WHO ORDAINS THE GOVERNMENTS
Romans 13:1-8 "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law."
We learn in Romans God wants us to be subject to the higher powers. The reason given is every power that exists is ordained by God and thus to resist the power would be the same as resisting the commandments of God. And we know that resisting the commands of God brings on damnation or an eternity separated from God in the lake of fire.
God has ordained governments to protect people that do good and to punish those that do evil. If we do well then we have nothing to fear from our government. But if we do evil, the government then becomes an instrument of God to execute wrath. Thus all we need to do to avoid punishment from the government is to obey the laws and submit to the powers that be.
We see the relationship that exists between God and any government. The government is ordained by God and derives its power and authority from God and exists for the purpose of punishing those who are evil and protecting those who are good. We as Christians are to voluntarily submit to the laws of the land, not because we fear the government, but because we fear God.
John 19:8-11 "When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid; And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin."
We see in this exchange between Pilate and Jesus all power the government has comes from God. Thus the power the government has to punish evildoers was given unto it by God as well as the power to reward those who do well. What Jesus is pointing out was Judas who betrayed him had a greater sin than Pilate, because Pilate, even though he knew Jesus was innocent, was only wielding the power God had given him while Judas did not have any God given right to betray an innocent man.
ARE CHRISTIAN'S TO OBEY ALL GOVERNMENTS?
Titus 3:1-4 "Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,"
Paul in writing to Titus as well as what we had noticed in his letter to Romans, shows very clearly Christians are to be subject to any governments where they happen to be, because whether we like the government or not, it was ordained by God. Many people claim Christians only have to obey good governments, and they claim for example, Germany before and during World War II, was a bad government, because they killed 6.5 million Jews, plus many other millions through their actions. But Stalin in the Soviet Union killed approximately 21 million of his people and Communist China has killed even more and many of these same people have supported these governments.
We want to notice the Roman Empire was killing Christians by the hundreds and thousands, and every Apostle except the Apostle John was probably martyred by the Roman Empire, the same government crucified our Lord and Saviour. But this is the same government Paul wrote to the Christians about, telling them to obey the magistrates and the rulers, because God put them in power.
Paul in writing to Titus, an evangelist, reminds him to teach Christians to be subject to the government and to be ready to help in good works. So we see we as Christians are to be subject to each and every government of whatever land we happen to be in at any given time.
Mark 12:14-17 "And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's. And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him."
I remember in my youth, during the height of the Vietnam war many people in the world were claiming God would not want them to support the war, so they held back on paying their taxes or at least the part of their taxes they felt would go to support the war. But is this what Jesus says? No, it is not. The Jews hated the Roman government and hated paying taxes which was then used to support the Roman army kept them under subjection. This was the reason they asked Jesus this question. But Jesus, in answering, tells them to pay to Caesar, the Roman government, the things the Roman government told them to pay and to pay the things to God they owed God. The listeners understood exactly what Jesus said about paying their hated taxes, but He said it in such a way they could not trap Him.
We see not only are we to pay our taxes, but we do not get to pick and choose what taxes we pay or don’t pay, or what government we obey or don’t obey. We are to submit to whatever government God has ordained, which means whatever government that is in power where we happen to be, we are to be subject to that government.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN GOVERNMENT CONFLICTS WITH GOD?
Acts 5:27-29 "And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, Saying, 'Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.' Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, 'We ought to obey God rather than men'"
The only reason we as Christians are to refuse to submit and not obey something the government which is ordained by God tells us to do is if the government tells us to disobey God in something, we must still obey God and disobey the government. Does this suddenly free us from obeying the government in everything else and even rebelling against that government? No, it does not. When Peter and the other apostles were told to not preach the gospel any more, they disobeyed the governmentthat had been ordained by God because in the one thing they were commanded to do which was wrong, they had to obey God first. Even then the apostles did not rebelling against the Roman government, not even when times of persecution arose. The persecutions arose against the Christians because they chose to obey God rather than man, but they obeyed in everything else did not conflict with the commands of God.
1 Peter 2:12-19 "Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully."
The guiding principles we as Christians are to be guided by are honesty and good works. Then we are to submit ourselves to every ordinance or command of man, whether they be from the king, or governor, or simply a local magistrate. We are to obey them, not because of who they are, but because of who we are. We are Christians and we would rather die than rebel against God. If it be the will of God we suffer, then let us make sure we are suffering for doing right rather than for doing evil.
We submit to the governments because they are ordained of God, not because we fear the punishment they may render, because we are told to fear God, who can destroy both soul and spirit in hell. Because we are at liberty and free in Christ, we are not to use that liberty as an excuse for doing evil. The guiding principle we have as Christians is we are to submit to the government as part of submitting to God. The only time we can and must refuse is when the thing the government wants us to do is in conflict with what God wants us to do.
WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN'S ROLE IN GOVERNMENT?
Acts 5:27-29 "And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men."
Christians are to always remember God comes first, before family, before work, before the government, and definitely before recreation. When we realize we should always put God before everything else, it makes all of our decisions that much easier. If anything conflicts with what God wants us to do, what God wants come first, so whenever what the government wants conflicts with the will of God, we do what God wants.
Acts 23:1-5 "And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest? Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people"
It is important for Christians to live with a good clear conscience, but as Paul brings out something more is needed, after all, Paul had lived with a good conscience even when he was putting Christians to death. It goes to show that a conscience is only as good as its training. It is important we make sure we keep our conscience trained by and grounded in the word of God.
We in the country we live in, the United States, have been told our entire lives we have a right to say whatever we want about our government, but as Paul tells us in several places, just because we have the liberty to do something, that does not mean is what God wants us to do. For example we see as Christians we have a command from God we should not speak evil of those who God has ordained, therefore even though the law of the land says we can say whatever we want, we as Christians must obey God first and keep control over the things we say.
Not only does God want us not to speak ill of the government, but as Christians we are to deal honestly with the government in all of our interactions. This means we do not argue and lie to a police officer if he pulls us over and it means we should pay our taxes. I believe to sum it up, we as Christians can claim every legitimate deduction the law provides. In other words, there is a big difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance. In the same way there is a difference between using what the law allows and lying about what we deduct.
Romans 13:13 "Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying."
God expects us as Christians to live honestly in all of our dealings with each other and the government. Not only should we deal honestly with the government and people around us, but we should go the second mile and avoid becoming involved in strife of any type. So we as Christians need to keep our political opinions under control in such a way as not to get involved in arguments especially with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Acts 25:7-12 "And when he was come, the Jews which came down from Jerusalem stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove. While he answered for himself, Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all. But Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure, answered Paul, and said, Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these things before me? Then said Paul, I stand at Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be judged: to the Jews have I done no wrong, as thou very well knowest. For if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Caesar. Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, Hast thou appealed unto Caesar? unto Caesar shalt thou go."
Here we learn through the Apostle Paul Christians are allowed to avail themselves of opportunities allowed by the government. As long as it does not conflict with the will of God, Christians can avail themselves of any opportunity that the government offers. This means that before we avail ourselves of any right our government offers us that we make sure it is right in the eyes of God. For example, if a Christian wants to vote, they need to make sure it is not contradictory to the will of God. If a Christians makes the decision it is alright for them to vote, they then also have the additional responsibility to study any issue they are voting on to make sure their vote would be guided by what God's commands teach.
Chapter Summary
- 1. God ordains all governments.
2. When a person resists the government, they resist God who authorized the government.
3. Governments are God's ministers to protect the righteous and punish the wicked.
4. Just because we do not agree with a government, does not give us the right to disobey it.
5. When God and government disagree, we must obey God in that matter.
6. All governments derive their authority and power from God.
7. Ministers are to remind Christians to obey the laws of the land.
8. Christians are to be honest in their dealings with the government.
9. Christians are to be honest in all their dealings.
10. Obedience to God is to be the deciding factor in all of our decisions.
11. Obedience to God is to be the deciding factor in our political decisions.
12. The Roman government, which was killing Christians, was still to be obeyed.
13. Christians are not to speak ill of their rulers.
14. A Christian is not to be involved in strife, political or any other type.
15. Christians are allowed to avail themselves of legitimate opportunities allowed by government.
16. Christians can protest against actions taken by their government, if they use legal means to protest.
17. Christians should be able to show from the Bible, why they disagree with the government.
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