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Dual Citizenship Romans 13:1-14 |
October 31, 2004 Pastor Tom Marcum |
Many of you know that while I grew up on the beaches of Southern California, after graduating from college I moved to Texas to go to seminary and ended up staying there for 13 years. And while I had a great time in Texas, I never completely got over the culture shock. Throughout my sojourn there I would occasionally experience something akin to an out of body experience when I would find myself in some bizarre situation that was totally outside the range of anything that I had ever imagined that I might experience.
For instance, one day I was in a meeting with another pastor in his office when, mid-sentence he turned his head and spit a huge and disgusting stream of tobacco juice into a cup sitting on the floor. And when I looked at the cup I discovered that his aim was less than perfect. And before I could turn my attention back to the pastor I noticed that he had similar cups strategically placed all around his office so that I was literally surrounded by these vile things
And that's when it would happen. All of a sudden I feel like I'm hovering above the office looking down at myself, this pastor and these festering pools of rancid tobacco juice and I'm asking myself, "What in the world am I doing here? How did this become my life? I may live here but I sure don't belong here."
And, it's been my experience that there are times in our lives as Christians when we have similar kinds of experiences as citizens of the Kingdom of God who are temporarily living in the Kingdom of this world. The idea of dual citizenship is a present reality for every Christian. We live each day of our lives with a certain amount of tension that is rooted in the fact that while we currently live here we don't really belong here. Our home is elsewhere.
And it's this idea of dual citizenship that is the focus of Paul's attention as we move into the 13th chapter of Romans. Specifically, Paul is going to help us understand how good Christians can also be good citizens. And Paul's lesson begins with the rather astonishing assertion that ALL GOVERNMENT COMES FROM GOD.
Romans 13:1 says, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." I think most of us are somewhat taken aback by this bold assertion that all government comes from God. And one of the reasons we are startled by it is because we are all keenly aware of the fact that all governments are prone to corruption and many are absolutely riddled with corruption. Nonetheless, there is no denying the fundamental truth that is asserted here, namely that the institution of government was God's idea and the governing authorities in place around the world have all been established by God.
Now, folks, that's a critically important foundational truth for us to acknowledge because it protects us from making the critical mistake of thinking that Christians should not be concerned with or involved in the affairs of the state. That Christians should somehow divorce themselves from participating in governmental processes because we have more Godly things to do. Folks, on the contrary, Christians ought to be the best and most fully engaged of all citizens precisely because we know the truth about our government namely, that it was established by God. Consequently, to ignore it would be dishonoring to God. In light of that, I want to remind all of you that this Tuesday you will have an opportunity to participate in your government. It is my fervent prayer that every member of Petaluma Valley who is registered to vote will do so.
Now, having established the fact that all government is established by God, Paul moves quite easily to his second point, which is that ALL CHRISTIANS MUST RESPECTFULLY OBEY THEIR GOVERNMENT.
As we just saw in verse 1 Paul wrote, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities for there is no authority except that which God has established…" and now he continues in verse 2 writing, "Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves." So our primary responsibility as Christian citizens is to respectfully obey our governing authorities and to do so as an expression of obedience to God who established the government.
Now, it's important at this point to interject a word about context. And here's the word: the obedience that we offer the government is conditional, rather than absolute. In other words, Christians are not called to blind obedience but to informed obedience. And the source that informs our obedience is the rest of the scriptures.
The primary text to keep in mind here is found in the book of Acts. Some of the apostles were arrested for preaching the gospel. The authorities admonished them and told them to cease and desist and then released them whereupon the apostles immediately began to preach the gospel once again. When they were hauled back before the authorities to explain their disobedience Peter boldly declared in Acts 5:29, "We must obey God rather than men!"
So, here's the point--while it is surely our responsibility as Christian citizens to respectfully obey our governing authorities, we must never lose sight of the fact that our allegiance to the state is secondary to our allegiance to God. Consequently, if obeying the government would lead us to violate either God's word or our conscience, it is then our responsibility to disobey the government. When forced to choose, we must follow Peter's example and obey God rather than men.
Now, as we move ahead Paul is going to speak to the fundamental purpose for which God established the government. And here's what he tells us: GOVERNMENT EXISTS TO SERVE GOD BY DOING GOOD. In verses 3-4 he writes, "For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer."
The key phrase there is at the beginning of verse 4 where Paul says that those who rule in government are "God's servant(s) to do you good." The Greek word translated there as "servant" is the same word that is translated in other places as, "deacon." And the primary task of the "deacon" is to serve God.
And notice here that this service to God is sometimes rendered by commending or rewarding those who do good, but there are also times when the government serves God by forcefully punishing those who do wrong. Last week we saw that God forbids individual Christians from exacting vengeance. But notice here that God grants to governing authorities the right to "bear the sword," in others words to use deadly force to punish those who do wrong.
So, the point in all of this is that whether the government knows it or not, God works through established governments to accomplish His purposes and His purposes are always for our good.
Now, history has taught us that some governments are so thoroughly evil that God eventually does away with them altogether. History has also taught us that sometimes God accomplishes His good purposes in spite of a government's intent rather than because of it. But sometimes those in positions of authority recognize that they are God's servants…and they walk humbly before God…and they seek His heart…and they submit to His will…and they pray for His wisdom to know the difference between that which is popular and that which is right and they choose to do what is right even when it's not popular. And blessed is the nation that is led by such a person. And wise is the Christian who casts their vote for such a candidate.
Now, as we move ahead Paul is going to amplify a point that he has alluded to earlier namely, that CHRISTIANS GIVE RESPECT TO THEIR GOVERNMENT BECAUSE DOING SO GIVES HONOR TO GOD.
In verses 5-7 he writes, "Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor."
The point that Paul is making is this--the primary motivation that empowers Christians to be the very best of citizens in not a fear of being punished for breaking some law, but rather a passionate desire to honor God.
We hear a very similar admonition from Peter who writes in 1 Peter 2:13-17, "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. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king."
So, for both Paul and Peter the big picture is basically this--because Christians recognize that government is established by God they willingly submit to their government as a way of honoring God.
Now, it's at this point that Paul makes an interesting transition to return to a subject that he addressed in the previous chapter, namely love. As we've just seen here in verse 7, Paul has told us that we need to pay what we owe to whomever we owe it. In other words, he has admonished us to stay out of debt. Well, now Paul is going to take that theme in a slightly different direction to say that while being out of debt is, indeed, a very wise way to live there is, nonetheless, one debt that we should all eagerly accept. Paul encourages us, here, to cultivate a debt of love toward all people. Paul's final lesson to us in chapter 13 is that we should TREAT ALL PEOPLE AT ALL TIMES WITH LOVE.
Beginning in verse 8 he writes, "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another…" Paul offers us here a wonderfully practical vision of the love of Christ flowing through us to others at all times and in all situations. And he does this by introducing this intriguing notion of owing everyone a debt of love. Now let's soak on that idea for a moment.
My guess is that most all of us know what it's like to be in someone's debt. You find yourself in a bind for whatever reason and you borrow some money from a friend. And, because he's a friend and because he has the resources to do so, he's happy to loan you the money and he tells you just to pay the money back whenever you can. But, in spite of your friends' graciousness and generosity, that outstanding debt impacts your relationship with your friend in a very significant way. And here's the impact--so long as that debt remains outstanding, every single time you bump into your friend the first thought that runs through your head is, "I still owe him some money. I've got to pay him back."
So, what Paul is telling us here is basically this--every time you meet someone let this be the first thought that runs through your mind, "Oh, I almost forgot. I'm in debt to this guy. I've got to find some way to show him the love of Christ."
Paul encourages us here to accept this debt of love to all people as a continuing debt that we are glad to pay but never completely settle. This "debt of love" is to be ours for life. Why? Paul tells us why in the next verses.
Returning to verse 8 and continuing through verse 10 he expands his thought saying, "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not covet,' and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."
Paul says our reason for embracing this continuing "debt of love" is that doing so fulfills the law. In other words, when we treat all people with love we are doing what God expects us to do; we are living the life God created us to live.
As Paul continues, now, he adds a note of urgency to his instruction writing in verses 11-12 he writes, "And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here." The key phrase there is, "understanding the present time."
The "time" that Paul is describing here is not a matter of chronology but rather character or quality. He's talking about a particular kind of time. Paul's point is that Christians should sense urgency in this command to love one another because they realize that with the coming of Christ we entered the final chapter of human history and we now live in eager anticipation of His return. Consequently, we need to wake up and love one another while there is still time to do so.
And Paul then closes the chapter identifying some things that we need to set aside and some things that we need to take on to enable us to pay this "debt of love." In verses 12-14 he writes, "So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature."
I think the most empowering vision that Paul offers us there to help us pay our "debt of love" is in that phrase, "clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ." In his book, From Guilt to Glory, Ray Steadman wrote the following about that phrase: "When I get up in the morning I put on my clothes, intending them to be part of me all day, to go where I go and do what I do. They cover me and make me presentable to others. In the same way, the apostle is saying to us, 'Put on Jesus Christ when you get up in the morning. Make him a part of your life that day. Intend that he go with you everywhere you go, and that he act through you in everything you do. Call upon his resources. Live your life IN CHRIST.'"
And, folks, that's the wonderfully empowering vision that I pray we will take with us from our study of God's word today.
--That we will choose to put on Christ every day. Not just on Sunday mornings, but on every morning.
--That we will choose to take Christ with us everywhere we go. Not just to church, but to the places we shop, the places we work and into the homes in which we live.
--That we will choose to let Christ act through us in everything we do--in the way treat our neighbor, the way we spend our money, the way we raise our children, even the way we vote this Tuesday…because the government is established by God to serve God by doing good.
© Copyright 2004 Pastor Tom Marcum