"Principles of Submission"

Submission to Civil Authorities

24 May, 1998

INTRODUTION

We are living in a society where people just does not like to be told what to do. If a someone does not agree with what he or she is being told to do, there is a tendency to just blow it off. It is an attitude that shows up in many ways but it will often rear its head when we are confronted to comply with the laws of this land - especially if we think those laws and ordinances are unfair. If you have been reading the Reader Forum section of the Valley News Dispatch, you can see that attitude very clearly. And if you are in the line of work as those we are honoring today, you see it more often than not. And it is an attitude that is probably present even in the church. I wonder sometimes how many of those people who are constantly criticizing and finding fault with our local law enforcement agencies are actually those who are part of the body of Christ.

The bottom line is that there are a lot of us who need an attitude adjustment - especially in our attitude towards those whom God has placed in authority over us. We need to understand that God is very much concerned with His people being submissive to those in authority - even and especially those in positions of the governing authorities of our society. There are many places in the Scriptures that supports this truth but we will specifically deal with this issue in Paul's letter to the Romans.

BACKGROUND

Paul's letter to the Romans is considered to be the most formal and systematic of all of his letters. The main theme of this grand epistle is that righteousness comes as a free gift of God and is received by faith alone and apart from any human merit. Paul's letter to the Romans has had a great impact on the lives of so many individuals in the history of Christianity - people like St. Augustine and Martin Luther. As a matter of fact it was Paul's proclamation of the gospel of grace that caused Martin Luther to launch the greatest reformation the church has ever known. Paul most likely wrote the epistle during his third missionary journey as he finalized plans to visit Rome. It is believed that he wrote this letter from Corinth, where he was completing the collection of money from the Macedonian and Achaian Christians for the "poor saints" in Jerusalem. After delivering the money, it was his plan to visit Rome and, with the Roman's support, to travel on to Spain. It was this three-month stay in Corinth, that provided the extended, uninterrupted time that he needed to compose such a reasoned commentary on the Christian faith. Romans was written to a church that Paul did not found and had not visited but was written to give an account of his gospel in preparation for a personal visit. Now there are a couple of significant points about the context in which Paul wrote the words that we will consider this morning:

It was written in the context of how believers are to practically live out the deep theological truths of chapters 1-11. This admonition comes very soon after Paul's teaching regarding Christians being living sacrifices. So it seems obvious to Paul that to live according to these Scriptural truths in 13:1-7 is to live the kind of life we have been called to live as followers of Jesus.
Though this letter was written in a time when the Roman government had not begun to severely persecute the Christians, it is interesting that centuries later when persecution had become rampant and Christians were considered to be outlaws, the Christian leaders of that day were saying basically the same thing as Paul was saying. Justin Martyr wrote in his work entitled The Apology, "Everywhere, we, more readily than all men, endeavor to pay to those appointed by you the taxes, both ordinary and extraordinary, as we have been taught by Jesus. We worship only God, but in other things we will gladly serve you, acknowledging you as kings and rulers of men, and praying that, with your kingly power, you may be found to possess also sound judgment."
These words are written by a man who himself had been a man in authority and who after his conversion, had many confrontations with the authorities and who even one day ended up under house arrest in Rome. Paul had been put in prison for doing what God had called him to do. And though he took advantage of his Roman citizenship, he always did so with a Christ-like attitude. Paul had certainly earned the right to give this admonition to the Christians in Rome.
In the days of Paul, the Jews were a notoriously rebellious people and so insurrection was common in the land of Palestine, especially Galilee. There was an especially radical group of Jews known as the Zealots, who were convinced that there was no king for the Jews but God and that no tribute should be paid to anyone except God. And their resistance was not a passive one. They believed that God would not help them unless took violent action to help themselves and their aim was to make any kind of civil government impossible. They were nationalist fanatics sworn to terrorist methods who not only took the Roman government to task but would wreck the homes and burn the crops and even assassinate the families of their own Jewish people who paid any kind of tribute to the Romans government. And Paul wanted the believers in Rome to know that they were to disassociate themselves from such insurrection. (William Barclay, Commentary on Romans)

All of these factors makes these words in Romans 13 especially significant. And I believe that the words Paul wrote to the Roman Christians when this letter was written are just as pertinent for us today.

I see in these words the attitude that you and I as Christians are to have to those in authority over us - not in the church - but in society in general. We are here today to honor the men and women who serve in positions of authority in the law enforcement. And I believe that the best way we can honor them is in the attitude that we have toward them. If everyone would see them and relate to them as Paul instructs us, there job would be so much easier.

1. REALIZE THAT IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO SUBMIT TO THE GOVERNING AUTHORITIES

Now when Paul mentions the governing authorities here he is making reference to "every position of authority with regard to competency, morality, reasonableness or any other caveat." (John MacArthur) And he admonishes the Romans as he does us to submit to those in those position authority over us. The word submit literally means "to place rank under or to obey." It is a term calling for placing oneself under someone else. It is a word that was used in Paul's day of a soldier's absolute obedience to his superior officer.

It is the same word that is also used in 1 Peter 2:13-15 where Peter writes: "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men." And here in Romans, we can see why we need to have this attitude of submission.

a. It is a matter of spiritual necessity - 13:1

The word submit as it is written in the original language is in the imperative mood which means it is not an option for the believer but it is a command. So it is a matter of necessity that we as Christians who represent Christ in this world submit to the governing authorities.

Now you may be asking the question, "What if the governing authorities require us to do that which is in opposition to God's Word?" This seems to be the only exception to this command - and that is when obedience to civil authorities would require disobedience to God's word. We read in Acts 5:28-29 that the Sanhedrin and had given strict orders to the apostles that they not teach in the name of Jesus. The Sanhedrin had said to them, "....you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood." Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men!

The point is that there may come a time when we will have to choose whether we will obey God rather than the laws of the land. But if that happens, it seems clear from the teaching we see in Romans, we need to be willing to suffer the consequences. Peter and the apostles chose to obey God rather than man in this situation but they also ended up being flogged and ordered to discontinue preaching about Jesus. And they rejoiced that they had been counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus. The point is this - if we find that obeying the laws of the land are in definite and unquestionable disobedience to God's Word and we choose to obey God, then we must still be submissive to the extent that we will accept the consequences of our refusal. That may be a hard pill to swallow but it is the truth. And if the time comes that you do feel that you need to make that choice, you had better be sure that your refusal to submit to the authorities is justified in light of obeying God's word.

b. It is a matter of personal willingness - 13:1

Again, considering the word submit that Paul uses in the original language, we can see that it is found in the passive voice. That means that the submission Paul speaks of is a matter of us personally and willingly submitting to those who are over us in this society. We should not have be forced to have this attitude. We should not have to be threatened into submission. It should be a natural manifestation of the spirit filled life. It should be something that we personally choose to do.

c. It is a matter of doing the right thing - 13:5

It is not just a matter of obeying the law to keep from being in trouble with the authorities. Having this attitude of submission is a matter of conscience. It is a matter of doing the right thing. It is a matter of being guided in our attitude by the knowledge that the foundations of our own being and the foundations of the state are in God. You may never be taken into custody for having a disrespectful attitude toward a police officer, but in God's eyes it is wrong. If for no other reason, we are to be submissive and respectful and honor those in authority because it is the right thing to do. You may not think they deserve that respect for one reason or another, but it is still our obligation to respect that officer because of the position he or she holds. You may not feel that you can respect the person but you can respect the position.

d. It is a matter of our civil obligation - 13:7

The obligation that Paul speaks of here is also translated debt and he is talking about the obligations we owe to those in authority.

There is not a one of us that, in good conscience or even in reality, can disassociate ourselves from the society in which we live. You can build yourself a compound somewhere and begin your own little society, but you are still a part of this society and are under the governing authorities. Though we as followers of Christ are citizens of the kingdom of God, we are in fact, citizens of the society in which we live. And because of that, we owe it those who whom God in His sovereignty has placed over us. There is not place in Scripture, other than the principle we read about in Acts, that relieves us from the civil obligation to submit to those in authority.

We are obligated to pay taxes
We are obligated to pay revenues
We are obligated to be respectful
We are obligated to be submissive

You may not agree with the laws of this land. You may think that taxes should be lower and that the speed limit should be higher. You may disagree with things like sobriety check points. You may disagree with certain ordinances in your city or township. But it is still the law and we are obligated to submit to those laws. You may have a right to voice your opposition, but you can do it in a respectful and honorable way. You may have a right to campaign for certain laws and ordinances to be reversed.

You can write letters to your congressman and even letters to the editor. But when it is all said and done, we have a civil and a moral obligation to obey the laws of the land that are in place. And we have a moral and civil obligation to respect those men and women in uniform whose job it is to enforce those laws. Go ahead and voice your opinion, but do it in a Christ-like manner. And don't expect special privileges because you are a Christian or because you disagree with the laws of the land.

2. RECOGNIZE THE GOVERNING AUTHORITIES AS BEING GOD ORDAINED

Though the governing authorities in this land is not a perfect system, it is a system that has, in fact, been set up by God. Paul points out that there is no authority except that which God has established or ordained (as it is used in other versions). The word ordain simply means "to draw up an order or to arrange in place." So it is right to say that those who are over us in the society we live in, which includes those men and women who enforce the law, are men and women who serve in a system that has been established by God. Therefore...

a. Rebelling Against the Authorities is to Disobey God - 13:2

You can disagree with the laws of the land and those who enforce those laws all you want, but at the point you adopt an attitude of doing what you want irregardless of the what the law allows or that officer has told you, you are at that point, disobeying the Lord. And that in itself should make a big difference in how we live in this world.

b. Rebelling Against the Authorities May Result in Unfavorable Consequences - 13:4

When Paul mentions the sword here in this verse, he is not necessarily referring to an instrument of warfare such as a side arm of some sort - although that might be part of it. When he speaks of the sword he is speaking of the symbol of the executive and criminal jurisdiction of a magistrate and is therefore used of the power of punishing inherent in the government. And Paul says that he not only bears the sword but that "He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer."

In other words, if you do the crime, then you can expect to do the time or pay the fine. Whether you are a Christian or not, rebelling against the authorities may result in some pretty unfavorable consequences. And God may forgive you but there still may be very unpleasant consequences. So if you exceed the speed limit and you are pulled over, there is a good chance you will get a ticket and have to pay a fine (that is unless the officer is in a real good mood and will give you another chance.) And don't think you are being mistreated or abused or taken advantage of but realize that that officer is doing his or her job. Good old Peter writes in 1 Peter 4:15 "If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler."

c. Rebelling Against the Authorities Goes Against God's Design for Order - 13:3,4

Paul actually refers to such individuals as His servants or ministers. The word he uses is diakonos and it means "one who renders service to another or one who executes a commission as in a deputy." It is also the same word that is used of a minister of the gospel.

One commentator points out that "Paul's main view of the state was that the Roman Empire was the divinely ordained instrument to save the world from chaos. Take away the Empire and the world would disintegrate into flying fragments." So Paul considered those in positions of authority as an instrument in the hand of God, preserving the world from chaos. He considered those who served in this way as playing a part in a great task of keeping order. And that whether they knew it or not, they were doing God's work. That does not mean that they were perfect but it does mean that God, in His sovereignty, was working through the governing authorities to preserve order. And it was the Christian's duty to help and not to hinder that work.

And that same truth is especially important for the Christian in today's society. Those men and women who serve in our communities to protect and to serve are in reality instruments in God's hand to bring as much order to this chaotic world as possible. I don't have to tell you that this world is a mess. And that is even more obvious to those who see it from the perspective that a police officer does. Society is literally crumbling to the ground. Law and order almost seems like a contradiction in terms anymore and not because the law isn't being enforced but because the people have it in their minds that they can do their own thing and that they don't have to listen to anybody.

If things are as chaotic as they are with the presence of law enforcement, can you imagine what this society would be like without it. So the next time you are tempted to be critical of the governing authorities, think about where we would be without them. Think about how an officer is killed every other day doing a job that most people would not go near. Before you take them for granted, think about how they are literally putting their life on the line to help preserve order. But more importantly, remember that these men and women are being used by God to keep this society from becoming a place of complete and utter pandemonium.

CONCLUSION:

So how do we honor those who are there to protect and to serve?

Realize that it is our responsibility to submit to their authority. It is not an option, it is matter of doing the right thing as the people of God and as citizens in this society.
Recognize them as being used by God as instruments to maintain order in this chaotic world.

I would like to close by reading Romans 13:1-7 from The Message by Eugene Peterson:

"Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it's God's order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you're irresponsible to the state, then you're irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you're trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear.
Do you want to be on good terms with the government? Be a responsible citizen and you'll get on just fine, the government working to your advantage. But if you're breaking the rules right and left, watch out. The police aren't there just to be admired in their uniforms. God also has an interest in keeping order, and he uses them to do it. That why you must live responsibly -- not just to avoid punishment but also because it's the right way to live.
That's also why you pay taxes -- so that an orderly way of life can be maintained. Fulfill your obligations as a citizen. Pay your taxes, pay our bills, respect your leaders." (The Message: New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs by Eugene Peterson, page 390,391)