(Audio version; Music--"What Faith Can Do" by: Kutless and "Take This City" by: Everfound)
Introduction
Just when you think the behavior of
our culture can’t sink any lower, some new insanity is introduced that drags
the culture down to new depths. The latest foolishness in a long list of
mind-numbing foolishness is the Black Lives Matter movement. The movement seeks
to advance the notion that the rights and desires of black people, including
black criminals, supersedes the rights and desires of any other people group—no
matter what. While the ire of the group targets white people in general, they
have focused the majority of their vitriol toward white law enforcement
officers because officers simply will not allow criminals, of any color, to be
criminals. However, the movement isn’t satisfied to simply verbalize their
obvious disdain for police officers who investigate and detain criminals, they
have advocated the murder of white police officers. And, unfortunately, they
have succeeded in doing that in many communities across America. So our culture
is racing toward a new low that seeks to elevate a race of people, including
criminals within that race, over the governance of an orderly society. But what
if the governance of an orderly society is precisely God’s purpose behind all
governments? What is the truth behind God’s role in government and our
relationship to that government? Do black lives matter? The answer is
obviously, yes! But the real question that needs to be answered is, Does God’s Truth Matter?
A little
more than a year ago, a young black man, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri
stole some things from a convenience store and assaulted the store’s owner. He
and his friend then left the convenience store and arrogantly walked down the
middle of the street where they were confronted by a police officer who asked
them to move to the sidewalk. At the time of this initial contact, the police
officer had no idea that Brown had just robbed a store and assaulted the owner.
But it didn’t matter because Brown not only refused to comply with the
officer’s request but assaulted the police officer who in turn shot and killed
Brown. The police officer was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing but that
didn’t matter to the crowds of people in Ferguson who embraced the opportunity
to revolt against the local government. The people spent days looting and
destroying their own city all because they believed Brown was wrongfully killed
by an over-zealous police force. The events of that evening and the riotous
days that followed gave birth to a movement called Black Lives Matter. Since
it’s inception, it has advocated the killing of white police officers as
retribution for some perceived injustice by law enforcement against blacks.
Unfortunately, black criminals answered the clarion call of this movement and
many white police officers around the United States have been assassinated in
cold blood. In response, people have tried to combat the Black Lives Matter
movement with words by insisting that White Lives Matter; Police Lives Matter;
All Lives Matter, but this movement cares little about real justice or God’s
truth. Instead, its adherents are domestic terrorists who want to throw off the
shackles of what they perceive to be an unjust and oppressive government. And
their way of doing that is to kill innocent police officers because they dare
to do their jobs of enforcing the laws that govern us to keep us safe and
maintain an orderly society. I would like to suggest that there’s really only
one way to solve the rift that has been created in our society by those who
seem bent on creating anarchy in order to satisfy their own sinful
desires—submit to the authority that has been placed over us.
If you’re in the mood for a fight
in mixed company, bring up the subject of politics or social decay! Democrat,
Republican, Independent, Occupy Wall Street, The Tea Party, Taxes,
Homosexuality, Abortion, Racism, etc.—need I continue? Pick a topic and you can
start a fight. Add to these things the political dynamics at home, school
and/or work and we shouldn't be surprised that our lives are marked with
conflict and strife. At its core, I submit that these conflicts are a struggle
against authority. For example, the political party in the minority struggles
against the political party in the majority because of the relative shift in
the majority holder’s authority to make policy. At home, husbands and wives
struggle to find a balance in who is the final authority in matters affecting
their home and family. At school, students resist the authority of teachers and
administrators because they feel rules are often arbitrary and infringe on
their personal rights to do as they please. At work, labor resists the
authority of management because labor believes management is lining their
pockets using the sweat and blood of labor. If you’re still not convinced, let’s
go back a few years when God told Adam and Eve that they could eat from any
tree in the Garden but from the tree in the middle of the Garden they were not
allowed to eat. The first rebellion against the ultimate Authority served to
lay the foundation for all subsequent rebellions to our present struggles with
authority.
Being oppressed in some way by our
own government is really nothing new. It’s certainly worse in some parts of the
world than it is in others. Keep in mind though that we aren’t experiencing
anything God didn’t generally warn us about when humanity first insisted on
being ruled by a human king as opposed to God and his appointed prophets. When
the Israelites insisted on having an earthly king rule over them, the prophet
Samuel warned them that the king they insisted on having would eventually drive
them to cry out to God for relief from that same king (1 Sam 8:10-18).
Nevertheless, God granted their request but He did not relinquish His
sovereignty over humanity. Instead, He accomplishes His sovereign will through
human governments even if those governments appear to be evil in every way. It
is therefore, the duty of humanity to submit our lives in obedience to those
whom God has placed in authority over us. However, it seems clear that there
are some within America who not only reject that authority but have set
themselves up as their own authority in opposition to those whom God has placed
in that position. Not surprisingly, death and mayhem have ensued. So how should
we relate to those who are in authority over us?
Let me give you a hypothetical
situation: You’re the founding pastor of a number of church plants. About 25
years ago, the founder of your movement was brutally murdered by government
officials over some trumped up charges. Now, you find yourself under arrest by
that same government and in jail for being too public with your preaching.
While in jail, you’re given the opportunity to communicate with your
congregations. Here’s your chance. What would you write? Maybe something like
this:
“Dear brothers and sisters, as you know, I am writing to you from jail where
I stand accused for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Haven’t I warned you
that the end times will soon be upon us? Can there be any clearer indication that
the end times have in fact arrived when our once great government would
imprison its own citizens for preaching the gospel? Brothers and sisters, the
time has come to lay aside your Bibles, take up arms and oppose this evil
government! Certainly you can no longer be justified in paying taxes to support
a government that oppresses its own citizens. It is time to revolt in the name
of our great Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who, as you know, fell victim to this
very same evil government! Spread the word! #ChristianLivesMatter!”
Is that the kind of letter you
would write, or is it a bit over-zealous for your liking? Then how about
something like this:
Subject Text
Romans 13:1-7
1“Everyone 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. Let no debt remain
outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.”
Context
The letter to the Romans is often
referred to as Paul’s greatest theological treatise. But Paul isn’t instructing
them in some abstract concepts from an ivory tower somewhere untouched by the
realities being faced by the Christians in Rome. Instead, he is giving them
instruction on how they should conduct themselves in relation to believers and
unbelievers alike but especially in relation to those in authority over them. Keep
in mind, in addition to being Jewish, Paul was a Roman citizen! Paul wrote this
particular letter while in Corinth preparing for his trip to Jerusalem. Does it
seem like Paul is being a bit naïve or idealistic in his instructions? I mean,
he’s not even in Rome at this point so how would he know what the people there
are experiencing from the local government! Unlikely! I’m sure it didn’t escape
his attention that Rome was the same government that crucified Jesus. Instead, he
was reinforcing a Biblical truth about submission and respect for authority. That
begs this question: Does God’s Truth
Matter? Why should Christians submit to authority in general and civil
governments more specifically? Let’s let Paul answer the question.
Text Analysis
1“Everyone 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’s
imperative in v. 1 can be difficult
to accept when we are under the rule of a government we perceive to be ungodly
at best and downright evil at worst. No matter how many times you read our Subject Text, Paul does not qualify his
imperative in v. 1 so we better make
sure we know exactly what Paul is and
is not saying. There is ample Biblical
evidence to support his statement. For example, Daniel 2:21 says “He [God] sets
up kings and deposes them.” Clearer still is the interchange between Pontius
Pilate and Jesus in John 19:10-11; “‘Do you refuse to speak to me?’ Pilate said.
‘Don’t you realize that I have the power either to free you or to crucify you?’
Jesus answered, ‘You would have no power over me if it were not given to you
from above.’” But even with ample Biblical support, v.1 is still a stumbling block for many when they consider
governing authorities such as Hitler, Stalin or Mussolini. They insist that
there has to be some exception to rule. But Paul makes no exceptions. Brutal
regimes existed long before these evil men and yet God’s sovereignty and glory
were always ultimately displayed for all to see. Pharaoh’s bitter enslavement
of Israel and subsequent refusal to release them from their bondage inevitably
led God to demonstrate his overwhelming saving power by emancipating Israel and
destroying the Egyptian army. King Herod’s order to kill all the boys two years
old or younger in Bethlehem and its surrounding regions in an attempt to kill
Jesus only served to further fulfill the prophecies about Jesus as the coming
Messiah. At times, Emperor Nero lined the streets of Rome with crucified
Christians set on fire as street lights. Yet despite Nero’s best efforts to wipe
out Christianity in the 1st century, he simply managed to drive the
roots of the early Church’s faith even deeper. The logical mistake is to assume
Paul’s statement means that all governments are intrinsically good. Instead,
while government may be a servant of God, it often fills that role unwittingly
and unwillingly. Ultimately though, God doesn’t ask you to consider whether or
not governing authorities are worthy of submission but simply that we submit to
them as His established servants to maintain an orderly society and advance the
public good.
“Christians,
like everyone else, are to submit to the governing authorities. Allegiance to
God does not negate responsibility to secular authority. In Paul’s day all
those serving as public officials probably were unbelievers. That is to make no
difference for the Christian because there is no authority apart from that
which God has established. He alone is the sole source of authority, and it has
pleased him to delegate authority to those in charge of the public well-being.
Paul clearly stated that ‘the authorities that exist have been established by
God.’…It is important to remember that government is God’s way of maintaining
the public good and directing the affairs of the state.”[1]
2Consequently, he who rebels
against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those
who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
Paul’s
conclusion in v. 2 seems immediately
obvious. If we go back to the story I told you about at the beginning about the
deadly interaction between Michael Brown and a Ferguson police officer, you
don’t have to like it but Brown got exactly what he deserved and he has only
himself to blame. He broke the law by robbing a convenience store and
assaulting the owner. He then exacerbated his criminal behavior be opposing and
eventually assaulting a police officer who merely asked him to stop walking
down the middle of the street. Rebellion has some extremely serious
consequences. Satan rebelled against God’s ruling authority and we all know
what’s ultimately in store for him. Adam rebelled against God in the garden and
death entered the world. Continued rebellion is evidenced in our society by our
burgeoning prisons.
“Rebelling
against what God has instituted will bring the judgment of God, more than
likely through the rulers themselves. While we are painfully (shamefully) aware
of the fist we raise against God in some areas of life, it is sometimes hard to
see it here. If an earthquake destroys a town, or disease ravages our body, or
a deranged person violates our personal or property rights, we can rest in the
sovereignty of God more easily than we can when a twenty-something police
officer pulls us over for rolling through a stop sign. We looked both ways, we
slowed almost completely to a stop, we have a (reasonably) good driving record,
we were under the influence of nothing—and yet we still got a ticket.
Paul says
that to rebel against that ticket is to rebel against what God has instituted.
If we rebel against it loudly enough, or aggressively enough, or persistently
enough, we may be punished with an additional fine for disorderly conduct,
interfering with a police officer’s duty, or touching (assaulting) a police
officer.
The fact
that ‘governing authorities’ are human
authorities—sinners just like us—is perhaps what makes it so difficult.
Earthquakes and natural disasters have no will. Disease and congenital
deformities have no will. Deranged assailants have a will, but one that is
obviously deserving of pity. But when an otherwise competent individual, set
apart from us by nothing but a gold badge, asserts his or her authority over
us, it is hard to see God in that blue suit. But God says he is there, and to
resist him is to invite his blue-suited judgment.”[2]
But is all rebellion condemned by
God? The answer is no. Since governing authorities are established servants of
God, it is logical to insist that God is therefore the highest authority.
Consequently, opposing orders that conflict with God’s requirements is not
condemned by God. For example, in Acts 4:19, Peter and John are brought before
the Sanhedrin where they are ordered to stop preaching the gospel. Here’s what
Peter says: “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey
you rather than God.” Now Peter’s not talking about disobeying them in all
things, but simply in the things that contradict God’s requirements. For
example, the government can legalize abortion and homosexuality but Christians
must condemn the practices as being contradictory to God instruction. The
government may mandate the oppression and persecution of Jews and Christians
but that mandate is obviously illegitimate because of God’s regard for His
Chosen People and the Body of Christ. “The government can demand respect,
obedience, taxes, and honor from its citizens inasmuch as God appoints
government 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 into jail, tortured, and executed for their convictions. If we are
compelled to disobey, we must be ready to accept the consequences.”[3]
Let me tell you the story of Ivan Moiseyev:
“Ivan Moiseyev was an 18 year-old Private in the Soviet Red Army. The
Communists were endlessly calling him to headquarters for talks, trying to
‘re-educate’ him, to talk him out of his faith in God. On this day, however, one of Ivan’s
commanding officers was determined to succeed. Major Gidenko was the head of
the Political Directive Committee and he was certain he could break Ivan. When
Ivan entered his office and was seated, the Major said to him;
‘Moiseyev, you don’t look like a poor pupil to me. Why are you not
learning the correct answers?’
‘Sometimes there is a difference between correct answers and true
ones,’ Ivan answered. ‘Sometimes God will not allow me to give the correct
answers.’
The Major interrupted; ‘Yes, yes, I know all about the Christian
teaching. But what has that got to do with being a soldier? Do you disagree
with the teaching of the glorious Red Army?’
‘No sir,’ answered Ivan.
‘But you do not accept the principles of scientific atheism upon which
is based our entire Soviet state and the military power of the army?’ Said the
Major.
Resolutely, Ivan said; ‘I cannot accept what I know to be untrue. Everything
else I can gladly accept.’
For his continued refusal to recant, the Major order him to stand overnight
outside the barracks. Since it was expected to be 13 degrees below zero, before
private Moiseyev was dismissed, Major Gidenko stopped him and said;
‘You will obey my instructions in summer uniform.’
Private Moiseyev was then dismissed. He would stand outside every night
for 12 nights. During the day, he would still preach to the comrades in his
barracks. Many came to faith after seeing his courage. His continued rebellion,
however, would cost him his life. At age 20, his dead body was pulled from the
river. He had been beaten, stabbed and was finally drowned. Soviet Colonel,
Malsin, said;
‘Moiseyev died with difficulty. He fought with death, but he died a
Christian.’”[4]
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.
Private Moiseyev is a great example
of someone who found a balance between rebellion and submission. Note that he
was always respectful and honoring in his speech and followed every order
except the one that contradicted God’s order to share the gospel. In short, not
all rebellion is condemned by God. Nevertheless, all rebellion has its
consequences and sometimes those consequences can be dire—as in the case of
Private Moiseyev. But that’s the exception not the rule. In general, those who
submit to the governing authorities live in relative peace. What Paul is saying
in vv. 3-4 is that we don’t have to
be afraid of those in authority over us because they are put there for our
benefit. If, however, we break the laws that have been established for the
benefit of society at large then those in authority are well within their right
to take any and all action necessary to re-establish compliance and order for
the benefit of all. In other words, submission is necessary to avoid
punishment. Here’s a quick test: What would be your immediate reaction if you
were served with an IRS audit notice? Panic or ambivalence? What about this:
What’s the first thing you do when you see flashing lights in your rear view
mirror? After that initial wave of panic passes, you look at your speedometer
don’t you? Were you speeding or not? What was the speed limit anyway? Wait a
minute were you driving faster than anyone else? Let me ask you this, would you
have the same reaction if you always obeyed the speed limit? (I’ve heard it
said that the right foot is the last part of the body to be saved!) Here’s the
principle that Paul’s trying to convey: Honest, law-abiding citizens generally
don’t have anything to fear from governing authorities. Government is God’s way
of protecting law-abiding citizens from the chaos and anarchy created by
lawbreakers. Fundamentally, that means government is charged with establishing
proper social boundaries and appropriate consequences for those who cross those
boundaries. Paul’s reference to “bear the sword” conveys the idea that
government has the God ordained authority to dispense earthly justice.
I assume many if not all of you
have heard the term “legislate morality.” That’s what many people think the
government is doing during its legislative process and its subsequent enforcement
of social boundaries. However, people often miss the point when they insist
that “Government can’t legislate morality!” It is true that there is no law
that can make a person moral. Nevertheless, laws are introduced to battle
immorality. It’s true that there is no law to make people love each other.
Therefore, laws are introduced to keep people from killing each other. It’s
true that no law can make people honest. Therefore laws are introduced to keep
people from stealing. In essence, government isn’t there to make people good
but to keep people from evil. To a limited degree, government’s authority to
dispense earthly justice does that.
“Paul, of
course, was not naïve about the rule of Rome. He had himself been mistreated
and beaten by Roman officials. He knew full well that ‘Christ suffered under
Pontius Pilate’ and that the rulers of this age had crucified the Lord of
glory. Furthermore, earlier in Romans he had already spoken of the tribulation,
distress, persecution, and sword (Rom 8:35) which Christians faced, and he knew
full well that this could come from the State. Yet at the time when Paul wrote,
the Roman government could be seen as a positive force for good. Governments, even
oppressive governments, by their nature seek to prevent the evils of
indiscriminate murder, riot, thievery, as well as general instability and
chaos, and good acts do at times meet with their approval and praise. As a
result Paul asserts that the state ‘…is God’s servant for your good.’”[5]
5Therefore, it is necessary to
submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also
because of conscience.
Is the threat of punishment enough?
According to Paul in v. 5, not only
has God ordained government as an external protection, he has likewise given us
a conscience as an internal protection. That can be a bit confusing but here’s
what Paul is saying: Fear of punishment can’t be the only motivation for doing
good. Submission merely out of fear is as incomplete as the desire for sexual
purity simply out of fear of contracting AIDS. Considering the proliferation of
AIDS in our world, that motivation isn’t working very well. Submission based on
fear is an external force and is a minimum standard for all people—including
unbelievers. Paul is insisting on something more here—the desire to maintain a
pure and undefiled conscience. The standard set by the conscience is personal
and hopefully higher than the standard set by government. But, you might be
asking, how does the failure to submit to authorities affect our conscience? On
one level our conscience is disturbed when we rebel against authorities,
because we know they are appointed servants of God and we are in fact rebelling
against God. More specifically, however, our conscience is the God-given
mechanism to alert us to transgressions. Did you know that the government has
established the Government Conscience Fund? It’s for people to send in money
anonymously to clear their conscience if they have cheated the government in
some way. At one point they received an anonymous letter accompanied by a
check. The letter read; “The enclosed check is for money that I owe you for
taxes I didn’t pay. I have been losing sleep over the matter. If I continue to
lose sleep, I’ll send the rest.”
“The word ‘conscience’ ([Gk] syneidesis) usually refers to that
faculty within human beings that informs us of the morality of our actions
after they have taken place. But the word can be used more broadly, and this
seems to be the case here. Syneidesis
here refers to our consciousness of God and his will for us. Because we
understand that God has appointed secular rulers, we must submit to them.”[6]
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. Let no debt remain
outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.”
If you hate paying taxes then you
are in very good company. But Paul’s instruction in vv. 6-7 should at least soften our view on paying taxes even if it
doesn’t change that view altogether. In order to support the institution
ordained by God, it is necessary for us to pay taxes. Paul may be including
this material because of the growing resistance in the middle 50’s to paying
taxes, which would eventually lead to a tax revolt in A.D. 58. More
importantly, however, Paul is trying to demonstrate that the payment of taxes
is not unbiblical because taxes support those God placed in authority over us
for our benefit. Interestingly, in earlier verses, Paul uses the more common
Greek word, διάκονος, meaning, “servant” when he is speaking of government
authorities. But in v. 6 he changes
to, λειτουργοὶ, which is used in the Old Testament in its Hebrew form for those
who served in the temple of God. Servants of the temple were paid out a fund
from the contributions of the rest of the population—a simple form of taxation.
Through this change in terminology, Paul is making the analogy that taxation to
pay government authorities is similar to the principle of paying servants of
God’s temple. Both are full-time servants of God and have no other means of
financial support. Whatever Paul’s precise motivation may have been with
respect to paying taxes, Paul is implying that the service rendered by
government authorities ultimately obligates those who are served to some form
of repayment. Paul follows that with a more general principle of paying
everyone what is due them, whether that is revenue, respect or honor. The only
debt in our lives that should ever be outstanding is the debt to love one
another—that should always be a debt that can never be fully repaid in our
lifetime.
“It is a
striking fact that the discussion builds up to its climax on the subject of
paying taxes. This is unlikely to be accidental…Nowhere else does Paul include
such instruction in any of his letters, and there must have been a reason for
his doing so here. Those listening to his letter read out in Rome itself would
know well enough what the reason was—the abuses, particularly of indirect
taxation, which were causing increasing unrest in the capital at that very
time…
But Paul
does not hesitate to undergird this policy of political prudence with firm
theological assertion. The authorities in their function of levying taxes are
‘ministers of God’; taxes could be
regarded as the secular equivalent of the offerings and sacrifices brought to
the alter; within the state as ordered by God, tax officials are the equivalent
of priests within the cult!...The boundary that separated the cult (of Israel)
from the daily business of living in a busy city has been broken down…In his
final exhortation Paul echoes the traditional Jewish commendation of reverence
for the king (Prov 24:21), drawing on the inherited wisdom of his native faith
to give guidance to the newly redefined people of God still living under alien
and potentially repressive rulers.”[7]
Application
As always,
Paul didn’t just hand down instruction from some ivory tower, he practiced what
he preached. Of course it is always easy to opine on the virtues of good
citizenship when we are living at ease with the State. But what happens when we
are at odds with the State? What should we do if the State treats us unfairly
either in perception or in reality? When Paul wrote his letter to the
Christians in Rome, he wasn’t immediately at odds with the Roman government. But
it was only a few years after he penned our Subject Text that he would be writing letters to various other
churches he founded from a Roman prison cell. So Paul wrote this letter
probably knowing that a Roman prison cell with his name on it awaited him some
day for preaching the Gospel, which gives Paul’s instruction that much more
credibility.
For those
of you who believe you are entitled to resist and even assault the governing
authorities who have been ordained by God to rule over us because you believe
you have been treated unfairly, you are treading on thin ice because you aren’t
just opposing an earthly authority, you are opposing an authority ordained by
God and are consequently opposing God. You do nothing more than bring judgment
on yourselves. If that describes you, it is time for you to set aside your
sinful desires, repent of your sinful behavior and seek forgiveness first from
God but also from any of the authorities that rule over you that you have in
some way harmed or offended.
Nevertheless,
I assume that most of you are law-abiding citizens who are prepared to submit,
willingly or grudgingly, to the authorities ordained by God to govern you. You
follow all the laws including paying all your taxes as well as everything else
that might be due. You want nothing to do with the State so you do as you’re
told so the State leaves you alone. I want to challenge you to do more because
Paul instructs us to do more.
To put
action to what we say we believe, a few years after Paul wrote his letter to
the Romans, he wrote a letter to Timothy with these instructions:
“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and
thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we
may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness (1 Tim 2:1-2).”
This past
week, I had the privilege of praying with and for a group of law enforcement
officers and some of their staff. They were all very grateful while some of
them even wept. We forget that even though they “bear the sword,” they are
still human beings who can be discouraged, who are often scared (even though
they don’t show it), and who can be emotionally and psychologically wounded.
They don’t demand allegiance but certainly appreciate when someone recognizes
that they are risking their lives for the public’s safety. They do it out of
duty and the oath they have taken even though some may even reject that they
have been ordained by God to do so. I want to challenge you this week to reach
out to a public servant but especially a law enforcement officer given the
hateful climate toward law enforcement officers created by the Black Lives
Matter movement and pray for them; thank them; encourage them. Let them know
that you appreciate their service and acknowledge their authority as something
ordained by God for your benefit.
To summarize our lesson, if we
accept the premise that God is sovereign and the final Authority over our
lives, then we have a duty to humble ourselves in submission to those God has
placed in authority over our lives (except, of course, in the case where an
authority contravenes the authority and instruction of God). In view of the
Biblical evidence, are there areas in your life where you are resisting, or
perhaps rebelling, against legitimate authority in your life, instead insisting
on your personal rights or having your own way? What will you do? It may be
hard to swallow but I’ve given you the truth directly from God’s word. All the
remains now is to answer, Does God’s
Truth Matter?
[1]
Robert H. Mounce, Romans—The New
American Commentary, (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 1995), p. 243.
[2]
Kenneth Boa and William Kruidenier, Romans—Holman
New Testament Commentary, (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2000), p.
393.
[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]
dc Talk and The Voice of the Martyrs, Jesus
Freaks, (Tulsa, OK: Albury Publishing, 1999), pp. 30-35.
[5]
Colin G. Kruse, Paul’s Letter to the
Romans—The Pillar New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2012), p. 497.
[6]
Douglas J. Moo, Romans—The NIV
Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000), p. 423.
[7]
James D. G. Dunn, Romans 9-16—Word
Biblical Commentary, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1988), p. 772.
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