The Christian's Responsibility to Government, Part 1 B

The one time we have a right to disobey the authority in the government is when the government commands us not to do something God commanded us to do.

When it invades that domain, we ought to obey God rather than men. Have you heard of Nero, the first-century Roman emperor who outlawed Christianity and murdered thousands of believers? What did the Apostle Paul, who lived in that society, say about the Roman government? And how do his words apply to you today, no matter what kind of government you live under? Consider that on Grace to You as John MacArthur continues his study titled The Christian and Government. John is showing you why God created government in the first place, and helping you see how even bad rulers serve God's purposes.

And with that, here's today's lesson. Romans chapter 13. Now in those seven verses, we have outlined for us in brief and pointed terms, the Christian's responsibility to government. The issue of the Christian's relationship to government is a very important issue. It has been through all of the church's history. Christians have always had to face this issue, and even to struggle with it. For the church has found itself in all kinds of places, in all kinds of governments, under all kinds of rulers, with all kinds of perspectives and forms of leading and ruling. And so Christians have always had to deal with this matter of how do you respond to your government?

Now I want to approach this passage one more way, and I'm just setting up some pillars so that everything is going to come right together for you. In Paul's day, this was a very critical issue, a very critical issue. And I want to try to give you a little historical background so you'll understand why. In Paul's day, it was a critical issue, and I'll tell you why. The Jews were notoriously zealous for their own identity, their own nation, their own independence, their own freedom, their own God, their own religion, so forth. So the Jews constantly rebelled against Roman control.

There were just little fires propping up everywhere. And even though Roman domination was for the most part beneficent, and the Roman peace was for the most part easy to bear, it was not harsh and unrealistic, still the Jews did not like the idea that they were under the yoke of anyone. And when conversing with Jesus, you remember in John 8, they said, we have never been in bondage to anyone, which was a pretty ridiculous statement since they were at that very time under Roman domination. And prior to that were under the domination of the Greeks, and prior to that were under the domination of the Medo-Persians, and prior to that were under the domination of the Babylonians, and even earlier than that were under the domination of the Egyptians. So they had short memories. But what they were really saying was not, we were not under domination externally, but what they were saying was, we've never been dominated in our hearts.

We have never accepted that kind of bondage. So they didn't like that tyranny. And even though they enjoyed exceptional privileges in the Roman Empire. In fact, the Roman Empire, which advocated Caesar worship, and everybody was supposed to worship Caesar as a god, allowed the Jews to worship their own god. Safeguarded their right to worship. The Romans safeguarded the Sabbath day, the Sabbath laws, the food laws, the prohibition of idols. The Romans made a law that no one could come into the city of Jerusalem inside the walls with any image of the Caesar, because that violated the Jewish idol law.

They did everything they could. And when the Jews wanted to kill Gentiles who went into the inner court, the Romans upheld their right to do that. Even though that was nothing to do with Roman law, but only with religious law of the Jews. So they were very gracious in a sense to the Jews and still they chafed under their authority. They hated the Roman domination. They questioned its legitimacy. They fought against it. In fact, you remember in Matthew 22 that they came to Jesus and said, look, you tell us, you tell us, do we pay our taxes or don't we?

Remember that? This was constantly on their minds. They felt that it was an absolute crime for them to acknowledge Caesar. And he said, show me a coin. And they took out a coin with Caesar's image. And of course that would be in their minds a what?

An idol. And they despised that. And Jesus said to them, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God's the things that are God's. What he was affirming was the fact that in spite of what they felt, they were obligated to submit to government.

But they chafed so much under that. And you remember Mark 15 seven, which accounts for Barabbas who had led an insurrection. It wasn't the only insurrection.

There were a lot of insurrections. The Romans dealt with them continually. In fact, the Romans did a lot to keep the peace. One time they even put Paul in prison because they thought that Paul would be the cause of a Jewish riot and Jewish riots could turn against them.

They knew that. And so they were very cautious in imprisoning Paul, not only for his own protection, but for the protection that they would gain from some kind of riot. In Acts 5 36 we read, Before those days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody, to whom a number of men about 400 joined themselves who was slain and all as many as obeyed him were scattered and brought to nothing. After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the registration and drew away many people after him, he also perished and all as many as obeyed him were dispersed. The Romans were constantly breaking up these kinds of small revolutions that were started by these would be messiahs who were trying to overthrow the Roman yoke. The Jews took as the basis for their hatred of the Roman yoke and the Roman rulership Deuteronomy 17 15.

You know what that says? Thou shalt surely set him king over thee whom the Lord thy God shall choose. One from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee.

Thou mayest not set a foreigner over thee who is not thy brother. And so they said based on Deuteronomy chapter 17 verse 15 they were not going to have a king that was not a Jew and Herod was not a Jew and Caesar was not a Jew and Pilate was not a Jew and none of those who ruled them were Jews and so they used that passage as a defense for their attitude toward the government. What they forgot was they weren't living under the terms of Deuteronomy anymore. They had so violated God's covenant that they were under judgment and those kinds of things had been set aside. Now also among the Jews were a group of people known as the zealots. You remember the zealots? They believed there was no king but God period and there should be no taxes paid to anyone but God so they defied the government every way.

They wouldn't submit and they wouldn't pay taxes. They embarked, the zealots did, on violent action. They started groups. They became murderers, careers of murder and assassination.

They were known as dagger bearers. They were fanatical nationalists sworn to terrorism all their life long and they had a great influence on the Jews. That's why when Jesus came along and the Jews saw his power they wanted immediately to make him king.

Why? Because they wanted the ultimate revolt, the ultimate war to take place and they would fight and win against Rome. But Roman law for the most part continued even during the life of Paul in spite of all these things to be somewhat favorable to Christianity. They frankly saw Christianity as nothing more than a sort of offshoot of Judaism, a sort of Judaism cult if you will. And it's an interesting incident in the 18th chapter of Acts where the Corinthian Jews accused Paul of propagating an illegal religion. See the Romans didn't allow a lot of religion but they had legalized Judaism so they said Judaism is legal. So when Paul came along preaching Christ the Corinthian Jews wanted to get Paul in trouble with the Roman power so they said he is preaching an illegal religion. And so they called in the pro consul Gallio to tell him that this was an illegal religion and he paid absolutely no attention to their accusation at all which indicates to us that he thought of Christianity as nothing more than a few Jews disputing with other Jews about some element of theology. And because of that attitude that Christianity was just sort of an offshoot of Judaism it gave Paul freedom in the Roman Empire to continue to preach the gospel of Christ. Over the next 10 years his ministry could continue due to this perception and he was able to preach even though Christianity truly if understood was not a sanctioned religion. But looking at it from another angle too, Christianity was to be watched. Even though they tolerated it I'm sure they knew that it needed to be watched. After all the Romans knew that the founder of Christianity was one Jesus, one Jesus Christ.

In one reference he is called Crestus. And that that founder was basically killed because as far as they knew he was claiming to be a king and offered a rival to the Caesar. So they knew there was a potential within Christianity for trouble and so they even though they tolerated it they watched it. There were some Christians no doubt in some places who posed a threat to some Roman authorities. Some of them were thought to be subversive. Some of them were assumed to be real troublemakers. In fact in Acts 17 they said these that have turned the world upside down are come here also and they all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar saying there is another king, one Jesus. So the idea that their founder was a rival king sort of followed them. But even in spite of this there was a real tolerance for Christianity.

But Paul is very careful in what he says because he doesn't want any trouble. It's possible that if they pushed a little too hard at their freedoms if they didn't know how to respond to the Roman government they could really be in trouble. Romans were watching them even though they had some freedom. The best thing for them to do was to continue to live peaceably and honorably as citizens in their society. They were not to be associated with the Jewish mentality of insurrection and rebellion, revolution all of that.

So he writes this to remind them of their duty as citizens. To establish exemplary conduct like Christ had shown, Christ had shown, like the apostles had shown, like the believers in the earliest part of the church had shown. They wanted to separate Christianity from insurrectionist Judaism. They wanted to affirm that Christians are good citizens. Christianity and good citizenship goes together.

And good citizenship isn't just a question of not committing crimes, it's also a question of honoring and respecting and giving dignity to those in authority over us. So the Lord then establishes the basic principle in verse 1. And it is this, civil government in whatever form or under whatever ruler or rulers is to be obeyed and submitted to by Christians. A Christian has a duty to his nation even if his ruler is a Nero or a Hitler.

You say, well isn't this an isolated text? No, I want you to look again as we continue to lay a foundation at 1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2.

And Peter's situation? He's writing to some believers who are right at the edge of a major persecution. He's encouraging them to be ready to face what they're going to face. Over in chapter 4 of 1 Peter, verse 12, he says, don't think it's strange concerning the fiery trial to test you. Rejoice, verse 13, in as much as you are partakers of Christ's suffering. Verse 14, if you are reproached for the name of Christ, happy are you. Verse 15, don't suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evil doer or a busy body in other men's matters, but if you suffer for a Christian, don't be ashamed.

Don't be ashamed. So he says, get ready, you're going to suffer. Spirit of God gives him insight to know that the persecution that's already beginning on an individual level is going to become wholesale. And so Peter is writing then to some saints who are living in a time of persecution. The wholesale persecution hasn't yet broken out, but there is some persecution that's already started, and they need to be ready to handle it.

How do you handle it? 1 Peter 2, 12, have your behavior honest among the heathen, that whereas they speak against you as evil doers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. In other words, they may speak of you as evil, but let it be a lie.

How are you going to do that? How are you going to live in a society that wants to persecute you so that they see your goodness? 13, submit yourselves to every ordinance of man. Same thing Paul said in Romans 13, 1, same thing. Submit to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king, a supreme, or governors, or them that are sent by them for the punishment of evil doers, that would be the police. For this is the will of God, verse 15, that with your well doing you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.

Foolish men are looking for something to criticize and your lack of good citizenship and your lack of obedience to the civil authority will give them their reason. And verse 16 says, don't use your supposed freedom as a cloak for your maliciousness. So here is a persecuted group of people and Peter says to them, accept it and obey your authorities.

Now we go back to Romans 13 and we see that Paul is basically saying the very same thing that Peter is saying. We have a serious responsibility to live out our justification by grace through faith. Our self-sacrificing to the Lord, as Romans 12, 1 and 2 describes it, should make us model citizens of our nation. We should not be known as protesters. We should not be known as those who lambast, criticize and demean people in authority. We should speak against sin, speak against injustice, speak against evil, speak against immorality, fearlessly and without hesitation, but give honor to those who are in authority over us. This is a biblical pattern for every age and every nation and every Christian. It has nothing to do with America.

America didn't even exist when this was written, obviously. Now the first principle given then in verse 1, let's look at it and we'll just take a look at this principle and then we'll expand all the reasons for it. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. There's the principle. It's unqualified.

It's unlimited. It's unconditional. Every soul is kind of a Hebraism for every person, everybody. The emphasis is on the individual, every individual person. We each have a very precise duty. Let be subject is the verb. It's an imperative.

Hupitasso. It's a military term. It means to line up to take your orders. Let every one of us get in line in submission to those who are commanding us.

And who is that? The higher powers. Literally means the authorities which are over us. The authorities that have authority over us. It's kind of a double phrase.

Exusias, huper exusias. Authorities who have authority over us. The supreme ruling power. They're called in verse 3 rulers. Rulers.

The text makes no distinction between good rulers, bad rulers, fair laws, unfair laws. In fact, it is the obedience of Christians to unfair laws, the obedience of Christians to unjust rulers in the early years of the Roman Empire, the obedience of Christians through the persecutions that brought tolerance, acceptance and finally Christianity to that same empire. We are called then to submit. And for us, it isn't that difficult really because the laws for the most part are just. They rightly represent divine truth.

They're changing fast. But we are to submit. We have to face this post-Christian America, if you will, although the nation has never been a Christian nation. There aren't Christian nations.

There are only Christian people. You understand that, don't you? And though things are changing, we still have the same duty. First Timothy 2, do you remember that? Verse 1 and 2, I exhort therefore that first of all supplications, prayers, intercession and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and for all that are in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.

You know what God our Savior wants us to do? Live a life that is peaceable. We make peace. We don't make trouble. We make peace.

We don't protest. We make peace. And we live quiet, peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty. We affect the society from the inside by changing the hearts, not the structure. In Titus, Paul again writing to the church, put them in mind, he says to Titus, put the people, all the people in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, to speak evil of no man, to be no brawler but gentle showing all meekness unto all men.

That's it. Peaceable, loving, gentle, meek. It bothers me to see people in the name of Christ running around doing tirades on the leaders of our nation no matter whether we feel they're adequate, inadequate, just, unjust, fair or unfair. There's a principle here and it's repeated in the scripture. We saw it in Peter. We saw it in 1 Timothy. We saw it in Titus. We see it here.

Now you say, wait a minute. You mean we are to submit to everything, everything, everything without limitation? No, there's one limitation.

There's one limitation. In Acts chapter 4, verse 13 says that the Jewish leaders heard the boldness of Peter and John and couldn't figure out how they could be so bold and so articulate when they were unlearned and ignorant men. They took note of them that they had been with Jesus. That was evident because of their message and because they had seen them with Him. And so they are drawn into the council and they have a little meeting.

What are we going to do? The result of the meeting, verse 16, what shall we do to these men? A notable miracle has been done by them. That is manifest to all those who dwell in Jerusalem.

We can't deny the miracle but that it spread no further among the people. Let us threaten them that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. So we'll just tell them they can't speak again.

They called them, commanded them not to speak at all or teach in the name of Jesus. Now this is the government. This is the ruler. This is the authority. Even though it's the religious authority, it's authority. Peter and John said to them, you judge whether it's right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God.

Now we have a real conflict, right? God in the form of Jesus Christ said to them, go into all the world in what? Preach the gospel to whom? Every creature. Now the authority says don't preach.

Now you have cross commands. So Peter says, you tell us, who shall we obey? You or God? Fairly obvious, isn't it? The one time we have a right to disobey the authority in the government is when the government commands us not to do something God commanded us to do or when the government commands us to do something God commanded us not to do. Okay?

When it invades that domain. Those are the only places where we have justification and you know what happened, don't you? Well, verse 31, they had a prayer meeting and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke the word of God with boldness. That tells you who they decided to obey, doesn't it? They weren't quiet at all.

Not at all. Same thing happened in the second persecution in chapter 5. They were told again to be quiet, to say nothing. Verse 28, did we not strictly command you that you should not teach in this name and behold you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine? They didn't obey it.

That accelerated their efforts. And you intend to bring this man's blood on us? You know what part of their message was that the Jews were responsible for killing the Messiah. Peter said the same thing along with the other apostles. We ought to obey God rather than men. That's the only time a Christian comes to the point of tension where he must violate his government. Listen, there's no such thing as a Christian government. There has never been any such thing as a Christian government. So don't assume, please, will you, that Paul is writing this with a Christian government in mind?

Certainly the Roman one wasn't and there never has been one. The only Christian government that will ever be is the millennium, the millennial kingdom. But until then, all governments are flawed. We have been privileged in our country and I thank God for the privilege of living under the best, one of the best of human governments in the past and we are grateful for that.

That is a great privilege. But there's no Christian nation. And so we are called to submit if our government changes its form as governments do, to be model citizens who not only obey but who have a spirit of obedience and give honor to those who are in authority over us that the name of Christ might not be evil spoken of and that the critics who are looking for ways to condemn Christians, if they're going to condemn us, please let it be for our faith, not our political viewpoint. So we submit. This is Grace to You with John MacArthur.

Thanks for being with us. John is a pastor, author and chancellor of the Masters University and Seminary. His current study is titled The Christian and Government. Well, John, both yesterday and today, you are emphasizing the need for us as believers to obey those who are in authority. And yesterday you said one of the signs of the meltdown of a culture is when the government's authority begins to weaken and they stop trying to put an end to evil and evildoers. And we see that in our culture, as you said yesterday. But at the same time, it seems like certain government policies and actions target believers, target churches. How are Christians supposed to deal with, you know, the principle of Romans 13 in light of that?

Yes, it could be a very confusing situation right now. But the bottom line is that as long as the government asks us to be a part of restraining evil and protecting the good people, that is punishing the evil people and protecting the good people, whatever the form of that government, whether it's a dictatorship or a democracy, we respond to that. When the government ceases to protect the good and to punish the evil, it gets very, very confusing. But still, we need to fall on the side of being submissive and obedient. We need to be noble, good citizens. We don't need to be known as revolutionaries, reactionaries. We don't protest. We don't do damage to things. We accept that God has placed us where he's placed us, and we live quiet and peaceable lives before the government, and we honor the king and so forth.

That's pretty clear. As that government begins to disintegrate and it inevitably will—they all do—under the sheer weight of sin, they can't stay together. America has been, what, 200-plus years, and finally now the entire democracy is beginning to completely disintegrate before our very eyes. As I said yesterday, we've made hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of laws to try to restrain evil, but eventually it's going to break down. And now we face the reality that we as a church are going to be the target of an increasingly evil society, and this is going to be when we say we obey God. We obey God rather than men. We don't fight back.

We accept the consequences. Jesus said if my kingdom was of this world, my servants would fight. We don't fight, but we obey God, and we do what he has commanded us to do. When the government tells us we can't do what he's commanded us to do, we do what he commands us to do, and we take the consequences.

These are very challenging times. I've written a new booklet called Chaos, Corruption, and the Christian Response. Chaos, Corruption, and the Christian Response, brand new.

We'll send you a free copy if you just ask us. Yes, friend, this practical booklet will show you how to live righteously and glorify the Lord even as the world and governments become more ungodly. To get your copy of Chaos, Corruption, and the Christian Response, contact us today.

Call us at 800-55-GRACE or go to gty.org. Chaos, Corruption, and the Christian Response looks at God's design for government, why being a good citizen is crucial for your Christian witness, and whether the church should take an active role in politics. Again, this booklet is brand new, and we'll send it to you for free. Just request a copy of Chaos, Corruption, and the Christian Response when you call 800-55-GRACE or go to gty.org. And if you'd like to download John's current series, The Christian and Government, you can do that at the website, gty.org. And not just that series, but all of John's sermons – 3,500 total – are free to download in audio or transcript format. So if you want teaching on the family, God's view on work, how to study the Bible, building self-discipline, how to pray, dealing with sin, you'll find all of that and a lot more at gty.org. Now for John MacArthur, I'm Phil Johnson. Thanks for tuning in today. Invite a friend to join you tomorrow as John continues his series on The Christian and Government with another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth, one verse at a time, on Grace To You.