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Government 101 and the Christian Response
Sunday, September 22, 2024
Pastor Jerry Tom
Weekly Bulletin | Worship Lyrics
Romans 13:1-7
1Rom. 13:1-7 - 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. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 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, 4 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. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 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.
Government 101 and the Christian Response
Be Subject to the Governing Authorities - v. 1
Resistance to the Governing Authorities Will Incur Judgment - v. 2, 4
Governing Authorities are Ordained to Promote Justice - v. 3
The Christian Response to Government and Politics - v. 5-7
1: Be Subject to the Governing Authorities - v. 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.”
First universal statement - “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.”
The Greek word for “subject” is the word hupotasso,
The Greek word for “authority” is exousia
The Greek word for “governing” is from the word huperecho
The second universal statement in this verse - “For there is no authority except from God and those that exist have been instituted by God.”
Jn. 19:11 - Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.
instituted by God
Gen. 50:20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” much more pain and suffering.
Brothers and sisters, do not fear or be anxious about this upcoming election and the future of this country, for God is sovereignly in control and always has our eternal good in mind, we need to obey God by being subject to the governing authorities and put our trust in Him alone.
2. Resistance to the Governing Authorities Will Incur Judgment - v. 2, 4 “2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment…4 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.”
Gen. 9:5-6 - And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.
6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed,
or God made man in his own image.
Ps. 51:4 “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.”
3. Governing Authorities are Ordained to Promote Justice - v. 3 “or 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”
Is. 61:8a “For I the LORD love justice; I hate robbery and wrong”
Ps. 99:4a “The King in his might loves justice,”
Now there are two main areas where we need protection and they are 1) Life and 2) Property.
Ps. 19 states - “The law of LORD is perfect, the testimony of the LORD is sure, the precepts of the Lord are right, the commandment of the LORD is pure, and the rules of the LORD are true.”
We have staked the whole future of American civilization not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.
—President James Madison
The First Amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
False idea of the “separation of church and state”, which is the exclusion of religion or God from government.
We have seen the proliferation of abortion on demand, even late term abortion, we have seen robberies and crime going unpunished, the proliferation of human trafficking from an open border policy. All of this has resulted in countless human beings (many unborn) made in the image of God to suffer injustice of not having their life and/or property protected, which is a moral offense before God.
How many times have you prayed for our country and leaders even this past week, month or year?
4. The Christian Response to Government and Politics - v. 5-7 “5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 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.”
First Response - Be Subject for Conscience Sake
Acts 5:29, Peter said “We Must Obey God rather than man.”
Second Response - Pay Taxes - v. 6 “Pay taxes for the authorities are ministers of God”
Third Response - v. 7 “respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed”
“My lord the king.” David “bowed his face to the earth and paid homage.”
1 Tim. 2:1 “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”
Prov. 21:1 - The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.”
Fourth Response - Look to the Word of God Before you Vote
In Heb. 5:12-14 “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”
Here are some very helpful questions from David Platt’s book “Before you Vote” to ask yourself when deciding on a candidate to vote for:
Does this candidate have any concepts consistent with biblical justice?
Does this candidate show any concern for vulnerable individuals or groups?
Does this candidate show evidence of decency, morality or order?
How is this candidate trying to promote good and prevent evil?
Fifth and Final Response - “In God We Trust”
“Psalm 2 reminds us that our favorite candidate will not usher in a utopian society, nor will our least favorite candidate destroy the world as we know it.”