Romans chapter 13. Romans chapter
13, we'll try to look at verse 1, down through verse 7. Now, you remember in chapter
12, the apostle pointed out what our attitude and our responsibilities
were to other believers and toward all men in general. Look right
across the page at chapter 12, verse 18. If it be possible,
as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Blessed
are the peacemakers for theirs is the kingdom of God. Now in
chapter 13 Paul gives us further instruction, by God the Holy
Spirit what our attitude and conduct and responsibility what our attitude, conduct, and
responsibilities are to those who hold office in authority
in our land, in our country, those who hold office in authority. Now, you talk about in the school
or in our local government, those who hold authority in an office
designated to God, implementing the rule of law in our society. Now, what would it be, as depraved
as we are, if we had no laws or if we had no policemen to
enforce those laws. And it's bad enough as it is.
We have policemen and we have laws, but we have a lot of people
who choose not to follow the law. They're lawbreakers. Now,
why does Paul do this? Why does he give us, and here's
the key to this lesson, is to be in submission, subjection,
not resisting, but in subjection. Now why does Paul do this? Well,
we know that all scripture is given by inspiration of God.
God is instructing us in things that we need to hear and need
to learn. Someone suggested this, maybe
some believers in Rome, remember he's writing to believers in
Rome, maybe some of these believers in Rome had the idea because
they were citizens of a, as a believer, citizens of a spiritual kingdom,
they should not be subject to those who ruled in Rome, in a
earthly kingdom with earthly authority. They thought, well,
you know, we belong to a higher kingdom, a spiritual kingdom,
so we're just going to disregard Roman law. Well, we know that's not the
will of the Lord. As He says in verse 1, let every
soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power
but of God, and the powers that be are ordered of God." As the
marginal reference says, they're ordered of God. They are ordained
of God. Let every one of us, and especially
believers, be in subjection to those governments and civil authorities
who rule over us. He calls them higher powers. Now we know this, there is no
power as it says there, and here's the key, there is no power but
of God. But of God. He has all power
in heaven and in earth. You remember Pilate said to the
Lord Jesus Christ, don't you know that I have power over you
to crucify you or to let you go? You remember what the Lord
said to him? He corrected him, he said, you
don't have any power over me, but that which is given to you
of God. Even Pilate, the rule he had
as a Roman governor, that power he had was ordered of God, and
he was ruling by the will of God. The Lord God Almighty has
all power in heaven and in earth, and he does his will, in the
army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of this earth, and
none can stay his hand, or say unto him, Lord God Almighty,
what doest thou? The Lord God has all power in
heaven and in earth. No man rules anywhere." Now you
think about this statement. No man rules anywhere without
the authority of God. I don't care who it is. No man
rules if he's an evil man, Or if he's a so-called good man,
no one rules without the authority of God. No man rules anywhere
without God's decree. We read in Scripture, he puts
down rulers and he raises up rulers as it pleases him. We know the king's heart is in
the hand of the Lord and he turns it whether so ever he will. Whatsoever
the Lord pleased, that's what he does. Heaven, earth, seas,
and all deep places. Now, that ought to give us comfort,
knowing that God Almighty, now the ruler in some foreign country,
he may be a cruel, terrible dictator, but he is there only by the decree
of God. And when it's God's time, He
raises them up and He puts them down according to His sovereign
purpose. But the key here to this lesson
Paul is teaching us here is to be in subjection to those who
rule over us. Now, if you'll take your Bible
and find 1 Timothy chapter 2, We're told to pray for our leaders.
We're told to pray for our leaders, our president, our governor.
I know in some circles they're not popular, but they are only
there by the will of God. I exhort thee, this is 1 Timothy
chapter two. I exhort thee therefore that
first of all, supplication, prayers, intercession, and giving thanks
be made for all men, for kings, for all that are in authority,
that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness
and honesty. For this is good and acceptable
in sight of God our Savior." Now, here's another reference
on that. If you turn over here a few pages to the book of Titus,
Book of Titus chapter 3, verse 1, 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 meekness unto all men. So we are to be
in subjection unto those who have the authority over us. Now,
is there an exception? Yes, there is. With this exception,
as long as they rule according to the Word of the Lord. When they rule outside the Word
of the Lord and demand that people do things Contrary to the Word
of the Lord, we are to resist that. For example, if it was
decreed a law in this country, and we're going to read an example
here in a minute. But if they told all grace preachers in this
country that they must cease their ministry and disband. Well, I'm going to resist that,
because that is contrary to the Word of the Lord. But rulers,
when they rule according to the word of the Lord, we are to be
in subjection unto them. Doesn't matter what their politics
are, whether it's liberal or conservative, whether it's right
or left. Doesn't matter. Look at verse
two now. Whosoever therefore resisted
the power. Now get a hold of that. The power. Now who is the power? all powers
given of God, resisteth the ordinance of God. Now, if you're in rebellion
against your local government, you're rebelling against God.
That's what he's saying here. And they that resist shall receive
to themselves condemnation, judgment. No good is going to come of it.
We're to be and subject to those who rule with civil law which
is always the right thing to do. Rebellion and resistance
against that is rebellion against God, and they that resist the
will of God, the ordinance of God, shall be in trouble. Now, we see this all the time
on the news, and I watch more news than I probably should,
but we see this in the news all the time. especially with all
the video and everything we have. Everybody has a camera on their
phone. Everybody's got the video right there. But we see this
on the news, evening news all the time. People, when they're
arrested by the police officer, instead of being in subjection
to them, they disobey the authority of God. And when that happens,
what happens? You got to fight. I often say
to my wife, why don't they just submit? None of this would happen
if they just submit. We can sort this out in court,
get a lawyer. Just submit. Don't fight. Don't
rebel. The rebellion is against God.
That's what he's saying here. And when you rebel against those
who are in authority, Well, maybe he's making an unlawful arrest.
Okay, well, that will be sorted out in court. We have provisions
for that. But my soul is when this ought
to be stressed to our young people, especially our young people in
school, to be in subjection to the authority. That teacher in
that room, that's God's authority. That principal in that school,
that's God's authority. And when you're pulled over by
a police officer and he says, get out of that car and spread
eagle on the back, you better do that. Now, you say, well,
I'm not going to do that. Well, you're going to suffer
the consequences. They're going to beat you up and throw you
to the ground and they're going to arrest you anyway. Wouldn't it be a
whole lot easier just to submit? And that's what he's talking
about here. Now and again, the exception is those who rule in
authority that's contrary to the word of the Lord. The parent
in the home is the authority in that home. We're to obey our
parents in the Lord. Now if a parent told a child,
go down to the store and steal a loaf of bread, now he's to
resist that. You see what he's saying here?
Now I'll give you some examples of those who are in authority
when we're to resist those. You remember Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego? They're in Babylon, and they
were told to worship the idol. And they refused being Hebrew
children, Jewish, who believed God. They refused that order. They said, we're going to worship
God. We're going to worship an idol. Do you remember the consequences?
They did resist, and they were cast into the fiery furnace. But we know the rest of the story.
The Lord delivered them. And then Daniel, remember, they
told Daniel that he could not pray at a certain time of day.
Well, Daniel opened his windows and prayed anyway. Do you remember
what happened to him? He ended up in the lion's den,
so there is exception to those things. He ended up in the lion's
den, but he was delivered of God, was he not? Now, here's
another example, turn over to the book of Acts. In Acts chapter
4, the apostles were beaten and commanded not to preach the gospel
anymore, Acts chapter 4. Verse 17, but that it spread
no further among the people Let us straightly threaten them that
they speak henceforth to no man in this name." Now these are
the civil authorities and religious ecclesiastical authorities. And
they called them and commanded them not to speak at all or teach
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now that's contrary to
the word of the Lord, right? That is to be resisted. But Peter
and John, the apostles, answering said unto them, whether it be
right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto
God, judge you. For we cannot but speak the thing
which we have seen and heard. Now here's another example in
Acts chapter five, turn over there. They had called the apostles
together, verse 40. and had beaten them, verse 40,
Acts 5, and they commanded that they should not speak in the
name of Jesus, and they let them go. So what are they going to
do? They departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that
they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name, and daily
in the temple and in every house they ceased not to teach and
preach the Lord Jesus Christ. So there are exceptions to that
rule. But those who rule, you know,
I was thinking about this. If we look at the laws of society,
the laws of the state of Kentucky or even federal law or local
law, Most of it is based on the moral authority or what we call
the moral law of God. Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt
not murder. These laws are, and God has put
these laws in force to keep some kind of order among society. Now look at verse three, Romans
13, three. Rulers are not a tear to good
works. No one's opposed to law-abiding
citizens, are they? If the officer pulls you over
and you know you've done nothing wrong, you've got your license
there, your registration, your proof of insurance, here you
go. I'm in your hand. Do with me
what you want to. Rulers are not a terror to good
works. You have nothing to fear. you
to respect the policeman after yes sir or no ma'am, but they're
not going to hound you if you're not doing anything wrong. But
to the evil, those who are suspicious characters, Well, the law enforcer,
he's going to do his job, and he's going to inquire what's
going on and who you are and where you're from. Will thou
then be afraid of the power? Yes, if you're breaking the law
and you get caught. Do that which is good, and the
police officer will say, have a good day. You have a good day. Now if you have violated the
speed limit, he'll probably write you a little thank you note and
tell you to see down at the courthouse and pay that speeding fine. And
I've had to do that a few times too. But these things, I remember
one time I was in Louisville, Kentucky. I was preaching a Bible
conference up there and I wasn't really paying much attention
to the speed limit and I was by myself. And sometimes down there in Louisville,
the speed limit's 55, and then it's 65, and then it's 70. It
just kind of changes. I didn't know what the speed
limit was, so I just motored along about 70 miles an hour,
and I was coming up to an intersection where I needed to, on the interstate,
I needed to go right or left, and the sun was in my eyes, and
I really couldn't tell. I just kind of made a last-second
decision, and next thing I know, blue lights. Blue lights. Uh-oh. Well, I pulled over and
the officer came up. He didn't come up on the left
side. I thought a little bit strange. I sat there and I watched
him. He came up on the, I guess maybe just to protect himself
because of the traffic, but he came up on the right side of
the car. He said, I rolled my window down, he said, he said,
you're driving erratic. I said, well, you know, I'm out
of town and the sun was in my eyes and I couldn't see. And
he said, what are you doing anyway? And I had my Bible lying there
on the seat, and I said, well, I said, I'm headed to a Bible
conference. I'm going to preach down here in just a few minutes.
And I told him, I said, I quoted that scripture to him. I said,
you know, you're God's minister. I'm going to be in subjection
to whatever you tell me to do. I'm going to be in subjection.
He said, well, you're right. And he knew this scripture. He
said, I am God's authority on this highway. And I said, well,
I'm in your hands. Okay. He wrote me a nice ticket. And when I got to the church,
I had to tell the pastor about it, and he got a good chuckle
out of it. And he said, well, I guess that's going to cost
you a little bit. And I said, yeah, that's okay. He was doing his
job. He was doing his job. And if
he wouldn't have pulled me over, he wouldn't have been doing his
job. For he is a minister of God, verse 4. He is a minister
of God. Obey the law, be a law-abiding
citizen. Now, these things are not to
earn salvation or maintain salvation. It's just the right and proper
thing to do. These men, whether it's the governor
or the president, or a county judge, or the mayor in a city,
he is the minister of God to thee for good. He's the minister
of God. But if you do that which is evil,
if you do that which is wrong, you better wait. Somebody's going
to be knocking on your door. If you do that which is evil,
they're coming after you. They'll swear out a warrant for
your arrest. For he beareth not the sword, and this is the sword
of God, in vain. For he is the minister of God,
a revenger to execute wrath upon them that do evil." Now that's
pretty clear language, is it not? There's no place for gray
area there. Those who rule in authority,
whether in the home, the school, the state, local government,
or in the church. In the church, children are to
obey parents in the Lord, wives are to be in subjection to their
husbands as in the Lord, and those who rule in authority,
the minister of God, the pastor of the church, We studied that
in Hebrews 13. Obey them that have the rule
over you. Submit yourselves for they watch
for your souls, as they must give an account that they may
do it with joy, not with grief, for that's impossible for you. So the authorities that be, whether
it be in the home or in the church or the local courthouse or the
statehouse, these things are ordained of God. And these who
rule in authority are ministers of God. To those who obey civil
law, are to be protected by the ministers of God. I'm glad the
policeman has a sidearm and a shotgun in the trunk, or maybe an AR-15. I'm glad they're there to protect
us against those who would do us harm. But those who disobey
civil law are to be punished. are to be punished. They are
ministers of God, intimates of proper judicial punishment. As it says there in Romans 12
verse 19, Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give
place unto wrath, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, saith the
Lord, I will repay. So these ministers of God, whether
it be a judge in the courtroom, they are intimates of God, who
administer proper judicial punishment. We're not to take the law into
our own hands. We're not to form what they had
out west years ago, vigilante committees. I guess to some extent
that was necessary when there was no law enforcement around.
But we're not to take the law into our own hands, but we're
rather to give place to wrath and let those who are designated
by God, who operate with His authority, to decide what proper
punishment should be rendered. When the judge... You know, it's
a fearful thing to be in a courtroom. It's just a... I mean, you just... I was on jury duty last fall,
and it just scared me to death to even be in the jury pool.
And the judge, you know, up there on the bench in his black robe,
and it's just a—I mean, to me, there is great respect due to
that man sitting there as the minister of God. And, boy, just
think if society today would obey them and have the rule over
you, boy, things would go a lot smoother, wouldn't they? But
what chaos and anarchy and lawlessness would be in our society if we
had no rule of law, if we had no one to enforce the law? I mean, it's bad enough as it
is. We've got all kinds of laws on the book. On the books, we
have law enforcement, but crime is everywhere. Thank God we have
some authority that's ministered of God and given of God, but
we're to be in subjection. Now, don't turn, because I read
this to you last week in 1 Peter chapter 2. And he says this again over here.
So it's Paul and Peter written by the same Holy Spirit. Submit
yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether
it be to the king or to supreme. That's 1 Peter 2.13. Or unto
governors as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment
of evildoers. Lawbreakers are to be punished.
for the praise of them that do well. For this is the will of
God, that with well-doing you may put to silence the ignorance
of foolish men as free, not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness,
but as the servants of God." So the whole lesson is what?
Subjection. And being in subjection, we show
our submission unto the Lord. And when we reverence authority,
we're actually reverencing God. They are ministers of God sent
to thee for your good. For your good. Now, this lesson needs to be taught.
Verse 5, Wherefore you must needs be subject Not only because of
the judgment that would come to you, the wrath of the law
would be against you, but also for conscience sake, for a clear
conscience, clear conscience. More valid reasons are given
why we should be in subjection unto the Lord. Well, we know
all authority is of God, because the judgment of God for disobedience,
when the righteous wrath of God would come upon those who break
the law, But also, he says there, he mentions, secondly, for conscience
sake, to keep a clear conscience void of disobedience unto God. Now, I know the scriptures talk
about some who have their conscience seared with a hot iron. I mean,
they just don't care. They just flat don't care about
any authority anywhere. They're just rebels through and
through. And for the most part, I think
they're reprobates. I think they're just absolute reprobates, and
the only thing that a civil society can do is those who are what
they call repeat offenders, repeat felon offenders, who just, you
know, they find them breaking the law, they bring them before
the judge, and they pass a sentence. And they either go to jail for
a little while or they get out on parole or probation and they're
right back in the same business again. And then they go before
the judge again. And the judge puts them in jail
again. And that's just a repeated cycle
and cycle and cycle. And eventually the judge says,
you're going to stay there this time. And that's the only recourse
we have. What can you do but just to lock
them up, and as they used to say, lock them up, throw the
key away. Now, some, and I'm for rehabilitation, I'm for helping
those, I'm not, I want to be compassionate and long-suffering
as I can. There is, and as we see, our
society in this country, you know, I grew up in the 50s and
60s. Things that are going on today, you know, back in the
little town where I grew up, we never even thought about locking
our doors. But now, my goodness, if you don't, I keep my door
locked all the time. Even when I come in here to work,
I lock my door, because this business next door one day, right
in the middle of broad daylight, they walked in there with a 9mm
pistol and full camouflage and held up the drugstore. And people wander in and out
of here all the time, and all they want is money, money. They don't want the gospel.