No Authority But From God

[0:00] You're listening to the online sermon podcast ministry of the First Baptist Church of Jackson, Kentucky. Hi, my name is Jonathan Clemens and I'm the pastor of the First Baptist Church.

[0:12] We've put this sermon archive together and we pray that it will be a blessing to the saints and edifying to those who follow the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as that it would be a light to those in our community who have questions about the gospel.

[0:24] One of the wonderful benefits of the internet is that it can give us so much access to good quality Bible teaching materials.

[0:35] But I want to encourage you not to use the internet as a crutch or a substitute for obedience to Jesus. It's so important that each and every one of you are trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation and growing in spiritual maturity and in fruitfulness before the Lord.

[0:53] And that requires obedience to His command to assemble and be a part of a local congregation. God calls each of us to go to church, but not just go to church, be a part of a church.

[1:05] And I want to encourage you, if you're not a member of a church, to find that biblical church. One that preaches and teaches the Lord Jesus Christ and one that will embrace you as an important part of the congregation.

[1:18] And be active and involved. You can never use online materials to substitute obedience. Well, our sermon will follow shortly.

[1:29] I pray that this ministry will be a blessing to you. And we would love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out to us over our Facebook page. You can contact us on our church website.

[1:40] And of course, you're always welcome to join us on a Sunday morning. You'll find us at 1105 Main Street in Jackson, Kentucky. That's at the corner of Main Street and Broadway down by the police station and City Hall.

[1:54] We gather at 1045 in the morning and we would love to see you. Have a wonderful day. God bless. God bless. God bless.

[2:15] Things that people have weighing on their hearts and on their minds.

[2:47] And as I said last week, everything that's been happening in these past two years, the virus and all these things that have been happening, those aren't necessarily the real problems.

[2:58] Rather, they're symptoms of the real problems. They're revealing the real problems. The real problems were around before the pandemic, and the real problems are going to be around after the pandemic also.

[3:10] These problems have been with us for a long time, and it's going to take a greater miracle for us to be delivered as a people from these problems than it is even from the virus that so many people are concerned about.

[3:23] Now, going through troubling times, we've taken time to look at Psalm 110. And it's a psalm that we all need to know. It's a psalm that we all need to hold close to our heart because it deals with Christ's reign.

[3:37] It starts with Christ's reign from His ascension through present day all the way to the very end. It is perhaps one of the most important passages on eschatology or on the end times that a Christian can know because it explains Christ's governance of the world.

[3:54] And of course, what is Psalm 110 about? It's about God the Father making a promise to God the Son that the Son will sit next to Him and reign next to Him until the Father makes all the enemies of Christ His footstool.

[4:08] And throughout history, there have been many enemies that rise up against Christ. Political enemies, religious enemies, philosophical enemies. Some people just plain hate Jesus.

[4:20] And throughout the ages, enemy after enemy has fallen to God's judgment. Enemy after enemy has perished. And of course, the last enemy to be brought before Christ.

[4:32] And of course, that phrase, to be made a footstool, is when a king would place his foot on the neck of a defeated king, is death. That will be the last enemy that Christ defeats before the end.

[4:45] Psalm 110 celebrates the reign of Christ. It's something we should hold near to our hearts. It will strengthen our faith as we go through hardship. Though we grow weary, we have assurance that God will strengthen us by His Holy Spirit, and God has already determined to give Christ the victory.

[5:05] All we need to do is remain faithful. All we need to do is hang on. Last week, we looked at the issue of fear. We live in a society where fear is constantly being peddled.

[5:18] Fear is constantly being pushed. There are some other favorite sins, such as covetousness that we see being taken advantage of and used to promote goods and wares in our own society.

[5:30] But fear is the favorite tool as of late. We see politicians, we see individuals who want control, using fear to gain control. If people are only concerned enough, afraid enough, they will be completely compliant.

[5:47] And they don't even try and hide the fact that they're using fear to control people. It's out in the open. And we should be afraid, they would say, and heed their warnings.

[5:59] Of course, the problem with fear is that it's not a tool to be used for control. This is what we would call manipulation. God does not approve of people manipulating other people.

[6:12] Rather, fear actually has a corrosive effect to it. Fear in and of itself is dangerous. We're to fear God. But when we place our fear in other realms, fear becomes corrosive to faith.

[6:27] As we saw, Jesus rebuked His disciples. They were in the middle of a natural disaster. There's all kinds of disasters. There are man-made disasters. Someone dumps something somewhere that they shouldn't.

[6:38] Something's not taken care of. Vehicles not maintained. Poor political policies create man-made disasters. And then there are natural disasters. That nobody could stop.

[6:49] Nobody has control over. And the disciples are caught in the middle of a horrific natural disaster, aren't they? A storm. And Jesus calms the storm and He rebukes them for their lack of faith.

[7:04] Why? They had been overcome with fear. Fear is corrosive to faith. Today we're going to look at the Christians' relationship to government and particularly the limits that God has placed upon government.

[7:21] All authorities are limited by God. Only God alone is all-powerful. And that's important for us to understand. And as I've said, the hardships of the last two years have revealed problems in our society.

[7:37] And they've revealed problem ways of thinking in our society. In society abroad and in the church. Problem ways of thinking even about government.

[7:49] And what we've seen happen throughout the course of this pandemic is human nature rear its ugly head once again. The sinful human nature, the sinful tendency to create idols.

[8:02] Of course, we're probably somewhat familiar with idolatry proper, especially if you've been traveling abroad. People will create for themselves a little statue or sometimes even a big statue.

[8:14] They'll place it on the hearth in their home, in a shrine, or in a temple. And they will worship the created thing. And they will serve the created thing.

[8:25] And they will look to the created thing to help them. Of course, that created thing in their thinking represents something greater. It represents some deity or some god in a pantheon of gods that exists to serve them.

[8:40] The sailor worships the god of the sea. That idol exists to serve him. The soldier worships the god of war. That idol exists to serve him.

[8:52] The farmer worships the god of fertility. Many children to work the land, fruitful crops and livestock. Their deities exist to serve them.

[9:03] Of course, we've become more sophisticated in our idolatry today. As well-refined moderns, although people are quickly forsaking modernism even and going back into old paganism.

[9:17] But as moderns, we scoff at the idea of praying to a statue. We know that statue can't do anything. Yet people will put their hope in creation. They'll put their hope in their own business prowess.

[9:31] They'll put their hope in their family. They'll put their hope in the economy. They'll put their hope in a philosophy or an ideology. And they'll even put their hope in the government.

[9:45] The government is a created institution. God ordained government. Government serves a purpose and that is it is supposed to enforce justice and protected citizens.

[9:59] That's the purpose of government. And oftentimes, people who look to serve the creature rather than the creator will exalt government to the place of God.

[10:11] Now this is an old sin. It's happened throughout history. In Egypt, Pharaoh was worshipped as a god. Caesar in Rome was worshipped as a god.

[10:23] Christians were killed because they refused to note that Caesar was lord. They weren't denying that he had political power. They were denying that he was a god. All throughout history, there were leaders of ancient empires that claimed to be gods.

[10:39] They claimed to be demigods or descendants of gods. They claimed to be incarnations and reincarnations of gods. Of course, this was all an anti-Christ spirit.

[10:51] It was all Satan seeking to send false saviors, false messiahs to throw people off the path of the Lord Jesus Christ. We see it all throughout the ages. People idolatrously worshipping government.

[11:08] All throughout the ages. Looking to the politicians. Looking to the political people to give what only God intends to give. Safety.

[11:19] Security. Peace. Meaning. Purpose. They seek to find all those things not in Christ, but in our fallen political system.

[11:30] It is problematic. And you can tell that idolatrous notions are revealed when people are willing to sin.

[11:42] If someone is willing to sin to get something, and I've said this before, it's a great way to discern in our own lives if we have an idol. If I'm willing to sin to get something, or I'm willing to sin if I don't get what I want, what am I saying?

[11:58] God doesn't matter. His righteousness doesn't matter. What I want matters more. And if you see people willing to sin over politics, what does that reveal about their heart?

[12:14] They've become idolaters. Have we seen sin and politics tied up in any way ever? No, I must be the only one, right? No. They go hand in hand.

[12:25] People worship government. People put it in the place that only rightly belongs to God. And of course this is understandable especially with secularly minded people.

[12:37] The irreligious or areligious, those who view humanity as the best and the greatest good, then look at the most powerful expressions of humanity. You look at civilization.

[12:48] Well, who's in charge of a civilization? The government. Well, who's in charge of the government? And they go to that person if they can. Or they go to that system and they look to it as the greatest and the best.

[13:01] And they place it in the place of God. Now, God has established government. He has created government. It has a good purpose. And Christians are called to honor government.

[13:14] All authorities are established by God. Wives are supposed to submit to their husbands. Children are supposed to obey their parents. In the church, we're supposed to submit to church leadership.

[13:28] And in the civil sphere, we're supposed to submit to government. That is the way that God has derived it. Yet the government, like all of these other institutions, derives its authority from God's will.

[13:42] And should never replace God in our thinking. We see abuses of this, or we see people's hearts straying, when they elevate authorities into the place that only God should have.

[13:56] There are some people so attached to their parents, for example, they've idolatized... I'm having trouble with that word this morning. They've turned their parents into so much of an idol, and we should love our parents, and we should imitate them insofar as they imitate Christ.

[14:13] But they've become so attached to their parents that they can't function without their parents. We can see this in society. Now, it's not... I wouldn't say super common. I would say people have turned, increasingly, the government into an idol.

[14:27] But you can see people that are incapacitated. They don't launch. They don't get out. They don't contribute to society. They have an unhealthy clinginess to their parents, even into adulthood.

[14:38] And then when they bury their parents, they cease to be able to function in any meaningful way. It can happen. They idolize their parents. Now, we're supposed to honor our parents and respect our parents, and as parents, we're supposed to set good examples that hopefully our kids want to imitate, right?

[14:54] But it's wrong to idolize anyone. And it cripples children when they idolize their parents. We see in church, authorities exalted in an unhealthy way.

[15:06] Look no further than the medieval church, the Roman Catholic church, where you see the Pope is essentially worshipped. Where dead saints are essentially worshipped. It happens in Protestantism too.

[15:17] That's us. You have people, you know, they're referred to as pastor worshippers or cults of personality that form around famous individuals. This happens, and it of course happens with government.

[15:29] And we live in a society increasingly that has exalted government to a place that is not healthy, and everyone is told just to fall in line.

[15:40] Just to follow government. Just do whatever government says. All authorities, all peoples, fall in line and just do what the man tells you to do.

[15:52] That's what we're told. We hear it of the church. Church. The church needs to just do what the government says to do. That would solve our problems in a society.

[16:03] Families just need to do what the government says to do. That would solve the problems in society. And it's understandable. Secular minded people who've exalted the government to this unhealthy place of God in their life, it makes sense.

[16:18] If government is God, then everybody should bow to government. What happens when Christians don't? What happens when the church doesn't? What happens when whole families don't? We run into controversy.

[16:31] Now, this year has challenged much of our thinking. And perhaps most surprising are the mistaken voices from inside of the church that often call for the same thing.

[16:43] Mistaken, I say, because, and by referring to church, I'm referring to the broader church. Mistaken, I say, because there's a mistaken understanding of the role of government, and there's a mistaken understanding of the church's relationship to the government, and there's a mistaken understanding of the individual Christian's relationship towards the government.

[17:05] And oftentimes, Christians think that good Christians fold right in, and guess what? Just do whatever they're told by the government.

[17:15] I'm sure we've all heard this sentiment in the church. It's a saying. I've heard it since the time I was a child. I'm not going to ask for a show of hands. But I bet some of you have heard this same saying.

[17:27] Perhaps slightly different words were used. But it goes something like this. Unless the government asks you to commit a personal sin, you have to do what they say.

[17:40] I think we've probably all heard that saying. Unless the government asks you to commit a personal sin, you have to do whatever they say. And then you ask, well, what's an example of something that a Christian shouldn't do?

[17:51] Well, obviously, you should never deny Christ. Right? I've heard that expression so many times in this pattern. And sometimes they'll say, oh, and you shouldn't do things like murder.

[18:04] Or steal. Right? You do whatever the government says unless the government asks you to commit a personal sin. You obey them unless they ask you to commit a personal sin.

[18:15] In everything you obey them. Right? That's the idea. Now, we've heard that. I remember hearing that. I've heard that my whole life and thought, well, we're supposed to honor our authorities. Right? What? Well, we've had our thinking challenged.

[18:27] We've had our inch deep theology on government challenged in the past few years. That's actually not what the Bible says. We're going to be looking at Romans 13. But you know, just to kind of perhaps prime us for this, we wouldn't settle for this in any other area of life.

[18:44] I want you to imagine a bride, she just gets married, she sets up her home, they've gotten back from the honey room, and her husband is never home.

[18:55] The new husband is just absent. And he'll come in tired, he'll eat cold supper, he'll go to bed, he just doesn't come home after work. And she said, what in the world are you doing?

[19:07] And he says, I must obey my mother in all things unless she asks me to commit a personal sin like murder or deny Christ.

[19:19] I must obey my mother in all things. You would say, wow, that's really unhealthy. There's something not right about that situation. We won't accept it in family. We wouldn't settle for it in church, would we?

[19:34] You know, if someone calls you and says, well, I've signed up for the new members class at my church and something strange has happened. They've handed me a uniform complete with matching sneakers that everyone else is wearing.

[19:47] They want me to put the church's treasure on my checking account. And they've asked me to submit to them in all things unless I'm asked to commit a personal sin like murder someone or deny Christ.

[19:59] We would say, run. That is a cult. Run from that. We know that it's not right in family. We know that it's not right in the church. And then when we get to the government, what do we say?

[20:10] Well, you've got to do whatever the government says unless they ask you to commit a personal sin. You shouldn't murder or deny Christ. Right? Now, if you want to have that as your standard, I'm going to give you some examples of what that means.

[20:26] You might say, these are ridiculous examples. Just know that all but one of these I know of are enforced by world governments today. Alright? First one.

[20:37] It's not a sin to be single. Government could outlaw marriage. And Christians would have to obey. If you're going to apply that standard, you've got to be consistent.

[20:50] If government can do anything except ask you to commit a personal sin, government could outlaw marriage. Government could arbitrarily impose dietary restrictions on people.

[21:04] You know, it's not a sin. If you don't like dairy, you know it's not a sin to not eat dairy. Well, the government could come along and say no more dairy. And as a good Christian, if you're going to obey the government in all things, you would have to submit to that.

[21:20] They could come along and arbitrarily outlaw holidays. You know, you don't have to celebrate any holidays. If there were some Christians that moved to America from a remote area of China and they didn't celebrate Easter and Thanksgiving and they say, what is this Protestant religious calendar you hold to?

[21:38] We don't do that. They don't have to do those holidays. They're fun, but you know what? They don't have to. It's not a sin if they sit at home and are austere. We don't have to celebrate holidays so government can outlaw all holidays, birthdays, anniversaries.

[21:53] The government could then turn around and mandate celebrations. Hey everybody, we're going to celebrate government day. If you're not down in the city square you're going to be fined. Well, that's not a sin to celebrate government day.

[22:04] I guess we should just do that. They could mandate any health related thing that they wanted. They could take body mass indexes and ration food based on that.

[22:16] Well, is it a sin to eat rationed food? No. I guess we would have to do that. They could mandate exercise. exercise. Every morning at 7 o'clock you need to be out at the end of your driveway doing your morning exercises.

[22:32] Is it a sin to do morning exercises at the end of your driveway? No. They could do it. They could place everyone under curfew. Everyone needs to be in bed by 8 o'clock at night and you can't get up until 6.30 in the morning.

[22:46] Is it a sin to keep that schedule? Of course not. You keep that schedule, that's just fine. I guess if we're going to do whatever government says we have to do it. What about fuel rationing?

[22:58] You can only be 20 miles from your house. If not, you're fine. I guess we would have to do that. Other travel restrictions. What about telling people where to work? What if they just say, here, take this test, it's on your competencies, you have to work where we say.

[23:10] Is it a sin to work where someone says? No. It's not a personal sin. How about how many children you have? Does God mandate a family size in Scripture?

[23:24] No. You see, all those things are ridiculous. No government would ever ask you to do that. Actually, there's several we can name right now that all those things, except maybe marriage. I don't know about the marriage one. They exist.

[23:37] There are people that interested in running your life. They exist. And if you have the standard, does a life live that way honor God? No.

[23:49] But if you want to have this as your law for how you relate to the government, this is what you have to be willing to accept. And we have so many churches, so many people, so many individuals, so many people writing articles and putting them out there that say, you have to obey the government and whatever they ask, unless they ask you to commit a personal sin.

[24:10] And they're walking free people into slavery that does not honor God. And they're doing it in complete ignorance. They don't understand what they're saying.

[24:22] They haven't thought it through. Today we're going to look at Romans 13. And I want to remind you that the apostles spoke about submission to government.

[24:35] As well as Jesus. And every one of them was murdered by the government except John. So obviously, they have a little bit of a different idea than just do whatever the government says as long as you don't commit a personal sin.

[24:53] We're going to look at Romans 13. And we're going to see today a few things. First, the standard is not do whatever the government says unless they ask you to commit a personal sin. The standard is Christians are required to submit to the government in so far as it obeys God.

[25:11] that's important. We wouldn't accept any other standard anywhere else. For example, I would not accept some other man coming and trying to run my household.

[25:23] That's not his authority. That's not his jurisdiction. That's not acceptable. There are limits placed upon government. And Christians are only required to submit to the government in so far as the government obeys Christ.

[25:42] And there's some application to that because it's not always clear. Christians should be respectful and honor government authorities even if the authorities are sinful because if we can't honor sinful authorities we can't honor any authorities, right?

[25:56] We have to be gracious people. When the government does infringe upon Christians, there are areas of indifference. Areas that we shouldn't make a mountain out of a old hill?

[26:09] And we must ask, does our behavior honor Christ? That's an important question to ask when issues arise. And we'll get into what this looks like.

[26:23] And finally, Christians have many areas in life in which we are called to be faithful. It's not just obey the government and whatever they ask except for personal sins.

[26:36] if you did that you couldn't be a faithful child. You couldn't be a faithful parent. You couldn't be a faithful husband or wife or Christian.

[26:47] There are so many areas that we're called to even lead in. That if we were to walk away from those positions as Christians, we would abdicate our responsibilities. It is not practical to hold to that as a standard.

[27:01] So let's go ahead and we'll look at Romans chapter 13 and we'll consider these things. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers.

[27:12] For there is no power but of God and the powers that be ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

[27:27] For rulers are not a terror to good works but to evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good and thou shalt have the praise of the same.

[27:38] 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.

[27:54] Wherefore he must needs be subject not only for wrath but also for conscience sake. For this cause pay ye tribute also.

[28:05] 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 honor to whom honor.

[28:19] This is the word of the Lord. So we see there clear instructions given to the church in Rome on how they are to relate to governing authorities.

[28:33] Now when we read Paul especially when we look at the example set forward of authorities it's important for us to know that typically there's an objection that says well but what if children obey your parents but what if it's an abuse situation?

[28:53] Or wives submit to your husbands but what if it's an abuse situation? Or submit to your pastors or what if they're heretics? What if they're false teachers? Or submit to your government but what if it's a corrupt government?

[29:07] There's the what if questions. When Paul tells husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church and wives to submit to their husbands and children to obey their parents and church members to submit to their leaders he's always putting out the ideal the godly picture.

[29:26] It's not how to submit to in an abuse situation it's how to submit to in general this is what it should look like. So the picture given here in Romans 13 is what government should look like.

[29:39] Just like the commands in the household are what a godly marriage should look like this is what a godly government should look like. You're going to have governments for example that turn their sword against the innocent and terrorize them.

[29:53] Paul's not talking about them here is he? He's talking about those who stand for the good and punish the evil. Now what do we see first off?

[30:03] Well rulers these people in government are meant to be extensions of God's authority. He says for there is no power but God and the powers that are ordained of God.

[30:18] Whosoever therefore resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God and they that resist shall receive themselves damnation. So what he's saying here is that the government is if you want to use this as an analogy is the tool in God's hand to punish evil.

[30:35] That's the role of the government. So we honor the government because they're God's tool in his hand for our good. We see government established in family.

[30:48] We see government established in the church and we of course see government established in the civil realm. God himself exemplifies all three types of government. God is a father, God is head of the church, and God is a king.

[31:03] He exemplifies it. The ideas for the ancient courts, the crowns, the thrones, the scepters, the swords, all of these existed at creation. If you just look at the Garden of Eden there's a flaming sword there in the Garden of Eden.

[31:17] Who had the first idea of the sword? God did. These were all elements of his kingdom that humanity began to mimic in our living. So government is patterned after God.

[31:31] It is an extension of his rule in this world. The government has a specific ministry. The governing authorities have a specific service.

[31:43] Verse 3, For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same.

[31:54] 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 avenger to execute wrath.

[32:06] Whose wrath? God's wrath on them that doeth evil. So, does this passage of Scripture say that the government determines right and wrong?

[32:19] Is that what this passage of Scripture says? No. The government doesn't determine right and wrong. God determines right and wrong. The government simply responds, or should respond, accordingly.

[32:33] The Scripture says there is none good but God. And those who are evil, they walk contrary to God's will. That is the understanding here in this passage.

[32:45] That the government then punishes those who walk contrary to God's will. It punishes those guilty of committing moral crimes.

[32:56] That's the role of the government. So if someone murders, if someone steals, if someone is deceitful in courts or is a con artist, if their business practices are shady, if they're building houses that are actually a hazard, these are things that the government is particularly well equipped to deal with.

[33:24] They can arrest them, they can fine them, they can do some great things in this area. Government has an important role.

[33:35] We don't want to minimize the importance of government. They can keep society a safe place. by making sure people don't do bad things to other people. That's the role of government, to punish evil and do good.

[33:51] Scripture says that they're a terror to those that do evil works. That is, government is supposed to be scary. Government is supposed to bear the sword, as it says here in Scripture.

[34:06] That there should be a legitimate fear of doing wrong in people's hearts and minds. If someone starts cooking meth in their house, they should live in fear.

[34:18] But a SWAT team is going to kick their door in and arrest them. If someone kidnaps someone, they should be afraid of that. People should be terrorized if they're doing evil by the government.

[34:33] That's a legitimate function of the government. They should strike fear into the heart of evil people so that evil people will not do evil. It's a grace to restrain evil people.

[34:47] And of course, they are to praise good works. We see them collecting taxes. So what's an example of praising good works? Well, you know, ideally, if you're collecting taxes and you're punishing bad guys and protecting your borders, and you have surplus of tax money, what are ways that you can reward your good citizens?

[35:06] for not being criminals, for paying into the system? Well, you can do some things like build roads, parks, things of that nature to reward the good behavior.

[35:18] These are the functions of the government. And of course, those who obey should expect to be praised. The government should hold up those that are good citizens and honor them, and the government should make a distinction between bad citizens.

[35:38] If it ever flips, if the wicked are praised and the righteous are condemned, and if that fearful sword is turned against the innocent, then you have a tyrannical and wicked government.

[35:52] Now, we have to ask a question here for the role of government. Does government, we'll start broad, we'll start easy. Does government have all power, or has God only given government limited power?

[36:09] Does government have all power, or does it have limited power? And if God limits the power of the government in any way, if in any way the government is not all powerful, then we must admit that God limits the power of the government.

[36:28] To ask it a little bit differently, if the government has no limits to power, then it's all powerful. God is all powerful.

[36:40] Do we see it evident that government is all powerful? God commands the heavenly courts. Do our senators?

[36:54] God governs the far reaches of the universe through the laws of physics. Are we passing new laws of physics? The government is not all powerful.

[37:06] It has limits. Not only that, we see that it has limits even geographically. Sadly, we saw with Afghanistan, if you're too far away from your kind of home people, they can't help you.

[37:20] They can't do a thing for you. There are limits, innumerable limits, placed upon government. As a matter of fact, Scripture testifies of this. Government is not all powerful.

[37:30] God would never be able to create someone equal to Himself. You say, well, is that something God can't do? Yes, there is something God can't do. God can't create an uncreated creator of all things.

[37:42] Because to create an uncreated creator is to create a creature. There's nothing uncreated but God. So God cannot make another God.

[37:55] As a matter of fact, God doesn't want to make another God. Isaiah 42, 8-9. I am the Lord, that is my name and my glory. I will not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

[38:06] And this is how he kind of shares some about his glory, his reputation. He says, behold, the former things that are come to pass, and the new things do I declare, before they spring forth, I tell them to you.

[38:20] God's glory is that the things that have happened in the past, He's decreed. He's decreed what will happen in the future. And you know how he knows what's going to happen in the future? Because he tells us before it happens.

[38:31] Government is not all powerful. God is all powerful. As a matter of fact, God has a purpose in limiting the size and scope of nations and their governments. Acts 17, 26. And he has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times.

[38:51] There is a shelf life on every people, nation, and government, and the boundaries of their dwellings, their borders, their jurisdictions, so that they should what?

[39:04] Seek Him in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each of us. God has limited the power, the duration, the geographical location of governments.

[39:19] Why? For His own glory. For His own purposes. Remember the scattering at the Tower of Babel? He commanded them to spread across the face of the earth. God has a plan to bring salvation to the peoples, and He uses fractured governments to do that.

[39:36] Government, we see it being limited in jurisdiction. The Canadian Prime Minister can't come tell you how to cut your grass. The King of Sweden can't come over here and demand that you, clean the tires on his car.

[39:52] They have limited jurisdictions. When government bumps into government, we see this. Perry County can't come over here with their law enforcement and do whatever they want, can they?

[40:06] It's not their jurisdiction. There's limits to government. And there are, why? They bump into other governing authorities. When authorities with limited power bump into another authority with limited power in a different area, they stop and the other authority starts.

[40:23] Now, for us as Christians, it's important to understand this because we have other authorities besides government, don't we? We have authorities in the home.

[40:35] We have authority in the church. church. Ephesians 5.23 speaks of the role of a husband. It says, for the husband is head of the wife, even as Christ is head of the church.

[40:51] So who's head of the wife? Who's head of the household, if you will? The husband. Now, he has a ministry. Ephesians 5.25, the husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church.

[41:02] 1 Peter 3.7, he's to live with his wife in an understanding way. Colossians 3.19, he's to love his wife and not become harsh with her. He has a ministry to love his wife as Christ loves the church.

[41:17] That's the ideal set forward. Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 11.3, but I would have you to know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God.

[41:34] There's a created order. Who's the head of the family? Who's the head of the household? Who is God ordained with jurisdiction within the family? The husband, the father. Ephesians, I'm sorry, 1 Peter 3.5-6.

[41:49] For after this manner, in the old time, the holy women of old, also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection to their own husbands, even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord, whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.

[42:10] Now this is not a popular verse with feminists. There's much here that can be said that we don't even have time to address. We don't have time to address it. But when God looks at a home, when God looks at a family, there's a structure to it.

[42:27] Children obeying parents, wife submitting to husband, husband head of the wife, head of the household. Of course, children grow up and leave. That's what they're made to do.

[42:38] Start their own families. And there's two key words used here. The first is submission of the wife.

[42:49] And that is hypotasso. It is to be subordinate or arranged under. 1 Corinthians 15.27 says this of God for Christ.

[43:01] He says, for he hath put all things under his feet. All things are in subjection to Christ. The wife submits to the husband. She comes under his leadership, his authority.

[43:13] And what is the husband referred to in this passage? Lord. Or kurios. The same title that Christ receives. As Lord.

[43:25] And there's so much teaching that needs to be done in this. You say, wow, is the husband like God to his wife? Well, no. Just like governing authorities aren't like God to us.

[43:36] They have a limited set of responsibilities and real authority in those. The husband does too. He has a limited set of responsibilities to love and serve his wife as Christ loves the church.

[43:47] And his real authority is used to love and serve his family. But when God looks at a government, in the old days we could say it this way, he sees a lord or a king.

[43:59] And when he looks at a family, what does he see? In the husband. And a real authority. The king of his house. That's how scripture views it.

[44:13] The same is said of those that would lead in the church. Let those who rule well be worthy of double honor.

[44:25] Speaking of elders. Of course, what do elders do? They have all authority? No. They have authority to preach and teach God's word. To protect the flock from heresy. So here is another set of leaders out there.

[44:37] Of rulers. Of authorities. What do you suppose happens when the king of France decides to step into the king of England's lane? He says, back off buddy, you don't have authority here.

[44:52] What do you suppose happens when the government steps into the family's lane? What's that husband, what's that father supposed to say?

[45:04] Back off. You don't have authority here. Same thing is true in the church. And any authority is perfectly capable of infringing on the rights of another. The good things that government is doing that honor the Lord and actually make society a better place.

[45:21] And when the government infringes and when the government invades, we ought to stand up against them. Just as the Christians of old said, no, we're not going to preach your sermons that you give us.

[45:36] There was a story up in Scotland when the king of England sent a new book of prayer up into Scotland. There's right ways to respond to authority in wrong ways. And she was a milkmaid and she brought her stool to sit in church and when she heard that decree, she picked up that stool and chucked it at the king's agent.

[45:54] Right? That's probably not a good Christian response. But we're not to cave. Because for us to say, okay, government, come run our lives, is to sin.

[46:06] Is to forsake the callings that God has placed upon us. We saw an example of this. God says in Exodus 34, 21, He says, six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest.

[46:23] In the earring time and in the harvest, that's the planting and the harvest, thou shalt rest. Doesn't matter the time of the year, you work six days, you rest one. Lazy people hate this commandment.

[46:35] And it's not because it tells them they have to get up early and go to church. It's because it says six days you shall work. As much as it is a commandment to gather and worship, it's a commandment to work.

[46:48] You say, I don't know, that comes from the Old Testament, you know. And while it is true we're not under mosaic regulations regarding the Sabbath, we have the Lord's Day, the Christian Sabbath. And if you want some New Testament verses, Paul says this, 2 Thessalonians 3.10, If a man does not work, neither should he eat.

[47:06] It's New Testament addressing the same topic, Hebrews 10.25, Do not forsake the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some. It really hasn't changed. We are to submit to God's law, God is king, God determines what is good.

[47:22] So what happens when the government comes in and says, we're not allowing you to work. We're not allowing you to worship. You say, well, their job is to protect public safety.

[47:38] And if healthy people go out and work, they might get sick. You know, there was a government established in the Old Testament that dealt with sickness. Do you know what they did when someone got sick?

[47:52] Fred has leprosy. Everybody, stay in your homes. Don't leave your house or you'll die. No, what did they do? They built a shed for Fred outside of the city. And he lived outside of the city.

[48:04] The sick were quarantined. The healthy went back to work. Went back to synagogue. And by the way, when Fred recovered, you know what he could do? He could go back to the authorities and get let back into the city.

[48:17] The whole idea of taking healthy people who have the conviction they should work and worship and forcing them to stay home is sinful.

[48:30] It's not God's authority that he's given. And if you want any further proof, guess what didn't work? Making everyone stay home.

[48:41] Did not work. The government did not have that authority, but they presumed to do that. God has not given the government all power.

[48:53] He's given the government limited authority to punish crimes and protect their borders. And what are the Christians' obligation to the authorities?

[49:04] Well, verse 3. 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 the praise of the same.

[49:18] You don't want to live in fear of getting arrested or fined or anything. You know what? Don't break the law. That's what Paul is saying. Do good things. Be a good moral person.

[49:33] And you don't have to live in fear of a government that punishes evil and rewards good. You do what's good, you don't have to live in fear of a government that is good.

[49:46] That's what Scripture says. Be a good moral person. So if you build a house, build it to code so people don't die.

[49:59] If you're a doctor, do safe doctoring. Care for others. Be a good person.

[50:10] You have nothing to fear. The bad guys should be afraid. Now, what do you do, for example, if there's an overlap in authorities?

[50:23] We'll get practical on a few things. An overlap on authorities. Well, there's two types of overlap. There's a legitimate overlap and there's a sinful overlap.

[50:35] Well, a legitimate overlap in authority, we could see it with the flooding in this area. Every head of household, guess what they were responsible to do? Care for the safety of everyone in their home.

[50:49] Who's also responsible to care for everyone's safety? Civil authorities. There is an overlap. There is an overlap there. When we were being evacuated, we were told a ten foot wall of water was about to come sweeping through Lakeside Drive.

[51:06] I don't understand that because the water wasn't ten feet above Lakeside Drive. I don't understand that. I think it was a scare tactic. But it was flooding and we were evacuating. And what do you do in that situation?

[51:22] Well, they tell you the route to go. Provide a safe exit. They give you information. And you work together. I would defer to them if I wanted to go a different way.

[51:33] Fine. I'm going to assume the city knows the way out of the city. Right? Or whatever. You defer to them. What do you do when the overlap is illegitimate?

[51:45] I'll pick an old one that was an issue. It's probably not an issue now. The seatbelt law. Is it wise to wear a seatbelt?

[51:57] Yes, I wear a seatbelt. Do we want the type of government that worries about whether or not its citizens wear seatbelts? Some people put forward that it's not legitimate for them to pass that.

[52:10] It's not legitimate for them to so infringe upon people. If a person doesn't eat healthy, the government's not kicking in their door. Just put the seatbelt on.

[52:23] Don't make the mountain out of a molehill. There are areas in which the government might infringe upon us, but we have to pray and ask, what brings God the most glory?

[52:37] If someone's rude to you in the store, if they act unloving, you draw the battle lines and you point their sins out. We live in a sinful world. There are times when any authority is going to infringe either intentionally or unintentionally on another.

[52:51] We must ask, what glorifies God the most and make the proper decision? So there's a legitimate overlap.

[53:03] There's an illegitimate overlap. That's not a big deal. But what do you do when there's an outright invasion into your sphere by authorities that is not godly, and if you were to cooperate or submit to those authorities, it would mean that you were being unfaithful and sinning in some area of life?

[53:30] What do you do when there's such an egregious violation? Well, these are just some options.

[53:41] I'm sure there are more. What do Christians do? It's not a sin to resist ungodly authority. There was a church out in California in Grace Community Church.

[53:53] The government came in and said, we're shutting you down because of the virus. They said, we're not shutting down. They took their county to court. The court ruled in favor of the church.

[54:06] They were awarded $800,000 in damages because the authority was wrong. You see, we're blessed to live in the country we live in because of the checks and the balances and the overlapping levels of authority.

[54:26] As Americans, we're under a constitution. We're under a president. We're under the Congress. That's the Senate and the House.

[54:37] A judiciary under the Supreme Court. We're under a state constitution. We're under a governor. We're under our state legislator. That's the House and the Senate. There's the state judicial branch.

[54:49] There are county authorities. There are city authorities. We have all of these people that we're under. What do you do when one of them loses their mind and oversteps legitimate God-honoring boundaries that God has established, but especially, oftentimes, legal boundaries?

[55:14] What do you do? You have a whole list of authorities there you can submit to. And you know what often happens when one gets out of line? Another stands up and says, no, you're wrong.

[55:27] If your president loses his mind, your governor might be doing okay. If Congress loses its mind, mandates something, the state legislator might have something to say about it.

[55:45] You say, well, it's the bigger fish. The bigger fish always wins. The Scripture says, we ought to submit to our authorities.

[55:55] And what do you do when one authority is in sin and wrong, even though it's greater, and the lesser authority stands up and says, what you're doing is wrong. Do you go to the lesser authority and just say, well, he's not asking you to commit a personal sin.

[56:10] cave, go over there and do whatever the bigger fish says. No. You stand behind the people that are in the right, that are doing the right, and resisting the evil and the wrong.

[56:24] When our country was established and overthrew the government that was over it, it was legitimate local governments that looked at the king and said, you are wrong.

[56:35] What you're doing is illegal. When England had its civil war, parliament had set down certain laws and the king, in violation of the law, tried to take the country over.

[56:47] And parliament said, no, king, you're in the wrong. Oftentimes, there are those who we might consider lesser authorities that are actually in the right, and if they but persevere and God's people would but pray for them and support them, good things happen.

[57:05] When you stand up in the face of corrupt authority, that lawsuit could come in positive. I said, what if it gets really bad?

[57:18] What if Christians find themselves in a situation where they're in Nazi Germany where everyone has lost their mind? There is no, there is no civil authority that is trustworthy.

[57:32] What do you do in that situation? What do you do? Well, they didn't ask me to commit a personal sin.

[57:46] I guess I can put those Jews in the box car. They say they're going to feed them. I'll just trust the government. I'll trust God. They're His ministers. People look at the Lutherans and say, how did they let the Germans do that?

[57:59] They had a bad theology. Bad theology of government. What do you do? You hear plenty of stories that come out of the time period. Dad hid Jews in his barn.

[58:13] Dad was a courier for the French resistance. The pastor went to Norway and carried a message for the Allies.

[58:29] There was actually a church authority that was instrumental in behind the scenes arranging the Germans for surrender or defeat by the Allies.

[58:42] other authorities arise. Other authorities arise. And the individual always has the right to self-defense.

[58:53] Now it is a right that Christians can lay down. A Christian can lay down any right but individuals always have the right to self-defense. And of course there's what Jesus told the Christians living in Jerusalem.

[59:09] What did He say? When you see the armies leave. Just leave. Go somewhere else. Leave everything behind and go somewhere else.

[59:21] That is an option. Fight or flight. Those are options. Hopefully it never comes to that, right? But it has for a lot of other Christians.

[59:33] Christians. Some of your biggest criminals in this world are the Christians who have little spy networks and secret rings and smuggle Bibles and things like that into these closed countries that have to meet in secret in their homes.

[59:54] They violate so many laws doing what God has called them to do. But what's important is they don't violate whose law? God's law. God's law.

[60:06] So the rule that we so often hear just submit to government in everything unless they ask you to commit a personal sin. Friends, that's not taught in Scripture.

[60:20] That is a Christianized way to bow to the cultural idol of government. It is to surrender our roles as parents, as spouses, as leaders in the community, as individual Christians over to the will of someone other than God.

[60:46] It is not good. It is not biblical. We as Christians we're called the honor authority. And we ought to be exemplary in how we honor authority. authority. Because we recognize that those serving in the government, the judges, the police, these people are actually ministering on our good and our behalf.

[61:09] We should honor those people. We should. We should honor our parents. Honor our leaders in the church. But we should never give any human so much authority as what we're being told by the world.

[61:27] That is not honoring them. That is dishonoring God. God calls us to be faithful and responsible individuals. Let's pray. Let's pray.

[61:37] Let's pray. Let's pray.