I do hope that you have a copy of God's Word with you this morning. Please join me in it in Romans chapter 13.
Our text for today is Romans chapter 13 verses 1 through 7.
Before we take a look at today's text, a very good morning to you all.
If I've yet to say hi to you, I'm very glad to be back with you, and I'm very thankful for our church.
I am grateful for our church for at least three reasons.
First, I'm thankful for church leadership that cares about my spiritual and physical well-being.
Truly, the men that God is leading this church are a blessing to you as well as to myself.
Secondly, I'm thankful for a church that is willing to let me be cared for,
that allow me to be absent for a month and to ask how my time away was and how I am.
I'm just warmed by all of your appreciation and gratefulness for my time away this morning.
Please know that that time was well spent and I'm doing quite well.
Thirdly, Sam and I took the boys for a teaching opportunity to a local megachurch last week,
and I am thankful for a church that does not desire to be entertained to death
and will not allow for God's Word to be neglected when we are gathered together.
In a single verse of many of the songs that we've sung together this morning,
there's more truth, substantive truth, than we experienced in our entire time at that church.
And so I'm glad that some of the things that they did,
I would shudder to try, as I think you all would throw me out the window if I did.
So I'm glad for that.
I am in no way tempted to entertain you,
and I think this is good for all of our souls.
If I ever have reason to doubt the power of the gospel or the goodness of God,
I only need to stop and think about his manifold grace in the life of this church,
and my faith is refreshed.
So thank you. Keep it up.
And now as we turn our attention to the first seven verses of chapter 13,
we find a timely text for a season of political unrest.
I imagine that if you have no concern about the state of politics in our country,
then you are paying no attention whatsoever to all that has been happening.
Maybe that's a wonderful state of bliss.
These seven verses are good for us for today,
but beyond the providential timing of their assignment to this morning,
we will do well to think about their placement in Paul's letter to the Roman believers.
Many commentators suggest this passage is disjointed from Paul's exhortations in chapter 12.
I even read a suggestion in my study of it that it was imported from elsewhere and brought into this book.
But this is not so.
In Romans chapter 12, verse 1 and 2, Paul wrote this,
I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, right,
in light of everything that he has presented to be true of the gospel so far,
he says, by the mercies of God, which is the summary of those first 11 chapters,
to present your bodies as a living sacrifice.
And we talked about how this was whole self-sacrifice that Paul is referring to here.
Every ounce of who you are presented as a living sacrifice,
holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Verse 2, he says,
Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,
that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect.
And we talked about how Paul's not here meaning that if you will transform your mind,
that you will be able to discern the unknown will of God.
But he's going to go on to tell us what that will of God is.
So he encourages at the outset of chapter 12 that our whole selves are to be given to God.
And then the structure of the following chapters is chiastic.
If you're not familiar with this term,
it means that the text mirrors on top of itself.
There's many chiastic structures found in the Bible,
and they are very cool.
So I want to draw your attention just briefly to this one.
After verse 2 of chapter 12,
we see in verses 3 through 8 a summary of humble service.
Like how should our lives look in service to the church
using our various gifts in the way they were designed to be used.
And then in verses 9 through 16,
he talks about love in the life of the church.
So you've got A, chapter 12, verses 3 through 8.
B, verses 9 through 16.
C, how it is that we're meant to relate with the world.
Verses 17 through 21.
And then it follows, if we're to relate to the world in this way,
how it is that we're to relate with the political authorities of this world.
So you see the C prime, the reflective part of that part found in verses 17 through 21.
And then you continue on in chapter 13, verses 8 through 10.
And again, love in the church, right?
Corresponding to verses 9 through 16 of chapter 12.
And then all of chapter 14, again being about humble service.
Now I'm looking at all this typed out,
and I know that your mind is probably going, okay.
The point is that there's a chiastic structure here.
Paul has an ordered, divinely inspired plan,
and we ought to give care as we consider it in the coming weeks.
Part of giving our whole selves in devotion to our merciful God
is living under the authority that he has established
in the home, at work, in church,
and yes, even as citizens of the place that God has placed us.
So, without further ado, let's take a look at today's text.
It is a joy, beloved, to remind you that this is God's word to us,
written for his glory and our good,
and we would all do well to listen to it
in order to believe its promises and to obey its commands.
Romans 13, beginning in verse 1.
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.
For there is no authority except from God,
and those that exist have been instituted by God.
Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed,
and those who resist will incur judgment.
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.
Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority?
Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval.
For he is God's servant for your good.
But if you do wrong, be afraid,
for he does not bear the sword in vain.
For he is the servant of God,
an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.
Therefore, one must be in subjection,
not only to avoid God's wrath,
but also for the sake of conscience.
For because of this, you also pay taxes,
for the authorities are ministers of God,
attending to this very thing.
Pay to all what is owed to them,
taxes to whom taxes are owed,
revenue to whom revenue is owed,
respect to whom respect is owed,
honor to whom honor is owed.
Now, in order to avoid chasing every possible rabbit this morning,
we will begin with a simple three-point exegesis of the text,
which will be as follows.
Number one, a command to obey.
Number two, a caution against rebellion.
Number three, a contribution.
For the work.
Now, after this straightforward consideration,
I intend to ask some contextual questions
and issue answers from this text,
and more broadly from elsewhere in the Bible.
So we're going to just simply go through the text itself,
and then we're going to ask some slightly larger questions as well.
So hang in with me as we do that.
So number one, a command to obey.
And you see this there at the very beginning of the chapter,
verse one,
let every person be subject to the governing authorities,
for there is no authority except from God,
and those that exist have been instituted by God.
Paul tells us, simply,
that we are to obey the governing authorities of our political system,
because that authority has been set in place by God himself.
You may recall that I taught a series on authority in recent months
and summarized the overarching teaching of the Bible with eight biblical assertions.
I'm going to give them to you really quickly in brief,
but hopefully this will be a reminder to you as we think about submission to authority.
Number one, God's authority is innate.
That means it belongs to him because he is, in fact, God.
Nobody granted it to him.
He is in authority because he is God.
And because of that, that authority is final.
It's the absolute authority.
God's authority is innate and it is final.
Number two, God's authority is necessarily good because he is good.
We have no reason to question the way that God has ordered the universe
because God is a good God.
Number three, humankind has an authority problem.
It began in the garden, continues to this day.
Paul is here addressing it in these following verses.
We tend to not want to be told what to do.
Number four, we are delegated authority that always has limits
and is always subservient to the one who delegated it, right?
That is God who has that innate and final authority.
He's put boundaries on the authority that he has granted to various roles in our world.
Number five, when a person or institution takes up a responsibility not granted to them
or exercises an authority granted to them in a way not granted to them,
it is at best ineffective.
It is at worst abusive.
So we are meant to take up authority that's been granted in the way that it's been granted.
Otherwise, it goes horribly awry.
Number six, the aim of exercising authority and submission to God's good authority
is for the sake of protecting the vulnerable, strengthening our communities,
and promoting human flourishing,
which is borrowed from a book by a man named Jonathan Lehman called Authority.
So again, it's for the sake of protecting the vulnerable,
strengthening our communities, and promoting human flourishing.
Number seven, God delegates his authority through three institutions and six positions.
And we talked about those at length across that time.
I'm going to spare you those details this morning.
For our purposes, know that one of the three institutions is the government,
which is what we are considering today.
And lastly, within these three institutions and six positions,
there is granted two types of authority.
We talked about the authority of counsel or persuasion,
the power to convince somebody to do something.
It's what we're doing here and now.
I hope to convince you by the power of the Spirit
that what Paul is exhorting us to is good and proper,
and we should obey it.
And also, the authority of command or coercion,
the power to make someone do something by force,
which is the type of authority that the government possesses, right?
Yielding that sword mentioned in the text.
So generally, Paul says, chapter 13 and verse 1,
we are to recognize the governing authorities as being from God,
and therefore, we are to obey them.
I know that when we read a text like this,
we immediately want to arrive at the exceptions.
We are, after all, citizens of a country born not so long ago
from casting off government authority.
That's kind of who we are as Americans,
no longer British anymore.
However, we recently celebrated Independence Day,
a yearly recognition that we were unwilling to live
under the tyranny of King George
and still today won't stand for tyranny.
I'm not saying any of this is bad, right?
But it's kind of part of who we are.
We read a text like this and we want to go,
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, but...
But note that you generally,
willingly subject yourself to the governing authorities
in your daily living.
We are generally productive citizens,
obeying traffic laws,
keeping our licenses and insurance current,
paying our property taxes,
pulling permits for septic system installs,
not dumping trash in the river, etc.
There are laws that we obey.
Whether or not we entirely agree with them,
we still submit to that authority
because we recognize that it's an authority.
And if we do well,
we recognize that it's an authority
given by God.
We generally find great accord
with the rule of law
and agree mostly with the laws of our land.
That said, we don't always agree, do we?
Until recently,
a Supreme Court decision
known as Roe v. Wade
functionally served as the law of the land
that permitted abortion,
like the murder of unborn children.
Christians rightly despised
and despised that decision
and sought to see justice done.
Not through vigilantism,
but through political process.
We praise God
for that decision's overturning
and recognize that it is the starting point
for much more work
to defend the most vulnerable
of our country's citizens.
So, we took up there
as Christian people.
We didn't become vigilantes.
We weren't those that
bombed abortion clinics,
but rather we submitted ourselves
to the authority
and cried,
this is wrong
and must be fixed.
Praise God,
we are in the process of that
even now.
The point I am making
is that we ought not be quick
to the American impulse
to arrive at the exceptions,
but rather to accept
the general exhortation.
Don't forget
that this letter's original audience
were Roman citizens.
It is most likely
that Paul wrote this letter
in A.D. 57,
a time at which
the citizenry of Rome
was already persecuting Christians
with no protection
from the pantheonic Roman leadership.
In just a few short years,
in A.D. 64,
the Roman authorities
would begin
the state-sponsored
systematic persecution
of Christians.
Yet,
Paul's inspired pen
writes,
We are not exceptional
in the history of the world.
Like,
we have some
particular oppression
that shouldn't make this text
ring true
for us.
Think about
first century
and second
and third
and fourth century
Christians.
Think about Christians
in our world today
that take up a text
like this
and read,
Let every person
be subject
to the governing authorities,
for there is no authority
except from God,
and those that exist
have been instituted
by God.
So we have a command
to obey.
Secondly,
Paul gives us
a caution
against
rebellion.
This is found
in verses
2-5.
Therefore,
these authorities
have been having
instituted by God
at the end of verse 1.
Therefore,
whoever resists
the authorities
resists what God
has appointed,
and those who resist
will incur judgment.
He has such a confidence
in God's sovereign working
that these people
in these positions
were placed there
by God.
Generally speaking,
if we resist them,
then we are
resisting
God
himself.
For rulers
are not a terror
to good conduct
but to bad.
Would you have no fear
of the one
who is in authority?
Do you want to not fear them?
Well, then
do what is good
and you will receive
his approval.
For he is God's servant
for your good.
But if you do wrong,
be afraid,
for he does not bear
the sword in vain,
for he is the servant
of God
and avenger
who carries out
God's wrath
on the wrongdoer.
Therefore,
one must be
in subjection
not only to avoid
God's wrath
but also
for the sake
of conscience.
Paul tells us
in these verses
generally,
if you rebel
against the
governing authorities,
then you rebel
against God
himself
and will incur
the temporal
wrath of God
in the consequences
rendered
for your rebellion.
If you break
a traffic law,
you may find yourself
paying a hefty fine
is a simple
and relatively
benign example.
If you disregard
those authorities,
you are going to
have some trouble
people.
The giving of law
and the enforcement
of it
is a mercy
to people.
Generally speaking,
it's a mercy
to people.
The consequences
given for breaking
the Mosaic law
had five
expressed
purposes.
If you'd like to
know references
for these,
I'll be happy
to send them
to you.
first,
they served,
again,
these are the
consequences
for breaking
the Mosaic law,
this is in
God's theocracy,
they were a matter
of justice,
setting right
a wrong
in due proportion.
Somebody commits
a wrong against you,
they deserve
some consequence
for that action.
They served
as a deterrent
to further crime.
People who
witnessed that
there were
consequences to
actions were
less likely
to commit
those crimes.
They were a
leveler of
impartiality.
God's law was
very careful
to say that
no one was
above the rule
of this law.
fourthly,
they were meant
to be a
swift matter
of order
that civility
would be
maintained
in a society.
Fifth,
they were a
way of
pardon,
restoration,
once the
penalty was
paid for a
crime committed,
a way for a
person to be
restored meaningfully
to a community.
Our system
does not
function
perfectly.
I will not
make a claim
to that.
I am sure
that we can
all share a
story of
mishandled
justice,
but the
governing
authorities get
it right
more times
than not.
There is
justice
administered at
the hands
of governing
authorities.
We ought to
all be glad
of the
difficult work
that does
get done
right.
It just
doesn't get
shared on
social media.
Robert
Haldane
in an
exposition
of Romans
wrote this,
the institution
of civil
government
is a
dispensation
of mercy
and its
existence
is so
indispensable
that the
moment it
ceases under
one form,
it reestablishes
itself in
another.
So just as
an example,
in quote for
a second,
when all the
crazy stuff was
going on in
Seattle and
they took
over blocks
and they
were being
anarchists,
they formed
a government
within the
first week
of doing
that.
It was a
failed experiment
altogether,
but they
very quickly
formed
government
because they
saw what
happened when
there was no
rule at
all.
Back to the
quote.
The world
ever since
the fall
when the
dominion of
one part
of the
human race
over another
was immediately
introduced
has been in
such a state
of corruption
and deprivity
that without
the powerful
obstacle presented
by civil
government to
the selfish
and malignant
passions of
men,
it would be
better to
live among
the beasts
of the forest
than in
human society.
We need
restraining
grace in
our lives.
As soon as
its restraints
are removed,
man shows
himself in
his real
character.
When there
was no king
in Israel
and everyone
did that which
was right in
his own eyes,
we see in
the last three
chapters of
the book of
Judges what
were the
dreadful
consequences.
Mankind
cannot be
left in
its deprivity
to itself.
We need
God to be
merciful to
us, to
give us
governing
authorities,
and we
ought
generally to
obey those
authorities and
recognize them
as a gift
to our
flourishing
this side
of glory.
So that was
the simple
point number
two from
the text.
Thirdly,
and very
shortly,
a contribution
for the
work.
And we
see this
in verses
6 and
7.
John
MacArthur
made an
entire sermon
out of this
text, and I
just don't
want to talk
about taxes
that much.
There Paul
writes,
For because
of this you
also pay
taxes, for
the authorities
are ministers
of God
attending to
this very
thing.
Pay to
all who
is owed
to them,
taxes to
whom taxes
are owed,
revenue to
whom revenue
is owed,
respect to
whom respect
is owed,
honor to
whom honor
is owed.
Paul tells
us in the
last two
verses of
today's text
that because
governing
authorities are
instituted by
God, that it
is proper to
contribute to
the work
that they
do.
We'll have
to do so
with our
finances, and
we'll have
to do so
with our
attitudes.
We need to
respect those
positions of
authority,
whether we
particularly
respect the
person or
the work
being accomplished
within that
role itself.
I want to
read to
you an
anonymous
second-century
Christian's
letter where
he's describing
the activity of
his fellow
Christian followers.
Again, this is
second-century.
He writes
this,
Christians are
distinguished from
other men,
neither by
country nor
language,
nor the
customs which
they observe.
For they
neither inhabit
cities of
their own,
nor employ a
particular form
of speech,
nor lead a
life which is
marked out by
any singularity.
The course of
conduct which
they follow has
not been
devised by
any speculation
or deliberation
of inquisitive
men, nor do
they, like some,
proclaim themselves
the advocates of
any merely human
doctrines.
But,
inhabiting
Greek as well
as barbarian
cities,
according as
the lot of
each of them
had determined,
and following
the customs
of the natives
in respect to
clothing, food,
and the rest of
their ordinary
conduct, they
display to
us their
wonderful and
confessively
striking method
of life.
They dwell in
their own
countries, but
simply as
sojourners.
As citizens,
they share in
all things with
others and yet
endure all
things as if
foreigners.
Every foreign
land is to
them as their
native country,
and every land
of their birth
as a land of
strangers.
They marry,
as do all
others.
They beget
children, but
they do not
destroy their
offspring.
They have a
common table,
but not a
common bed.
They are in
the flesh, but
they do not
live after the
flesh.
They pass their
days on earth,
but they are
citizens of
heaven.
They obey the
prescribed laws
and at the
same time
surpass the
laws by
their lives.
They love
all men and
are persecuted
by all.
They are
unknown and
condemned.
They are put
to death and
restored to
life.
They are
poor, yet
make many
rich.
They are
in lack
of all
things and
yet abound
in all.
They are
dishonored, yet
in their very
dishonor are
glorified.
They are
evil, spoken
of, and yet
are justified.
They are
reviled and
blessed.
They are
insulted and
replay the
insult with
honor.
They do
good, yet
are punished
as evildoers.
When punished,
they rejoice as
if quickened
into life.
They are
assailed by
the Jews as
foreigners and
are persecuted
by the Greeks,
yet those who
hate them are
unable to
assign any
reason for
their hatred.
I just would
ask the
question, generally
of American
Christianity, is
it defined in
that way?
And I think
sadly, it's
not.
May we be
people characterize
the way these
second century
Christians were
characterized.
So there's a
simple exegesis
of the text.
A command to
obey, a
caution against
rebellion, a
contribution for
the work.
Now, however,
I want to ask
two contextual
questions and
issue some
answers, at
least in part,
to those
questions.
The first is
simply this.
What part should
Christians play
in politics?
Do we have any
role to play at
all?
Should we
entirely remove
ourselves from
the process,
simply saying,
well, God's
going to do what
God's going to
do, so we
have no reason
to be involved
in it?
I say to you,
no, we have
our system is a
system by and
for the people
in its design,
so let's
participate
meaningfully
in it.
God has
granted us
such opportunity
to work
toward those
previously
mentioned goals
of protecting
the vulnerable,
strengthening our
communities, and
promoting human
flourishing as
we participate
in our
political process.
Politics are
downstream of
culture.
So let's be
those who have
and hold God's
truth, be
shapers of
culture and
the politics
that follow.
Let's not
leave our
pagan
neighbors to
themselves.
Let's be
involved.
We have the
opportunity to
do so, and
so we should
in some
specific ways.
Number one,
let us vote
for godly
leaders and
biblical
laws.
Your votes
have consequences.
We have
witnessed that
most readily
in these past
years.
Know what
is good
and true
and beautiful.
Have a
biblical worldview
and throw
your citizenship
at those
things on
the ballot.
We have a
limited amount
of political
influence, but
we do have
this ability,
each and
every one of
us who are
of age.
Know
biblical
justice and
support laws
consistent with
it.
Vote for
leaders that
have Bibles
in their
back pockets
and not
just special
interest
dollars.
Sadly,
there are
few and
far between,
it would
seem.
Perhaps
consider,
young people,
a life of
politics.
We need
good men
and women
to be
involved in
the political
process.
Remember that
there is no
authority except
from God,
and those
that exist
have been
instituted by
God, but
God uses
means to
accomplish
his ends.
And in our
political system,
that includes
your voice
and your
vote.
In our
context,
those means
are not
coups, we
hope, we
hope that's
not the way
political power
transitions in
our country,
but rather
ordered
processes,
and so we
should be
involved in
those processes.
Secondly,
specifically,
being involved
in politics,
given the
opportunity,
we should
warn leaders
that they
have been
appointed by
God, are
meant to
work for
the good
of their
citizenry,
by God's
standard, and
will be judged
for the way
they govern.
We should be
a voice in
the public
sphere if we
have the
opportunity to
speak to
elected officials.
We should be
saying to them,
there is a
standard by
which you
are meant
to govern.
I wonder how
many opportunities
to clearly
present the
gospel to
governing
authorities have
been missed
for the sake
of political
expedience or
guised civility.
We do well
to be prophetic
voices, to
engage politically
as Christians
first,
concerned about
those eternal
things most,
and then as
Americans
second.
Thirdly,
trust the
Lord of
politics and
be charitable.
Trust the
Lord of
politics.
Nothing is
outside of
His control.
Regardless of
the results of
any given
election,
Christians should
be confidently
settled of
all people.
We should be
the most
confident of
all people
because we
know that
our Savior
will never
occupy the
Oval Office,
but presently
occupies the
throne of
heaven and
reigns over
all.
Undoubtedly.
Beloved, our
ultimate citizenship
is with Him.
If you have
turned from
your sin and
placed saving
faith in the
accomplished work
of Christ for
you, then you
ought to be
immovable.
Your confidence
should be
unshakable.
The author of
Hebrews writes
chapter 13
and verse 14,
For here we
have no
lasting city,
but wishes
will not be
thwarted, and
although His
providence can
at times be
strange to us,
His sovereign
goodness never
fails to
accomplish all
that He
purposes.
Set your
confidence beyond
this world.
Fix it
heavenward and
rest.
Again, I'm
not saying
don't be
involved, but
in the midst
of our
involvement,
and after
our involvement
has passed,
we ought to
be a people
so confident
in who our
God is and
what He has
promised to
accomplish on
our behalf and
in the world,
that we are not
given to fits
like the world
around us is.
people with
unshakable confidence
in God's
providence
find it
easy,
hear me,
people with
unshakable
confidence in
God's
providence
find it
easy to be
charitable
towards those
who disagree
with them.
If someone
doesn't think
the way you
think,
vote the
way you
vote.
If you're
confident in
God's
sovereign
goodness,
you still
may want to
convince them
otherwise,
but the
world does
not rise and
fall in your
ability to
convince them
otherwise.
Even in
matters of
politics,
we can be
charitable if
we're confident
in who our
God is.
God is
the world
is not
falling apart
outside of
God's
control.
No matter
how dire
it may
seem at
times,
God has
not given
up his
sovereignty
to anybody.
Charles
Spurgeon
once said,
this is the
quotation on
the back of
your bulletin,
in a quote
often wrongly
applied politically,
he says
this,
I do not
know which
I should
prefer to
see one
of my dear
Christian
brethren fall
into doctrinal
error or
into an
unchristian
spirit.
I would
prefer neither
for I think
this is a
safe rule of
two evils
choose
neither.
We can be
doctrinally
consistent,
politically
wise,
and still
be charitable
towards others
because we're
confident in
God's
providential
work.
second
question
and final
question,
when is
it by
our God
to rebel
against
governing
authorities?
When is
it faithful
to rebel
against
governing
authorities?
Now,
Paul doesn't
give us any
space for
that in
today's
text,
but he's
speaking
generally,
I believe.
Surely
governing
authorities
err at
times,
correct?
They do,
many times
they do.
At those
times,
that authority
sets itself
against the
commands of
God.
We see the
case of this
all around
us.
In Psalm
chapter 2,
verses 1
through 3,
the psalmist
writes,
why do the
nations
rage and
the
people's
plot
in vain?
The kings
of the
earth set
themselves
and the
rulers take
counsel
together
against the
Lord,
that's God
the Father,
and against
his
anointed,
that's God
the Christ,
saying,
let us
burst their
bonds apart
and cast
away their
cords
from us.
You can
see here
in this
psalm that
it perhaps
is normative
that governing
authorities want
to reject
God himself.
What are we
to do,
God's people,
when this
is the
case?
Rebel.
That's what
we're to do.
We're to rebel
against that
kind of stand
against God
because we
stand with
the innate
and final
authority.
We can
observe an
example of
this in
the life
of the
apostles in
Acts 5
27-29.
I want you
to note
the issue
that they
stand for.
There we
see,
when the
captain with
the officers
had brought
them,
this is the
apostles,
they set
them before
the council
and the
high priest
questioned
them,
saying,
we strictly
charge you
not to
teach in
this name,
the name
of Christ.
Yet here
you have
filled
Jerusalem
with your
teaching and
you intend
to bring
this man's
blood.
God upon
us.
So we
have
charged you
not to
preach the
gospel and
you did
it anyway.
These are
governing
authorities put
in place
by God.
What are
they to
do in
this
situation?
So
clearly,
they rebelled.
And Peter
defends that
action in
verse 29,
but Peter
and the
apostles
answered,
we must
obey God
rather than
men.
Now note
at the
core of
this,
the core
of what's
happening
here is
a rebellion
against
spiritual
matters.
You have
the example
of Paul
causing a
riot.
Paul doesn't
go into a
city in
order to
cause a
riot.
Paul goes
into a
city preaching
against the
idolatry there
and a
riot results.
Rather,
he sought to
be peaceable
as he went
about his
business.
Again,
from Spurgeon,
Spurgeon says,
there are
points of
inevitable
contact
between the
higher and
lower spheres.
Points where
politics persist
in coming into
collision with
our faith.
And there we
shall be
traitors both
to heaven
and earth
if we
consult our
comfort by
sinking into
the rear.
There are
times that
these things
are going to
run in
opposition to
one another
and we
are to be
those that
press forward.
We stand
with the
one who
has that
innate and
final authority.
Sometimes this
rebellion is
simple and
it's clear.
Still difficult,
still difficult
to stand in
the face of
opposition.
The sword is
the threat,
but simple
and clear,
sometimes it
is much
more complicated.
We found
this to be
true in the
recent past
as we
consider the
rules of
governing
authorities
concerning
our
gathering
as a
church.
Churches all
over the
nation had
to consider
this.
Were those
rules proper
for the
good of the
citizenry?
Or would
obeying them
find us
guilty of
neglecting to
meet together,
which we
are warned
against in
Hebrews
chapter 10?
What do we
obey?
Are we meant
to subject
ourselves to
the governing
authorities in
this case,
or to not
neglect meeting
together?
Over here we
have these
two commands
given to
us, and
how this
question was
answered was
difficult to
ascertain, and
it developed
over time as
we had more
information
navigating that
particular
illness.
Difficult
sometimes to
sort through
the proper
thing to
do.
In
18th century
America,
pastors debated
the validity
of war against
the crown, and
whether the
American
experiment was
sanctioned by
God.
You can read
the writing that
went back and
forth between
the two.
I'm not much
of a student
of history.
I did
receive a
history minor.
It was kind
of a B
student history
minor, but
I've read some
of this writing.
It is interesting
to see the way
they debated
between the
two.
An argument
for justice,
an argument
to obey
these kinds
of commands
we find in
chapter 13.
I find myself
trying to live
in those days,
trying to walk
out the
arguments between
the two, and
I must say
that in the
early days, I
think I would
have been
aligned with
the crown.
I think the
taxation without
representation
argument was a
difficult one in
light of these
first seven
chapters.
But as the
British government
came into the
Americas and
seized land and
did unjust
things, I think
I would have
flipped on the
matter.
I think I
would have
finally said,
okay, now
justice must be
done.
They have
stepped too
far.
But there was
this debate
going on
amongst faithful
Christians trying
to figure out
how to navigate
such a time.
We must give
our whole selves
to God and
with humility,
prayerfully seek
his will in
these more
complicated matters.
All the time,
being patient
with one
another as we
await our
coming king.
I pray for us
that we would
be a people
different than
what we observe
out there,
right?
Distinguished by
our love for
one another,
confident in
who our God
is, right?
Characterized by
confidence in
the ultimate
authority,
our generally
good citizenship
that people
would look at
us and say,
they don't
think the way
I think and
act the way
I act,
but it's
difficult to
argue that
they're not
good for the
place in which
we live,
and that we
would also be
characterized by
our longing to
see all things
made new.
Let's pray
together to
that end.
Thank you.