Turn in your Bibles once again
tonight to the book of Romans, Romans chapter 13. I want to
go back and read the last two verses. of that
twelfth chapter. Because what Paul says here,
he says on the heels of that and in the light of that. He said, Therefore if thine enemy
hunger, feed him. If he thirst, give him drink. For in so doing thou shalt heap
coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but
overcome evil with good." Then he continues here in this thirteenth
chapter, "'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. Whosoever therefore resisteth
the power, resisteth the ordinance of God. And they that resist
shall receive to themselves damnation. 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. 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. Wherefore ye must needs be subject,
not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute
also, for they are God's ministers attending continually upon this
very thing. Render therefore to all their
due, tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom,
fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. O no man anything but
to love one another, for he that loveth another hath fulfilled
the law. Now, there are some things that
we need to be aware of in the light of these verses. One of them is this, and that
is the situation that these people were in in Rome to whom this
letter was written. Many of them were Jews. And they
were all certainly living under the total authority of the Roman
government. And the seat of that government,
that Roman rule, was right there in Rome. And they were being
governed at that time, without a doubt, by wicked, ungodly,
and uncaring men." That is, if you look at those who governed
Rome at that time, they were nothing to be desired, humanly
speaking, as rulers and leaders. And the Apostle Paul gives us
this instruction because Christ and his people in every age are
accused of sedition and rebellion and defiance against the governments
of their day. It was said of Christ in Luke's
Gospel that they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow
perverting the nation and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying
that he himself is Christ a king. That was an absolute lie. He did none of those things. He sought not to incite any man
against the government that then was, or the leaders that then
were. And then also, it says in Acts
24 concerning Paul, they said, we have found this man a pestilent
fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout
the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes." That's
what they accused the Apostle Paul of being a political activist
against the government, defying authority, and seeking to lead
people in a rebellion against the government of Rome. But turn over also to Acts chapter
17. Acts chapter 17 and verse 8, because
this was not said of Christ, nor was it simply said of the
Apostle Paul, but this was said of ordinary believers in the
gospel of Jesus Christ. Verse 5, But the Jews, which
believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows
of a vaser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city
on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to
bring them out to the people. And when they found them not,
they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city,
crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come
hither also, whom Jason hath received, and these all do contrary
to the decrees of Caesar, saying, There is another king, one Jesus,
and they trouble the people and the rulers of the city when they
heard these things." In other words, they said these things
and did these things concerning these who even received Paul
and others and the gospel of Christ. He gives us this warning
because by nature we have a couple of problem tendencies. You see, the reason that we have
problems with those who govern us, or those who have authority
over us, is because as sinners we are naturally defiant to all
authority. And all you have to do is look
at one of these little small babies, like even, I dare say,
my own grandchild, and see how they respond even at such an
early age when any authority is exercised over them. They rebel against it. They defy
it because that is natural to this nature of sin that we have. And then there's another problem
that we have with authority, and especially those who govern
and rule over us. We fear them, and we are cautious
of them, and suspicious of them, because they're just like us. They are just like us. And we try to think. We like
to think. As a matter of fact, we even
vocalize it by saying things like, if I were in their place,
If they let me be president for just a day, or if they let me
be in the Congress for about a week, I'd straighten this mess
out. Well, we like to think that,
but most likely all of them are not only of the same natural,
sinful, fallen nature as ourselves, but they might even have started
thinking the same thing. But the truth is, it seems like
it's true. The more power we have, the more
corrupt we are, and absolute power just brings absolute corruption. So, the apostle is led by the
Spirit of God to tell us something about the powers that be. That's what I call this tonight.
The powers that be. And I thought about it when I
was driving back from the hospital tonight. I could say it all in
a statement just like this. The powers that be are because
of the power that has always been. That's exactly what Paul is saying
especially in that first verse. Let every soul, that doesn't
leave anybody out, let every person be subject or in submission
unto the higher power. And my friends, It doesn't matter
where you are in this world. It doesn't matter who you are
in this world. The God who is over all things
has arranged it so you are in some point, and most likely in
many points, under somebody's power and authority. That's right. It doesn't matter
whether you're out in an ordinary workplace, as most are. It doesn't matter whether you're
in the military, like Curtis is. It doesn't matter. We are
every one, in some way or another, brought under the authority that
God has established And that is exactly what he is reminding
us here. And that is, he says, 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. Now, they would be. the very
first to say that that is not right. We're elected maybe of
the people, by the people, for the people. We've been appointed
by those who are in high authority. They may have a million reasons
behind why they have the authority, whether it's great or small,
that they have. But what does he say? He says there is no power. That's not just ability. That
has to do with authority. To them gave He power, authority
to become the sons of God. And he says here, there is no
power, no authority but of God. And what that means is that the
powers that be, what does that mean? Whatever powers there are,
whatever authority there is in any given time, in Paul's day,
It may well have been the Roman government. It may have been
civil magistrates of every kind. But the powers that be, which
simply means the powers that are, are what? Ordained of God. ordained of God." That means
appointed by God. Established by God. Those who rule and govern over
us, those in all kinds of civil authority and government, no
matter how base they might be, no matter how incompetent To
us, they may appear. No matter how worthless they
may appear, they are ordained of God. Now, they may be well a judgment
from God. They may be. When you go home
tonight, you read Isaiah 3, I believe it is. Because in Isaiah 3, God
talks about a judgment that He sends a people. And in that,
He says that He will take away from them all the learned people,
all the skilled people, all the honorable men, all the statesmen
and the like, and leave those to lead them and guide them,
those who act like children. You say, well, that means a people,
they're a goner. A people as a whole are a goner.
But in the midst of that, he says this to the prophet. He
says, but you say to the righteous that it shall be well with him. You mean in the midst of that?
Exactly. With all of these gifts that
God would give to a nation of people, of skilled people and
smart people and learned people, and honorable people, all those
who would be good judges and good statesmen and good craftsmen. He said, I'll take all those
away or withhold from them. But you say to the righteous that it shall be well with them. Now, let me ask you. Now, I'm
afraid I'm having to I'm not preaching to the choir, as they
say tonight. I'm preaching to the me, for
one. But what is our attitude toward
these people? I mean, I can drive with a few
bags of trash to the county landfill, and I can Start to pull up there,
and I'll pull up and do everything I'm told. You know, you've got
to... I ought not even think about it. You've got to jump
through everybody's hoop, you know. And then when you get there,
they tell you exactly how much it is. You've got to pay this
way. You've got to sign this. And you think, you know, here's
a person working at the landfill, and they're ordering me around
like I'm a schoolboy. Isn't that kind of great against
you a little bit? Or some clerk in one of the county
offices? All the way up to the President
of the United States? What's our attitude toward that? You see, we can only have the
right attitude and the right actions toward them if we remember
what God the Spirit says in this text. Now, I believe that we are to
exercise our responsibilities to vote, to use what little judgment
most of us have selecting what we believe are the lesser of
two or three evils and things like that. But when I actively start to remove the one that is set
in authority, I'm thinking I'm wiser than God is. I'm thinking it's my right or
my authority to remove, to usurp the authority that God has established. You know, I think I finally figured
out anyway that the choice that I would
make, it's always the wrong one anyway. I wouldn't have the sense,
I have such a small understanding, I have such a small knowledge
of what's really going on in this world, that I'd surely appoint
a fool, and he'd probably be me. You see, the first command he
gives in this instruction is, let every soul be subject. That means come under the authority,
come willingly in submission to the higher power. Now, why are
they higher? Why do these people have more
authority than you do or I do? Because God appointed them. Because God ordained it. And
you know, it's amazing, but when we grumble and mumble, as we
do, as I'm as guilty of as anybody in this building tonight, when
we murmur and complain and grumble over all these people in authority
from the president right down to the local county clerk or
whatever they are. We're just grumbling. And even though we may, you know,
grit our teeth and go on and face it all, we're not really
in submission. That's got something to do with
the heart. And you know, even like when
he says to the wife, be in submission to your own husband, what does
he say next? As unto the Lord. This hasn't
really got anything to do with him, hasn't really got anything
to do with His worth or his ability or his smartness or his power
has got something to do with submitting to the one God has
appointed. And you know in this life you
can't turn in any direction but what you meet with that authority. And we ought never to seek a
freedom, or seek something under the guise of freedom, which is
nothing more than rebellion against God. That's right. the extent of God's sovereignty,
His rule, His authority. I say this, understanding this
is essential to understanding the gospel. What is the extent of His rule? Well, he says, the powers that
be are ordained of God. All of them, at all times, in
every place, and among all people. There are lots of them, and they
are varying degrees. from one on a very small level,
from something within the house to something in the highest part
of the land. But all power is of God. The powers that be are ordained
of God, and there is not anything that is more clearly taught in
this book than that. And you know the only way we'll
ever have any peace? The only way we'll ever be content? The only way we'll ever be hopeful
in all these situations? The only way that our anger and
our rebellion is ever in any way deluded is in the knowledge
of this. Turn to 1 Samuel and the 2nd
chapter. 1 Samuel chapter 2. You see, no political party,
no head of any department, no person, no matter how much they
think they do, They never appoint those in authority. 1 Samuel 2, verse 6, "...the Lord killeth and maketh
alive." If he didn't say any more than that, that would pretty
well determine everything, wouldn't it? The Lord kills, the Lord
makes alive. He brings down to the grave and
brings up. The Lord maketh poor and maketh
rich. He brings low and lifts up. He raiseth up the poor out of
the dust and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill to set them
among princes. and to make them inherit the
throne of glory, for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
and He has set the world upon them. He will keep the feet of
His saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness, for by
strength shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall
be broken to pieces. Out of heaven shall he thunder
upon them. The Lord shall judge the ends
of the earth, and he shall give strength unto his king and exalt
the horn of his anointing." I don't see any room for anything
else. I don't see any room for anybody else. It is the Lord. Let him do what seemeth him good. All right, turn over to the book
of Proverbs. The book of Proverbs and the
eighth chapter. Proverbs chapter eight. And look
down in verse 15. He says, by me. By your vote? No. By so and so's
vote? No. By majority vote? No. By me. king's reign, and prince's decree
justice, by me prince's rule, and nobles, even all the judges
of the earth." Now, the President thinks that
he's appointed a new Supreme Court Justice. He hasn't. For one thing, they're not the
just this year. But if she does, it'll be the
Lord will come. in his wisdom, for his glory,
for the good of his people, and the furtherance of his purpose. By me, he says. By me. All right? Look over in Proverbs
21. Proverbs 21. In the day when this was written, the highest authority, the most
sovereign of all the earth was a king. We may have changed titles,
may say president, may say prime minister. We may say a lot of
things like that. But he's talking about the one
in the highest authority. Look at verse 1. The king's heart. Now, out of the heart of man
flows every bit of wickedness, every decision, every affection. He makes every decision. He does
everything that he does because of what he is in his heart. Alright? The king's heart is in the hand
of the Lord. Now, I'm telling you, I love
that verse. Because it not only applies to the king on the throne,
or the president in the office, or the congressperson It applies
right down to that person who can make a decision as to whether
or not you get this or that, don't get that, or whether you're
raised in this promotion, or whether you're fired or kept,
right? Everything. The heart of the king is in the
hand of the Lord as the rivers of water. He turneth it whithersoever. I'm just asking tonight, is that
true? You know, really, if that's true,
we don't have anybody to blame for anything, let's do it. I know people who live with a
chip on their shoulder all their days, they think somebody's out
to get them. Every decision, they interpret
that as somebody trying to do them wrong or get after them
or something. Well, it doesn't matter what
their intention is. I have a friend that sometimes
I just would, I like to just open his head and pour it in
his head. Nobody is out singling you out to get you. Whatever is happening, whatever
decision, whatever it is, the first cause behind it all is
God Himself. The King's heart is in the hand
of the Lord, and like rivers of water, He turns it with us
wherever He will. What agonizing hours have you
spent waiting for somebody to make a decision that was important
to you? Far too many, far too many. Turn over to Jeremiah 27. Jeremiah
27, and look down at verse 5. He says, I have made the earth. Now, is there any question as
to who is talking here? It is God Himself. I have made
the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by
my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom
it seemed meet unto me. I made it all, and I've given
it to whomever it seemed fit to me. He says, and now I've given all
these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon,
my sir." Wait a minute now. No, this is
the same God who said, ìIíll do all my purpose, my counsel
will stand, and Iíll call even a ravenous bird from the east
to perform it.î Heís just talking about another man. my servant, and the beasts of
the field have I given him also to serve me, and all nations
shall serve him and his son and his son's son until the very
time of his land come, and then many nations and great kings
shall serve themselves of him." And it shall come to pass that
the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar,
the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under
the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith
the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the
pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand." Now, this kind of God is not
too popular nowadays. That's how He is. And that's the one the Scripture
says is the one with whom we have to do it. Turn over to Daniel,
chapter 2. The book of Daniel, chapter 2. with me in Daniel 2 and verse
20. When God showed Daniel all that
he had to show him, which was a lot, and a whole lot of it
had to do with the king whose thumb he was now under, who is held captive over him. Chapter 2, Daniel answered and
said, Bless be the name of God for ever and ever, for wisdom
and might are His, and He changeth the times and the seasons. He removes kings and sets up
kings. He gives wisdom unto the wise
and knowledge to them that know understanding. He revealeth the
deep and secret things, he knoweth what is in the darkness, and
the light dwelleth with him. And I thank thee and praise thee,
O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might,
and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee, for
thou hast made known unto us the King's matter." He said, you do it all. You know
it all. You have power over it all. And
then, if you look over in Daniel chapter 4, in Daniel chapter
4 and verse 28, listen to what the king himself is brought to
say in time. The one that Nebuchadnezzar,
that God raised up and said all this about, in Daniel 4, in verse
28, all this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of
twelve months, he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.
The king spake and said, Is not this great Babylon that I have
built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power and
for the honor of my majesty? Let me just warn you right now.
We ought to drop from our vocabularies this business of what we've done. I've worked hard for what I've
got. You might have, but others have worked harder and have less.
Oh, I made some sharp decisions. You know, that's what we want
to tell our children and grandchildren. But if they're around us enough
before we die, they'll know it ain't true. Now listen. While the word was in the king's
mouth, he hadn't even got through saying it, there fell a voice
from heaven saying, O King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken, the kingdom
is departed from thee. They shall drive thee from men,
and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They
shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall
pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in
the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. Then if you'll look at verse
34, it says, And at the end of the days
I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine
understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High. And I praised and honored him
that lives forever, whose dominion, whose authority, whose sovereignty,
whose rule is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is
from generation to generation, and all the inhabitants of the
earth are reputed as nothing, and he does according to his
will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth, and none can stay his hand or say unto him, What doest
thou? Did we learn that yet? It's important that we do. Not
only in our daily life, in our attitudes and our actions concerning
the authorities, the powers that be. That doesn't mean, especially
doesn't mean, I agree with all that they do. But I have to agree with God
that He's the one that put them in the place. Now, how important is this? Well,
I said it's essential even to understanding the gospel. Turn over to John chapter 19,
and I'll let the Lord Jesus give you this instruction about
as straight as it can be given, as he gave to a man by the name
of Pilate. He was a man not elected, but
appointed. By appointed, I mean by the heads
of the Roman government, maybe by Caesar himself. But, look at verse 10. Then saith
Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not
that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release
thee?" Don't you know I can kill you or let you go? What do you say to a man like
that? Jesus answered, thou couldest
have no power at all against me, except it were given thee
from above, therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath a
greater sin." You have no power except that which the Father
gives you. So that means that the reason
that Jesus Christ died the death of the cross was because God
gave power, authority over some men to take Him and crucify Him
that He might die the death of the cross. That means that He died according
to God's will and purpose He died to accomplish that which
God determined for him to accomplish in that death. And his death
was an absolute success in that it saved all God's people from
their sin. Now, that's the truth. The psalmist
says, God has spoken once Twice have I heard this, that power
belongeth unto God. And we are taught, even in that
prayer that he left for his believing disciples, to pray, lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the
kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Now turn over to Acts chapter
2. Acts chapter 2. One of the very first things
that the Apostle Peter is raised up by God the Spirit to teach
concerns this very thing. Verse 22, Acts 2, he says, "...Ye men of
Israel, hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of
God among you, by miracles and wonders and signs which God did
by Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know Him being
delivered. by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God, you have taken and by wicked hands have
crucified and slain, whom God hath raised up, having loose
the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should
be holden." Why did he die? Why were these
men allowed to take him and treat him in such a way and crucify
him because of the determined counsel and foreordination of God. Acts 4. Acts 4. Verse 24, it says, And when they
heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord,
and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven and earth
and the sea, and all that in them is. Who by the mouth of
thy servant David hath said, Why did the heathen rage, and
the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood
up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and
against His Christ. For of a truth against thy holy
child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate,
with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together. whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel
determined before to be done." It wasn't an accident. It wasn't
the free will of man in charge. It wasn't a catastrophe of the
ages. The powers that be are ordained
of God. In Revelation it says, These
shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them.
For He is the Lord of lords and King of kings, and they that
are with Him are called and chosen and faithful. As a matter of
fact, it says, and on His vesture and on His thigh is written,
King of kings and Lord of lords. Go with me to one more passage
in our hush in 1 Peter. 1 Peter chapter 2. This is not Paul, this is the
Apostle Peter. Verse 13, Submit yourselves to
every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be to
the king, as supreme, or under governors, as unto them that
are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise
of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that
with well-doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish
men, as free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness,
but as the servants of God honour all men, or honour all. Love the brotherhood, fear God,
honor the King. Why? Because the powers that
be are because of the power that
has always been, and is right now, and always will be. God Almighty. Almighty. You resist the power. You resist the ordinance of God.
And they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. That
doesn't mean eternal damnation. There it means they'll be dealt
with severely. 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. For he is the minister of God, the servant of God." As a matter
of fact, every person walking on this earth is in this sense
the servant of God. For he is the servant of God
to thee for good. I don't see how that can be. No, if you could, you'd be God
Himself. But if thou do that which is
evil, be afraid, for he beareth not the sword in vain." That's
like that man out there in the police car. patrol car. He's not carrying that pistol
on his side for fun. That's the thing with all authority.
He said, do evil, you'll have the praise of God. Do good, you'll
have the praise of God. Do evil, he's not bearing the
sword in vain. For he is the minister of God,
a revenger, to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil, wherefore
ye must do needs be subject, not just for fear of the wrath
that might be brought against you, but for conscience sake.
Why? Because you know this is God
who has established this authority, and for this cause pay ye tribute
also. Speak respectfully. For they
are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
Render, therefore, to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute
is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom
honor. Owe no man anything. Well, they're
taxing us to death. Maybe they are. God's ordained
it for some reason. They are ordained by God. You know what that tells me?
Knowing me. That means, Lord, I need a lot
of grace. I need you to do like the writer
in the Old Testament put a guard over my lips. It brings submission to my heart.
And the only way it can be, and that's by bringing me to remember
and to believe that no matter what it is, all authority is authority. You are doing what you promised
to do. Work all these things together
for good to them that love you and are the called according
to your purpose. And the biggest witness to this
and testimony to this is the coming and the dying of your
Son, our Savior. Father, we thank you tonight
for your mercy, for your wisdom, for your truth. We thank you that you are the
way you say you are. We pray that you'd forgive us
for our rebellious attitudes and our know-it-all self-righteous
approach to the things that you have clearly ordained. Help us
to bow in a silent submission, thanksgiving to you for all that
you do and are doing. We thank you. We pray in Christ's name. Amen.