- Read: Romans 13:1-7
- Memorize: Romans 13:1
This is a hard command to stomach. We don't like to be told what to do and we tend to cite all of the injustice and corruption in our government as excuse for disregarding the laws of the land, but God tells us to submit to our governing authorities because HE has put them in their position of power.
Now it's true that government are entrusted with the task of ruling wisely by upholding the righteous and punishing the wicked. The ideal situation is when the government holds no fear for people who do good, but that is not necessarily the case now, and that was definitely not the case then.
First Jesus paid his taxes to the oppressive Roman government that had taken over the Jews, then Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote this chapter of Romans. The current leadership of Rome was not good or just or fair; in fact the emperor Nero treated Christians harshly, to the point that he burned them alive just for refusing to deny their Lord. I think that you can see that Paul's government was less than ideal, yet he still commands the Roman Christians to submit to their governing authorities because God has instituted them.
Why would God establish someone as wicked as Nero or Hitler or Osama Bin Ladin? Why would God establish someone as our president who endorses abortion and frequently makes decisions that oppose the teaching of the Bible? I can't answer that. That is part of God's plan that I just don't understand all of the time. So what do we do when those governing officials tell us to do something against God's word? I can answer that.
The authority of governing officials extends only to the extent that they are under the authority of God. In other words, any law that goes against God's law must be disobeyed. At the same time, any laws that do not go against God's law should be submitted to. We don't disregard all of the rules of our government because some are wrong, but only disobey the actual wrong rules. For instance, we cannot disregard the speed limit if the government tells us not to speak the gospel.
If ever you are in doubt, submit to your governing authorities; because it is a fearful position to be in rebellion against what God has established.
Now it's true that government are entrusted with the task of ruling wisely by upholding the righteous and punishing the wicked. The ideal situation is when the government holds no fear for people who do good, but that is not necessarily the case now, and that was definitely not the case then.
First Jesus paid his taxes to the oppressive Roman government that had taken over the Jews, then Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote this chapter of Romans. The current leadership of Rome was not good or just or fair; in fact the emperor Nero treated Christians harshly, to the point that he burned them alive just for refusing to deny their Lord. I think that you can see that Paul's government was less than ideal, yet he still commands the Roman Christians to submit to their governing authorities because God has instituted them.
Why would God establish someone as wicked as Nero or Hitler or Osama Bin Ladin? Why would God establish someone as our president who endorses abortion and frequently makes decisions that oppose the teaching of the Bible? I can't answer that. That is part of God's plan that I just don't understand all of the time. So what do we do when those governing officials tell us to do something against God's word? I can answer that.
The authority of governing officials extends only to the extent that they are under the authority of God. In other words, any law that goes against God's law must be disobeyed. At the same time, any laws that do not go against God's law should be submitted to. We don't disregard all of the rules of our government because some are wrong, but only disobey the actual wrong rules. For instance, we cannot disregard the speed limit if the government tells us not to speak the gospel.
If ever you are in doubt, submit to your governing authorities; because it is a fearful position to be in rebellion against what God has established.
Comment:
- Why is it important to submit to our governing authorities?
- What should we do when the government makes a law that is unbiblical?
A bonus thought:
ReplyDeleteThere are examples in the Bible of people who disobeyed their governments in order to obey God - those people did right. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to worship a statue of the king and Daniel was thrown in the lion's den for continuing to pray to God, but we should be careful to evaluate rules wisely and obey as far as possible.
Recently there was a story in the news about a group of people in San Diego who met for church in a home. This group of fifty or so people rudely parked their cars in front of the neighbors' houses week after week, so the neighbors complained to the government. The city came in an informed the church that they were not allowed to meet in the home because city zoning ordinances forbade it. Instead of meeting in one of the many available locations zoned for group meetings, the pastor claimed that this was an instance of persecution and led his people in rebellion against the government (and unkindness toward the neighbors.)
There is no command in the Bible to disregard zoning ordinances, so this pastor should have found an appropriate location for his church services, just like every other church, political group, youth program and any other group that meets regularly in that number.
1. Because God has put them in there position of power and he tells us to them.
ReplyDelete2. If the law goes against what God has put in place for us then we should disobey that law and follow God's law.