WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.960 Brexit means Brexit. 00:00:05.960 --> 00:00:09.120 Make America great again. 00:00:09.120 --> 00:00:16.280 In these few words I've invoked maybe in your mind personalities and political movements 00:00:16.280 --> 00:00:21.160 that might either warm your heart or cause your blood to boil. 00:00:21.160 --> 00:00:27.240 But I promise I won't mention president or prime minister again. 00:00:27.239 --> 00:00:30.639 But it shows to us that we live in a political world. 00:00:30.639 --> 00:00:39.200 We are constantly bombarded with politicians, politics, governments, laws, what it is that 00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:43.359 we are to do, what it is that we are to be. 00:00:43.359 --> 00:00:49.719 And the question is, does God have something to tell us as citizens of this particular 00:00:49.719 --> 00:00:51.480 nation? 00:00:51.480 --> 00:00:57.079 Now if you're not from here, maybe you're visiting, take this as relevant to your own 00:00:57.079 --> 00:01:01.159 country, to your own government, to your own nation. 00:01:01.159 --> 00:01:07.739 But as we turn to this passage, we realize that the apostle Paul is saying that the gospel 00:01:07.739 --> 00:01:10.519 impacts all aspects of our lives. 00:01:10.519 --> 00:01:11.519 And we'll see. 00:01:11.519 --> 00:01:17.920 Because chapter 13, as you read it on its own, you kind of ask yourself, where does 00:01:17.920 --> 00:01:18.920 this come from? 00:01:18.920 --> 00:01:21.159 It kind of stands out. 00:01:21.159 --> 00:01:26.840 Why is it that Paul is kind of changing gears and now telling us about relationship of 00:01:26.840 --> 00:01:31.159 government and taxation and civil authorities? 00:01:31.159 --> 00:01:38.320 It seems kind of out of place in his 16 chapter treatise on the Christian faith. 00:01:38.320 --> 00:01:43.520 But what I'd like to notice with you first is that Christians, if you are a Christian 00:01:43.520 --> 00:01:51.680 here this morning, that we are renewed people whose relationships, all of our relationships 00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:55.719 are renewed and transformed relationships. 00:01:55.719 --> 00:01:58.599 Now you might ask, well, where do you see that in the text? 00:01:58.599 --> 00:02:02.599 Well we don't see that in chapter 13 verses 1 to 7. 00:02:02.599 --> 00:02:08.039 But to understand the text, we have to appreciate the context in which it occurs. 00:02:08.039 --> 00:02:14.159 And sometimes these big numbers that you see in your Bible, the 13, the 14, the 15, the 00:02:14.159 --> 00:02:20.599 16, the chapter divisions are not all that helpful because those big numbers, it seems 00:02:20.599 --> 00:02:26.879 to us, separate these particular ideas and thoughts and we're inclined to think, okay, 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:29.199 new chapter, new idea. 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:35.400 But actually to understand chapter 13, 1 to 7, we need to turn back a page to chapter 00:02:35.400 --> 00:02:41.519 12 because in chapter 12, the apostle Paul says this. 00:02:41.519 --> 00:02:48.539 He says, I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies 00:02:48.539 --> 00:02:55.439 as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual worship. 00:02:55.439 --> 00:02:58.840 So God is something to say about our bodies, our lives. 00:02:58.840 --> 00:03:05.639 But then he goes on to say, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal 00:03:05.639 --> 00:03:13.120 of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:16.599 acceptable and perfect. 00:03:16.599 --> 00:03:24.799 So the renewed mind will prompt and produce renewed relationships, transformed relationships. 00:03:24.799 --> 00:03:27.780 And it's interesting that God begins with the mind. 00:03:27.780 --> 00:03:30.519 He begins with the inside. 00:03:30.519 --> 00:03:36.840 He changes our hearts and he changes our minds so that he changes our lives. 00:03:36.840 --> 00:03:44.719 And that change of life is seen or should be seen in every sphere of life. 00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:50.120 Last night as I was preparing this message, one of my students contacted me and recommended 00:03:50.120 --> 00:03:55.639 that I read a book that he found to be particularly helpful. 00:03:55.639 --> 00:03:59.719 And the title of the book was How to Think. 00:03:59.719 --> 00:04:03.360 And I thought, well, at least he feels that there's still hope for me, that I still have 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:08.159 maybe the capacity to learn how to do that after 52 years. 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:14.079 But I thought that that title was quite telling and quite helpful because the Bible teaches 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:21.280 us how to think and in teaching us how to think informs us how to live. 00:04:21.280 --> 00:04:24.960 Remember the command of Jesus when he preached the gospel? 00:04:24.960 --> 00:04:27.680 He said, repent and believe the good news. 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:30.080 Repent means a change of mind. 00:04:30.080 --> 00:04:35.639 And the apostle Paul here is telling us that the gospel brings about a transformation of 00:04:35.639 --> 00:04:38.080 mind. 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:44.159 Several centuries ago, one of the most famous preachers, John Wesley, he summarized the 00:04:44.159 --> 00:04:48.240 Christian message under two headings, which I find very helpful. 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:53.319 He said, if any doctrines within the whole compass of Christianity may be properly termed 00:04:53.319 --> 00:05:00.319 fundamental, they are doubtless these two, the doctrine of justification and that of 00:05:00.319 --> 00:05:06.759 the new birth, the former relating to that great work which God does for us in forgiving 00:05:06.759 --> 00:05:16.319 our sins, the latter to the great work which God does in us in renewing our fallen nature. 00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:21.360 So what Wesley is saying is that the gospel presents to us Jesus Christ. 00:05:21.360 --> 00:05:27.839 Jesus Christ crucified on the cross, bearing the penalty and the weight of sin, paying 00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:30.639 the price, satisfying the debt. 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:36.120 That the gospel presents to us Jesus Christ buried in the tomb, the gospel presents Jesus 00:05:36.120 --> 00:05:42.199 raised from the dead, ascended on high and seated at the right hand of the majesty. 00:05:42.199 --> 00:05:49.319 But the gospel also presents to us this, this picture of transformation on the part of the 00:05:49.319 --> 00:05:50.399 believer. 00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:59.040 So it's not just what we look at Jesus, but what we begin then to experience within ourselves. 00:05:59.040 --> 00:06:06.360 So the work of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit renewing, invigorating, enlivening. 00:06:06.360 --> 00:06:08.480 And that's why Jesus said, you must be born again. 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:10.920 We need a completely new start. 00:06:10.920 --> 00:06:12.400 We need a completely new heart. 00:06:12.400 --> 00:06:14.800 We need a completely new mind. 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:21.040 And the apostle Paul tells us that we are no longer to be conformed to this world, the 00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:27.879 standard of this world, the priorities of this world, the goals, the desires, the motivations 00:06:27.879 --> 00:06:33.120 of this world are no longer our desires, goals and motivations. 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:37.560 The standard by which this world is judged is not the standard by which the people of 00:06:37.560 --> 00:06:39.040 God are judged. 00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:40.240 Why? 00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:44.040 Because our minds are transformed and renewed. 00:06:44.040 --> 00:06:50.319 Then in chapter 12, the apostle addresses four spheres of transformation. 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:56.000 So first and foremost, we are renewed in our relationship with God, no longer conformed 00:06:56.000 --> 00:07:00.879 to the world, but transformed by God by the renewing of our minds. 00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:07.240 Paul goes on in verses three to eight to say that the Christian has a renewed view of himself 00:07:07.240 --> 00:07:09.000 or herself. 00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:14.240 We now see ourselves as God wants us to see ourselves. 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:18.240 So look at verse three in chapter 12, for by the grace given me, I say to everyone among 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:24.000 you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:28.839 So by the power of the Spirit working within you, you see yourself in the way that God 00:07:28.839 --> 00:07:31.759 wants you to see you. 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:36.199 But this reminds us that you and I are not balanced people. 00:07:36.199 --> 00:07:39.040 We are not balanced in our understanding of God. 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:42.319 We're not balanced in our understanding of ourselves. 00:07:42.319 --> 00:07:47.519 We so often get it wrong, but we get it wrong in different ways. 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:51.480 Both Martin Luther and John Newton use this illustration. 00:07:51.480 --> 00:07:57.439 They described humanity, of which we are all a member of that particular race, that humanity 00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:00.520 is like a drunk man on a horse. 00:08:00.520 --> 00:08:02.840 He falls off on one side. 00:08:02.840 --> 00:08:07.640 He's placed back on the horse and then he goes and falls off on the other side. 00:08:07.640 --> 00:08:13.520 So when you think of yourselves, there'll be some people here who think too highly. 00:08:13.520 --> 00:08:20.439 Maybe culturally, that's one challenge that me and my compatriots may have as a nation, 00:08:20.439 --> 00:08:26.120 that Americans tend temperamentally to be quite confident and outgoing. 00:08:26.120 --> 00:08:30.000 So the apostle Paul says, don't think too highly of yourself. 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:33.519 But there are others who fall off on the other side of the horse and you'll think too lowly 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:34.519 of yourself. 00:08:34.519 --> 00:08:36.320 I can't do that. 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:37.759 I can't do anything. 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:39.159 I'm not good at speaking. 00:08:39.159 --> 00:08:40.600 I'm not good at serving. 00:08:40.600 --> 00:08:48.159 But what a transformed mind will say that you think of yourselves as God wants you to think, 00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:53.799 that you'll see your own gifts, your own abilities, and you will see those as the gift that God 00:08:53.799 --> 00:08:56.279 has given to you. 00:08:56.279 --> 00:09:04.240 Paul goes on to say that our transformed mind and our transformed lives express themselves 00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:08.159 in transformed relationships among one another. 00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:15.639 Verses 9 to 13, let love be genuine and abhor what is evil, hold fast to what is good, love 00:09:15.639 --> 00:09:18.600 what another with brotherly affection. 00:09:18.600 --> 00:09:25.879 So just as we gaze on Jesus' crucified, buried, risen, ascended, and seated, we also recognize 00:09:25.879 --> 00:09:31.879 the power of the Spirit, transforming our relationship with God, transforming our understanding 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:36.679 of ourselves, and transforming our relationships with each other. 00:09:36.679 --> 00:09:39.559 What we once were, we no longer are. 00:09:39.559 --> 00:09:44.360 And this is the testimony, the ongoing testimony of the Christian. 00:09:44.360 --> 00:09:46.639 How is it that we treat one another? 00:09:46.639 --> 00:09:48.560 How is it that we encourage one another? 00:09:48.560 --> 00:09:51.879 How is it that we build one another up? 00:09:51.879 --> 00:09:59.560 Because that is a powerful persuasive testimony that says to the world out there, this group, 00:09:59.560 --> 00:10:04.360 these people, us, there's something different about them. 00:10:04.360 --> 00:10:08.279 There's something different about how they live, and there's something different about 00:10:08.279 --> 00:10:10.720 how they treat one another. 00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:14.800 And Paul goes on in the fourth category, or the fourth relationship at the very end of 00:10:14.800 --> 00:10:20.399 Romans chapter 12, and he says that the renewal of the mind and the transformation of the 00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:28.960 life will find expression even in how the believer engages with the persecutor, the enemy, 00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:33.480 the opponent, the difficult person. 00:10:33.480 --> 00:10:40.680 Paul is saying your relationship with Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit dwelling within you, 00:10:40.679 --> 00:10:47.719 finds an expression in every aspect of your life, with God, within yourself, among the 00:10:47.719 --> 00:10:51.719 people of God, and even when you encounter the enemy. 00:10:51.719 --> 00:10:58.199 We now then come to the context of Romans 13, where Paul says that the renewed mind and 00:10:58.199 --> 00:11:03.000 the transformed life finds expression in the life of the citizen. 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:05.359 You and I are citizens. 00:11:05.359 --> 00:11:09.399 If you're a Christian here today, you are a citizen of heaven. 00:11:09.399 --> 00:11:15.399 That's why Bill read earlier today, Philippians chapter 3, but our citizenship is in heaven. 00:11:15.399 --> 00:11:17.579 We await the return of Jesus. 00:11:17.579 --> 00:11:19.959 He will set all things right. 00:11:19.959 --> 00:11:22.039 He will restore all that is broken. 00:11:22.039 --> 00:11:25.039 He will renew and transform. 00:11:25.039 --> 00:11:28.199 But we are all also citizens here. 00:11:28.199 --> 00:11:30.199 You may be citizens of the United Kingdom. 00:11:30.199 --> 00:11:34.799 You may be citizens of another nation, but at least for this time and for this opportunity, 00:11:34.799 --> 00:11:41.879 you are in the city of Edinburgh, you are in the United Kingdom, so you're a citizen. 00:11:41.879 --> 00:11:44.839 But what kind of citizen are you to be? 00:11:44.839 --> 00:11:51.639 How does the transformed mind in the renewed life find its expression in your life or in 00:11:51.639 --> 00:11:52.639 my life? 00:11:52.639 --> 00:12:00.439 Well, the Apostle Paul in chapter 13 tells us first and foremost that every government 00:12:00.440 --> 00:12:10.840 and every government authority and every individual is established and instituted by God. 00:12:10.840 --> 00:12:12.840 He makes it quite clear. 00:12:12.840 --> 00:12:19.720 This refrain is often repeated and emphasized so that in these short, the short compass 00:12:19.720 --> 00:12:26.800 of verses, the Apostle Paul is saying to this young Christian community, they are young 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:32.879 in faith and they are finding themselves there at the center of the Roman Empire, at the 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:36.199 center of the Empire's government. 00:12:36.199 --> 00:12:43.159 So it's maybe not surprising that the Apostle spends time explaining to them how they engage 00:12:43.159 --> 00:12:50.959 with the authorities, the government, Caesar, his officials, etc. 00:12:50.959 --> 00:12:55.959 So God establishes the government. 00:12:55.960 --> 00:13:01.560 You should also note that God will ultimately hold all to account. 00:13:01.560 --> 00:13:04.480 That includes us here. 00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:08.600 One day you and I will stand before God to give an account. 00:13:08.600 --> 00:13:11.840 You will give your account and I will give my account. 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:17.320 But so too will every authority, every king, every queen, every president, every prime 00:13:17.320 --> 00:13:23.800 minister, every authority will ultimately stand before the ultimate authority. 00:13:23.799 --> 00:13:29.599 So you see, the Bible presents God as the one with all power and with all authority 00:13:29.599 --> 00:13:34.439 and the one to whom all humanity will ultimately be accountable. 00:13:34.439 --> 00:13:40.079 But Paul says that the established authorities that we see and engage with are those that 00:13:40.079 --> 00:13:44.199 God himself has established. 00:13:44.199 --> 00:13:52.639 Now does that imply that these governments, that these officials, that these institutions 00:13:52.639 --> 00:13:55.639 are by definition godly? 00:13:55.639 --> 00:13:57.439 Are they good? 00:13:57.439 --> 00:14:03.679 Because if God has established them, does that then mean that they exercise godly leadership, 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:07.199 that they demonstrate godly values? 00:14:07.199 --> 00:14:12.080 Well I think the history of humanity, our own present day, will say no. 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:21.679 That human government established by God, but expressed or carried out by human agency, 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:25.959 we see very much the human condition writ large. 00:14:25.959 --> 00:14:29.679 When you look at our authorities, when you look at our rulers and our kings and our prime 00:14:29.679 --> 00:14:35.679 ministers and our presidents, you see the foibles and the failings and the limitations 00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:40.159 of humanity so clearly. 00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:45.199 Now does that then mean that we can dismiss such authorities? 00:14:45.199 --> 00:14:49.319 This authority, this government is ungodly. 00:14:49.320 --> 00:14:56.160 This authority is not good therefore as a citizen I can step back. 00:14:56.160 --> 00:14:58.600 I can withdraw. 00:14:58.600 --> 00:15:02.200 I can disengage. 00:15:02.200 --> 00:15:07.320 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. 00:15:07.320 --> 00:15:13.160 The apostle Paul is not speaking about some golden age that has never existed. 00:15:13.160 --> 00:15:19.080 He's speaking about a real place at a real time, real authority, real government that 00:15:19.080 --> 00:15:25.120 are not godly in their actions but are god appointed. 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:31.440 So he's saying to this young Christian community, let everyone be subject. 00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:36.440 Now the apostle Paul is a master at the use of language. 00:15:36.440 --> 00:15:40.080 He could have used the word obey. 00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:50.440 Obey is a stronger word than be subject, both imply a level of obedience but obey is a command 00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:53.920 that is most closely associated with God. 00:15:53.920 --> 00:16:00.639 We have an absolute commitment and we have an absolute responsibility to obey God, to 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:04.600 obey the gospel, to obey Jesus Christ. 00:16:04.600 --> 00:16:12.639 But the word used here is a word that is slightly less strong but nonetheless implies a clear 00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:17.200 submission to the governing authorities. 00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:23.720 So you and I as citizens of this country or whatever country you're a citizen of, you 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:28.080 are to be subject to those ruling authorities. 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:31.960 Now I know what you're thinking and I too think these things. 00:16:31.960 --> 00:16:33.080 What about? 00:16:33.080 --> 00:16:39.320 When we reel off the exceptions, we reel off the circumstances, we ask ourselves, well, 00:16:39.320 --> 00:16:48.879 what if you were living in, Edia means Uganda, what if you were living in Paul Potts, Cambodia, 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:52.759 what if you were living in Adolf Hitler's Germany? 00:16:52.759 --> 00:16:55.240 We'll get to those exceptions in a moment. 00:16:55.240 --> 00:17:02.960 But the governing principle the apostle Paul gives clearly, the people subject to the government. 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:11.400 As an expression of this transformed, this renewed mind, this transformed life. 00:17:11.400 --> 00:17:19.519 So you see the connection here, relationship with God, relationship within ourselves, relationships 00:17:19.519 --> 00:17:24.480 among the people of God, relationships with the enemy, with the persecutor, and relationship 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:27.759 with our governing authorities. 00:17:27.759 --> 00:17:36.440 Every sphere of life is governed by God and every sphere of life is informed by the transforming, 00:17:36.440 --> 00:17:39.879 renewing work of the Holy Spirit. 00:17:39.879 --> 00:17:44.680 Now this morning, if you're here and you're not yet a Christian, maybe you're new to the 00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:49.460 Christian message or maybe you're not yet persuaded of the validity or the authority 00:17:49.460 --> 00:17:56.559 of God and of the gospel, much of what has preceded and much of that which follows may 00:17:56.559 --> 00:18:02.000 seem to you to be completely irrelevant. 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:09.480 But make sure that you understand that this word is not my word, nor is it the word of 00:18:09.480 --> 00:18:14.919 a man, the apostle Paul, though he's an instrument obviously in God's hand. 00:18:14.919 --> 00:18:21.119 But when you have heard the Bible which you have, you've heard the very voice of God and 00:18:21.119 --> 00:18:26.239 God is speaking with absolute power, with absolute authority, whether you acknowledge 00:18:26.239 --> 00:18:30.559 him or not and whether you believe in him or not, whether you accept that this is his 00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:38.079 word or not, in the sound of God's voice this morning, he will hold you to account based 00:18:38.079 --> 00:18:43.079 upon what you have heard, based upon what you have experienced and he's speaking to 00:18:43.079 --> 00:18:44.639 you now. 00:18:44.639 --> 00:18:49.039 So he's calling you into this personal relationship. 00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:55.079 He's reminding you of who he is, he's reminding you of what he has done and he's also reminding 00:18:55.079 --> 00:19:01.240 you that one day you and I will meet with him face to face. 00:19:01.240 --> 00:19:06.119 We will meet with him the ultimate of all authorities, just as we engage with authorities 00:19:06.119 --> 00:19:12.599 here on earth and we are to fear their wrath when we do wrong and we are to do good to 00:19:12.599 --> 00:19:14.799 receive their approbation. 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:21.200 If you do not obey this authority, ultimate authority, you will stand in his presence 00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:23.399 subject to his wrath. 00:19:23.399 --> 00:19:28.879 So remember whether you believe, whether you don't believe, the authority of God and the 00:19:28.879 --> 00:19:34.079 responsibility that you have to him remains unchanged. 00:19:34.079 --> 00:19:37.639 So all government is instituted by God. 00:19:37.639 --> 00:19:41.319 Does that mean that governments are godlier good? 00:19:41.319 --> 00:19:42.319 No. 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:44.359 Winston Churchill put it this way. 00:19:44.359 --> 00:19:48.599 He said, many forms of government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin 00:19:48.599 --> 00:19:49.959 and woe. 00:19:49.959 --> 00:19:54.240 No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all wise. 00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:58.599 Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all 00:19:58.599 --> 00:20:02.759 those other forms that have been tried from time to time. 00:20:02.759 --> 00:20:05.879 So the apostle Paul is not commending the empire. 00:20:05.879 --> 00:20:12.559 He's not commending the system of Caesar and the Roman authorities and the Roman system 00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:18.679 of civil servant, but he is saying that this is the government that God has installed and 00:20:18.679 --> 00:20:26.319 you and I as subjects to that government owe that government obedience. 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:33.960 Paul goes on to say that government is instituted by God for our good. 00:20:33.960 --> 00:20:41.119 If you ever survey the history of the 20th and 21st century, some of the most terrifying 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:47.079 situations are where anarchy reigns, where the rule of law and the rule of government 00:20:47.079 --> 00:20:49.479 for a time is absent. 00:20:49.479 --> 00:20:55.799 A hundred days in Rwanda led to almost a million people slaughtered. 00:20:55.799 --> 00:21:00.239 The rule of law was largely absent. 00:21:00.239 --> 00:21:06.279 So God establishes governments for the good of the people. 00:21:06.279 --> 00:21:13.319 He wants to promote good and he wants to punish evil and he places these responsibilities 00:21:13.319 --> 00:21:18.839 in the hands of government and government officials. 00:21:18.839 --> 00:21:24.079 So verse two, the warning in verse two, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has 00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:27.639 appointed and those who resist will encourage judgment. 00:21:27.639 --> 00:21:32.480 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct. 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:39.120 So as a Christian, a renewed and transformed person, you and I should be the living example 00:21:39.120 --> 00:21:46.720 of a good subject to the Queen, a good citizen of this nation. 00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:47.720 Why? 00:21:47.720 --> 00:21:51.279 Because if we do good, we have nothing to fear. 00:21:51.279 --> 00:21:55.079 It's only for the evil doer, for the transgressor. 00:21:55.079 --> 00:22:01.519 Now many Sunday mornings I would be coming from prison where I serve and I work and I 00:22:01.519 --> 00:22:06.920 would be speaking there the gospel to those who have transgressed. 00:22:06.920 --> 00:22:09.359 They have broken the law. 00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:12.240 They have experienced their day in court. 00:22:12.240 --> 00:22:18.279 They've appeared before a magistrate, a sheriff or a judge and they are now paying the price 00:22:18.279 --> 00:22:24.799 for that transgression, that sin, that breach of the law. 00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:28.960 So Paul says not only is the government established by God, but the government is there to do 00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:30.519 two things. 00:22:30.519 --> 00:22:34.599 It's there to promote good and it's there to punish evil. 00:22:34.599 --> 00:22:36.400 Does it do that perfectly? 00:22:36.400 --> 00:22:37.480 No. 00:22:37.480 --> 00:22:42.319 Because the instruments of any government are human instruments and not one human instrument 00:22:42.319 --> 00:22:43.920 is perfect. 00:22:43.920 --> 00:22:45.960 Not one of us is perfect. 00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:51.319 When we exercise authority and if you do exercise authority, so if you're here this morning 00:22:51.319 --> 00:22:57.720 and you have a position of authority, maybe you are in government or maybe you are in 00:22:57.720 --> 00:23:06.120 a position of authority in business or in an organization where you work, you are responsible 00:23:06.120 --> 00:23:11.440 for promoting what is good and for condemning what is wrong. 00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:16.319 And that position of responsibility you should take very seriously because you've been placed 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:20.680 there by God and he expects you to do those two things. 00:23:20.680 --> 00:23:24.000 Promote good and condemn evil. 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:30.039 Now of course it's never done perfectly, but it's there meant for our good because the 00:23:30.039 --> 00:23:35.319 servant we're told in verse four, then do what is good and you will receive his approval. 00:23:35.319 --> 00:23:41.759 For he, the servant is God's servant for your good, but if you do wrong, be afraid for he 00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:44.640 does not bear the sword in vain. 00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:55.240 For he is the servant of God and a Avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 00:23:55.240 --> 00:24:01.360 The government bears the sword, the government has the power to punish and the power to condemn 00:24:01.360 --> 00:24:08.120 and the power to commend and to reward that which is good. 00:24:08.120 --> 00:24:13.240 But I also want you to notice here that the renewed follower of Jesus Christ, if you're 00:24:13.240 --> 00:24:19.640 a Christian that's you, has a renewed and transformed relationship with the government 00:24:19.640 --> 00:24:23.079 and with its society. 00:24:23.079 --> 00:24:28.759 One of the most important pieces of history, one of the most important, it's a very long 00:24:28.759 --> 00:24:35.720 historical study, was written by Edward Gibbon, the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. 00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:43.079 And Gibbon described the first couple centuries of that empire and was trying to explain 00:24:43.079 --> 00:24:49.960 why it was that in the midst of persecution and in the midst of opposition that this new 00:24:49.960 --> 00:24:57.159 religious group called Christianity not only took root but spread. 00:24:57.159 --> 00:24:58.679 And he put it this way. 00:24:58.679 --> 00:25:05.639 He said, but the primitive Christian demonstrated his faith by his virtues and it was very justly 00:25:05.639 --> 00:25:11.919 supposed that the divine persuasion which enlightened or subdued the understanding must 00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:17.759 at the same time purify the heart and direct the actions of the believer. 00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:23.759 He went on to say, he said, I will mention two motives which might naturally render the 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:31.000 lives of primitive Christians much purer and more austere than those of their pagan contemporaries 00:25:31.000 --> 00:25:35.279 or of their degenerate successors. 00:25:35.279 --> 00:25:40.920 Repentance for their past sins and the laudable desire of supporting the reputation of the 00:25:40.920 --> 00:25:44.519 society in which they were engaged. 00:25:44.519 --> 00:25:47.360 Now Edward Gibbon was not a Christian. 00:25:47.360 --> 00:25:51.640 Edward Gibbon was not a fan of Christianity, quite the opposite. 00:25:51.640 --> 00:25:58.800 But as a historian he had to accept that there was something about this new Christian community 00:25:58.800 --> 00:26:00.440 that was different. 00:26:00.440 --> 00:26:02.880 They lived different lives. 00:26:02.880 --> 00:26:04.440 Their marriages were different. 00:26:04.440 --> 00:26:06.039 Their family life was different. 00:26:06.039 --> 00:26:10.080 But also their relationship to their society was different. 00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:11.879 They were different than the pagans. 00:26:11.879 --> 00:26:14.199 They were different than the Roman citizens. 00:26:14.199 --> 00:26:20.279 They lived lives that commended the faith that they held. 00:26:20.279 --> 00:26:25.720 So you see, Gibbon is not just answering the question, what did the Christian community 00:26:25.720 --> 00:26:27.119 look like? 00:26:27.119 --> 00:26:33.679 He's asking, answering the question, why did this primitive faith spread? 00:26:33.679 --> 00:26:38.480 Remember because the Christian faith had the ability of offending everyone. 00:26:38.480 --> 00:26:40.640 To the Jew it was a stumbling block. 00:26:40.640 --> 00:26:42.960 To the Greek it was utterly foolishness. 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:46.440 And yet Christianity took root. 00:26:46.440 --> 00:26:47.640 It took root in Rome. 00:26:47.640 --> 00:26:50.599 That's why Paul's writing to the Roman Christian. 00:26:50.599 --> 00:26:53.960 It took root throughout the whole of the Roman Empire. 00:26:53.960 --> 00:26:56.079 Jewish people became Christians. 00:26:56.079 --> 00:26:58.120 Pagan people became Christians. 00:26:58.120 --> 00:27:00.240 Roman citizens became Christians. 00:27:00.240 --> 00:27:05.720 And one of the driving factors was this, the quality and the character of the Christian 00:27:05.720 --> 00:27:07.160 lives. 00:27:07.160 --> 00:27:09.600 They lived different lives. 00:27:09.600 --> 00:27:12.640 They were better husbands, better wives. 00:27:12.640 --> 00:27:14.759 They were better citizens. 00:27:14.759 --> 00:27:20.800 And that witness was a transformative and was a declarative evidence of the power of 00:27:20.800 --> 00:27:22.960 the gospel. 00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:26.200 So you have the privilege of having two ministers here. 00:27:26.200 --> 00:27:28.080 You've got Derek and you've got Thomas. 00:27:28.080 --> 00:27:30.720 And week by week they will preach and they will teach. 00:27:30.720 --> 00:27:32.519 And they will proclaim the gospel. 00:27:32.519 --> 00:27:37.879 And in a sense they are an obvious instrument of the gospel here. 00:27:37.879 --> 00:27:38.879 You'll hear the sermons. 00:27:38.879 --> 00:27:40.319 You'll be spurred on. 00:27:40.319 --> 00:27:41.599 You'll be built up. 00:27:41.599 --> 00:27:45.240 If you're not a Christian you'll hear the gospel and by the power of God you'll maybe 00:27:45.240 --> 00:27:48.960 transformed to a follower of Jesus. 00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:52.240 But two people can only do the work of two people. 00:27:52.240 --> 00:28:00.119 The challenge that Romans 13 gives is that you now become instruments of the gospel 00:28:00.119 --> 00:28:02.500 wherever you go. 00:28:02.500 --> 00:28:06.720 Your place of work, your place of study, your home, your community, the people you engage 00:28:06.720 --> 00:28:15.039 with and one characteristic of that transformed life is what kind of citizen are you of this 00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:16.039 city? 00:28:16.039 --> 00:28:19.400 What kind of citizen are you of this nation? 00:28:19.400 --> 00:28:22.920 Do you benefit the wider community? 00:28:22.920 --> 00:28:26.839 Do you benefit the wider society? 00:28:26.839 --> 00:28:31.680 Jeremiah, when he was speaking to an exiled community, remember? 00:28:31.680 --> 00:28:34.240 The community was now in Babylon. 00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:36.240 They were far from home. 00:28:36.240 --> 00:28:39.799 And how do you engage in a foreign country? 00:28:39.799 --> 00:28:42.320 How do you engage in a hostile country? 00:28:42.320 --> 00:28:49.279 How do you engage among people who don't share your faith and in fact condemn your faith 00:28:49.279 --> 00:28:52.720 or in fact ridicule your faith? 00:28:52.720 --> 00:28:57.160 Jeremiah 29 says this, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says to those 00:28:57.160 --> 00:29:01.400 I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 00:29:01.400 --> 00:29:03.519 Build houses and settle down. 00:29:03.519 --> 00:29:06.040 Plant gardens and eat what they produce. 00:29:06.040 --> 00:29:07.840 Marry and have sons and daughters. 00:29:07.840 --> 00:29:12.800 Find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage that they too may have sons and 00:29:12.800 --> 00:29:13.800 daughters. 00:29:13.800 --> 00:29:14.800 Increase in number there. 00:29:14.800 --> 00:29:17.080 Do not decrease. 00:29:17.080 --> 00:29:23.519 Also seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. 00:29:23.519 --> 00:29:29.200 Pray to the Lord for it because if it prospers, you too will prosper. 00:29:29.200 --> 00:29:31.880 Jeremiah is saying the same thing as the apostle Paul. 00:29:31.880 --> 00:29:35.039 You're strangers in a strange land. 00:29:35.039 --> 00:29:37.519 Pray for that strange land. 00:29:37.519 --> 00:29:43.319 Pray for those strange people and be citizens of that land that commend the faith that you 00:29:43.319 --> 00:29:45.880 believe. 00:29:45.880 --> 00:29:49.000 Would it be easy to be a Christian in Idiomines? 00:29:49.000 --> 00:29:50.559 Uganda absolutely not. 00:29:50.559 --> 00:29:55.000 Paul Potts, Cambodia, Adolf Hitler's, Germany absolutely not. 00:29:55.000 --> 00:30:01.519 Let me tell you, it was no picnic being a believer in Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon. 00:30:01.519 --> 00:30:07.559 Ask Daniel, ask Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, but these men lived lives of quality. 00:30:07.559 --> 00:30:13.279 They lived lives of integrity and they were rewarded with positions of authority. 00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:15.279 Yes, they faced persecution. 00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:16.519 Yes, they faced opposition. 00:30:16.519 --> 00:30:22.960 Yes, they were at the point of death, but nonetheless they were citizens of integrity. 00:30:22.960 --> 00:30:29.680 They honored the authorities insofar as they could honor the authorities. 00:30:29.680 --> 00:30:35.160 This brings us to the exceptions, of course, that as a follower of Jesus, as a believer 00:30:35.160 --> 00:30:41.680 in God, your ultimate authority and your ultimate accountability is to God. 00:30:41.680 --> 00:30:48.519 There does come a point where the government may command you to do that which God forbids. 00:30:48.519 --> 00:30:56.039 If the government commands and God forbids, you hear the injunction of God and you must 00:30:56.039 --> 00:30:59.480 disobey the command of the government. 00:30:59.480 --> 00:31:07.200 And likewise, if the government forbids that which God requires, you heed the voice of 00:31:07.200 --> 00:31:16.119 God and you do what he requires even if the government condemns or restricts. 00:31:16.119 --> 00:31:23.319 In 1946, many of the high officials of the Third Reich appeared at Nuremberg and they 00:31:23.319 --> 00:31:30.159 gave their defense, which was summed up an order is an order. 00:31:30.159 --> 00:31:32.799 I was just following orders. 00:31:32.799 --> 00:31:35.759 I did what I was told to do. 00:31:35.759 --> 00:31:38.319 I was a good citizen. 00:31:38.319 --> 00:31:44.839 My commanding officer, my senior official told me to do this and I did it. 00:31:44.839 --> 00:31:47.199 Or I am not culpable. 00:31:47.199 --> 00:31:50.319 I am not responsible. 00:31:50.319 --> 00:31:56.240 Most of those defendants at Nuremberg were either executed or received life imprisonment 00:31:56.240 --> 00:32:00.779 because they were culpable and they were accountable. 00:32:00.779 --> 00:32:03.879 They did what they should not have done. 00:32:03.879 --> 00:32:07.799 They did what God commanded not to be done. 00:32:07.799 --> 00:32:10.599 So ultimately, you and I stand accountable to God. 00:32:10.599 --> 00:32:12.379 There may be a point. 00:32:12.380 --> 00:32:18.560 We may encounter that point in the near future where we must say no because we are citizens 00:32:18.560 --> 00:32:19.920 of heaven. 00:32:19.920 --> 00:32:26.640 Even though the government of this land says yes or vice versa, we might say yes when the 00:32:26.640 --> 00:32:28.440 government of this land says no. 00:32:28.440 --> 00:32:29.440 Why? 00:32:29.440 --> 00:32:35.960 Because our citizenship and our accountability is to God. 00:32:35.960 --> 00:32:42.840 But first and foremost, we hear the voice of God, we hear the word of God, and we need 00:32:42.840 --> 00:32:47.720 to maintain this godly and wise balance. 00:32:47.720 --> 00:32:55.960 The apostle Paul brings his argument to a conclusion on the subject that not one of us likes, 00:32:55.960 --> 00:32:58.319 taxes. 00:32:58.319 --> 00:33:04.920 At the end of the section that we're looking on, he says, for because of this, you also 00:33:04.920 --> 00:33:07.400 pay taxes. 00:33:07.400 --> 00:33:13.080 So it's not just an abstract relationship with a governing authority. 00:33:13.080 --> 00:33:15.680 There's an actual cost. 00:33:15.680 --> 00:33:20.039 Now for many years, I've been in this country almost 30 years and for probably the first 00:33:20.039 --> 00:33:26.600 20 years of my time here, I heard about council tax, but I never paid council tax. 00:33:26.600 --> 00:33:29.160 I was in the enviable position for many years. 00:33:29.160 --> 00:33:30.160 I was a student. 00:33:30.160 --> 00:33:32.000 I was exempt from council tax. 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:36.559 I was a minister and my congregation kindly paid my council tax for me. 00:33:36.559 --> 00:33:40.039 I realize now that that's not everybody's experience. 00:33:40.039 --> 00:33:44.400 But then when I got my new job, I realized I had to register with the council and I actually 00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:47.000 had to pay this tax. 00:33:47.000 --> 00:33:50.680 Now naturally, I wasn't that excited to pay the council tax. 00:33:50.680 --> 00:33:54.000 I thought to myself, that's a lot of money. 00:33:54.000 --> 00:33:57.480 Every month, why should I pay that? 00:33:57.480 --> 00:34:02.400 Then I thought to myself, well, I kind of like my garbage being collected. 00:34:02.400 --> 00:34:05.480 I kind of appreciate that. 00:34:05.480 --> 00:34:09.400 Having running water, that's a nice perk. 00:34:09.400 --> 00:34:11.559 So I kind of like that. 00:34:11.559 --> 00:34:13.760 So I'm part of the city. 00:34:13.760 --> 00:34:17.400 I get the benefits of being part of the city of Edinburgh and the city of Edinburgh has 00:34:17.400 --> 00:34:19.719 decreed that there is such a thing as a council tax. 00:34:19.719 --> 00:34:23.000 They say, this is the property you live in and this is the band that you're at, so you 00:34:23.000 --> 00:34:24.840 pay the council tax. 00:34:24.840 --> 00:34:29.920 Now as a citizen of Edinburgh, but also as a citizen of heaven, I recognize the authority 00:34:29.920 --> 00:34:30.920 of God. 00:34:30.920 --> 00:34:33.840 I recognize the authority of the city council. 00:34:33.840 --> 00:34:35.880 I pay my tax. 00:34:35.880 --> 00:34:37.600 You should pay your tax. 00:34:37.600 --> 00:34:38.600 You're a citizen here. 00:34:38.600 --> 00:34:39.600 You have a property. 00:34:39.600 --> 00:34:41.880 If you're not exempt, you pay your council tax. 00:34:41.880 --> 00:34:43.559 You pay your PAYA. 00:34:43.559 --> 00:34:45.320 You pay your income tax. 00:34:45.320 --> 00:34:46.840 Why you're a citizen? 00:34:46.840 --> 00:34:48.280 It costs money. 00:34:48.280 --> 00:34:49.600 It costs money to defend you. 00:34:49.600 --> 00:34:51.320 It costs money to sweep the streets. 00:34:51.320 --> 00:34:53.840 It costs money to educate kids. 00:34:53.840 --> 00:34:56.280 You get the idea. 00:34:56.280 --> 00:35:02.120 But I'd like to close with the words of someone that you cannot contravene. 00:35:02.120 --> 00:35:06.079 You might find the teaching of Paul challenging or difficult. 00:35:06.079 --> 00:35:11.840 You might find my explanation or my presentation adequate or inadequate. 00:35:11.840 --> 00:35:15.240 But let's give the founder of our faith the final word. 00:35:15.240 --> 00:35:17.400 That's a good place to end, isn't it? 00:35:17.400 --> 00:35:23.079 Let's hear what Jesus has to say about this subject because if anyone can speak with power 00:35:23.079 --> 00:35:29.440 and with authority and with clarity and with balance, it's him. 00:35:29.440 --> 00:35:32.960 Remember that scene in Matthew 22. 00:35:32.960 --> 00:35:37.799 When the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words, they sent their 00:35:37.799 --> 00:35:41.480 disciples to him along with the Herodians. 00:35:41.480 --> 00:35:46.639 Teacher they said, we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way 00:35:46.639 --> 00:35:49.880 of God in accordance with the truth. 00:35:49.880 --> 00:35:54.320 You aren't swayed by others because you pay no attention to who they are. 00:35:54.320 --> 00:35:57.360 Tell us then, what is your opinion? 00:35:57.360 --> 00:36:01.519 Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? 00:36:01.519 --> 00:36:06.960 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, you hypocrites, why are you trying to trap 00:36:06.960 --> 00:36:08.079 me? 00:36:08.079 --> 00:36:11.440 Show me the coin used for paying the tax. 00:36:11.440 --> 00:36:18.960 They brought him a denarius and he asked them, whose image is this and whose inscription? 00:36:18.960 --> 00:36:20.720 Others they replied. 00:36:20.720 --> 00:36:28.619 Then he said to them, so give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. 00:36:28.619 --> 00:36:31.199 When they heard this, they were amazed. 00:36:31.199 --> 00:36:34.720 So they left him and went away. 00:36:34.720 --> 00:36:40.079 The Holy Spirit is at work in your life where you hear and heed the word of Jesus. 00:36:40.079 --> 00:36:42.519 You honor him, you glorify him. 00:36:42.519 --> 00:36:47.400 And when he says you render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, you do so. 00:36:47.400 --> 00:36:52.039 When he says you give to God what belongs to God, you do so. 00:36:52.039 --> 00:36:57.760 And the power of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit is such that the work of 00:36:57.760 --> 00:37:04.240 the gospel becomes multiplied by you so that when you go to your work tomorrow morning, 00:37:04.240 --> 00:37:09.920 when you go to your place of study, when you go into this community, into this society, 00:37:09.920 --> 00:37:16.599 you go there as a representative of Jesus Christ and you can represent him well or you 00:37:16.599 --> 00:37:18.719 can represent him poorly. 00:37:18.719 --> 00:37:22.039 As a good citizen, you represent him well. 00:37:22.039 --> 00:37:28.480 And as you represent him well, others may begin to ask the question, what is it about 00:37:28.480 --> 00:37:29.839 this group? 00:37:29.839 --> 00:37:32.039 What is it about these Christians? 00:37:32.039 --> 00:37:37.079 I don't understand what they believe but I see that they live differently. 00:37:37.079 --> 00:37:46.400 Their lives, their families, their own communities and their input into society is for good. 00:37:46.400 --> 00:37:50.559 You are you a godly citizen of this land. 00:37:50.559 --> 00:37:55.800 Do you honor the authorities and above all, do you honor the one who establishes those 00:37:55.800 --> 00:37:57.280 authorities? 00:37:57.280 --> 00:38:02.840 You render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, render to God what belongs to God, you heed 00:38:02.840 --> 00:38:10.160 the voice of Jesus and you represent Jesus well in this culture and in this society. 00:38:10.160 --> 00:38:12.440 May God bless His word to each of us. 00:38:12.440 --> 00:38:13.440 Let us pray. 00:38:13.440 --> 00:38:19.039 Father, I thank you both for your word for its challenge that you are teaching us and 00:38:19.039 --> 00:38:20.800 instructing us. 00:38:20.800 --> 00:38:23.920 You are instructing us in the reality of life. 00:38:23.920 --> 00:38:30.720 You are not presenting to us a situation that is perfect or ideal but is real and genuine. 00:38:30.720 --> 00:38:36.639 And you are saying to each one of us to live lives of quality, to live lives of integrity, 00:38:36.639 --> 00:38:42.639 to represent you well and to commend the gospel by the quality and the character of each of 00:38:42.639 --> 00:38:43.639 our lives. 00:38:43.639 --> 00:38:45.480 Father, let's be honest. 00:38:45.480 --> 00:38:47.679 We cannot do this. 00:38:47.679 --> 00:38:49.799 We cannot produce this. 00:38:49.799 --> 00:38:52.159 We cannot achieve this. 00:38:52.159 --> 00:38:54.039 Our strength is weak. 00:38:54.039 --> 00:38:56.920 Our consistency is non-existent. 00:38:56.920 --> 00:38:59.819 We need you every step of the way. 00:38:59.819 --> 00:39:02.400 We need your power because we're weak. 00:39:02.400 --> 00:39:04.659 We need your wisdom because we're foolish. 00:39:04.659 --> 00:39:09.879 We need your consistency because we are so inconsistent. 00:39:09.880 --> 00:39:15.079 So we ask, Lord, to work in us, that you would work through us, that you would enlighten 00:39:15.079 --> 00:39:19.519 us, that we would see, that you would enliven us, that we would live, that you would invigorate 00:39:19.519 --> 00:39:22.519 and empower us that we can be. 00:39:22.519 --> 00:39:29.960 The men and the women, the husbands, the wives, the sons, the children, the citizens, the 00:39:29.960 --> 00:39:35.519 rulers that you have called us to be, enable us to be people of integrity, that the gospel 00:39:35.519 --> 00:39:41.519 permeates every aspect of our lives, that you get the glory, you get the praise, and 00:39:41.519 --> 00:39:47.679 that others might marvel at the great God that we worship and the great God of Jesus, 00:39:47.679 --> 00:39:51.039 whom we confess, because it's in His name we pray. 00:39:51.039 --> 00:40:07.119 Amen.