Introduction
Unless
you’ve been in solitary confinement or complete seclusion for the last six to
eight months, you’re probably well aware of the shooting of Michael Brown by a
police officer that took place in Ferguson, Missouri. However, since not all of
you reside here in America, I’ll give you a very brief synopsis of what
happened. Michael Brown had just left a convenience store where he had stolen
some cigars and assaulted the store owner. He and his friend were walking down
the middle of the street when a police officer ordered them to move to the
sidewalk. At this particular point, the police officer was unaware that Brown
had just committed burglary and assault. However, it would seem that Brown
didn’t realize that the officer didn’t know that. Had Brown obeyed the officer’s
instructions and moved to the sidewalk, all the events that followed would have
been avoided. Instead, Brown refused to submit to the officer’s commands and
instead assaulted the officer while trying to take the officer’s weapon.
Ultimately, the officer drew his weapon and killed Michael Brown. What ensued
was mass chaos as family and friends somehow managed to concoct a story that
Brown was being obedient and was shot while submitting to the officers commands.
Agitators and race-baiters took advantage of the fact that the police officer
was white and Michael Brown was black. Soon, the lie that was concocted about
Brown spread like wildfire and riots broke out in Ferguson and other cities in
America demanding that white police officers stop shooting “innocent” black
people like Michael Brown.
This
past week, the federal government’s Department of Justice issued their findings
on the shooting and the evidence proved that Michael Brown did not surrender to
the police officer and that the officer was justified in shooting Brown because
he was a threat. Nevertheless, more rioting erupted at the Justice Department’s
findings and two police officers were shot by an unknown assailant. In
response, Franklin Graham, son of the famed evangelist Billy Graham, talked
about the need for submission to governing authorities and how all this could
have been avoided if people would learn to respect the authority that has been
placed over them. You could say that only Christians understand this because it
is a specifically biblical teaching but the riots in Ferguson prove otherwise.
Let me explain. Except for the few who concocted the lie that Brown was killed
by the police officer even while he was surrendering, most people actually
believed Brown was killed for no reason. Consequently, they were outraged and
should have been had it been true. Their actions demonstrate the inherent
belief that those who are placed in authority over us are supposed to be there
for our good not to use their authority to harm us. Their actions, albeit
misguided by deceit, demonstrate the inherent belief that we were always meant
to Submit To Authority For Our Own Good
and it is sin that causes us to rebel against that authority just as it is sin
that causes those in authority to oppress those who are given to their care. So
what is our duty with respect to those who are in authority over us given that
some of them may abuse that authority? The Bible is very clear that we must Submit To Authority For Our Own Good.
Subject Text
Romans 13:1-7
1Everyone
must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority
except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been
established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the
authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so
will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for
those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from
fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4For
he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does
not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring
punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit
to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of
conscience. 6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are
God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give
everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then
revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Context
Paul
wrote this letter to the Church in Rome where he planned to visit on his way to
Spain after he first delivered a collection to the poor and beleaguered
Christians in Jerusalem. Paul’s letter to the Romans is often considered one of
his greatest treatises on sin, salvation, and the ongoing life of the believer.
I don’t want you to miss the spectacular irony of Paul’s letter to the Church
in Rome especially with respect to our Subject
Text. Remember that Israel was conquered and under the control and rule of
Rome. Keep in mind that Jesus was arrested by Roman guards. He was brutally beaten by Roman guards. Jesus was taunted and ridiculed by Roman guards. Remember that it was Roman guards who nailed Jesus to the
cross, a prized instrument of torture and death used by the Roman authorities. And Paul wouldn’t
escape Rome’s attention either. Paul wrote his letter to the Church in Rome in
57 AD as an evangelist who moved freely between the various churches he helped
to plant during his various missionary journeys. However, just four years after
he wrote this letter, he spent 2 years as a prisoner in a Roman jail for
preaching the Gospel. And although he was eventually released and continued the
missionary and pastoral duties to which he was called, in or around 67 AD he
was back in a Roman prison for preaching the Gospel and this time he would be
executed by the Roman authorities. Consider the irony of Jesus’ death and
Paul’s death and add to them the martyrdom of all the disciples except John,
who was exiled for life to isle of Patmos, and remember that all these
injustices where carried out under the authority of Rome. Nevertheless, Paul’s
letter to the Church in Rome continued to be circulated to all the various
churches and was eventually handed down to us as part of our Bible. And given
the fate of all the ministers of the Gospel and that of our Lord Himself,
Paul’s instruction remains the same as it did when he first gave it, Submit To Authority For Your Own Good.
Text Analysis
1Everyone must submit
himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which
God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
Paul
wastes no time getting to his point in v.
1. But before we go any farther, I want you to pay close attention to the
very first thing Paul says. It is true that Paul is writing to the believers in
Rome. However, if his instruction were aimed exclusively at believers, it would
make more sense if Paul had instead said, “You
must submit yourselves to the governing authorities….” However, Paul says that
“everyone” must submit to the governing authorities. This makes perfect sense
considering Paul’s instruction that all governing authority has been
established by God. I want you to notice something else in Paul’s instruction.
I want you to notice something that isn’t there. Nowhere does it say that we
are only to submit to governing authorities who recognize our Christian faith
or governing authorities who themselves recognize that they are under the
Lordship of Jesus Christ. Can you see how Paul’s instruction could be offensive
to believers and unbelievers alike? Unbelievers reject the idea of authority
established by God because they reject God and believers reject the idea of
authority that refuses to recognize its divine appointment. This seems like an
ingredient for disaster in our modern culture. However, it was no different for
Paul. You have to remember that Paul is writing to the Church in a culture that
was governed by unbelievers. Not only was Rome, during Paul’s day, unchristian
in belief and practice, they actively persecuted Christians. So how is it
possible to believe that God ordained Rome as the governing authority over His
people? Unfortunately, I can’t give you a comprehensive answer to that question
but I can pull back the curtain a little so that we can perhaps get a glimpse
of God’s divine purpose behind allowing Rome to rule a significant portion of
the region during Paul’s day.
Opposition
or rebellion to Rome’s rule didn’t appear to serve a purpose as part of God’s
plan because rebellion in any of the regions of the Roman Empire was quickly
silenced. If God wanted an end to Roman rule in the 1st century AD,
He would have orchestrated events to accomplish that objective as He eventually
did by the end of the 5th century AD. Instead, God’s plan necessitated
Rome’s rule during the 1st century AD and Rome was well equipped to
maintain that rule. “The ethos of Roman government placed a high value on
maintaining order and promoting the value of submissiveness to authority, and
consequently Roman authorities showed a distinct impatience with resistance and
insurgents. Crucifixion proved a valuable and much-used tool to communicate
these values to the Judean population.”[2]
2Consequently, he who
rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and
those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
It
follows that if God has ordained the rule of a governing authority, then
according to v. 2 when we rebel
against the governing authority, we rebel against God. This is the part that is
so difficult for many of us as believers when we witness some of the ungodly
practices of those who are in authority over us. However, just as we have a
duty to submit to those who are in authority over us, those who have been
appointed to govern us have a duty to rule in accordance with God’s divine
instruction and guidance. Nevertheless, the failure of the government to rule
according to God’s divine instruction and guidance does not preclude the rest
of us from submitting to the authority of their rule. “Are there times when we
should not submit to the government? Paul does not address this question here,
but other passages of Scripture give guidelines and examples. The government
can demand respect, obedience, taxes, and honor from its citizens inasmuch as
God appoints governments to protect people. When a government demands
allegiance that conflicts with a believer’s loyalty to God, Christians must
respond in a different way. Believers should never allow the government to
force them to disobey God. Jesus and his apostles never disobeyed the government
for personal reasons; when they disobeyed, they were following their higher
loyalty to God (Acts 5:29). Their disobedience was not cheap; they were
threatened, beaten, thrown in jail, tortured, and executed for their
convictions. If we are compelled to disobey, we must be ready to accept the
consequences.”[3]
Let
me try and give you an example of what this looks like. Many people oppose the
government here in America because it supports and endorses so many unbiblical
practices such as abortion and same-sex marriages. However, regardless of how
detestable and unbiblical these practices are, Christians are not required to
engage in either of them even if their tax dollars go toward funding their
advancement. Here, however, is where we are permitted to disobey the governing
authorities: In America, the state has attempted to compel some Christian
business owners and pastors to service and support same-sex wedding ceremonies.
Christian businesses who have refused to cater same-sex weddings have faced the
loss of their businesses and pastors who have refused to perform same-sex
weddings have faced the loss of their freedom. In more extreme cases elsewhere
in the world, especially in countries like Iran or Saudi Arabia or North Korea
or some regions of China, Christianity is forbidden by the governing authority.
Clearly, God did not give government the authority to make belief in Jesus
Christ unlawful. Consequently, this is a case when the Christian must be
prepared to follow a higher loyalty to God (Acts 5:29).
3For rulers hold no
terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be
free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will
commend you. 4For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do
wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s
servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.
If
you drive a car, you’re probably aware of that sinking feeling when you look
into your rearview mirror and see those flashing blue lights behind you. For
some of you, just the thought of that makes your palms sweat because you know
that feeling. Your mind begins to race as you immediately look down at your
speedometer to check your speed and then try to remember what the speed limit
was along the road you are traveling. Then you try and retrace your path to see
what you might have done wrong to give the authorities reason to stop you. I
grew up with a very healthy respect for authority largely because I was
terrified of my father who was a strict and even brutal authoritarian. I have
raised my own children to be very respectful of authority. In fact, I still
remember the hysterical phone call I received from each of them the first time
they got pulled over for a traffic violation. They were both shaken, and
rightly so, by the experience. Not because the police officers who stopped them
were brutal or unkind in any way but because they got caught doing something
wrong and I hope they never lose that feeling. This is what Paul is referring
to in v. 3-4. We are usually free to
go about our daily lives without worry as long as we abide by the laws that
govern us. However, we should be rightfully apprehensive when our actions
contravene those laws because God has appointed the governing authorities to
stop us from doing so—by deadly force if necessary. It should go without saying
that if we reject the authority of those who God has ordained to govern us then
we do so to our own peril as Michael Brown learned in Ferguson, Missouri when
he rejected the authority of the police officer who confronted him and
eventually killed him. Michael Brown had no reason to fear the police officer
that shot him except he had just robbed a convenience store and assaulted the owner
of that store. “Fear, in this context, is not a terror inspired by the unjust
use of power by the state. Paul emphasizes that those who do what is good have
no reason to fear, and conversely those who practice evil receive the penalties
inflicted by civil rulers. Indeed, those who do good will be free from fear
since the government will praise those who practice goodness. The judgment
exercised by the state, then, occurs in history, but it should not be separated
in an absolute way from God’s judgment since the ruling authority is designated
as ‘God’s servant’ and…’ministers of God.’ The judgment of the state against
evildoers in history anticipates the eschatological judgment of God at the end
of history…Such descriptions indicate that the state is carrying out a function
appointed by God, and thus it mediates God’s judgment in history. Although that
judgment is provisional and earthly and cannot be identified absolutely with
the eschatological judgment, those who are judged by the state for evildoing in
the present will also experience the full fury of God’s judgment on the last
day if they do not repent.”[4]
5Therefore, it is
necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment
but also because of conscience.
It
is well known that fear is a poor motivator because it constantly has to be
renewed and reinforced in order to be effective. Conscience, however, is
another matter. Our actions are ultimately a direct reflection or the state of
our conscience. In the chapter leading up to our Subject Text, Paul provides a discourse on the Christian duty to
love. A conscience that is bathed in love is sensitive to what is right and
wrong. A conscience that is accustomed to love understands submission in terms
of putting others’ needs first. Conversely, a conscience seared by sin is not
motivated by fear and certainly isn’t motivated by love. No doubt there are
some people who are law-abiding citizens because they fear the consequences of
breaking the law. However, I firmly believe that most citizens are law-abiding
because their conscience would be in a constant state of unrest otherwise. Paul
is making an appeal in v. 5 to the
more base emotion of fear but also to something deeper and far more
powerful—the human conscience that was originally created with an inherent
sense of the difference between right and wrong. “The conscience is only part
of our moral make-up. Its work is largely negative. As the pain we feel when we
do something wrong, it acts like a red warning light. It serves as a sort of
moral double-check on our actions. It operates largely on the basis of
experience. It needs to be educated and carefully tended. But as such, it is
very important. When we speak of conscience in English, our meaning often seems
to oscillate between conscience in the narrow sense as pain, or the instrument
which makes us feel pain, when we transgress the moral law, and the wider sense
of moral consciousness. The latter involves the whole person, viewed as a
responsible moral being. It is not just a pain which works retrospectively in
the light of past actions and which by extension might enable us to forecast
what future actions might cause us pain. It includes the power of discernment
and rational reflection which enables the mind to analyse [sp] situations and actions, to discern moral values and principles,
the capacity to hear and apply the Word of God to our lives, and also
conscience in the narrower sense.”[5]
6This is also why you
pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to
governing. 7Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay
taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then
honor.
No
one wants to hear what Paul has to say in vv.
6-7. I think paying taxes is a point of contention for people in every
culture and in every age and that seems to include the people of the 1st
century Roman Empire. Every organized culture has required some type of
taxation or tribute in order to fund the administration of that culture. The
Jews hated the fact that they had to pay taxes to Rome. In fact, they tried to
trap Jesus by asking Him if it was right for them to pay taxes. They thought
they had trapped Jesus in a no-win situation. However, Jesus asked to see one
of the coins used for their currency. He then asked those who had gathered
whose image was on the coin to which they replied that it was Caesar, the
emperor of Rome. Jesus shocked those in attendance when He said that they were
to give back to Caesar what is his and give to God what is His (Mt 22:15-22).
Why is Jesus’ instruction significant? Because Caesar wasn’t just the head of
the Empire, he was considered a god. It’s difficult to ascertain the Jews’ true
objection to paying taxes to Rome but it may have had something to do with the
idea that in their minds, paying taxes to Caesar dishonored God because Caesar
considered himself to be divine. Or perhaps they didn’t want to part with their
wealth. Maybe it was some of both. Nevertheless, even Jesus knew that an
ordered society required an organized administration and that administration
required funds to maintain that ordered society. This wasn’t a foreign concept
to the Jews—especially to the religious leaders and keepers of the Law. They
readily collected the temple tax and other offerings according to the scriptures
in order to maintain the continued and orderly function of the temple as the
center of Israel’s religious life. Additionally, all their needs were supplied
through those collections so they understood that an administration of any kind
couldn’t function without the support of the people given to its care. It was
no different for the Roman government.
“Part of what it
means to submit to the authorities is to pay taxes. Believers are to carry out
this particular civil obligation because those who levy taxes are servants of
God. They devote their time and energies to governing. They are ‘God’s
servants’ in the sense that it is God who has granted them the authority with
which they secure and maintain civil order. Believers are under obligation to those
in authority in government. They are to pay taxes where taxes are due…They are
to respect and honor governing authorities, ‘not because they are powerful and
influential men, but because they
have been appointed by God.’”[6]
This is why elections in countries where that is possible carry so much
responsibility in the life of believers. If we have a duty to pay taxes then we
had best understand how those we elect intend to use those tax dollars. For
example, any candidate that supports any public policy that specifically
contradicts biblical principles must not be considered a worthy candidate by
Christians who have the right to choose their government representatives. For
example, any candidate who supports murdering unborn children (aka abortion)
must not be considered by Christians as an acceptable candidate for any
government position. Specifically, if Christians play a part in electing
government officials who hold and advance policy positions that are unbiblical
then those Christians who played a role in electing them will be indirectly
condoning and directly complicit in unbiblical practices through the use of
their tax payments. In other words if you, as a Christian, participated in
electing someone who endorses killing unborn babies regardless of what
politically correct euphemism is used to describe or camouflage the practice then
you, in all practicality, endorse the practice as well, regardless of what you
say. Does it really matter that you say you oppose abortion if you willingly
pay someone else to do it? Let me ask it a different way: Do you think God
cares that you say you oppose abortion if you give money to someone else to
support the abortion industry? Do you think that God cares that instead of
calling it abortion you call it “a woman’s right to chose?” I’m pretty sure God
is smart enough to figure out that if the end result is a dead baby you can
call it whatever you want and He’s not going to approve of it and neither
should you!
For
those of you live in countries with non-democratically elected governments, you
may perhaps have fewer freedoms and choices but you are also far less complicit
in the unbiblical practices of the governing authority that rules over you.
Nevertheless, regardless of the type of government authority that rules over your
life, we are all required to pay taxes whether we approve of how those tax
dollars are used or not.
Application
A
few months after Michael Brown was shot and killed in Ferguson, Missouri two
police officers were assassinated in New York while they were sitting in their
patrol car. The person who murdered the two officers then killed himself. He
left behind a note that claimed the police were the real criminals in our
society and were really the ones who deserved to die not “innocent” people like
Michael Brown. I want you to think about that carefully. The moment criminals
are considered innocent and police officers are considered criminals, with all
evidence to the contrary, civilized society is at a tipping point of falling
into anarchy. Anarchy by its very nature is defined by disorder, which is
completely at odds with a God of order. If Michael Brown had simply done what
the police officer asked him to do, he would be alive today; he might be in
jail but he wouldn’t be dead. The police officer was doing his job as a public
servant and Michael Brown would still be alive had he learned the lesson that
you must Submit To Authority For Your
Own Good.
Most
of you don’t know this story but before I got married, I wanted to become a
police officer. In fact, six months before I asked Laura, who is now my wife,
to marry me, I was accepted to the Houston Police Academy. Laura wasn’t overly
fond of the idea of being married to a police officer in a city with the
highest police officer mortality rate in the nation at that time. So I declined
the offer and married Laura instead—in hindsight it was a wise choice.
Nevertheless, there was something about caring for and serving those in the
community that attracted me to the field of law enforcement. Perhaps it is also
what has drawn me now to be a pastor—to care for and serve those in the
community. I don’t think it is an accident that governing authorities and
pastors are both considered “servants of God.”
For
those of you who are my age or older, you’re probably fairly familiar with Paul
Harvey. Harvey was considered a virtual icon in the radio broadcast business from
the 1960s through the 1980s. He was a clever wordsmith and his storytelling
entertained millions for many years. His stories, however clever and entertaining
they may have been, were formed from real life, personal experiences. One of
those stories was born out a traumatic experience that involved his father who
was a policeman that was killed in the line of duty in 1921 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
I want to share one particular story he prepared for one of his programs in
1970. It is call What Are Policemen Made
Of?
“What is a policeman made of? He, of
all men, is once the most needed and the most unwanted. He’s a strangely
nameless creature who is “sir” to his face and “fuzz” to his back. He must be
such a diplomat that he can settle differences between individuals so that each
will think he won. But . . . if the policeman is neat, he’s conceited; if he’s
careless, he’s a bum. If he’s pleasant, he’s flirting; if not, he’s a grouch.
He must make an instant decision which would require months for a lawyer to
make. But . . . if he hurries, he’s careless; if he’s deliberate, he’s lazy. He
must be first to an accident and infallible with his diagnosis. He must be able
to start breathing, stop bleeding, tie splints and, above all, be sure the
victim goes home without a limp. Or expect to be sued. The police officer must
know every gun, draw on the run, and hit where it doesn’t hurt. He must be able
to whip two men twice his size and half his age without damaging his uniform
and without being “brutal.” If you hit him, he’s a coward. If he hits you, he’s
a bully. A policeman must know everything—and not tell. He must know where all
the sin is and not partake. A policeman must, from a single strand of hair, be
able to describe the crime, the weapon and the criminal—and tell you where the
criminal is hiding. But...if he catches the criminal, he’s lucky; if he
doesn’t, he’s a dunce. If he gets promoted, he has political pull; if he
doesn’t, he’s a dullard. The policeman must chase a bum lead to a dead-end,
stake out ten nights to tag one witness who saw it happen—but refused to
remember. The policeman must be a minister, a social worker, a diplomat, a
tough guy and a gentleman. And, of course, he’d have to be genius . . . for he
will have to feed a family on a policeman’s salary.”[7]
When Harvey describes a policeman
as “a minister, a social worker, a diplomat, a tough guy and a gentleman,” is
there any doubt that he is describing a servant of God? It sure sounds like it
to me and I think I’m probably qualified to make that assessment given the
responsibilities of my own calling.
The word
“submit” is practically a dirty word at least here in the west. Children
struggle to submit to the authority of their parents, wives struggle to submit
to the authority of their husbands, and husbands struggle to submit to the
authority of the Scriptures. And the struggle doesn’t end in our homes.
Employees struggle to submit to the authority of their employer, students
struggle to submit to the authority of their teacher, congregants struggle to
submit to the authority of their church leader, and citizens struggle to submit
to the authority of their government. However, submission is the model that
Jesus demonstrated during His earthly ministry. In fact, Paul, in his letter to
the Church in Philippi, said that Jesus, in complete obedience, submitted
Himself to God’s plan of salvation and gave up His heavenly throne, became a
man and allowed Himself to be put to death (Phil 2:1-11). With Christ as your
model for submission, you must be committed to the biblical command to Submit To Authority For Your Own Good.
[1] “Roman
Road System,” Encyclopaedia Britannica, last updated December 4, 2014, accessed
March 15, 2015, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/508316/Roman-road-system.
[2] David A.
deSilva, An Introduction to the New
Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation, (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 2004), p. 69.
[3] Bruce
Barton, Philip Comfort, Grant Osborne, Linda K. Taylor, and Dave Veerman, Life Application New Testament Commentary,
(Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), pp. 626-627.
[4] Thomas
R. Schreiner, Romans—Baker Exegetical
Commentary on the New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1998), pp.
683-684.
[5] Colin
Brown, gen. ed., New International
Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. 1, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1986), pp. 352-353.
[6] Robert
H. Mounce, Romans—The New American
Commentary, (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 1995), p. 245.
[7] Stephen
Mansfield & David A. Holland, Paul
Harvey’s America, (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2009), pp.
5-6.
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