man (Eph. 6:5-8); as church members, we are to obey and submit to our elders because they are the under-shepherds of the Chief Shepherd (1 Pet. 5:1-5; Heb. 13:17).
To submit to the authorities that are over us—in any sphere, including the political sphere of the state—is to submit to God (and vice versa, to rebel against God-appointed authorities is to rebel against God Himself, which is what we learn from verse 2—"Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment."
Failure to submit to the governing authorities is to rebel against God, and will incur the wrath and judgment of God. Now, this is not without qualifications, but let’s not be too quick to run to the “Yeah, but…,” which is our natural tendency. Our natural tendency is to find any reason we can to justify resistance against authority. And certainly, there are instances in which it is our duty to do so. But at the same time, we must not have an itchy trigger finger when it comes to resisting authority. The general tenor of our lives should be one of willing and respectful submission to those who are in positions of authority over us.
As Christians, our general posture toward a governing authority is not to be one of resistance until that governing authority is deemed worthy of our submission. Rather, our general posture toward a governing authority is to be one of submission until that governing authority is deemed worthy of resistance in accordance with Scripture. Our attitude toward authority is to be characterized as humble, respectful, and obedient.
However, this does not mean that we must always be subject to the governing authorities and never resist. There are instances when we are allowed—and are in fact obligated—to resist state authority. But when are we to do so, and how are we to do so? Let’s answer each of these questions in turn.
When are we to resist the governing authority of the state?
Although this text commands us to be in subjection to the authority of the state, still, there are limits to our subjection, and those limits are actually found right here in the text. This may seem surprising to some of us because at first glance, the text appears to be quite absolute, “Submit, otherwise you’re resisting God and will be judged!” Seems very straightforward and black and white. Nevertheless, Paul gives the limits of subjection within the text. Admittedly, the limitations don’t immediately jump out at us because they’re not explicitly stated. But they can easily be inferred. So, let’s look again at the text in order to infer the limitations.
What does verse 3 say? Does it say, “For rulers are not a terror to the those who always do what they say, but only to those who resist them?” No. It says that rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad conduct. Again, does it say, “Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then just do whatever he says without question.” No. It says, “do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good.” What does verse 4 say? Does it say, “But if you don’t do whatever he asks of you, then be afraid?” No. It says, if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. Again, does it say, “For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the one who doesn’t do whatever is demanded of him?” No. It says that he carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.
How about verse 5. Does it say, “Therefore, one must always be in subjection in order to avoid God’s wrath?” No. It says that one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath, but for the sake of conscience (the component of the mind that enables us to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong, between what is good and what is evil).
Do you see what Paul is driving at? The fundamental issue here is that we live in accordance with what is right (good conduct), and that we do not live in accordance with what is evil (wrong conduct). The core principle here is not that we would just mindlessly and uncritically comply with whatever the state commands us to do, for this would require us to ignore our conscience, since the conscience is the component of the mind that enables us to think critically about right and wrong, good and evil.
Paul is not commanding us to just blindly do whatever the state says; he’s commanding us to practice good conduct in the civil sphere so that we would be approved by God, and would be able to live peaceably as citizens under the governing authorities, insofar as it is possible and depends on us. Again, the fundamental issue here is that we do what is good, and abstain from doing evil.
But who determines what is good and what is evil? The state? Is everything that is approved by the state good, and everything that the state punishes evil? Of course not! In fact, in our own nation, more and more it is the other way around—the state is approving that which is evil and punishing that which is good! Who, then, decides what is good and what is evil, what is binding for all peoples and all governments? God! This is why Paul opened with the statement that there is no authority except from God.
God, and God alone, determines what is good conduct and what is bad conduct. Not the state. And how has God revealed to us what is good conduct and what is bad conduct? Through His law.
This is why Paul immediately points us to God’s law in the verses that follow, specifically the second table of the Ten Commandments. This is not by accident or coincidence. He writes in verses 8-10: "Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery [the 7th Commandment], You shall not murder [the 6th Commandment], You shall not steal [the 8th Commandment], You shall not covet [the 10th Commandment],” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law."
Paul immediately explains to us that it’s the law of God that determines what is good and what is evil, not the law of the state. The state is said to be God’s servant (deacon), and certainly a servant must know the will or the law of his master, if he is to rightly and faithfully fulfill his duties. Thus, in order for the state to fulfill its God-given duty, to truly act as God’s servant (His minister of public justice), its judgments must be in accordance with God’s law. It must commend what is good according to God’s standard, and it must condemn what is evil according to God’s standard. When the state does this, we can submit to the state joyfully because what it praises agrees with what God’s law requires of us, and what it punishes agrees with what God’s law forbids us to do.
This is God’s intention for the state. However, as we know all too well, there are governing authorities that are so ungodly that they no longer fulfill this God-given role, and instead pervert it. They no longer praise good and punish evil; rather, they call evil good and good evil; they turn darkness into light and light into darkness; bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter; they praise the wrongdoer and punish the one who does good. We know that, Paul knew that, and most certainly God knows that. Thus, when Paul writes that the state is God’s servant and avenger, he is not describing how every state actually is at all times, but how the state should be according to God’s intention.
But the state can stray from God’s intention and pervert it and turn it into the opposite. When the state acts in this way, it’s no longer fulfilling its God-given duty; rather, it’s acting against God. It’s abusing the power that God has given it and is no longer a servant of God, but a servant of Satan. Of course, even as Satan’s servant, the state is still ultimately God’s servant, just as Satan himself is still ultimately God’s servant. Just as God uses Satan to accomplish His wise and holy purposes, so too does He use a state that has become a servant of Satan to accomplish His wise and holy purposes. For this reason, even if we live within a wicked state, we are still to be in subjection to the governing authorities insofar as we are able to without compromising our faith. This is why, for example, Jeremiah writes the following letter to the exiles in Babylon in Jeremiah 29:4-7:
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
Even in a wicked state, God is still sovereignly accomplishing His purposes, and we are therefore to submit as far as we are able for the welfare of the city in which we find ourselves “exiled,” and to pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare, we will find our welfare. But note the qualifier in what was just said—as far as we are able. What is meant by this qualifier? When exactly are we no longer obliged to obey the state, but are instead obliged to resist it? From what has been said so far, we can easily deduce the following two categories: (1) When the state forbids what God commands, or (2) When the state commands what God forbids. Let’s look at some Scriptural examples that support these two categories.
1.) When the state forbids what God commands.
Perhaps the most famous example of this in the New Testament is found in chapters 4 and 5 of Acts. In Acts 4, John and Peter are arrested and brought before the rulers and elders of Jerusalem, and they are commanded not to teach or speak in the name of Jesus, to which John and Peter reply, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (vs. 19-20) And in Acts 5, when Peter and the apostles are again brought before the Jerusalem Council for having defied their commandment, they emphatically state, “We must obey God, rather than men.” (vs. 29) Christ has commanded us to disciple all the nations, teaching them to obey all of His commandments; therefore, we are to preach the gospel of Christ even when the state forbids us to do so.
Another example is found in Daniel chapter 6, in which King Darius issued an ordinance which specified that anyone making a petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to the king (Darius), would receive the sword of the state (capital punishment) by way of being eaten alive by lions. How does Daniel respond? In verse 10 we read that Daniel opens his windows toward Jerusalem and prays three times a day, just as he had always done. In other words, he repeatedly and publicly defies the king’s ordinance because no king has the authority to forbid God’s people from worshiping Him.
Now, are we to think that the state was acting as God’s servant, as an avenger—bringing God’s wrath upon Daniel for his alleged “wrongdoing”—when it sentenced him to capital punishment? Of course not! And are we to think that Paul was unaware of this historical event, or somehow forgot about it when he was writing Romans 13? Obviously, such thinking is absurd. Paul was well aware of the events recorded in Daniel chapter 6. And he was likewise well aware of the events recorded in Daniel chapter 3, which is an example of the second category…
2.) When the state commands what God forbids.
In Daniel 3, Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach), and Azariah (Abednego) refused to bow down to king Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue. Why? Because doing so would be a direct violation of God’s law. Thus, they defied the king’s decree because he was commanding what God had forbidden.
Another classic example is found in Exodus 1, in which the Hebrew midwives disobeyed Pharoah’s command to kill every male Hebrew baby upon delivery. Why did they disobey? Because to obey would be to break the 6th Commandment (you shall not murder). No king can command his subjects to commit murder because God has forbidden it. Pharoah commanded something evil; thus, the midwives were obligated to resist.
From these several Scriptural examples (and more could be given), we see that it’s our duty to resist the state whenever it demands evil from us and acts as a tyrant, whether by forbidding what God commands, or commanding what God forbids. However, even though there are instances in which we are permitted to resist state authority, Scripture informs us that there are various degrees by which we are to go about doing this.
Therefore, before we conclude this sermon with some points of application/observation, let’s briefly consider the various degrees of how we can resist ungodly governing authorities of the state.
How are we to resist ungodly governing authorities of the state?
How are we to respond when the governing state authorities are commanding what God forbids, or forbidding what God commands, or committing some other form of unrighteousness or injustice? There are two appropriate responses: passive and active.
Passive responses to ungodly exercises of authority include:
(1) Praying for the authority.
1 Tim. 2:1-2, “I [Paul] urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”
(2) Modeling right conduct to the authority.
1 Pet. 3:1-2, “wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct.” The same general principle can be applied with respect to our relationship to ungodly state authorities.
Active responses to ungodly exercise of authority include: appeal, confront, defy, flee.
1.) We appeal to the authority.
This is to be done respectfully, and according to the means that have been provided by that authority. We see examples of this both in the Old Testament and the New Testament.
For example, Moses goes before Pharoah and respectfully appeals to Pharoah to let God’s people go. Daniel does the same thing in Daniel chapter 1. Daniel respectfully appeals to the Steward of the food; he asks the Steward if an arrangement can be worked out so that he and the other Hebrew boys would not be defiled by the king’s food.
Again, Paul in Acts 24 makes an appeal to Felix, and later appeals to Caesar when he sees that he will not receive justice from governor Festus.
Thus, we see from Scripture that the proper starting point for resistance is to appeal to the governing authorities when they are commanding what God forbids, forbidding what God commands, or are otherwise judging or acting unrighteously or unjustly. And we are to go through the proper channels when doing so.
By the way, our Founding Fathers understood this, which is why there is a clause in the First Amendment that states our right “to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Praise God for that, it’s biblical.
2.) We confront authority.
We see an example of this in 2 Samuel 12 when the prophet Nathan confronts David concerning his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah. We see another example of this in Daniel 5, when Daniel confronts king Belshazzar for his hubris and blasphemy against God.
And we see yet another example in the New Testament (Mark 6:18), in which John the Baptist confronted king Herod concerning his adulterous relationship with Herodias.
Our first response should be to try and appeal to authority. But there are times when we might be put in a position to confront authority in a very direct way, and in such instances, it’s not inappropriate for us to do so.
3.) We defy authority.
There are several examples of this in Scripture, which we’ve already considered. For instance, in Exodus 1, when the Hebrew midwives defy the order of Pharoah to kill all of the male Hebrew babies. Or Daniel 3, when Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach), and Azariah (Abednego) refuse to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue. Or again in Daniel 6, when Daniel refused to obey king Darius’ command not to pray to God. Or again in Acts 4 and 5, when the apostles defied the high council of Jerusalem and the high priest by continuing to teach and preach the gospel.
There is a time to defy ungodly authority. And finally…
4.) We can flee authority.
There are many examples of this in the book of Acts with regard to the ministry of Paul. In Acts 9, Paul fled from the Jewish leaders in Damascus by being lowered in a basket through an opening in the wall; in chapter 14, Paul and Barnabas fled Iconium when they learned that the Jewish and gentile leaders were planning to stone them; in chapter 17, Paul and Silas fled from the Jewish leaders in Thessalonica who had formed a mob against them; they went on to Berea, but Paul had to flee from there as well because the Jewish leaders from Thessalonica found out that he was there.
Therefore, in addition to defying ungodly authority, we also have the option to flee ungodly authority. And if we choose to defy ungodly authority, rather than flee from it, then we need to be prepared to humbly receive whatever consequence might result. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (i.e., Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) weren’t dragged kicking and screaming into the fiery furnace. Neither do we read of Daniel putting up a fight when being led to the lion’s den. Likewise, the apostles readily accepted there beating for having preached the gospel. In fact, they actually rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Christ (Acts 5:41). This is to be our attitude if we choose to defy the governing authorities. We need to humbly and readily accept the consequences of our actions; thus, we need to count the cost beforehand. We need to be willing to pay the price for our defiance, which may include the loss of our livelihood, the loss of our property and wealth, the loss of our liberty, and even the loss of our life. We are not to have a flippant attitude when it comes to defying authority. But neither are we to have a faithless attitude. Regardless of what we might suffer, we must trust that God will avenge His people, that He will right all wrongs and bring justice in the end.
I think the following quote by Thomas Shreiner summarizes the text of Romans 13:1-7 very well.
"[Romans 13] is misunderstood if it is taken out of context and used as an absolute word so that Christians uncritically comply with the state no matter what is being demanded. What we have here is a general exhortation that delineates what is usually the case: people should normally obey ruling authorities. The text is not intended as a full-blown treatise on the relationship of believers to the state. It is a general exhortation setting forth the typical obligations one has to civil authorities. Indeed, Paul envisions a situation in which the governing authority carries out its task by punishing evildoers and rewarding those who do what is good…It was simply not his intention to detail here the full relationship of believers to the government…The intention in Romans is to sketch in the normal and usual relationship between believers and ruling power (cf. Titus 3:1; 1 Pet. 2:13–17). Christians should submit to such authority and carry out its statutes, unless the state commands believers to do that which is contrary to the will of God."
Observations/Applications
In the limited time that remains, to conclude this sermon (and my portion of this series), I would like to leave you with 10 observations/applications that are based upon the material that we’ve covered today and over the last several weeks. And with each of these observations/applications, we are resisting—to varying degrees—the political agenda of Satan and his illegitimate kingdom of darkness.
1. Know the law of God and strive to keep it in every sphere of life.
The most effective way to avoid being taken in by the deceptive political ploys of Satan, is to know the law of God. If we are to properly discern when governing authorities are forbidding what God commands, or commanding what God forbids, then we must know what God commands and forbids! To do this, we need to diligently study God’s Word and meditate on His law.
Moreover, we need to strive to keep the law in every sphere of life—as husbands and wives, as children and parents, as church members, as employees and employers, as citizens, etc. For in doing so, we are modeling right conduct to the ungodly governing authorities around us, which is a form of passive resistance, as we learned earlier.
2. Stay informed on the sociopolitical issues of the day.
This observation/application goes hand in hand with the previous one. Not only do we want to know what God’s Word and law has to say with regard to every sphere of life, but we also want to know what’s generally going on in the various spheres of life so that we can apply what we’re learning.
To this end, I would recommend listening to Albert Mohler’s podcast, The Briefing, which is a cultural commentary from a biblical perspective. Other good resources include americanreformer.org, christoverall.com, and ezrainstitute.com.
We want to be Christian men and women who have understanding of the times, to know what to think and how to respond to the sociopolitical issues of the day. Thus, we need to stay informed.
3. Pray for those in power.
As we already noted, in 1 Tim. 2:1-2, Christians are urged by Paul to pray and intercede for kings and those in authority. This is another means of passively resisting ungodly political authorities. This command by Paul reveals the high mediatorial position of every believer. We are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9), and as such, we are to intercede for wisdom to be given to earthly rulers so that God’s people are free to pursuit holiness and to proclaim the gospel.
We are also given warrant to pray that God’s judgment would fall upon particularly wicked rulers. There are many imprecatory prayers in the Psalms that establish this precedent. Thus, it’s not wrong for us to pray against those in authority who are truly the enemies of God, who call evil good and good evil, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness and encourage the culture to act wickedly and in rebellion against God. It’s not wrong for us to pray that God would thwart the plans of the wicked, that they would fall into their own pit, or be trapped by their own snare.
Pray for those in power—either for wisdom, so that they would rule righteously and justly, or for judgment from God, if they are unrelentingly ruling unrighteously and unjustly.
4. If you are married, honor God in your marriage.
Marriage is a serious covenant that impacts the whole community. As was said a couple of weeks ago, adultery is a menace to society; it’s a metastatic cancer to the body politic; it’s a spiritual termite that eats away at the load bearing support beams of society.
Men, be faithful to your wives, love them as Christ loves the church. Women, be faithful to your husbands, submit to them as unto the Lord.
We must honor the Lord in our marriages and in our families; for as the family goes, so goes the culture. And this ties into the next observation/application…
5. If you are married with children, bring up your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Nowhere in the Bible does it say that the role of the state is to educate children. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the state cannot offer public education to children. However, as Voddie Bauchman has famously said, “If we send our children to be educated by Caesar, we should not be surprised when they come home as Romans.”
Biblically, it’s the responsibility of parents to educate their children (Deut. 6:6-9). Obviously, there are different ways that parents can do this. But certainly, the most efficient way to bring up our children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord is through homeschooling (though it’s not the only way).
Nevertheless, no matter how we go about educating our children, we must remember that the home is the first polis (city). It’s where our children learn how to be citizens under the rule of a governing authority. Parents, don’t take that responsibility lightly.
6. Be a faithful member of a faithful gospel preaching church.
By a faithful gospel preaching church, I mean a church whose leadership is not afraid to address cultural issues or to preach about politics from the pulpit; a church whose leadership is not going to bow to the whims of the state when it overreaches its jurisdictional bounds; a church whose leadership rejects the sacred vs. secular duality and the false dichotomy of law vs. gospel.
Thus, if you’re not a member, consider becoming one. And if you are a member, be faithful to maintain the unity of the body even when some of your sociopolitical views might differ from those of your brothers and sisters.
7. Appeal to authority and confront authority.
We need to remember that God is going to hold all authorities accountable according to how they govern. Moreover, we know, what they need to know, in order to govern appropriately, which means that we must tell them what we know! How can we as Christians know what is required of those who govern, and refuse to tell them when we have ample opportunity to do so? How can we cry, moan, and complain about how bad they’re governing, if we’re unwilling to speak truth through the appropriate channels that we’ve been given to appeal to them and confront them?
We need to be willing to appeal to authority and confront authority because only we truly understand what righteousness and justice is supposed to look like.
To give an example of what I’m talking about, my dad repeatedly appealed to and confronted the schoolboard members in his hometown of McKinney with respect to the explicit sexual content that they had allowed into the libraries of the public schools within their district. He did it respectfully and compassionately, and the Lord rewarded his efforts. The organization that he was lending his support to was able to get nearly all of the sexually offensive books out of the libraries within the district and the surrounding districts—over 300 books in total! This is what can happen when we’re willing to appeal to authority and confront authority in faith.
8. Vote.
One of the easiest ways that we can love our neighbor at a local, state, and even national level, is to simply vote against ungodly governmental authorities and their political agendas. And when we’re voting, we need to remember a couple of things.
First off, as Christians, we battle ideas. We are to take down every argument, every lofty opinion, every thought that is raised against the knowledge of God and is disobedient to Christ.
Secondly, we need to remember what we discussed last week, that God’s law is most protective of marriage, family, and the sanctity of human life. Thus, the law of any society (including our own) should place the highest priority on protecting marriage, family, and the sanctity of human life because this is God’s highest priority.
Laws should not attempt to redefine marriage; laws should not permit the murdering of human life within the womb under the guise of “reproductive health” or “women’s rights”; laws should not be put in place that suppress the truth in unrighteousness with regard to human sexuality (i.e., legislation that seeks to blur and even obliterate the distinction of maleness and femaleness).
With this in mind, the Democratic Party Platform explicitly states that every woman should be able to get an abortion, and that this is “vital to the empowerment of women and girls.” For this reason, the Democrats are seeking to restore federal funding for Planned Parenthood. Their platform also explicitly opposes restrictions on medication abortion.
Moreover, an entire section of the Democratic Party Platform is dedicated to promoting the LGBTQ+ agenda.
Brethren, this political platform flies in the face of God’s law with regard to the sanctity of human life, human sexuality, and marriage and the family. Therefore, it must be opposed. We cannot in good conscience vote for any candidate that would affirm such a godless and wicked political agenda.
9. Consider running for a political office.
Who is better qualified to govern according to righteousness and justice than we are? Some of you here may be very qualified to serve within the civil sphere on behalf of your fellow citizens, and perhaps you ought to. Just a thought.
10. Give to political organizations that are seeking to honor God’s Word
When it comes to the issue of abortion, there are some organizations that are on the front lines of the battle that are doing good work. But they need financial support. One such organization is the Hope Women’s Center in McKinney, which our church has supported for several years. There is also abolishabortiontx.org and endabortionnow.com.
Knowing the law of God and striving to keep it in every sphere of life; staying informed of the sociopolitical issues of the day; praying for those in power; honoring God in our marriages; bringing up our children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord; being faithful members of a faithful gospel preaching church; appealing to and confronting authority; voting; running for a political office; and giving to political organizations—these are but some of the ways that we can resist the political agenda of Satan and his kingdom of darkness.
And no matter how successful or unsuccessful our efforts might be in reforming the culture that we belong to, in the end, we know that Christ is reigning now, and will continue to do so until He has put all His enemies under His feet. Let us therefore remember and be encouraged by Psalm 2:
Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.
Then He will speak to them in His wrath, and terrify them in His fury, saying,
“As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”
Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.