Introduction

What is one of the best ways to keep your air clean at home? Yes, an air filter. We are a full service church so we wanted to remind you to please change your filters today! Just kidding.

I bring this out to remind us that we all have filters, ways we process information. Your mind has a filter. Depending on how you were raised, where you went to school, experiences, jobs, books you’ve read, and so many other things, all have become a filter for how you and I think about things.

We all filter information. Sometimes what I say is not what you hear! Sometimes what you hear is not what I said. We all do this.

So, here is what I want you to do, please take your mental filters and set them aside for the next few minutes. After the sermon, you can pick up your filters again.

Today we are looking at a passage from Romans 13 about submitting to authority. I have no hidden agendas. I’m not trying to give you a subtle message about who to vote for in November. I’m not secretly saying anything about Supreme Court decisions or the social unrest in our nation. This means I need you to set aside your CNN and Fox News filters, Republican and Democratic filters too.

What most of us have in common today is we are followers of Jesus. That means we have a better filter ... the King and his kingdom.

In Romans 12, the Apostle Paul covered four basic Christian relationships. Our relationship with God, with ourselves, with one another, and even with our enemies. Now, in Romans 13, Paul describes another relationship, our relationship with the state, our government.

These verses are also sandwiched between two passages about love, which is not by mistake. You need to know that Paul is not giving a lecture on church-state relations. He’s not addressing the hundred questions we all have about those issues. Instead, he’s instructing Christians about our citizenship as Kingdom people.

As followers of Jesus, how do we live in the Kingdom of God while living in our own country? He’s going to say some surprising things.

All Authority Is Established by God (Rom. 13:1)

Paul is making a massive claim in this verse—all authority is established by God. It was radical in his day and in ours today.

And because all authority is established by God, we are told to be subject to it. Subjection or submission means voluntarily placing oneself under someone else. Notice he doesn’t use the word obey. He assumes we can’t always obey.

In his thinking, submission to authority is submission to God. Whether we like it or not, the great apostle Paul was pro-government. Remember the difference between government and politics, I talked about last week? Government is the main body or institution that runs a country and politics is the theory or practice that helps in running a country.

For Paul, government was an institution established by God. This doesn’t mean the state is a divine institution with divine authority. Only God holds that title! But it does mean that God works in and through governmental authority. God is sovereign, he’s over all nations and rulers, even Satan himself! But God being sovereign, doesn’t mean he’s responsible for the behavior of all leaders and rulers.

Let’s remember the kind of world and culture Paul was writing this letter in. Both Roman and Jewish authorities were extremely unfriendly and even hostile to the Christian church. And there were hardly any Christian authorities in government.

Imagine being a Christian, living in Rome, and listening to these words from the Apostle Paul who’s saying, “This regime and system that hates you, God established it. The Rome that has thrown you into lion's dens and burned you alive, has been established by God and you need to submit to it.” Imagine how they felt?

It might be what some of you feel right now. As you look at what’s happening in our government and in our world, in your thinking, there is no way God could be responsible for any of it and if he is, then he has no idea what he is doing! But, in history and in our own lives, God works through authorities. And oftentimes, we have no idea what he is doing.

Even as Paul wrote these words, he was under house arrest in Rome not knowing if he’d be killed or released! And think about this, God allowed Roman authorities to crucify his own Son. Yet, we know it was all according to God’s plan. Without the death and resurrection of Jesus, we wouldn’t have Christianity. We have our salvation and hope today because God used a pagan, unbelieving government to accomplish his will. This is the upside down kingdom.

Paul is telling the church in Rome to submit to the government and then he issues a warning.

Rebelling Against Authority Brings Judgment from God (Rom. 13:2-3)

Paul is stating a true principle of life. When you fight against authorities God has established, you can be rest assured, you’ll reap judgment. Even when you are right, there will be judgment and there will be consequences. Jesus, put it this way, “All who draw the sword will die by the sword” (Matt 26:52). Because all governmental authority comes from God, to resist it is to resist him.

“Rebelling” means a persistent resistance or resistance in principle. It’s not just a one-time act. Paul is not saying we can never protest or disagree!

Since we live in a broken and fallen world, God has ordained some form of government (no particular form of government!), to bring order to a society, to protect that society from evil, and to promote God’s concern for justice, goodness, compassion and peace.

We might resent paying taxes, but do we really think people would willingly contribute to the common good if it were optional? The truth is, we need the government. So, if rebelling against authority brings judgment from God, then obeying authority brings protection through God. That’s what Paul says next

Obeying Authority Brings Protection Through God (Rom. 13:4-7)

Paul says the state is supposed to do three things: Do good, punish those who do wrong, and be God’s servants.

First, the state was established by God to do good and punish evil. That means those in government and in authority are supposed to be working for the common good of all people. The state is to promote and reward the good and restrain and punish evil.

Paul doesn’t say anything about what kind of punishment the state should employ, but his use of the word sword is interesting leading some to believe he’s talking about capital punishment (and he may)

Second, Paul says those with governmental authority are all God’s servants. In Paul’s mind, those who serve the state as law makers, civil servants, prosecutors, police, firefighters, social workers, teachers, and even tax-collectors are all “God’s servants” whether they know it or not. But, like us, they are also sinners.

God wants those in authority to do good (what God calls good) and punish evil (what God calls evil).

But a servant is never free to do whatever they want. Servants serve their master and do his work. They seek to please and honor him. This is what God wants from those in authority, “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8b).

We submit to authority not just to stay out of trouble but also “as a matter of conscience.” In Paul’s thinking, when we don’t submit to authority, our conscience gets hardened. We begin to think we are “above the law”

When Paul was on trial before Governor Felix he said, “So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man” (Acts 24:6). That’s our goal too.

On the one hand we must obey the state because our motivation is to honor God as kingdom people. On the other hand, we can never submit uncritically to whatever the state tells us because of our conscience.

We can show respect and honor even when we completely disagree with a decision or when we dislike a politician. As kingdom people we also need to be constantly evaluating the state and it’s policies. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state.”

Finally, Paul concludes this section by talking about taxes. UGH. He says it is the right of the government to levy taxes and the obligation of its citizens to pay them. Even Jesus paid taxes and told us to do the same.

In case you were wondering, Christians back then didn’t like paying taxes either. Rome used taxes to build pagan temples and do lots of other things that offended God.

But, Paul’s saying, you’re not paying taxes because they are fair, you’re paying taxes because Rome asked you to. This means we are not responsible for what the state does with the money, we are only responsible for submitting to the authorities God has established.

The reason we pay taxes in America is not because we agree with everything the government does with our money. We pay taxes because the IRS is one of the authorities God has placed over us. The left and the right might disagree on the size of government and how much people should be taxed. But I think we all agree that there are some services the state must provide for and to pay for these, making taxes necessary.

When Do We Submit? When Do We Disobey?

Paul is not saying we should endorse and obey everything from those in authority. Authority is never absolute (only God is). Paul is not saying that every decree of government is a divine ordinance either. And just because something is legal doesn’t make it moral. The Bible teaches both submission to authority and civil disobedience. Both are held in tension.

Biblically, we are to submit right up until the point where submission to the state would mean disobedience to God. As the Apostle Peter told the Jewish High Council, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29)!

On the one hand, there are many examples of God’s people courageously disobeying authority when it required disobedience to God. When Pharaoh told the Hebrew midwives to kill all newborn boys, they refused to obey. But, they still lived with fear under Pharaoh’s heavy hand.

When King Nebuchadnezzar forced everyone to bow down and worship his golden image, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego said, “Not us!” And they were thrown in the lion’s den! But thankfully, God protected them.

When the Jewish High Court banned preaching in the name of Jesus, the Apostles all refused to obey. And most of them died a martyr’s death.

In each case, rebelling against the state was costly. But, those men and women chose to obey God and not the state.

On the other hand, there are several examples of believers obeying authority and working within an oppressive regime. They submitted to and even supported civil authorities that disobeyed God and punished the good.

Joseph rose to power in Egypt and miraculously became the Prime Minister of Egypt and Pharaoh’s right hand man. God worked through Joseph and used him to save the entire Jewish race from famine. And yet Joseph remained faithful to God and to Pharaoh.

The Prophet Jeremiah counseled Judah to surrender itself to a cruel and pagan Babylonian power. For 50 years, the Jewish people would remain in captivity in Babylon. But Jeremiah knew it was all part of God’s plan to restore his people who constantly rejected Him.

Jesus himself understood this reality and as he stood trial under Pilate and told him, “You would have no power (authority) over me if it were not given to you from above” (John 19:11). Jesus, in an instant could have made all his problems go away, but he chose to submit, even unto death.

So, there is a time to submit and a time to disobey. May God give us the wisdom by his Spirit to know the difference and the courage to act!

Conclusion

As members of God’s Kingdom, we’re called to submit to authority for our good. So what does all this mean and how is it relevant for our lives today?

The Bible identifies three institutions that God has established to push back evil and promote human flourishing: The family, the church, and the government. All three institutions have different and unique roles.

If you are a follower of Jesus, that means that we have different responsibilities to both God and the state. Like we’ve said, your ultimate allegiance is to Jesus Christ, first and foremost. Politics cannot solve the fundamental problems of suffering, evil, sin, and death.

But, we are dual citizens. Citizens of this world and citizens of God’s kingdom. As we love people, seek mercy and justice, and serve people for the common good, history shows us we’ll make an incredible impact on our world. This means we need to be involved more in politics

In How Christianity Changed the World, Alvin Schmidt documents Christian influence in government. Examples include outlawing infanticide, child abandonment and gladiatorial games in ancient Rome, ending the practice of human sacrifice among European cultures, banning pedophilia and polygamy, and prohibiting the burning of widows in India.

William Wilberforce, a committed Christian, was the force behind the successful effort to abolish the slave trade in England. In the United States, two-thirds of abolitionists were Christian pastors. In the 1960’s, Martin Luther King Jr., a Christian pastor, helped lead the civil rights movement against racial segregation and discrimination.”

As people look back on our generation, what will be written about God’s people? History shows us that when the people of God embrace our calling to bring the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven, they make certain programs of the government unnecessary (like hospitals, food banks, and disaster relief).

Here’s a real example of what’s possible. Today there are over 200 kids in foster care in San Mateo County. There are roughly 150, Christian churches in San Mateo County. Should Christians care about this issue? Yes (James 1). Can we end the need for governmental foster care agencies and programs in our own backyard? Yes. Absolutely. If you’re interested, check out our partner organization www.fosterthebay.org.

Rob Hall is the Lead Pastor at New North Church, located in the San Francisco Bay Area.