ROMANS 13:1-7
GOD HAS ESTABLISHED HIS AUTHORITIES FOR HONOR AND FOR GOOD.
In
the name + of Jesus.
They fought for God and country. They were brave soldiers, hardened by battle. Many died. All were hailed as heroes and memorialized by their country for their service. Their uniforms professed that they fought for their country. Their memorial testified that they honored God. They were German soldiers from World War I, memorialized in a stained-glass window in a Lutheran church in Leipzig.
If you disagree that these soldiers fought for God and for country, it is
because we think that only US soldiers fight for God and country. That
plays well in 4th of July parades, but it suggests that God is
partial to our nation over against all others, or that only our nation truly serves
God.
What St. Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans was not written to,
or about, one nation. What God says in his word he says to present-day
Americans, 1918 Germans, Chinese in the Ming Dynasty, and Romans in the first
century. God’s word applies to all governments—both righteous and
godless. It applies to all citizens—both free and oppressed. God’s
word always stands, and it overrules every constitution, every law, every
governing power, and every citizen who insists on his rights.
While the kingdoms of this world are flawed, they are necessary. Governments
and governing officials often disappoint and frustrate us, but they are
necessary, too. In fact, they are God’s gifts for your good. St.
Paul instructs us, “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. Therefore whoever resists the
authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur
judgment” (Romans 13:1-2). In case you missed it, St. Paul declares
that every government has been instituted by God. For, all authority is
derived from God. The authority of parents over their children is by
God’s design. The authority of officials over cities, states, and nations
is also by God’s design. God sets up government for our good—to maintain
order, to promote righteousness, to punish wickedness, and to defend its
citizens. All this is for the benefit of the citizens under their charge.
Paul’s words are clear. God has established authorities for honor and for
good. Therefore, St. Paul tells us to give honor and willing obedience to
the government. “One must be in subjection, not only to avoid
God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this
you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this
very thing. 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” (Romans 13:5-7).
It is the default position of people to defy God’s word and to still call it
good when they do. This was the case when the Pharisees approached Jesus
about paying taxes to Caesar. Caesar demanded that his subjects not only
call him king, but also Lord. So it was reasoned, Jews should refuse to
pay taxes. Why honor a blasphemer?
Jesus asked to see the denarius. It had Caesar’s inscription. It
had Caesar’s image. The Jews apparently had no problem using Caesar’s
money—not to mention benefitting from Caesar’s roads, aqueducts, justice
system, and established peace throughout the empire. If the Jews benefitted
from Caesar’s reign and used his money, then they were right to acknowledge all
his benefits. Like it or not, Caesar was their emperor. Whether he
was just or not, Caesar was their emperor. Whether he honored God or not,
Caesar was the emperor. To honor Caesar as emperor was to honor the 4th
Commandment and God who had granted his authority. But the first three
Commandments always trump the 4th.
Caesar was God’s servant, not God.
Each is due his appropriate honor.
It
is still our default position to despise authority. Children roll their eyes at their
parents. Students mock teachers. Employees despise their boss. And we find it repulsive to pray for our
leaders even when God tells us we should. St. Paul instructs us, “Pay
to all what is owed to them: … respect to whom respect is owed, honor to
whom honor is owed” (Romans 13:7). But we reply, “That’s fine, but I
don’t owe them honor or respect.” If you want to adhere to this line of
thinking, then you have to follow it all the way through. When your
children think your rules are unfair and they talk back to you and defy you,
then will you commend them for standing up for their rights? We have a different attitude when respect is
withheld from us, don’t we? If only we were
as zealous to give respect and honor as we are to get them. Repent.
God has established authorities for honor and for good. “For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist
have been instituted by God” (Romans 13:2).
God has designed us to be dependent on each other. God could do all things without the aid of
any man, woman, or organization.
Instead, God chooses to work through people in their various vocations—parents,
farmers, chemists, doctors, textile workers, garbage collectors, snow removers,
and musicians. God has also chosen to employ governing officials to maintain
order in society. Is that not worthy of respect and honor? God says
it is. God has established authorities
for honor and for our good.
Now, if you want to highlight ways you disagree with our leaders, I am sure you
can make a long list. You can probably detail how our leaders are flawed
and fail. Guess what? There is nothing new under the sun.
Power and authority have always produced corruption. Sinners have always
sinned. And you and I hardly criticize our leaders with pure
motives. Politics is always local, meaning that we are guided by self-interests—usually
boiling down to money or a feeling of virtue for supporting some cause.
So, before we condemn our leaders for being selfish and full of themselves, we
ought to check ourselves. Sinners are guided by sinful motives; and we
all qualify for that.
Perhaps you are disappointed that this is not a sermon about flag-waving patriotism.
There is a place for that, and we give thanks to God for what we enjoy in our
nation. We also pray that God would preserve the freedoms we enjoy.
For it is God who establishes authorities for honor and for good. But
there is no guarantee that the authorities will be good. And there is no
guarantee that the authorities will honor our freedom to worship and live
according to God’s word. History has many examples where such rights have
been taken away. Still, the word of the Lord stands that we honor and
respect God’s authority. And still better, the kingdom of our God remains
firm no matter what nation we are in or what that nation is like.
God has established authorities for honor and for good. God himself is
the ultimate authority, and the Lord demonstrates what he intends authority to
be. He who has authority is in the position to do the most good for
others. This is how God uses his authority. He daily and willingly
provides for all people in creation regardless of how good or wicked they
are. God does this because he is our good and merciful Father in heaven,
and not because anyone has earned or deserved it. But he does more.
Even though he has all authority in heaven and on earth, God humbled himself to
come to earth as a man. Part of submitting himself to the Commandments
was submitting to the leaders of his day. When the Pharisees asked Jesus
about paying taxes to Caesar, Jesus could have gone on a rant about Caesar’s
blasphemy, the abuse of Roman soldiers against citizens, the corrupt priests in
the temple, and so on. Jesus saw the sins of the authorities around him.
Nevertheless, he commanded obedience to them and honor for them. Listen to what Jesus said about the Pharisees:
“The scribes and the
Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell
you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice”
(Matthew 23:2-3). Despite their hypocrisy, their office was due
its honor. The wickedness of leaders is
never an excuse for us to be wicked. The
sins of others is never a reason for us to sin against them.
Jesus even submitted to the authority of these
leaders when they falsely accused him and wrongly condemned him. Jesus
confessed to Caiaphas that he is the Son of God, but he did not remove him from
his office because of his unbelief. Jesus taught Pontius Pilate about the
kingdom of God, but he did not declare war on the Roman Empire when Pilate
sentenced him to death. Although Jesus was falsely accused, he entrusted
himself to God the Father. Although Jesus was wrongly condemned, he
submitted to the cross. Although Jesus was innocent, he accepted the guilt
of those who spoke evil of him, who rejected God’s word, and who abused
authority. He also suffered and died for you and me who fail to pray for
our leaders, who mock those in authority, and who credit ourselves for being
good when we do such things. Jesus used his authority to rescue sinners
from accusations that are accurate and from condemnation that is deserved.
Jesus would have no problems detailing our faults and failings; instead, he
forgives us of them all. He declares that we are citizens in the kingdom
of God, and he assures us of all the privileges and benefits of his grace and
peace. He has authority to forgive sins
and to raise the dead—and he does these for our honor and for our good.
God has established authorities for honor and for good. God has given us
a nation in which we can freely worship, pray, preach, confess, and declare the
goodness of God’s kingdom. We pray that he will preserve this nation and
these freedoms. We have many reasons to thank God for the nation we have.
But who knows how long this will last? If sinners elect more leaders who promote and defend wickedness, we may have to suffer for our confession. The early Church to whom St. Paul wrote had to endure that. He did not call them to arms, but to submission. They were not to be known as vigilantes, but as faithful and peaceable citizens. If our nation should ever become hostile to us, we remember that our citizenship is in heaven. We are first and foremost Christians. We live in an enduring kingdom. Even if America endures for centuries, our time in it will come to an end. But our place in the kingdom of God will never know an end. For, Jesus lives and reigns. He has authority over all things, even death. His word is supreme, which means your salvation remains secure. For this, we honor Jesus as Lord. We confess that his word is good. And we cling to his promises, even as we enjoy—or endure—life in our nation.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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