Hey, podcast listeners! Thanks for streaming today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. Our mission is to pierce the darkness with the light of God's word through the most effective media available, like this podcast. To support Pathway to Victory, go to ptv.org slash donate or follow the link in our show notes. Now, here's today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. God's Word with you every day on this Bible teaching program. On today's edition of Pathway to Victory. Now, I know this is raising all kind of questions. Are you saying, Pastor, we should always obey government and never resist?
Aren't there any exceptions? We'll get to that in just a minute. But notice the general principle here is, first of all, government is appointed by God. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. Today's governing leaders are under intense scrutiny by the media.
While we may agree with some politics and disagree with others, we're expected to follow them all the same. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress discusses whether there's ever a time when Christians should disobey the government. Now, here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message. Dr. Jeffress. Thanks, David.
And welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Think back on your days as a grade school student. Pause and think about your days on the high school campus. Well, when I get into those reflective modes, I can remember the days when our history teachers taught us the true accounts of the Battle of Bunker Hill and the cold winter at Valley Forge and even the Boston Tea Party.
Well, not anymore. Educators are doing their best to rewrite American history and to erase miraculous, God-ordained moments from our nation's story. Well, that's why I'm excited about a wonderful book for your entire family called Miracles in American History, 32 Amazing Stories of Answered Prayer. In this book, you'll read about God's miraculous interventions and you'll be inspired once again by the obvious blessing God has bestowed upon America. This book, Miracles in American History, is my thank you gift when you give generously to the matching challenge that's active right now. Every dollar you give between now and July 5th to support the Ministry of Pathway to Victory will be doubled in size and impact.
Now, again, the deadline is midnight, July 5th. So while there's still time, be sure to give generously so that your gift is multiplied by two. We'll use your gift to connect listeners and viewers to the firm foundation of God's word, the only enduring hope for our nation and for our world.
We'll give more pertinent details later in today's program. But right now, let's continue the message we began yesterday. I titled the message with a question, to obey or not to obey? What should our response to government be and what is government's responsibility toward us? First of all, let's look at what the Bible says about government. Look at verses one and two of Romans 13. Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore, he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God, and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. When he talks about authority here, Paul has in mind legitimate government authority that has been vested with the responsibility of ruling over people. But he's also saying authorities, even if they are crooked and even cruel, are still established by God.
Now, that's hard for us to stomach, isn't it? If you find it hard to believe that, think about Jesus' words in John 19-11, as he stood before Pontius Pilate, who would order him crucified, remember what Jesus said to Pilate? You would have no authority over me unless it had been given you from above. The implication is clear. God had given Pilate his authority.
Now, I know this is raising all kind of questions. Are you saying, pastor, we should always obey government and never resist? Aren't there any exceptions? We'll get to that in just a minute. But notice the general principle here is, first of all, government is appointed by God. Principle number two in verses three and four, government's purpose is to establish order. The reason God put governing officials in place is to keep order in the world by punishing evildoers and praising those who do well.
Look at verses three and four. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same. For it, talking about government, is a minister of God to you for good.
That word minister in Greek is the same word we get deacon from. Government is a servant to us for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid, for government does not bear the sword for nothing. That's a clear reference to capital punishment. Government has the right to take a life.
It doesn't wield the sword for nothing. It is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil. I want you to notice in these two verses, verses three and four, three principles Paul gives us about good government. Government that is fulfilling its God-ordained purpose. Number one, good government should not be feared by those who do good. Principle number two, good government instills fear in evildoers and serves as an instrument of God's wrath. Number three, good government serves and seeks the good of the people.
Look at verse four. Paul said, they are a minister of God to you for good. These are the principles of good government. Citizens should submit to government, Paul says.
Citizens should submit to government. Now look at verse five. Wherefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience' sake.
Now think about this. If government is ordained by God, if it has a divine purpose in society, then it only stands to reason that as Christians we have a responsibility to submit to the governing authorities. How do we do that? How do we act in subjection? He says we do it not only because we're afraid of the wrath of government, but for our own conscience' sake. Notice the two ways we submit to government. First of all, we submit by treating governing officials with fear and honor.
Those are the words he uses in verse seven. Give fear to whom fear is due, honor to whom honor is due. What he's talking about here is a respect for the authority that God has set in place.
Secondly, we submit by paying our taxes. That's what Paul says. He said if government is going to fulfill its duty, it's going to have to be funded. Look at verse seven. Render to all what is due them. Tax to whom taxes due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. This is what Jesus said in Luke 20, verse 25. Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. And Paul goes on to say in verse eight, owe nothing to anyone except to love one another.
Some people have pulled that verse out of context. Oh, you know, we're never to go into debt for any reason at all. Owe no man anything. Remember the context of this is paying your taxes. What he's really saying is don't be delinquent in paying your taxes.
Don't owe government anything that is due them. In fact, he goes on to say don't owe anybody anything that is due them, whether it's money or love or honor, for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. Now, all of these principles about the God-ordained role of government brings up the interesting question, well, is there ever a time that Christians need to say no to government? Now, if you read Romans 13, one to eight, there are no exceptions to this. But Romans 13, one through eight are not the only passages that speak about our responsibility to government.
And we know that the way to interpret scripture is through other scripture. So for a few moments, we're going to pull back, and we're going to look at what the Bible says about when it's right to disobey government. May I remind you that Peter, Paul, Jesus himself all lost their lives because they said no to the governing authorities. So there are times that we are to resist authority. And I believe personally that as our country moves further and further away from its Christian foundation, those of us who are believers are going to increasingly find ourselves in conflict with the governing authorities.
So the real question is, what should be our response? As we're going to see in a moment, there are times that we must say no to government. But let me share with you three principles that you need to consider before you engage in civil disobedience. Principle number one, if you choose to say no to government, base your disobedience on a clear biblical mandate.
Make sure you are basing your disobedience on a clear biblical mandate. Turn over to Acts chapter five. Acts five, you remember this story, Peter and the apostles were boldly proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ, and the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the Jews, whom the Romans had given power to handle Jewish affairs in Israel. The Sanhedrin, the Jewish officials hauled Peter and the apostles before them and said, we want you to quit preaching the name of Jesus. Look at verse 28. They said to Peter, we gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name.
And behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man's blood upon us, talking about Jesus. But Peter and the apostles answered and said, we must obey God rather than men. When told they had to quit preaching in the name of Jesus, did they hold a prayer meeting to say, oh God, please show us what to do? No, they didn't have to pray about this. The mandate from Christ had been clear in Acts 1-8. You're to go into all the world and preach the gospel.
They didn't have to think twice about this. It was a clear violation of a biblical, a God-ordained mandate. But sometimes government regulation, even that involves religion, doesn't necessarily need to be disobeyed just because it involves religion.
Let me give you a couple of illustrations of that. For example, our government says, if our church wants to retain its tax-exempt status, I as pastor cannot officially endorse a political candidate from the pulpit. Now, privately, I'm free to say and do whatever I want to. I can be somebody's campaign finance chairman if I want to. It doesn't matter, I'm not going to, believe me, but I could if I wanted to.
I could stand up here and tell you who I'm voting for personally. But I cannot officially endorse a candidate or we lose our tax-exempt status. Now, if I say, you know what, baloney to that, I'm a preacher of the gospel and I get to say whatever I want to say, the government says, fine, we're going to yank your tax-exempt status. And if that happens, I'm not suffering for righteousness sake, I'm suffering for my own stupidity, okay?
That's not persecution. Christians who say, I'm not going to pay my taxes because I don't agree with the way the money is being used. I don't like it going to support abortion or this thing or sexual immorality.
I just don't like that, so I'm going to withhold my money. Jesus said, render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's. Remember, he said, pay your taxes, even though the Roman system would end up killing him. He still said, even though it's corrupt, you need to pay your taxes. So if somebody doesn't pay their taxes and go to jail, they're not going for righteousness sake.
They're going for their own dishonesty and not paying their taxes. People who are involved in protest, Christians, and they violate somebody's property rights and they're arrested. Again, that is for disobeying governing authorities. Not every government law that has religious overtones necessarily needs to be disobeyed. We need to make sure that the law we're disobeying is a contradiction to a clear biblical mandate. Number two, if you engage in civil disobedience, demonstrate respect for authority when you disobey.
Demonstrate respect for authority when you disobey. Remember the story of Daniel in the Old Testament? He and the other Jews were taken captive by the Babylonians. They were taken to Babylon and Daniel as a young teenager was selected among other teenage boys to be a part of Nebuchadnezzar's elite group. And he was chosen because of his intelligence, his wisdom, his good looks. And immediately, this group of young men were told that as a part of the king's special program, they needed to eat from the king's table.
Eat his menu. And immediately, that was a contradiction to Daniel's conscience because it violated the dietary laws Daniel was under. Daniel could have stormed into Nebuchadnezzar's presence and said, you pagan king, why would I obey you rather than God? And had he done that, he would have been the first Hebrew martyr in Babylon. But he didn't act that way.
In fact, he didn't even address Nebuchadnezzar directly out of respect to the king. Instead, he said to Nebuchadnezzar's chief of staff, I realize you have good intentions in asking us to do this. But since this violates my conscience, could I offer an alternative suggestion? And he came up with an alternative idea that would help the king meet his goals. He said, let me and my friends eat according to our beliefs.
And at the end of a period of time, if we're healthier, then you can let us continue that diet. And the king found favor with that suggestion, and God honored him for that. He disobeyed, but he did so in a respectful way. You see, the same thing with Peter. After Caiaphas, the Jewish high priest said, quit preaching in the name of Jesus. Did Peter respond, you Christ killer, why would I listen to you?
You can go jump in the Sea of Galilee. No, he didn't do that. Instead, he respectfully but firmly said, we must obey God rather than men. Now, even these days, as we see our country moving further and further away from its Christian heritage, we are going to have to say no to government, especially as they begin to abrogate our very real First Amendment rights of free speech and the free exercise of religion. But when we disobey, we don't have to act like jerks in doing so. The Bible says we need to act with respect. Principle number three, when you engage in civil disobedience, and this is one that a lot of people miss, be prepared to suffer the consequences for your disobedience.
Be prepared to suffer the consequences. I'm really surprised at Christians who boldly decide to stand for their faith in their workplace, and then they're surprised when they get fired. Well, wait a minute, God, this isn't supposed to happen. You're supposed to honor me for my obedience to you. Some people take a stand for Christ and end up in jail. They go, wait a minute, that's not supposed to happen. They think somehow that if they do the right thing, at the last moment, God's going to exempt them from any kind of suffering.
It doesn't work that way. If indeed you choose to disobey government, you need to be ready to suffer the consequences for that disobedience. I think about the experience of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Many of us are familiar with his letter from Birmingham jail. Dr. King was incarcerated because he led protests, nonviolent protests against racism. And he wrote this particular letter after he landed in Birmingham jail.
He wrote this letter as a response to eight white Christian pastors who were criticizing King for civil disobedience. They said, you should not disobey the government. You ought to fight your battle in the courts and not in the streets. It's wrong to disobey government. I want you to listen to what Dr. King wrote in response. He said, one may well ask, how can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?
Haven't you heard that one before? Well, if you disobey this law, where do you stop? How can you say I'll break this law but not this law? Dr. King posed that question, how can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others? The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws, just and unjust.
I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that an unjust law is no law at all.
Now, what is the difference between the two? A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. Dr. King believed that any law that codified racial discrimination violated not just moral law but the law of God. And he said no. He wasn't surprised that he ended up in jail.
He didn't complain about his mistreatment. He knew that was the consequence of civil disobedience. And it's going to be the same for any of us who say no to government.
I want you to mark this down. Remember, most Christians are not spared the consequences of saying no to government. After all, even Daniel had to spend one night with the lions for his disobedience to Darius. Or think about Paul. He lost his head because he said no to the Roman government.
Or think about Jesus. He was crucified because he would not renounce his divinity that he was the Son of God. Go back to Acts 5. What happened when Peter said no to Caiaphas? What happened when Peter said we must obey God rather than men? Did Caiaphas suddenly say, oh Peter, you're right and I'm wrong? I don't know what's wrong with me that I would have said such a thing.
Now just go on your way and I'll leave you alone. Is that what happened? Was there a supernatural deliverance? Look at verses 40 and 41. These Jewish authorities flogged Peter and the apostles and ordered them to speak no more in the name of Jesus and then release them. They were beaten because they said no to government. But what was their response?
Look at verse 41. So they went on their way from the presence of the council rejoicing. Rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for his name.
They didn't organize a pity party for themselves. Oh poor us, we're martyrs for Christ. They rejoiced that they had the privilege of suffering for the name of Christ.
That don't make the wrong application here. Does that mean we're not to do anything about Christian persecution in our world? Does it mean when we see our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world being slaughtered that we're supposed to say, oh what a privilege it is for them to suffer in the name of Christ. No, we're to stand up against evil. We're to stand up against ISIS and totalitarian regimes that are slaughtering our brothers and sisters in Christ. We're to call on our government officials to use any and every means necessary to put an end to Christian suffering around the world. This is no time for Christians to be silent and use this as an excuse for not speaking out.
And the same thing is true in our country. As we see the beliefs of conservative Christians increasingly be marginalized, as we watch our rights being taken away, our first amendment rights, which our forefathers gave their life's blood for us to have, we're not to stay silent. You say, well where do you get that in scripture, pastor? Look at the example of Paul.
Paul was the greatest missionary evangelist in the world and yet he spent two years tied up in the Roman legal system fighting for his rights as a Roman citizen to share the message of Jesus Christ. No, this passage is not saying remain silent when persecution comes, but what the passage is saying is this. If indeed you suffer for the name of Christ, rejoice in that.
Consider it a privilege that God would allow you to suffer in the name of the one who came and bled and gave his life for us. Remember the promise of Paul in 2 Timothy 2.12, for if we endure with him, we shall one day reign with him. In America, there's a groundswell of sympathy toward godless behavior that threatens our democracy. In all my years of ministry, I've never witnessed a political divide like the one that splits our country right now. And it's time for all of us to become active in pushing back against the darkness. Jesus said to his followers, you are the light of the world, so let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. This beautiful statement from Jesus defines what we're doing together through the Ministry of Pathway to Victory. And right now you can help us proclaim the truth of God's infallible word all across America by participating in the Beacon of Hope matching challenge. From now through July 5th, your gift will have twice the impact on our nation until we reach the goal of $750,000. I invite you to be generous as we work together to revive the Christian spirit in America. Now, in a moment, David will describe several resources we've set aside for you as a means of saying thanks for your generous gift.
There's one I'd like to emphasize. It's a marvelous book for you and your family called Miracles in American History, 32 Amazing Stories of Answered Prayer. This fun-to-read book pulls back the curtain that secular educators often hide behind.
They don't want students to know the facts about our country's Christian heritage. So let me send you a copy of Miracles in American History to share with your children and grandchildren. Thanks in advance for participating in the Beacon of Hope matching challenge. Together, we are piercing the darkness with the light of God's word.
David? Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. When you give a generous gift to Pathway to Victory, you're invited to request a copy of the book Miracles in American History. Plus, you'll also receive a DVD copy of America is a Christian Nation.
That's a bold and dynamic message from Dr. Robert Jeffress. You can give online at ptv.org or you could call us at 866-999-2965. And when you give $100 or more, you'll also receive the complete collection of audio and video discs for this month's teaching series, America and the Bible. Plus, we'll include the book Praying for America by Dr. Jeffress.
Each of the 40 brief chapters contains a story of faith, a prayer, and a relevant passage of scripture to inspire and encourage you in praying intently for our country. And because of our Beacon of Hope matching challenge, any gift you give will be doubled in impact. One more time, here's our phone number, 866-999-2965, or go to ptv.org. You could also send your request by mail. Write to P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. Again, that's P.O.
Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. I'm David J. Mullins. Join us again next time when Dr. Jeffress shares what we can be doing right now to prepare for the imminent return of Christ. Hear a message called, It's Later Than You Think. That's Friday on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. One of the most impactful ways you can give is by becoming a Pathway Partner. Your monthly gift will empower Pathway to Victory to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and help others become rooted more firmly in His word. To become a Pathway Partner, go to ptv.org slash donate or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory.
