Is It Time for a Revolution?

Posted on January 7, 2007

Romans 13:1-7

I purchased two books over Christmas week that represent two opposing views of how a Christian citizen should relate to government. One book is by Judge Roy Moore. It was written after he took his stand to keep the Ten Commandments monument displayed on the property of the Alabama State Supreme Courthouse. He lost that battle, of course, but rallied Christian people to take a stand against bad government.

The other is by Pat Buchanon and is entitled Where the Right Went Wrong and concerns itself with the mistaken notion that a political party can deliver us from evil. I’m not particularly an advocate for either of these men’s views, but I do think that they illustrate the current cultural confusion within Christianity concerning how we should relate to our government.

I see a great conflict that stretches back to about a decade after World War II in which we have been witnessing a cultural conflict between various interests. In the sixties the groundwork was laid for a cultural revolution that sought to rebel against authority and restraint. Though our government stands firm, the culture around us reflects a hint of chaos. There ought to be a time for rebellion, as we will discuss, but there also ought to be deep reverence for the role and office of government.

Paul lived in a very different culture than ours. His was ruled by totalitarianism, and that was carried out by ungodly Caesars who exalted themselves as gods. Paul never entered a voting booth, never participated in an anti-war rally, and never wrote an editorial talking about what a poor job the Emperor was doing. He did not have these freedoms, as we do. His was certainly not a Christian government, yet he demonstrated an attitude of submissiveness toward the governing authorities of his day, as did Jesus.

THE UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLE OF “AUTHORITY”

God is a Governor. He governs the physical universe through physical laws. This is one of the reasons I don’t go skydiving – I know all about the law of gravity! He also governs the affairs of men and all of history. He is sovereign over the march of time and progress and the course of human events. We could argue about whether He has mapped out all of the details, but it is obvious that God is in charge.

Further, God has entrusted some of His governing authority to certain earthly, human institutions. He governs through them in such a way that to rebel against these God-ordained authorities is to rebel against God Himself.

God has an order for the home. It is that Husbands are to lovingly and self-sacrificially lead their wives, who are to be submissive to their husbands, as though they are submitting to the Lord. Further, parents are entrusted with authority to establish and enforce rules in the lives of their children. The first of the ten commandments with a promise of reward attached was the fifth which commands us to honor our Mother and Father.

When God’s order for the home is subverted, problems occur. Divorce, abuse, adultery, and rebellion occur. When the home fails, so does the church and government.

God has an order for the church. Hebrews 13 concerns itself with this God-ordained authority and says that church members are to have an attitude of submissiveness toward their ordained leadership. Let me state the obvious… authoritarian leaders do not reflect the leadership style of Jesus, who leads us to be servant-minded and have the best interests of others at heart, so we’re not talking about the Jim Jones’ or Peter Ruckman’s of the world, who have such control over people that they can no longer think for themselves. Rather, God calls upon the church to recognize the godly, servant-hearted men among them and to ordain them to positions of example-setting, spiritual leadership.

When God’s order for the church is subverted, there is division and strife. People often think that the church has no business how they live their lives, but that is simply not true for those who profess to be members of a church.

God has an order for civil government. Our text today declares that God has ordained it to be a peacekeeping institution in our lives. We’re going to explore what Paul said about how we relate to government, but I want you to keep the bigger picture in front of you. This text really demonstrates the kind of attitude we should have toward God’s authority no matter the specific institution we are discussing. In other words, the bigger question is, “Is Christ King of your life?” Is God in charge?

THE BASIS OF GOVERNMENT

The basis of government is God. Paul declared the “powers that be are ordained of God.” In other words, the permission to rule, the mandate to rule, and the specific choice of rulers comes from God to fulfill His purposes on this planet. And when God ordains an authority in our lives, we are to be submissive.

“What about ungodly government?” The authority of the government begins and ends with God. We must always respect the office, the position, the givers and keepers of the law, but our ultimate authority is God. Jesus and Paul both exemplified attitudes of submission in spite of tyranny, but never compromised their own convictions or morals.

I believe our own nation began right. It began in prayer. The Constitutional Congress was ready to give up on finding an effective form of government until Ben Franklin rose to speak of the sovereignty of God. He called them to begin each of their sessions in prayer and we have today the Constitution of the United States.

I also believe that our government is not a “Christian” government or a religious institution, and while we are to stand as Christian citizens and do all that we can to influence our culture, we cannot ultimately count on the faithfulness of a government to rule in place of the Kingdom and rule of Christ in the hearts of men. In other words, while I believe that we ought to allow God to guide us, the state is not the church and the church is not the state. The church merely ought to be the conscience of the state.

We could easily complain about our current laws which allow abortion, pornography, gambling, drunkenness, etc. We should certainly take a stand when we have the opportunity to fight concerning these issues, but the greater problem exists in the hearts of our citizens who take full advantage of these freedoms. Our greater task is to win the hearts of people to Christ so that our culture will be changed one soul at a time.

Though gambling is legal, wouldn’t it be great if nobody wanted to visit Vegas anymore? What if we changed the slogan to “What happens in Vegas… isn’t much!” Though abortion is legal, wouldn’t it be great if nobody visited an abortion clinic? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the “adult” establishments across the land found another business because there was no more money in publishing pornography?

This will happen as we pray for our leaders to establish peace and the freedom for us to share our faith in Christ with others, to enlarge the church, and to enlarge our influence.

THE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT

Paul states the purpose of government very simply. Government exists to protect the innocent and to punish the guilty, to secure the freedoms of law-abiding citizens and to execute justice against law-breakers. Paul says he “does not bear the sword in vain.” Some apply this directly to capital punishment, but I believe Paul is making a broad statement concerning the enforcement of penalties against crimes as well as the defense of freedom from opposing nations. Government, not the church nor the home, has the right to use force to enforce law and protect peace.

Smaller segments of our societies, various subcultures, such as the hippie movement and today’s goth culture celebrate freedom from government and call for anarchy, but that is never God’s plan. He is a lawmaker, He is an enforcer and punisher to secure the rights and privileges of good people to live in peace and harmony.

OUR RESPONSE TO GOVERNMENT

What should our response to government be?

1. Paul says that we are to submit to the governing authorities as a way of showing our submissiveness to God. It’s our way of honoring God’s choice and recognizing His ultimate authority and sovereignty. We must respect the laws of the land except where they contradict the clearly revealed will of God. When a conflict occurs between government and God, “we must obey God rather than man.” (Acts 5:29)

2. Paul also says that we should pay taxes. Jesus agreed and did the same (Mark 12:17). It’s never our right to withhold our taxes just because we have an ideological disagreement with the government.

3. Elsewhere Paul says that we are to pray for our government and our leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2). We ought to be praying for our President, Governor, and all other leaders on a regular basis, not only so that they might have God’s guidance, but so that we might continue to have the freedom to witness for Christ.

4. Jesus would also tell us that we’re here to be the “salt” and “light” of this world, to exert and influence. Christians should run for office if they feel led to do so. Christians should vote, should voice their beliefs in the marketplace, and should take a stand for righteousness when opportunities come. But most of all, Christians should be salt and light to the culture around us, telling others about Christ.

THE GREATER QUESTION

Who is the King of your life? Who is sovereign for you?

The greater question today is “does King Jesus have the ultimate rule and reign in your heart today, or are you your own god, setting your own rules, and ‘going about to establish your own righteousness?’” If you’ve never trust Him as Savior and invited Him to be your Lord and King, would you do so today? Would you make today the day of salvation?