Chapter 3. Titus chapter 3. Titus chapter 3, and let's just
read the first two verses. Put them in mind to be subject
to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready
to every good work. To speak evil of no man, to be
no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men. Remind
them, he says, to be subject to principalities and powers. I guess if I was writing this
to you today, I would say be subject to your rulers and those
in authority in the civil government. You and I sometimes get very
concerned about the government we live in, don't we? And rightfully
so. I don't know how you may feel
about this, but I tell you, today I was very, very encouraged and
thankful to the Lord. Not that I'm against anybody,
not that I'm promoting any political party, but to me it's not a matter
of politics. It's more than politics, isn't
it? When politicians promote ungodly devices, and you and
I, it breaks our heart to see them do that. And when that wickedness
is put down, when we see God put it down, I don't rejoice
in those who have been put out of office, but I do rejoice that
God Himself has stopped some of the wicked devices. And we
were going on a downhill plunge, weren't we? Like I've never seen
in my life. Changing the very definition
of marriage, the very nature of marriage, the sanctity of life. Those are political issues with
me. Those are moral issues. That's an institution that God
has set up from the very beginning, marriage, and to think about
taking a baby that's in his mother's womb and taking an instrument
in there when the baby's ready to be born and cut that baby
to pieces, that's repulsive, isn't it? And that's why today
I'm encouraged that I feel like God has stopped this wicked stuff,
at least for a while. I was talking with Mike Walker
today and he said he sort of feels like the Lord said to us
maybe as a nation what He said to Hezekiah. I've added 15 more
years onto your life. So maybe He's given us a little
reprieve. And we as Christians should be
thankful for that. And humble ourselves before the
Lord and give ourselves up to Him to serve Him. What goes on
in civil government? It can affect us, can't it? We've
seen that now the last few years especially. That's what we want
to just consider for a few minutes tonight. That's what the Apostle
Paul is instructing the church here in these two verses, especially
verse 1, is about the civil government. When we talk about the things
in our world, in our country, It usually comes in under, there's
usually three things in our society. We've been talking about the
ecclesiastical aspect, the religious aspect, the church in our society.
That's what we've looked at in chapter 1 and chapter 2. Worshiping
God here in the congregation and in our homes and in society.
We call that the ecclesiastical. Then we have the military aspect
of our society, don't we? The armed forces. We have that. And then we have here what you
and I might refer to as the civil government. The civil rule as
opposed to anarchy. When our forefathers first set
up this government, they came from a very repressive government
and they said, we don't want laws. We want freedom. But instead of having freedom,
they had anarchy. So our forefathers had to go
back again and redo the Constitution and put some laws in there and
have rulers and authority. So that's what the Apostle Paul
is teaching us here. Obey them. Submit yourself to
rulers and to those who are sent forth to enforce the rule. When you've got a civil government,
you have those who make the law, then you have those who are sent
out to enforce the law. You know, sometimes in our life,
I've never experienced this, But sometimes in our life, these
three that we talk about, the ecclesiastical, the civil government,
and the military, sometimes those can conflict, especially in a
believer's life. Let me give you a good illustration
of that. The Lord had obviously saved some soldiers in the early
church when our Lord first sent John the Baptist out to preach,
because some soldiers came to Him, remember this, and said,
what shall we do? to live a Christian life, what
shall we do?" And he said, don't put anybody in fear. Don't intimidate
people. You're soldiers and people are
afraid of you. They respect you. They regard
you. So be careful and don't put anybody in fear. Now what
if their commanding officer commanded them to put somebody in fear?
That would be a dilemma for a Christian to be in, wouldn't it? So we
see there that there can be a conflict. I know some of you, I think,
probably got some relatives, and I've had them too, that conscientious
objectors. They don't want to go to the
military because they don't want to be in a battle and fight. And that's where conscience comes
in with that. And also in this matter of serving
in the government, there are certain aspects of government
I couldn't serve in and you couldn't either as a Christian, as a believer.
There were some tax collectors that the Lord had saved, and
they came to John the Baptist and said, what can we do to live
the Christian life? And he says, don't exact any
more than you should. Remember that? Don't cheat people. Don't skim off the top. Don't
take more than the Roman government tells you to take. Now what if
the Roman government demanded them to do that? What if the
guy over them says, I want you to collect twenty dollars, and
you're just supposed to collect ten, and we'll split the other?
What would you do as a Christian? So sometimes, see, these things
do conflict, don't they? And here the Apostle Paul is
talking about civil life, civil life. What do we do when our
life as a believer contradicts the government? and contradicts
and opposes the rule of the government over us. What do we do then? Well, look at women in a couple
of places. Look at Acts chapter 5. I think
this is important because you and I may come here some day
before it's over with. Acts chapter 5. You remember
the context here. Peter and John had went up to
the temple to pray. This cripple was there at the
gate called Beautiful, and that's where Peter said, I don't have
any silver, I don't have any gold, but in the name of Jesus
Christ, rise up and walk. And they were preaching to the
people, and they saw this man leaping and praising God, and
they were preaching to the people. that God had raised His Son from
the dead. And boy, those religious leaders
got mad. They sent and arrested Peter
and John and put them in prison. The angel led them out of prison.
And here's the instruction in verse 19. Look at Acts chapter
5 and verse 19. But the angel of the Lord by
night opened the prison doors and brought them forth and said,
Go stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of
this life. And when they heard that, they
entered into the temple early in the morning and taught. But
the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called
the council together, and all the children of Israel, and sent
to the prison to have them brought forth." Well, if you read on,
you see when they went to the prison, they weren't there. The
angel led them out, and they didn't know what happened to
them. And somebody said, well, they're over there preaching
in the temple. So they went over there and arrested
them and brought them and set them here before the authority.
And look what they said in verse 27. And when they had brought
them, they set them before the council, And the high priest
asked them, saying, Did not we straightly command you that you
should not teach in this name? And behold, you have filled Jerusalem
with your doctrine and intent to bring this man's blood upon
us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We
ought to obey God rather than man. So when the apostle says here
for us to obey the rulers, submit yourself to the rulers, here
is the exception. Here is the exception. We obey
them until they tell us to do things that conflict with the
Word of God. And we don't violate our conscience,
do we? We don't violate our conscience.
I think this is why sometimes there have been people run into
awful difficulty with the government. A couple out west somewhere,
they had this shop and they refused to cater a gay wedding or something,
and the government came down on them, didn't they? Shut their
shop down and fined them several, several thousand dollars. Why
couldn't they do that? They'd violated their conscience
if they did. So what did they say? We ought
to obey God rather than man. Now, wouldn't it be difficult
to live under a government that every month you had to go up
before the judge down here in Newcastle and answer why you
had been disobedient to some law and suffer the penalty for
it? That would be tough, wouldn't
it? That would be tough. This is why the Apostle Paul
told us that we ought to pray for them. That's in authority. I want you to read that too.
This is so important. Look over in 1 Timothy. Back
over to your left, over in 1 Timothy 2. 1 Timothy 2, and look at this. 1 Timothy 2 and verse 1. If we're going to be subject
to these rulers and our government, then I don't want to live under
a government that is forcing me to live a disarmist life.
They force me to cheat and lie. I just don't want to live under
a government that way. And this is what the Apostle
Paul is saying here, why we should pray for them. Look in verse
1, 1 Timothy chapter 2, I exhort therefore that first of all,
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made
for all men, for kings, and for all that are in authority. Why? that we may lead a quiet and
peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." Why should we pray for our leaders?
That they won't pass laws and enforce laws that would cause
us to live contrary to our conscience. This hints at something, doesn't
it? It hints at something that's taught in other places very clearly. that God is sovereign over these
rulers. Why would we pray to Him to make
sure these rulers don't set up laws contrary to our Christian
life and faith? Because He rules them. He has
authority over these rulers. Wouldn't it be dreadful to live
in a society, a fallen society, and think that God didn't have
rule over it? That would be scary, wouldn't it? I heard a young
man on radio. It wasn't a religious program,
but this is why it impressed me, just a secular radio station. He was one of the editors for
the Indianapolis Star. They were interviewing him on
his job there at the Star. This was on Monday before the
election. He said, you being a Christian, are you concerned
about this election? He said, you know, are you real
disturbed about who may get president here and what might happen? And
he said, I've come to peace with it. And he said, how can you
say that since you're a Christian? He said, I can say that because
I'm a Christian. And this is the statement he
made. He said, I am a Christian. And he said, my God is sovereign. And the King's heart is in the
hands of my God. And as the rivers of water, He
turns it wherever He's pleased." Now you find that in Proverbs
chapter 21 and verse 1. That's comforting, isn't it?
And that's why we pray, Lord, watch over these leaders. Subdue
them. Don't let them serve in a wicked
way and cause us to defile our conscience. by living in disobedience
to Your Word. Harry the Great was a ruler.
He was a king. A great king. They called him
Harry the Great because he was a great ruler. But you know what
that man did? He sent out into the little town
of Bethlehem and slew all the little children two years old
and under. And this is a mystery to me.
But you know, in him doing that, he fulfilled the purpose of God. Now that's something I don't
understand. But hundreds and hundreds of years before Herod
ever did that, it was prophesied in the Old Testament that he
was doing that. By doing that very thing, he
fulfilled the Word of God. God has a purpose with these
leaders, these rulers, you see. Pilate was a governor. And he
crucified the Son of God. But you know what he did in crucifying
the Son of God? He fulfilled the purpose of God
in doing that. You have taken and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain the Lord of glory, but in doing
that, Peter told them, you did just what God's hand and foreknowledge
determined should be done. So he has a purpose with these
leaders, doesn't he? He guides them. And He does it without
being charged with any sin. Another king, Herod, sent and
slew the apostle James with a sword. Remember that? We're told the
history of one of the Caesars that he set Rome on fire so he
could blame the Christians to persecute him. So one of the reasons we should
pray for them is because God rules them. He's got a purpose
in this. See, this thing looks like to
us just one messed up mess, doesn't it? Just a big mess just going
along and nobody's in control of it. But our Lord's in control
of it. He is reigning over all of this.
And that's why we say, Lord, rule in the hearts of these leaders.
Rule them. Rule them. So we don't submit
to civil authorities because they're always good, and they
always do what's right. But we submit to them because
God Himself is the One who has set them there in that authority,
and He's given them that authority that they have. I want you to
look at another place over on to your right just a minute.
Look in 1 Peter 2. You have different books that
speak to us of our texts that we should submit ourselves to
the civil authority. But look here in 1 Peter 2. It's
on page 1321 if you've got a pew Bible. 1 Peter 2 and look at
verse 13. Submit yourself to every ordinance, every institution
of man, the civil authority, for the Lord's sake, whether
it be to the king as supreme, or unto governors, these magistrates,
these ones who enforce the law, 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 you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish
as free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness,
but as the servants of God. Look in verse 18. Servants, be
subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good
and gentle, but also to the fool. For this is thanksworthy, if
a man for conscience towards God suffer grief, endure grief,
suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if when
you be buffeted for your faults, you shall take it patiently?
But if, when you do well, you suffer for it and take it patiently,
this is acceptable with God. For here, even here and too,
were you called because Christ suffered for us, leaving us in
an example that we should follow His steps. Look over in chapter
3 and verse 8. Finally, brethren, be of one
mind, having compassion one of another. Love is brethren, be
pitiful, be courteous. not rendering evil for evil,
or railing for railing, but contrary rise, blessing, knowing that
ye are there unto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
For he that will love life, and seek good days, let him reframe
his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.
Let him eschew evil, and do good, let him seek peace, and pursue
it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his
ears are open unto their prayers, But the face of the Lord is against
them that do evil. And who is he that will harm
you, if you be followers of that which is good? But, and if you
suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye, and be not afraid
of the terror, neither be trouble. But sanctify the Lord in your
hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to every man that
asketh you a reason, of the hope that is in you with meekness
and with fear. So, we submit to the rulers. Not just to the good, not just
to the gentle, but to the harsh and to those who would sometimes
abuse us. Let me give you four quick reasons for government. Four quick things
concerning Government, civil government, civil law. And the
first one it does is this. God's put it there for a reason.
And the first one is this. To punish evil. To punish evil. It keeps wickedness in check. And we sometimes want to find
fault with our government, don't we? I mean all the way down to
local government. We want to find fault with it.
But you know something? Nobody is saying that it's perfect.
But are we perfect? Is the church perfect? It's an
institution set up of God to punish evil doers. Do they err
sometimes? Oh my goodness, do they err.
Are they almost dictators sometimes? Yes, they are. Are they unjust
sometimes? Yes, they are. But they're set
up to punish evil doers. Wouldn't you hate to live in
a society where we didn't have a government? Where everything
was tyranny? It may not be the best government
in the world, but I'm telling you, if it's a government at
all, it's to punish evil doers. John Calvin said this about the
civil government. However corrupt a government
be, God never suffers it to be so much so has not to be better
than anarchy. It's better than anarchy, isn't
it? Most of you remember the Arab Spring, what we called the
Arab Spring a year or so ago, when all the dictators were overthrown
there in Iraq and in Libya, and then they went into Assyria. Those dictators were awful, cruel
people. But when they overthrew them,
it left a vacuum. And then came in all of this
anarchy. People killing each other. Then
nobody was safe. And I read some statements from
Christians that said, we liked it better under those dictators. Because they protected us. They
said, now we being Christians have no protection. People are
killing us. When there's no government, who
suffers? Good people. Good people. Government is set
up to punish evildoers. If you go tonight and you get
back home and your house has been broken into and you're afraid
there's a robbery in there, who are you going to call? You ain't
going to call me. You don't need a preacher. You
need the sheriff, don't you? You need somebody to punish the
evildoers. So that's why God has set this government up. All governments. Secondly, sometimes
God uses governments to chastise his own people. He used his government
sometimes to chastise his church. Boy, the church of old, the Jewish
church, backslid something awful. It was bad. And the Lord sent
His prophets to her and she wouldn't repent. He said, I got up early
and I sent them to you. And you weren't here. And you
remember what He did? He sent a heathen nation in and
took them captive and hauled them away to Babylon. And in
their captivity, they humbled themselves and sought the Lord.
Sometimes the Lord uses the civil government to correct even His
church. Sometimes He uses the government
to reveal His mercy. I tell you, in the election last
night, to be honest with you, without trying to get political,
I saw some mercy. Didn't you? I saw some mercy. Couldn't that have come out bad?
I saw some mercy. Some mercy of the Lord. When the children of Israel were
in captivity, they had two great revivals. It was amazing. You can read this sometime. Remember
Esther? And she married the great king
Ahasuerus? And they had a revival at Shushan,
the palace. The Lord visited those people.
And the king gave him permission to defend himself against Haman
and his wicked devices to destroy him. And then God raised up another
king by the name of Cyrus and sent him back to Jerusalem to
build the temple and to build the wall. So there's mercy. There's mercy. Sometimes He raises
up these governments and He shows His mercy through them. There
were 70 believers. left the land of promise and
went down into Egypt. Remember that? Jacob and his
family. And it wasn't long after they lived there, they put them
as slaves. Put them under bondage. But the
Scripture says this, the more they afflicted them, the more
they multiplied and grew. So the Lord can show us mercy
even under an ungodly, heathenistic rule. And fourthly, He uses the
government, the rule, the authority to bring judgment upon wickedness. The Lord Jesus said this about
the children of Israel. He came to them and for years
they had rejected Him, rejected His miracles. They hated Him.
Finally was going to betray Him and put Him to death. And this
is what He said. The day shall come upon thee,
that your enemies shall cast a trench about you, and can pass
thee about, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay
thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee. And
they shall not leave upon you one stone, because thou knewest
not the time of thy visitation." How did the Lord bring judgment
upon the Jewish nation? He sent a heathen nation into
them and took them captive. and haul them away. So God uses
governments, doesn't He? Now let's finish right quickly,
and I want to show you this, some things we've been talking
about in Romans chapter 13. If you want to study about the
civil government and why we should be obedient in the society in
which we live, here in Romans 13 it's going to tell us. Look
at this. Romans chapter 13 and verse 1. Let's just take these
first few verses and we can see what we've been talking about.
Look in verse 1. Let every soul, let every person
be subject unto the higher power, the governing powers, the government,
the rulers. For there is no power but of
God. The powers that be are ordained,
they exist, they are set up and established of God. There is no power but of God. Anywhere you find a government,
It rules under the authority of God. It's Him who has set
it up and given them their power. Remember how arrogant Pilate
got against the Lord Jesus? He said, I've got power to release
you, or power to crucify you. And what did the Lord tell him?
You could have no power at all against me, except it were given
to you from above. All power to rule, all authority,
comes from God. This is why we are to submit
to government, because it has its power from God. Look in verse
2. Whosoever therefore resisteth
the power, resisteth the ordinance of God, and they that resist
shall receive to themselves damnation or judgment. They that oppose
the government shall receive to themselves judgment."
Judgment. Boy, when you think about trying
to overthrow a government, man, that's a scary thing, isn't it? A man that resists the government
that God set up, he resists the ordinance of God. And he shall
receive to himself judgment of some kind. I remember when some
people got all out of sorts when they were following Martin Luther,
the great reformer back in the 1500s. And some of them went
terribly astray. Luther had to go into hiding,
and some of his followers got so far off from what his teaching
was, they got groups of men and was going to try to overthrow
the German government. And the German government was
afraid to do anything about them because they were afraid they
would incur Luther's wrath. That's the power that that man
had in that German government. And he sent word to the German
government, and he said, you've got to stop this anarchy. These
men are trying to overthrow the government. And they sent out
soldiers and killed 70,000 peasants who were trying to overthrow
the government. He that resists shall receive
to himself judgment." Boy, it's a serious thing, isn't it? To
resist the ordinance that God has set up. There have been groups that have
tried it in our nation, back in the 60's especially. We've
had it even in the last few years, and boy, it didn't go well with
them, did it? It didn't end well with them. Verse 3. For rulers are not a
terror to good works, but to the evil works. Will thou then
not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou
shalt have praise of the same." Look at what he said. Rulers
are not a terror to good works. Now, he's not speaking here that
God has set them up as judges of what's right and wrong in
the spiritual realm. They can't judge what's right
or wrong in the spiritual realm. He's speaking strictly in the
civil realm. Governments don't punish people
for loving their neighbors, do they? I don't know if a single
communist government would punish you for supporting your sick
neighbor and taking him food, do you? They're not a terror
to good works. In general, no government is
a terror to good works, but even in the communist governments
are dictatorships. They protect good people against
evil people. And I tell you, if I lived down
in Cuba, since the Castro brothers took over the place, I'd rather
have the Castro brothers there as nobody at all. As nobody at
all. Because when God sets up a government,
that's what it's usually there for. to protect the good and
to punish the evil, even under the most wicked governments.
As cruel as the Roman government was, they protected the Apostle
Paul and the Christians, didn't they, as they went about preaching.
If it hadn't been for the Roman government, the Apostle Paul
would have been killed by the Jewish people. They protected him. So,
they're not a terror to good works. Our government is not
a terror to good works. For he is the minister of God
to thee for good. But if thou do that which is
evil, be afraid, for he birth not the sword in vain. For he is the minister of God,
a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." He has
a sword, doesn't he? He has a sword. Look what he
says. He gives us two reasons now.
for rendering obedience. In the last part of verse 4,
He says here because He has a sword. He has a sword. That doesn't
mean He has a physical sword. We must need to be subject not
only for wrath. Boy, what happens if you're driving
up Highway 3 in a 60 mile an hour speed zone and you're running
about 75? What's going to happen if He catches you? He's got a
sword, doesn't he? And his sword is writing you
out a ticket for about $200 and you're mailing it in. That's
the sword. He bears a sword. So that's the
first thing, he bears the sword. This is why when you and I do
something wrong, we break a law, what happens? We see a police
officer coming and it scares us, doesn't it? Why? Because
we know he has a sword. God has given them permission
to punish us when we break the law. He bears a sword. And secondly here, he says in
verse 5, for conscience's sake. Wherefore you must need to be
subject not only for wrath, that is because He can punish you,
but also for conscience's sake. Conscience's sake. How would
you feel if you got out here tonight and you committed some
crime And in the morning, in the newspaper, there was your
picture. They took your photograph, down
into jail, and you could tell where it came from. There they
got you. How would that make you feel?
Wouldn't that embarrass you to death? And what you'd be saying
in your heart of hearts, look what I've done. The Lord has
set these people over me. I have broken the law. I have
been displeasing to God, and now look at the shame I brought
on His name." Conscience, for conscience's sake. One man said
to me one time, he said he wasn't concerned about conscience. Ain't
that awful? Not concerned about conscience?
I'm concerned about my conscience. I'm concerned about your conscience.
You can't violate your conscience, can you? We can't live in rebellion
against our government without feeling guilty in our conscience. Because God is the one who set
up the government. One more thing, look here in
verse 6. Look in verse 6. This is something
I think that will help any believer if he's concerned about paying
taxes A government that he knows is misusing his taxes that he
pays. For this cause pay ye tribute
also. That tribute is taxes. For this
cause pay ye taxes. For they are God's ministers,
attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore
to all their dues, tax to whom tax is due, custom to whom custom,
fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor, O no man anything but
to honor one another." Pay taxes. Pay taxes. Boy, I don't like
that too much, I'll be honest with you. Pay taxes. Why do we pay taxes to the government?
Because they're God's ministers. They attend continually upon
their jobs. That's why we pay taxes to support
the sheriff. That's why we pay taxes to support
our governor and our representatives, because they're God's ministers.
And you know the Lord Jesus Christ paid taxes. He did, didn't He? He told Peter, He said, Peter,
we don't want to offend these tax collectors, so go down and
get a fish, and when He comes up, get the little piece of gold
out of His mouth and go give it to the tax collectors for
you and for me. He paid taxes. But you know something? He paid taxes to the very government
that sentenced him to death. He paid taxes to the very government
that later on persecuted his people and killed many of them.
But here's something about paying taxes. It's not our responsibility
what our government uses the taxes for. That used to bother
me. But my taxes to the government
is not a gift. If it was a gift, I'd quit giving
when I saw it was abused. But it's a debt. It's a debt. Owe no man anything, but pay
your taxes. And when you pay them, then here's
what's going to happen. God's going to hold that government
responsible for how it uses that money. So remind them to be subject
to rulers and authorities to these principalities and powers.
And to obey those who are set up to enforce those laws, the
magistrates. Obey them. Obey them. There was a good man. He was a good man back in World
War II. I have one of his books. Birkhoff was his name. He was
a German preacher. A good preacher. And they saw
the meanness that Hitler was doing, what Hitler was doing
to even some of his own people. And some of those preachers got
together and plotted to kill Adolf Hitler. And he captured
him. And he shot him. He shot him. I hope I'm never put in that
predicament. I don't want to take up arms against my government,
do you? And God help me, I'm not going to. And this is one
of the reasons I said when we started tonight, the goodness
of the Lord, for my own opinion, was revealed in that election
last night in stopping this downhill momentum of this government becoming
to the point where it was ready to start persecuting And I just
feel like the Lord has given us a reprieve for a while. And
I thank Him for it. Because I don't want to live
in rebellion against my government. I hope that's a help to you,
a strength to you, and some instructions to you. Farnsworth, you dismiss
us.