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I’m going to invite you to Romans chapter 13. That’s where we’re going to be at today. And we’re going to talk about two of your favorite subjects. We’re going to combine those together. We’re going to talk about religion and politics. What you’re you know, it’s just the number one item for those that like to argue. So we’re we’re not going to do that today. We’re not going to we’re not engaging this for the purpose of of arguing or for the purpose of creating any sort of dissension. Our desire is to figure out what God wants us to do in this world and to make an impact for his glory to the benefit of others. And in Romans Chapter 13, we find ourselves in the topic of combining faith and politics. And I know you may not be the biggest fan of of politics, but this is important for the the Christian life. I really feel like this is already a polarizing place to stand because I find when you talk to people, they typically stand in one place or the other. They’re very passionate about this subject or they could care less and they don’t want to know anything at all. They like to live in their own little world and it’s happy there. Right? And if you find yourself in the in-between, you’re rare and welcome as well. But we’re in Romans 13 talking about this this subject. And, you know, I know sometimes we like to get negative towards politics.
But I got to say, in our country, I’m going to try to move this shalom. And I was giving all kinds of feedback there. Let’s see if that works better. There we go. In our country, you know, as much as people like to rag on politics, I do like to remind us that in perspective, to the way things might be happening in other parts of the world, our our country gives us certain freedoms that for you as a believer, you should find yourself seizing the opportunity while you have it, because it’s not always promised to you. Being a believer in the United States of America versus other places in this world, there are opportunities that not only we can seize within our own country, but but through that can be a blessing to other places in this world. We live in one of the most blessed countries to exist in all of human history. And so the impact that you can make for the gospel with that is incredible. And so while we can tend to be negative towards politics, sometimes there is there is a great opportunity that God has for us in giving us the the the privileges that we have within this country. And with those privileges come responsibility and what God holds us accountable to. I would way rather be a Christian with the opportunities we have in a country that we live in today than, say, places like Iraq where the church there has been devastated post war.
I think they’re down to 10% of what they had before the war took place in Iraq. And so to be a believer in that area or Afghanistan or you think North Korea or China, difficult places to stand for Christ. And so there’s certain privileges that while you may not always like what’s happening, God has you in a place to to make a difference and to continue to do that. And so when you think of it in terms of politics, my hope for us is that we look at the way that we can influence the platform that God has given us with where we’re at in the world, and even that God would lead men and women to enter into that arena and to to use their their understanding of the Lord and their care to glorify him and bless others in order to to make a difference in their country. But the question we want to start off with today is how do you respond? How do we respond to the government? And the way that starts off in Romans chapter three, verse one is a is a doozy. Here it is. First blank in your notes Is this be subject to governing authorities? Be subject to governing authorities? Don’t you write that down with all kinds of joy today? How do you respond to government? Paul encourages be subject to governing authorities.
And you find this. This is the theme verse in Romans chapter 13, verse one Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. So God’s call for you in Romans chapter 13 is to be subject to governing authorities. And I know as soon as you read that verse, part of you says, I can’t believe this is in the Bible, Right? Can we can we take a vote this morning, maybe rip this out? This is not this is not my favorite verse I’ve read, especially in the book of Romans, is certainly not not the maybe your most popular verse that you would put on that list. But and then you read a verse like this and you instantly start to want to rebuttal, right? Be subject to governing authorities. And you think, okay, okay, but, but when do we have to not be subject? Like when? When can we not apply this verse? Is it does this verse always have to be true in every circumstance of life? And certainly you want to take Romans 13 in light of what what really all of the Bible teaches us. If all you read about the government is just Romans 13, you leave it at that. You might be left to conclude that you need to obey government in every circumstance, no matter what it says. You just like a blind mule follow down the road because, well, that’s what you were told to do and you have no concern for anything else.
And and that is certainly not what Romans 13 is teaching us, though it is talking about being subject here. And and I will get to a rebuttal in just a moment. I’ll let you know. Okay. When is it not okay if we lived under, let’s say, World War Two and and Nazi Germany, because everyone likes to use that as an example. Do I have to do what they tell me to do? We’ll get to that answer in just a moment, but I want to dig a little bit deeper. I want to I want to see how how deep we can get this whole to go and and letting every person be subject to governing authorities. Because what’s important to recognize in scripture is that this is not the only verse that tells us this. And I’m not going to give you an exhaustive list of verses, but you find throughout the New Testament this this idea is repeated in first. Timothy two one, first of all, then I urge you with supplications prayers, intercessions and Thanksgiving be made known for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. So Paul, in verse two, is telling us why in that passage.
It certainly has a goal in mind for doing this. It’s not just being blind, but in Titus three, remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work in first Peter 213 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to whether it be to the emperors. As supreme and it goes on and just cut the verse off there. But notice it says in that verse for the Lord’s sake. So it carries this idea in mind that it’s just not simply for for government’s sake, right? It’s not about just simply your relationship to you and government, but God has a bigger picture in mind. And that’s why he’s he’s talking about government in this passage. But but the point of this is to tell us, look, being subject to governing authorities, this is not just a one off verse in scripture. This is a theme throughout the Bible. And the problem is compounded when you consider the first century, because you could argue, well, you don’t know our government or you don’t know how I feel about our government or what our government says or all the problems I have with the way things are. Right? But but when you put it into perspective with the first century, can I just tell you, Christians in the first century did not have it easier than you have it today.
In fact, Paul is writing Romans 13 on the backdrop of Jesus having just been crucified by the Roman authorities. The Apostle Paul has gone to prison. He’s been beaten by his because of his faith in Christ, by the Roman authorities. The Jews had recently been expelled from Rome and had been gone for a number of years and were just just allowed to return to Rome, which is part of the reason Paul writes this letter. And so when you when you consider first century Rome, things were not better than than what we have today. There were certainly worse than than what we have today. And the apostle Paul and Peter, they’re about to be martyred by the Roman authorities because of their faith in Christ. Nero is about to persecute the Christians and blame them for a fire in Rome. He’s going to use them as torches to light his garden because of their faith in Christ. And Paul is writing this kind of statement under that sort of government. And so when you consider apples to apples here, we really we don’t have much to compare by way of what the first century church endured. Yet the apostle Paul is making this kind of a statement. Even in Romans chapter 12, verse one and two. Remember, it tells us, it brings to us the thought at the beginning of Chapter 12. Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed that we would submit ourselves.
So the idea of submission is already this, this biblical precedent God is setting for us that we that we first began to understand. God has called you to submit to him. You didn’t make you. God made you for his purpose. You want to fulfill that purpose. Jesus has come into this world to give his life that you can find freedom in him. And the way that you walk in, that you discover that is your submission to God and your submission to God is seen in how you treat other people. And so submission for the life of the Christian is nothing new. In fact, in Philippians chapter two, it tells us to have this mind who was also in Christ Jesus, who though he was the most important person in this world, submitted himself to become the servant of servants. And then he calls us to be submissive as well. And in Philippians chapter two. So when you when you study the life of the Christian, we’re not just called to submit to governing authorities, we submit in all sorts of areas of our life, beginning with the Lord and then in relationship to others. And the reason we’re able to do that is because we find our identity and not what the world says about us, but because of what Christ has said about us and God has exalted us in Him being adopted, giving us position in Him so that because of that, then we can serve in this world.
Same was true with Jesus. Jesus knew exactly who he was. He knew whose he was a relationship to the Father, where he came from, where he was going. His identity was secure. And in that identity, then he could serve the world because he didn’t need the affirmation of the world to approve who he was. He already knew who he was. And the same is true for you and belonging to Jesus. You know who your identity is. So in the position of that identity, you you know, there’s nothing this world offers that can make you any greater than what you are in Christ. And therefore, from that position, you become the servant of servants to bless others in order to glorify God in marriage. In Ephesians chapter five, verse 21, it tells the husband and wife to submit to one another. And in Ephesians chapter six and verse five, it tells it tells employees to submit to their employer, it tells us, and Ephesians chapter six, verse 1 to 4, that that children are to submit to their parents. And then it tells us just to submit in general, in those in those chapters from Ephesians five to Ephesians six. So the life of the believer in order to make a difference in this world is one about influence. And in order to influence, we come to this world with the heart of a servant to glorify God and bless others.
So government, isn’t this exception or isn’t this this statement to you to subject yourself to it? And that’s just all in Scripture. That’s the life of the believer. And so, Paul, when he’s saying this be subject to governing authorities, he’s not saying anything new because our our leadership, the way that we make a difference in this world is about influence. Leadership is about influence. And the way we’re called to lead is to be servant leaders. But the question then becomes why? Why would we do this? In Romans 13, Paul, he lays out two answers for us. And in the second half of verse one into verse two is his first answer. And then in verse three and verse four is the second answer. And then he recaps it all for you in verse five. And then he gives you a bonus answer in verse six and seven, which we’ll look at in just a moment. But first reason Paul tells us to submit and your notes is this To disobey government is to disobey God. To disobey government is to disobey God. Now you can add a clause and say, not in every case, but we’re going to treat this proverbially in a moment. Right. This is not like a dogmatic truth that fits in every circumstance, but a proverb is a general idea of truth, a wise saying and how to live your life.
And so to disobey government is to disobey God. Look at this. The second half of verse one, he says, For there is no authority except from God. And what he’s saying is God ordained authority and God ordained government. And in Genesis chapter nine, verse six, you see the first ordaining of government and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. Anyone who who disobeys or rebels against the government is disobeying and rebelling against what God has ordained. And the Bible tells us. Vengeance is not up to us. Remember in Romans chapter 12. Rather, vengeance is up to is up to the Lord. This doesn’t mean that government is always godly in every circumstance when it says God ordained government, He’s giving us this general idea that God is in control of all things and God is the one that instituted government. So to rebel against that is to rebel against what God has has ordained. And it’s not saying within that now every specific government is living godly. That’s not what he’s saying in this passage, but rather God has designed it for a specific reason. And we’re going to talk more about that. In recognition of this. We want to live the kind of life that God can bless. Christians are not called to be a thorn in the flesh.
Christians are not called to go into this world to riot and destroy. That’s that’s not our MO. That’s not what God’s desire is for our life. God wants us to make a difference. Now, being in subject to anyone or anything as God might command us doesn’t leave us spineless and powerless either. God’s desire for for you is to make a difference in this world. But moving on, then, reason number two, Paul’s going to add a little bit further here. In verse three, he goes on and I want to give you the next point in your notes. Government was instituted by God to execute justice. Why are we subject to it? Well, government was instituted by God to execute justice. And he goes on further. Verse three, he says, 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. For he is God’s servant for your good. We’ll read the rest of verse four in just a moment. But he’s recognizing for us the purpose of government, and I define it in the idea of justice. But if I expanded on that just a little bit further, it would be to say this government God created to promote what is good and to stop what is evil, to promote, what is good, and to stop what is evil.
God has really given humanity. Three Governances or maybe I could say three spheres for the prevention of evil and the promotion of what is good in our society. Now, I think the church influences all of these three spheres, but there’s there’s three areas that God has given us. The first. The first is human conscience. And when human conscience fails, God has given family. Which is why in the Ten Commandments we talked about last week, commandment number five is honor your father and mother, which is also brings with it the first blessing that’s recorded in Scripture by obeying a command. Honor your father and mother that you may live long and flourish in life. That’s the command in Scripture. So God has given us human conscience. Human conscience fails. God has given us family. And if family, for whatever reason, can’t live up to that, to nurturing the bringing up children and understanding the basis of truth and why they’re to live the way they’re to live. God’s also given us government. If you want to destroy a society, mess with human conscience, destroy the family and rip apart a government. And if you think about that for a minute in terms of where we are as a country, it should get you concerned. Right? Because outside of those three spheres, what is there? But through that, God has called the church to be the influence on all of those and and promoting what is good and working with the government as one of the institutions God has has brought forth to help us hold back evil and promote what is good.
It’s been said a government that rewards evil and punishes good will not survive. For evil is innately destructive. The word good in this passage then helps us think through when is it really okay to subject myself to government and when is it not okay to subject ourselves to government? And this idea of promoting what is good. Holding back what is evil, giving us an understanding of the purpose for which government exists, I think is important to remind ourselves that government is not the one that defines what is good. That’s God. God declares for us what is moral and right. It is government, then that upholds what is good and holds back what is evil. It is not the responsibility of government to create good. God has already designed what is good and what is true. It is the responsibility of government then to enforce what God has already determined between right and wrong, good and and evil. The danger is, is when you get with a government that starts to define what evil as being good and what is good as being bad because they have no longer a moral basis or concern for God in this world. They usurp that position and and see themselves in the position of God.
Then then it gets dangerous, which again, should get us a little bit concerned. But when when when our country was first founded, it was certainly began began on Christian principles. In fact, I have found within our culture today, there is this this term that we like to to coin or restate in order to separate the church. That helps proclaim the goodness of what God has given us from the state. Right. Thomas Jefferson penned a term years ago that said separation of church and state. And we have taken that today to mean that you need to keep the the church away from what the state is doing. But when Thomas Jefferson coined that term, he actually meant the exact opposite of the way that we have redefined it today, the way. Thomas Jefferson, in his day when he used that phrase, was meaning to to state, is that the church would establish the moral authority within our country to help us understand what God has created us for and called us to. And the state the state supports what is good and pushes away what is evil, not defining good and evil. In fact, in the Declaration of Independence, as some politicians would say, you know, the thing about the thing you see in in the very beginning of the Declaration of Independence, it says we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers for the consent of the governed. It certainly under the authority of God, declaring what we are as image bearers of the Lord. And government has a place under that, not above that. To promote what is good. And to hold back what is evil. And they even declare in the Declaration of Independence that this is self evidence. This is self evident. That we are made with intrinsic value as human beings and we should honor the dignity and light of our creator as he has designed us to be. And government comes under that authority. In order to promote what is good and to hold back what is evil. So the question, do I always have to obey government in every instance? In every way? Let me just say this lightly first before I give you all the reasons to just go against government. First century Christians put up with a lot. In order to honor Christ in the adversity they face for being a Christian. They they endured incredible hardship. They subjected themselves as very, very much a servant of servants in order that Jesus would be glorified, not themselves. They saw themselves as these willing individuals in a part of what God is calling in this world, that that that wanted to become servants of servants in order that the glory of God would be promoted in a in a government that was really contrary to what they stood for.
And they did it with grace and they did it with dignity and they did it with compassion for the people around them. So when I when I’m telling you the things that I’m telling you, I realize no government is perfect. And I genuinely care about our country and the people in it. And more than just my rights, I care about what God is, is desiring to do through my life to bless the people around me. And a willingness to lay ourselves down for that. I mean, you think about what the Christian life is about. It’s calling us to be a living sacrifice. Remember how Romans 12, verse one and two said. I beg you, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice. If you’re really going to do that, it’s going to come at a cost, which means you’re going to step into areas of life that are adverse to Jesus and you still stand for Jesus and you love people. We speak truth and love. That’s what we walk this line as believers where we hold to truth and love. Truth is adverse to what the world stands for. So we we would expect opposition to that.
But never in that do we make an excuse to demean the image of God in someone else. God cares about people because Jesus gave his life for them. But do we always have to obey government in every circumstance? No. No, we do not. And and Scripture gives us opportunities and examples of where that’s the case. For example, if you turn to Romans 13 or Revelation 13, you don’t have to turn here. I got it on the screen. But Revelation 13, it talks about the beast and the mark of the beast. I’ve seen Christians talk about this as being all sorts of crazy things. This this computer chip or God’s, you know, the devil’s going to possess you. And something. Something, something. I don’t think that that has anything to do with a computer chip. Someday soon, I’m going to go through the Book of Revelation for us. But here’s what I want you to know. The mark of the beast is representation of being owned by Satan and the beast really represents world. Governments oppose opposing God, and it encourages Christians in that passage to not take the mark of the beast, which is governments corrupt, that are running away from from God and really fighting against Christians. In Jesus’s day, it was common for Jews to wear phylacteries they would have markings on their body, their their hands, their forehead to to demonstrate that they belong to the Lord. And so it’s using that concept and talking about the mark of the beast and showing people’s identity as belonging to Satan rather than to God.
And so certainly in this passage, it’s an encouragement to continue to be faithful to the Lord in the midst of of corruption, beginning with government start being described as a beast and acts. Chapter five The Christians were told to not preach the Gospel. If you look in Acts Chapter four and verse 19, Peter and John are brought before religious leaders and they’re told to stop preaching the gospel. And they said, You judge whether it’s right for us to do this or not. But they went out and they said, We’ve got to obey God. And so they went out and did it. And in chapter five, they’re they’re brought back again and they’re told to give an account for it. And they said this, but Peter and the apostles answered, We must obey God rather than men. So they’re saying, Look, God calls us to be subject to different authorities in our life. Governments, one of them. But when those authorities tell us to do something that’s blatantly and disobedience to the Lord, we’re going to obey God rather than men. And sometimes we can figure out ways to honor God in a culture that might be adverse. But then there are other ways we just got to stand directly opposed to it. When you think in terms of Christians, Christians should lead in the forefront of being a good citizen to bless people around them.
That’s that’s what Romans 13 is all about. But there comes times in our faith where we got to take a stand. And in taking a stand, we pay the consequence for it. We don’t go out and we lead riots. When the Christians stood up like this, like in Acts Chapter five. They then willingly took the consequence that came with it. The Apostle Peter was beat because of his faith, and they ran out praising God that they were able to suffer for the sake of Christ. They took the consequence with it. They didn’t go out and destroy. They didn’t malign people. They stood for what was right and they endured. And the same thing should be true with our lives. I read recently about a Christian lady who she saw this injustice in the particular area she lived in. She got with a group of Christians and they went out and they peacefully protested. And they they really they just sat silently. But they were in a place where the government came in and said, you need to move or you’re going to be arrested. And they just sat there because they wanted they wanted to be heard and they wanted to be understood that they they did not align with the injustice that took place. And the police officer showed up and they arrested him.
And rather than kick and scream and fight the police officers, they stood up and said, thank you for doing your job. And they went to jail. They took the punishment that came with standing against the injustice. But they knew they weren’t going to stand for the injustice. Romans Chapter 12 two tells us again, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed, meaning the world will say something that opposes God. And so for us as believers, we are called to live the life that is transformed in Jesus, representing him in this world, which means we don’t stand for the injustices. One of the people in Scripture that showed us how to how to beautifully do that was Daniel in the life of Daniel. Daniel was brought into Babylon. He was an alien in a foreign place. He was captured as a kid and brought into a country as a slave. And God showed him as he walked through this how to how to honor him. And Daniel, Chapter one. They try to feed him food. Daniel’s kosher. He doesn’t want to eat the food, offered him a Babylon. He wants to eat the food according to his faith. And so Daniel takes a stand there, knowing it could it could lead to even his death. There was a concern. But Daniel said this. But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.
So in this instance, to live the kind of life God called him to, first he asked the government for permission. And then in Daniel chapter three, they brought Daniel’s friends before the the rulers and authorities. And they asked him to bow down to a statue to worship the King of Babylon. And and this is what they said in verse 17, If we’re thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hands. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up. Daniel Chapter six. Daniel had had enemies in the government, and they wanted to remove Daniel from his position. And so they tricked the King into writing a law that says You can’t worship Daniel’s God anymore. You can only worship the king, you can only pray to him. And what does Daniel do in that moment? As soon as the law is written, Daniel continues to do what he’s always done and he goes and worships the Lord. And Daniel, chapter six, verse ten. But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down, as usual in his upstairs room with its window open toward Jerusalem.
Daniel remained faithful. Even in Jesus’s day in the first century, there are all sorts of political opinions among the Jewish people. You had the Sadducees that aligned with Rome. You had the zealots like Peter who who would fight you if you didn’t? If you didn’t agree with Judaism and give them permission, they would cut off your ear. If you weren’t careful, you had the A-scene’s, the A-scene’s John the Baptist was likely in a scene. John the Baptist. The scenes were people that moved out into nowhere in the middle of the wilderness. They’re like, Forget this. We don’t want anything to do with anyone. And so they just isolate themselves from everyone because of that. And then you had the Pharisees that they tried to live among Roman society in Israel, but but they certainly separated themselves from it. They were they were in it, but they were distant from it. And when you look at the life of Jesus, he embraced none of it. What’s really incredible with Jesus is he invited all of those political views into his Among his disciples. It was likely that Matthew was probably part of the Sadducees or the Herodians John the Baptist part of the scenes, Peter part, part of the Zealots, and Paul, who was a Pharisee. You have all of those political groups really a part of Jesus’s greater group that he’s meeting with. But Jesus, Jesus didn’t align with any of those.
In fact, Jesus, he chose to walk differently. He was in the world, but not of the world, because his agenda wasn’t political. His agenda was greater than that. Certainly, politics can play a part in making a difference or influence this world, but God’s got a higher calling for all of us. And if we’re not careful as Christians, sometimes we only put our eyes on what is temporal and we completely forget how it impacts the eternal. But Jesus remained faithful in those and and fixed his eyes towards what God had called him, to what the Father had called him to into this world in order to bring about the gospel of salvation so that we can be free in him and belong to that as his, as his people disciples. And so he goes on and in verse four, and he says this, 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. Therefore, one must be in subjection not only to avoid God’s wrath, but also for the sake of conscience. By the way, when we talk about government promoting good and holding back evil, stopping evil, I think anything beyond that really becomes an overreaching government. But this is certainly the reason God has given us government. And then he describes he describes that government has the ability to bear the sword and the sword.
It speaks to the ultimate power of of ruling. And I think in this passage it refers to even capital punishment. What you find in Scripture is in terms of a sword is God is not a pacifist. In Genesis chapter three, verse 24, right after Adam and Eve sinned, God brings an angel into the garden with a sword in order to stop further sin. In Revelation, chapter 19, verse 21, When Jesus returns, he returns with a sword. In Genesis chapter nine, verse six, he gives government the right to take life when when a life has taken another life. The idea of carrying a sword. God is not a pacifist. Others in Scripture were not pacifists. Abraham. Joshua. David. He studied the Bible in Proverbs chapter 24, verse 10 to 12. I think God even gives us position to protect the weak, the innocent, the. The orphan, the widow. God calls us in the world to to do that. I personally, in reading Scripture, I, I am not a pacifist. I find I find there’s arguments for it like Exodus chapter 20, verse 13. It says Thou shalt not kill. And a lot of pacifists like to go to that and say, Look, the Bible tells you not to kill. But I think it’s important for you to know that that that verse, the better translation of that verse isn’t thou shalt not kill.
Better translation of that verse is Thou shalt not murder. There is a difference between murdering and killing. I think. Genesis chapter nine, verse six When someone has no reverence for life and they’re taking life, government has the position to to bring in capital punishment for the protection of people. When we talk in terms of whether or not someone’s a pacifist, you read a verse like this discussing the idea of carrying a sword. I think pacifism is is a bit naive. And leaves people vulnerable. And God has instituted government for the protection of that life. I mean, even our church recently returning back from a missions trip to Africa. Went to one of the most impoverished places in the world. Serving people in need. And you see in those situations how darkness loves to prey on the weak. And it’s going to take. A transition of where darkness no longer has that power. It needs a force of light in order to to to stop it. When you think in your own country, violent criminals don’t stop simply because, well, you’re nice. Drug cartels don’t really care about your nice systems. I think I invented a word there, but. But you get the point. I, God, has given government the authority to step in in order to protect others. I think violence certainly is a last resort. But there is a position God has given us for the preservation and sacredness of of life.
In fact, theologians throughout the century have even gone back and forth over the idea of war. Is it just or is it right? Is it good to have a war? And you can look throughout church history as they shaped a a theology on what is a just war. And theologians have come up with seven points on on using authority in government to protect the innocent and the weak. And one is there must be proper authority who is responsible for judging if the rest of these criteria are met. So there has to be a power in place where it can’t just be these rebel groups rising up, but but an authority responsible. And then number two, war must be a last resort. Number three, a formal declaration is required as much as possible for there must be a reasonable hope for for success. Number five, there must be some proportionately proportionality between the objective hope for and the price to be achieved. Meaning the question is how many lives are you going to preserve and how many lives are you going to lose? And is it worth that when you consider the what the price is that you’re going to pay? There must be a a just cause and the war must be fought with the right intentions. It’s not about vengeance. It’s not about conquering. It’s not about financial gain in terms of just wars. They tend to say that defensive wars are really the only way, that just wars are really worth defending in a biblical way.
But the point of all this is to say God has given government certain authorities for the protection of of life. We in those governments realize governments aren’t always good, that we have the ability before the Lord to stand up for those things. But with those, keep in mind there’s always consequences. But here’s here’s the bonus thought and I want to add here at the end why all this matters. The bonus thought and I left this as a blank in your notes, I’ve I’ve never had anyone write this down before. I can’t even believe I’m having you write it down today. But. But here’s the next blank in your notes. Pay taxes. Pay taxes. We just got past April 15th, and. And you are to to pay taxes. I recently listened to a pastor say this. I thought this was hilarious, but he said he was reading a letter that a guy had written to the IRS and he said the gentleman wrote to the IRS and said, you know, I’ve been trying to go to bed every night since since tax season has ended, but I’m having such a difficult time. I know I owe you taxes, but I’ve tried to cheat you and not pay them. So here’s a check. And then the guy the guy concluded with and. And if this helps me sleep at night, then great.
But if not, and I’ll send the rest later and maybe it’ll help me sleep that night. That’s good. But. But you’re encouraged in Romans 13, verse six and seven to pay taxes. He goes on and says this for because of this, you also pay taxes for the authorities are ministers of God. And that’s an interesting way of saying it, isn’t it? Ministers of God. That’s my title. But we’re all we’re all truly ministers of God. When’s the last time you looked at someone like that? You saw a government official and you’re like minister, you know, minister of God or a police officer pulls you over. You’re like, Hello, Minister, you know, But that’s what he’s saying there. Putting God there, ordained by God for this particular purpose is different than in ministry ministers that we think in terms of. But but God has ordained them for a particular purpose. And it says attending to this this very thing. Nobody likes paying taxes, right? I think we can all be confident in that. Nobody likes paying taxes. And in terms of taxes, sometimes I’m being honest. I like to describe it like this. Some people will rob you with a gun and other people will rob you with a pen. We call that socialism. People come in and they take your money and they tell you what they’re going to do with your money.
It doesn’t feel good. You don’t like those kind of things. And and you certainly want to be helpful and encouraging your government to do that in an honorable way if they’re going to take money from you. Nobody likes paying taxes. And when you think in terms of of how countries are set up and paying taxes, I don’t think anyone looks to America as the standard for how to pay taxes. I think some countries and some countries, the government just tells you what you owe. In our country, it’s more like you guess, guess what you owe. And if you don’t guess right, I’m going to throw you in jail. That’s that’s how in America the tax system is very complex here compared to other places in the country, but or other places in the world. But the government, according to Romans chapter 13, verse six, God tells us to pay our taxes. And what’s interesting in doing so, you’re just like Jesus. Not even Jesus got out of paying taxes. In Matthew 22. They tried to trick Jesus by asking him all sorts of questions to disrupt the ministry that he has and create dissension. One of the questions they asked him is Jesus, should we pay taxes? And they knew based on Jesus’s answer to that, he could really divide the people. But Jesus said, render to Caesar what is due to Caesar’s and render to God what is due with God.
Remember, he took the coin and he said, Whose image is on this? And they said, It’s Caesar’s will render to Caesar what Caesar’s rendered to God. What is God? And the encouragement in that passage to say, Look, you live in a government on your dollars. It’s certainly dedicated to your government, render to the government, whatever the government asks of you, as long as the government’s not asking you to live contrary to the Lord. But render to God what belongs to God. And do you know what belongs to God? You do? The image of God is all over you. Render to God what belongs to God. If Jesus couldn’t get out of paying taxes. Neither are you. Two things you’re promised in life. Death. And taxes. Taxes aren’t all bad. I can think of a million better ways. Probably I could encourage our government to spend our taxes. But taxes aren’t all bad. I mean, if you like roads, you probably got here on a road. You like police, you like firefighters, you like military and first responders. I don’t ever want to have to call someone in emergency and the best I can get is the back of a pickup truck on the way to an ambulance or way to the hospital rather than an ambulance or to have to call firefighters and police officers. And the best I get when they show up as a garden hose and a squirt gun.
Right. There’s there’s certain advantages to to paying taxes. But but beyond all of that, God’s got a bigger purpose in mind. He tells us in verse seven, he says, 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. And he tells us the reason why in verse eight, and I know this is not on the screen, but let me let me just read it. Oh, no. One anything. Except to love each other for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. We read this passage just a minute ago. But when when Paul writes in First Timothy chapter two, he’s recognizing all of us have to live with authorities over us. And sometimes those authorities aren’t always the best. But God has a bigger plan for your life. A plan that not only glorifies him, but makes a difference in this world. A plan that you find your life blessed to. But you got to live the kind of life that God blesses. In, in, in first Timothy two, verse one, he says, I urge you, I urge that petitions and prayers and intercessions and Thanksgiving be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. There is a cost that comes with influencing the world.
Sometimes it’s laying yourself down your rights. For the benefit of another. It comes with. Sacrifice. Because we have a higher calling. If our eyes just look at government. You miss it? Our goal is to figure out how to best function in the area in which we live so that we can fulfill the calling a greater king has placed on us. His name is Jesus. And he calls us to be his disciples. Disciples are ones that. That walk. The way that Jesus walked. That teach the things that Jesus taught. That live the way that Jesus lived. In the first century. There was a particular kind of compliment that sounds a little bit weird to us today, but when disciples in the first century, they would follow a rabbi. They wanted to learn from the rabbi. They would identify with that rabbi. They would do everything that rabbi did. They wanted to mimic and become basically that rabbi. That was the calling of being a disciple to a rabbi. And the same was true with Jesus. His early followers, they saw him as a rabbi and ordered and ordered a compliment. People in the first century, disciples in the first century, they would tell tell them when they would follow a rabbi and they would see the behavior of that rabbi in that disciple. They would say to the disciple, I see the dust of your rabbi all over you, which sounds a little gross, but but in the first century, what it meant was you were following so close to the one that you were after, that the dust from his sandals would kick up on you and it would be a part of your life.
The dust of the rabbi was all over you. You you mimicked Jesus beautifully. In church. When I look at all the brokenness in our world around us, certainly government is a part of that. But our calling in this world is not to destroy. Our calling in this world is to bless. To encourage. We certainly war, but we war against not flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against spiritual forces of darkness. God has called us to make a difference in this world. And if we put our eyes too much on earthly things, we’ll fail to see the difference. God calls us to make in heavenly things. So when the Apostle Paul brings up the idea of government. He helps us remember in the first century, they missed Jesus. And the reason they miss Jesus is they had such an idea of this governmental, earthly authority. They couldn’t see the greater work that God wanted to do. But when they took their eyes on the off the temporal things and they saw this greater calling that Christ had placed upon them, they started to live for the purpose of making a difference in this world. And the dust of the rabbi was all over them.