Lord, I swear there's no pain I know there's no danger In that bright world to which I go Welcome to this podcast from Faith Bible Church in Reno, Nevada. Faith Bible Church is a Christ-centered, Bible-teaching ministry dedicated to bringing the Good News of the Gospel to the whole world. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. And now, for this week's message from Pastor Alan Battle. Our scripture reading this morning is from Romans chapter 13, verses one through four. 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. This is the word of our Lord. We enter into chapter 13 of the book of Romans. And last week we completed chapter 12, which urged us to overcome evil with good, and by blessing our enemies, and by maintaining peace in all of our relationships. And in today's passage, we're gonna look at another kind of relationship. It's a relationship that people have struggled with since the beginning of human society. It's a relationship with government. Many people see this relationship as adversarial. Timothy Leary, one of the fathers of the hippie movement, he urged us all to question authority. At the opposite end of the political spectrum, President Ronald Reagan famously remarked, the most terrifying words in the English language are, I'm from the government and I'm here to help. But how should Christians relate to the government? Well, Jesus put it succinctly when he said, render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's. But what does that mean practically? What are the things that belong to Caesar and how do we render them? What's it mean to be a good citizen? Should we wholeheartedly participate in civic duties? Or should we simply try to ignore earthly governments as much as we can and get on with the kingdom business? Well, based on the admonition we just heard from Jesus and the passage that we're going to look at today, Christians have consistently promoted good relationships with governments since the beginning of the church. Even though Christians were persecuted in the early church, they did their best to show their loyalty to earthly leaders. Here's a few examples from Christian writers in the first couple centuries of the church. Polycarp, from around 100 AD, he was a disciple of the Apostle John. And when faced with martyrdom, standing before a Roman judge, he said, to thee I have thought it right to offer an account of my faith, for we are taught to give all due honor to the powers and authorities which are ordained of God. And then Justin Martyr from around the same time reiterated the teaching of Matthew in Matthew 22 regarding the pain of taxes. And he pointed out that Christians pray for the emperor. He maintained that Christians were moral, upright, law-abiding citizens who are the empire's best allies in securing good order. And then Irenaeus from the late 2nd century, he was a disciple of Polycarp. And he quoted from today's passage in Romans 13, and then he commented, who is never at rest at all but that by means of the establishment of laws they may keep down an excess of wickedness among the nations. And then finally Tertullian around 200 AD. He stated, we offer prayer for the safety of our princes to the eternal, and for the complete stability of the empire, and for Roman interests in general. We are lending our aid to Rome's duration. Then he boldly proclaimed to the pagans, Caesar is more ours than yours, for God has appointed him. And we Christians do more for his welfare. And 1,500 years later, there was a famous Christian who did a lot for the welfare of the king and for his nation. And his name was Thomas More. Moore lived in the 16th century in England, and he served King Henry VIII as his Lord High Chancellor, the most powerful political position under the king. You may have seen the Academy Award-winning movie, A Man for All Seasons, about him, or the more recent miniseries on cable TV, Wolf Hall. By all accounts, Thomas Moore was a remarkable man. As a boy, he served as a page in the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, whose position was as much political as it was ecclesiastical. And during his time there, Moore was witness to the interactions of the most powerful men in England. Next, he entered into the study of law, and at this time, though, he gave serious consideration to becoming a monk. But being a devout believer, he wasn't sure that he could keep the rigorous vows that you would have to take and keep as a monk. So his friend and confidant, the famous thinker Erasmus, wrote this of him at this time. He said, he chose therefore to be a chaste husband rather than an impure priest. He was a loyal Catholic believer and had a stellar reputation as a man of piety and honor. You and I would certainly not agree with all of his theological positions, but I can't help but admire him and hope to meet him in heaven one day. Unlike many great men of his day, including his predecessor and his successor, he was not a proud or ambitious man. He was a brilliant thinker who had high respect for the laws of the state and for the laws of God. and he counted among his friends some of the most accomplished men of the day, such as the scholar Erasmus, who I just mentioned. He soon became one of the leading attorneys of his time. He served in several public capacities, including master of the sewers. I wonder what that position entailed. He was elected to Parliament, then to an important judgeship in London. He was just, and he had a wide knowledge of the law. And often, when the litigants were poor, he would waive his fees. The care and skill and wisdom that Moore displayed as a judge did much to win him the esteem and popularity of his fellow citizens. So soon he caught the attention of the young King Henry VIII, who appointed him to his privy council. That's kind of like the president's cabinet in the U.S. And then Henry fired his previous Lord High Chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey, because he failed to secure an annulment from the Pope from his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, because he wanted to marry her lady-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn. Immediately, though, he appointed Moore to that position. And the position of Lord High Chancellor was akin to our office of Attorney General. It's the highest law enforcement official in the land. And Moore excelled in navigating through the trickiest of cases and brought a great sense of justice to King Henry's realm. But his principles soon ran afoul of his political realities. In order to pave the way to dump his first wife and Mary Ann Boleyn, King Henry decided to remove the Church of England from under the authority of the Catholic Church and the Pope and make himself the head of the Church of England. More, a loyal Catholic was opposed to this. When Henry finally did separate from Rome and had his marriage annulled, Moore resigned from his position. Not having lined his own pockets like the majority of his peers, he went immediately from the heights of opulence to a very impoverished lifestyle. But he did so with grace and respect. And although he could no longer serve Henry as his Lord Chancellor in good conscience, he refused to speak publicly about his reasons for leaving. And he remained subject to the king and the law in every way. So this morning I present him as an example, because it is the duty of every Christian to do the same. So we begin this morning in Romans 13.1. where it says, let every person be subject to the governing authorities. Although Paul is writing to the Christians at Rome here, this command is not just for Christians. The verse says that every person should be subject. Why is that? It's because that's the way God designed the world. God, just as he designed the family to be the basic building block of society, he created governments to provide structure and to maintain order in society. Now let's think for a moment about the context of this command. Remember who this letter is written to. It's written to Christians in Rome. Rome, the capital of the greatest empire that the world had ever seen. Rome, where dirty politics was in the air that they breathed. You think things are bad in Washington, D.C.? ? In Rome, pandering to the basest elements of human nature was the order of the day. Corruption, seduction, intimidation, extortion, bribery, intrigue, and even assassination were common among the ruling class. Imagine the gossip that was being spread around the capital in that day. Did you hear that the Emperor Nero killed his pregnant wife by kicking her in the stomach? Oh, really? Yeah, but that's not all. He was so remorseful that he found a young slave boy that looked like her and married him. And now he's parading this kid around as the empress. True story. A person could become cynical in such a depraved atmosphere. Yet these are the governing authorities that Paul is instructing Christians to be subject to. Now you and I we live in a republic where we have a say in who's put in authority over us. But as Christians we don't have the right to choose to disobey those who we don't deem worthy. We don't have the luxury of proclaiming like I've heard people do concerning this president and the last one, not my president. Why? Why shouldn't we use this popular expression today, resist? Well, look at the rest of verse one. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. When you think about this historically, that's hard to take. Were Hitler, Stalin, and Mao Zedong put into power by God? Well, according to this verse, yes. No authority exists apart from God's permission. Psalm 62.11 says that all power belongs to God. So before we talk specifically about governmental authority, let's talk about authority in general for a minute. You know, the very first sin was the sin of pride committed by a being who claimed for himself the right to be his own authority. That's recorded in Isaiah 14, beginning in verse 13. You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven. Above the stars of God, I will set my throne on high. I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will make myself like the most high. This was Satan, and he desired to take God's place. And isn't it interesting that the name that he used for God was the Most High. He wanted to demote God from that top position and install himself as the ultimate authority. And that's why rebellion against authority is so serious. Government is not the only authority relationship that God has instituted in the world. He's instituted the husband and wife relationship. He instituted the parent-child relationship, or the employer-employee relationship, and the responsibilities that we have within the family of God as brothers and sisters. Each one of those areas has authority in its own sphere. So only when one sphere attempts to encroach on another sphere's territory can believers legitimately resist. If the government attempts to usurp the authority of the church or the family, then the believer is obligated to resist. You know, when the Jewish leaders told Peter and the apostles in Acts 529 to stop preaching in the name of Jesus, what did they reply? We must obey God rather than men. God's authority is preeminent in every sphere. So let's get back to this idea of governmental authority. One question that a lot of people have is, why does God allow evil governments to exist? Well, this goes back to the fall. When sin entered into the world, Satan became the ruler of this world. Look at 1 John 5.19, the second part of the verse, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. Satan's power is limited But he has controlled a majority of the rulers on this earth throughout all history. Remember in the book of Daniel, when the angel Gabriel told Daniel that he would have been there sooner, but the prince of Persia was holding him up. Did an earthly prince stop the angel? No, it was one of Satan's demons. Satan is closely identified with rulers of various nations in the Bible. In Isaiah, Satan is called the king of Babylon. In Ezekiel 28, he's called the king of Tyre. Another question people have is, why should we obey evil authorities? Well, because no government, just like no individual, is perfect. Sin has invaded every aspect of human life. But however corrupt it becomes, authority is baked in to reality and is a necessary means for human flourishing. When governmental restraint is lifted from a people, chaos ensues. Human beings cannot live, they can't live well without order and discipline. This is true on the individual level and on the societal level. The guy who has no discipline or internal restraint harms both himself and others. And a culture without law is the same way. Think of the old Western movies where the town had no sheriff. The outlaws would be raising hell in the streets. They'd be shooting off their guns and riding their horses into the saloon and generally terrorizing the citizens. And just when things would look hopeless, someone would say, there's a new sheriff in town. And he would save the day and restore order. Well, when there's a vacuum of power, someone will come in to fill it, whether they're good or evil. No culture can survive without authority. So those who reject, resist, and undermine authority are, in essence, committing cultural suicide. And that's a bad thing. God doesn't like it. Look at the next verse. Romans 13, 2. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. Every person who rejects authorities that God has instituted is, in effect, saying the same thing that Satan said. I will be like the Most High. And like Satan, they will one day face the judgment of God. But God's judgment isn't reserved just for when one dies or for the end times. By flaunting God's authority, we can bring down God's wrath on us in this life. This rebellious attitude is ripping our culture apart as we speak. It's well illustrated in the whole sexual revolution agenda. God is the one who has delegated his authority to mankind in many areas, but the decision to decide what gender we are is his. It belongs to him. He either made us male or female, and nothing that we believe or do can change that fact. And people are claiming that they have the authority to divine their own sexuality when God has said the only legitimate expression of sexuality is between one man and one woman for one life. God's the one who created and who defines marriage. Any attempt to change that is rebellion towards his authority. This is one of the areas where Christians must obey God rather than government. I will never perform a same-sex marriage no matter what the law says. And there are immediate consequences for flaunting God's established authority in any sphere of life. Let's look back at Romans 1, verse 28, where Paul said, and since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. Well, what kind of things shouldn't be done? Next couple of verses tell us. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips. slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. All of these things are destructive and harmful to human life, to the individual, and to the society. All of these sinful characteristics lead to sinful actions, and many of them are punishable under the laws of the state. This is one of the key reasons why government exists. Let's go on in 13 verse 3. 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. Even wicked rulers are God's ministers for good to one degree or another. Their sinfulness does not invalidate their authority, the authority that God has given them for that moment. God will deal with their sin eventually. Rulers, good or bad, are still crucial for life on this planet. The world cannot exist without authority. Even bad governments provide structure. Even bad governments provide public goods, like transportation and fire departments. Even bad governments restrain evil. Even the most tyrannical of dictatorships enforce laws against murder and theft. So even bad people should fear wicked rulers, because those wicked rulers aren't just going to let everybody get away with the same things they're doing. Now look at the rest of verse 4. 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. According to this verse, the state has the right to execute wrongdoers. But that's the ultimate and last resort in punishing them. In the Old Testament, punishment was a community affair with elders presiding under the authority of God's word. And the Bible fit the punishment to the crime. When people were wrongfully injured in the Old Testament, the offender was ordered to make restitution. There weren't any jails for such offenses. I learned about restitution when I was a kid. I was causing trouble one day at my buddy's house. I was up on the carport roof behind his house, and I was throwing pebbles at the back window, the sliding glass door. I didn't think I could break the window with these little pebbles. But guess what? I was wrong. Broke this sliding glass door, very expensive. And what happened next had serious and long-lasting effect on me. Instead of just getting yelled at and grounded, and I was too big to be spanked at this time, so that wasn't a fear, but the parents, they got together and they decided to make me work off the debt. So for the next couple months, I became a slave to my buddy's mom. Every day after school, I'd have to go over there. Everybody else is out having fun. I had to vacuum and wash dishes and pull weeds and whatever she could cook up for me to do. And it was humiliating. And it was also instructive. And I'm sure that it curbed some of my wild adolescent behavior. But this biblical principle of restitution is something that Prison Fellowship, the ministry founded by Chuck Colson, has been advocating for years. They advocate for it, and they help implement it in countries around the world. And if we followed such a plan in our criminal justice system, we wouldn't have the highest percentage of incarcerated criminals in the Western world. Did you know that in America? And both victims and perpetrators would be better off. But sometimes the only proper punishment is death. And this passage gives biblical authority for governments to use capital punishment. The sword that the government bears is an instrument of death. And the one who wields it is God's agent for justice, it says. Some people object to this by citing the commandment, thou shalt not kill. But the King James Version got that translation wrong. It really says, you shall not murder. There's a big difference there. Back in Genesis, one of the very first commandments given to mankind was this, in Genesis 9, 6. Life is sacred. This authority given to take life is given exclusively to governments. We saw last time, no individual has the right to take vengeance. But God has appointed governments to have that ultimate power. And the death penalty might be a deterrence to crime, but there's a much better reason for us to obey the law. We're gonna talk about that next week though. So Thomas More fell from the good graces of the King of England when he refused to acknowledge the split from Rome. He remained a loyal subject of the King. He never spoke a word against the king. He never failed to render to Caesar what belonged to Caesar. But a year later, Moore declined an invitation to the wedding ceremony of King Henry and his new bride, Anne Boleyn. Again, he made no public statement of disapproval. He just made an excuse for not coming. But for Henry, it was the last straw. At this point, he had Moore arrested and taken to the prison called the Tower of London. And the king demanded that Moore sign an oath to him as the supreme head of the church. And his friends and his daughter begged him, just sign the paper. It doesn't matter if you agree with it, just sign it. and more wouldn't go against his conscience. So he was condemned by a court of law, and he submitted to that judgment. But there's only one trial that will ultimately matter to all of us, and that's the judgment that will come at the end of the age in the throne room of God. For those who have accepted the free gift of salvation through the death of Christ on the cross, that judgment has already occurred, and Christ was condemned in our place. We will not stand before that court that day because Christ did it for us. But for those who refuse the free gift of God's grace, There will be a final terrifying judgment, a condemnation, and an eternity away from the presence of God. So I beg you, make sure you're not in that number. The court in Thomas Moore's case sentenced him to death. In 1535, at the age of 57, he was taken to a public place of execution and had his head removed. His last words were, I die the king's good servant, but God's first. May each of us, when our time comes, be able to say that we died a good citizen, but even more, a good servant of Christ. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your creation. We thank you that you have ordered the world in such a way that as we walk through it by your standards, by your principles, that things work the way they're supposed to. Lord, we thank you that you've given us government. We pray that you would give us wisdom as we relate to our government, as we relate to our leaders. And Lord, that we might be salt and light in this place and point to you. So we give you all the praise and all the glory in the name of Jesus. Amen. Thank you for listening to the preaching of God's Word from Faith Bible Church in Reno, Nevada. We hope that it has been an encouragement to you and that the Word of God will fill your hearts and minds as you walk through this world. If you have been blessed by this ministry and would like to make a small donation to help defray the costs of this podcast, just click on the green support us button at the top of the webpage. Thank you.