Devotional Index

July Devotional

With "Respect" to Government

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. (2) Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. (3) For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: (4) For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. (5) Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. (6) For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. (7) Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. — Romans 13:1-7

Introduction

In the ProLife movement there are sometimes some strange ideas. Some groups advocate rebellion against authority. Others even promote harm in their cause. Is that being "prolife?" The doctrines of the Bible do not conflict with each other. One of the teachings of Scripture is we should respect the authority of government. Since this is the month our nation celebrates is national "birthday" it is a good time to be reminded of what the Bible says about respecting government.

Are We Supposed To Respect Our Government?

There are at least three words in this passage that indicate God expects us to respect the government.

• "Be Subject" (verses 1, 5). The word means "be in obedience to" or "submit." The Lord gives two reasons for this. First, "the powers that be are ordained of God." (verse 1) God is the originator of government. He gave the authority in Genesis 9:5 to protect human life and to take human life when someone takes the life of another. Second, we also will bear the consequences of not submitting (verse 2). "Damnation" means "condemnation" or "judgment". It means we will pay for the crimes we have committed. In verse 5 it says to "be subject" because of "wrath" and because of "conscience." "Conscience" because it is ordained of God. "Wrath" because of the government's response when we disobey.
• "Fear" (verse 7) — this word is often used to mean respect. It is a "healthy" fear. We are told in the Bible, for instance, to "fear God."
• "Honor" (verse 7) — The word refers to the value or price of something and to "esteem it for its worth". Government is to be seen as a valuable institution.

There is no question we should respect the government. But is that just when the government is good? What about repressive governments? We must realize that God did not qualify His statements to tell us to only respect governments we agree with. This does bring us to another question, though.

Is There A Limit To Our Respect for Government?

What about leaders who are immoral? What about dictators, even brutal dictators? Must we obey them? Must we respect them?

• When it comes to their office, yes, we are called to respect them. Their position is that of "ordained by God." We are called to submit and willingly obey when their laws are just, even if we might not like all the laws. If the government were to reduce our speed limit on the interstate to 55 mph, we might not like it but it is not immoral or wrong. We have to obey.
• But our submission does not mean blind or unthinking obedience that involves our doing something immoral or wrong in the sight of God. We have Scriptural precedent for this. In Acts 5, the Apostles were told they could not preach anymore in the name of Jesus. Peter and the others answered, (Acts 5:29)"We ought to obey God rather than men." Comparatively, in China today there is a forced abortion law. What would you do that circumstance? To blindly obey the government is to disobey God's authority and take the life of a child made in the image of God. Christians who have resisted have had to face the wrathful consequences of an evil government.
• In the Bible we have a number of such examples:
  • The midwives in Egypt (Exo 1:15-21) refused Pharoah's command to kill the male Hebrews.
  • Moses would not take a NO answer from Pharaoh because God commanded him (Exo 2-7).
  • Daniel obeyed the Babyonian government until told to violate his convictions (Dan 1, 6).
  • Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego would not bow to an idol at the king's command (Dan 3).
  • John the Baptist spoke out against the immorality of Herod (Matt 14:1-12).
  • Jesus spoke out against the evil in government (Luke 13:31ff; Matt 23:27).

You will note that in some cases the ones resisting were protected by God and in other cases they suffered for it. There is no guarantee that when we do right before God and resist the government we will have God's hand of protection. The day may come when it will be illegal to preach out against some sins. If it does we must still obey God. Even then, there is a way this should be done.

What Constitutes Justification For Disobedience?

We need to exercise great caution in this area. In Rom 13:3-4 it says that government is to protect and praise "that which is good" and to punish and execute wrath on "him that doeth evil." But what if government does the opposite? What if it punishes good and promotes wickedness? It is only then that we have an excuse to disobey. We had better be careful, though, that it is a real justification. Is God really calling for us to do this or are we just taking matters into our own hands? Remember, God is Sovereign. He causes leaders to rise and to fall. He sometimes gives us the leaders we deserve. Are you called upon by God to be the instrument to bring down their authority? Surely we must resist when the government says we are to personally do wrong, but what about when laws exist that protect wickedness but WE are NOT MADE TO DO wrong ourselves? Abortion is an example of this in our nation. While it has been given legal protection, we ourselves are not made to do it here. We should speak out against it as a moral issue in the Word of God but we are not given justification to vandalize abortion clinics or to harm abortionists.

Conclusion

What does all this mean to us today? First, we should see government as a God-ordained institution that is to be respected as such. God created government so that man would not be allowed to do "what is right in his own eyes," which would result in worse conditions. We should submit to, respect, and honor government in a way God would be pleased with. In 1 Timothy 2:1-4 we are told to pray for the leaders. Pray that we may have peace. And pray for their salvation. Because of the kind of government we have we should also be informed and to use that information for petitioning, persuading, and polling — petitioning our leaders to vote a certain way; persuading others with information that is accurate and biblically correct; and actively be a part of the polling (voting) process.

Pastor Dan Stertz
Pastor, Faith Baptist Church, Beloit, WI
Board Member, Baptists For Life of Wisconsin