You just sit there and hold your
Bible closed a minute and let me give you an introduction to
this message. I think there are some things
that need to be said before we read what Paul has written for
us on this subject. Worship God and honor the King. I'll turn and read these scriptures.
Some of the Pharisees questioned our Lord on this subject about
paying tribute and taxes to earthly rulers and kingdoms. They said
here in Luke 20, they ask him, Master, we know that you say
and teach rightly. Neither acceptest thou the person
of any, but you teach the way of God truly. Is it lawful for
us, Christians, believers in God, Is it lawful for us to give
tribute to Caesar? Or no? He perceived their craftiness. And he said, why do you tempt
me? Show me a penny. Whose image and superscription
is on that penny? And they answered, Caesar's. He said to them, you render therefore
to Caesar the things which be of Caesar, unto God the things
that be of God. But when they brought him before
Pilate, they lied, and they charged him with refusing to pay tribute. This was one of the charges they
brought against the Lord, Luke 23. And the whole multitude of
them arose and led him to Pilate. And they began to accuse him,
saying, we found this fellow perverting the nations, and forbidding to pay taxes and
give tribute to Caesar. He claims himself to be king. And then in John 19, the 19th
chapter of John, They brought this charge against
him in John 19, verse 10. They brought this charge. Then saith Pilate unto the Lord
Jesus, Speakest thou not unto me? Don't you know that I have
power to crucify you, or to release you? And the Lord Jesus answered,
You could have no power at all over me. except it were given
you from above. Wherefore he that delivered me
unto you, he hath the greater sin. And from this forth Pilate
sought to release him, he was afraid. But the Jews cried out,"
now listen to this, if you let this man go, you're not Caesar's
friend. What they're saying is this,
you can't be a friend of Caesar and worship Christ. That's what
they say. You can't be a friend of Caesar,
of the ruler, of the king, and let this man go. You can't do
it. Whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.
The Lord Jesus did not speak against Caesar. He said you render
to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things
that are God's. We have people today who say my religion won't
let me pledge allegiance to that flag. Well, your religion is
not God's religion. Certainly not. Lend her to Caesar
the things that are Caesar's, to God the things that are God's.
People say today, you can't hold public office, either in government,
or federal government, or state government, or community government,
and serve God. Who said that? Christ didn't
say that. Lend her to Caesar the things
that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. Worship
God, and honor the King. David didn't believe that. I
want you to turn to 1 Chronicles. I just feel like you need to
turn over there with me. 1 Chronicles 29. David, King
David, man after God's own heart, had the right spirit and attitude
about worshiping God and honoring the King. It's beautiful, this
speech that he made in 1 Chronicles 29, verse 18. Oh, I love this. David's Thanksgiving when Solomon
was made king. David's dying and Solomon's going
to be the king. First Chronicles 8, 29, 18. O
Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep
this forever in the imagination of the thoughts of the hearts
of thy people, and prepare their hearts unto thee. Give Solomon,
give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments,
thy testimonies, thy statutes, and to do all these things, and
to build a palace, for which I made provision. And David said
to all the congregation, Now, bless the Lord your God. And
all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers,
and bowed their heads, and worshiped the Lord, and the king, honored
the king. They worshiped the Lord, honored
the king. And they sacrificed, sacrifices unto the Lord, and
offered burnt offerings unto the Lord on the morrow after
that day, a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs
with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all
of Israel. And they did eat and drink before
the Lord on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon
the son of David king the second time, and anointed him unto the
Lord to be chief governor, and Zadok to be preached. Then Solomon
sat on the throne of the Lord as king, instead of David his
father, and prospered, and all Israel obeyed him." They worshiped
God beautifully, sincerely, from the heart, and they honored the
king. And that's what Paul's doing
with it. He'll open your Bibles to Romans 13. Romans chapter
13. I'm going to try to go verse
by verse through this 13th chapter of Romans this morning. Now Paul
is dealing with this very subject, worshiping God and honoring the
King. And Paul must deal with it because
some of the early Christians were charged with sedition, just
like Christ was. They were charged with sedition
and were thought to be the enemies of the government. But we're
not enemies of the government. Not at all. And secondly, a great
number of early believers were Jews. And they really resented
a Gentile king. They resented a Gentile ruling
over them because they were the seed of Abraham. They felt great
resentment, and Paul's correcting that attitude. And some of the early Christians
believed because their rulers were pagan men, unconverted men,
and even wicked men, that they shouldn't obey them and shouldn't
pay taxes. They really felt that way because
these men were not believers. But Peter corrected that. Let
me just turn and read it to you. Peter says, Submit yourselves
to every ordinance of man. for the Lord's sake, whether
it be the king as supreme, or the governor, or unto them that
are sent by him, for the punishment of evildoers, law enforcement
men, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will
of God, that with well-doing, good citizens, obedient citizens,
law-abiding You may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. Worship God, honor the King. Now listen to verse 1 of Romans
13. Let every person, every soul, be subject to the higher powers.
What's this higher powers? It's people in authority. It's
the president, it's the senators and congressmen, it's the local
government. It's police officers. It's, at
your work, men who are the bosses. It's the school, those that are
principals and teachers. It's in the home, where the husband's
the head of the home, where parents are the head of the children.
The higher powers that ever so be subject, obedient, to those
who are in charge. It simply indicates being obedient
to authority. To be subject, what's that word?
Subject. It's to be, to show respect. It's to honor and to obey. Now
watch the next line. For there is no power but of
God. Now the Holy Spirit's power is of God. The power to believe
is of God. The power to preach the gospel
is of God. The power to heal is of God.
But that man who is in control of government, and that man who's
the policeman on the street, and that principal in the school,
and that teacher in the classroom, and that husband at home, their
power is of God. There is no authority but of
God. That's what he's saying here.
There is absolutely no authority. God himself is the fountain,
source, and giver of all authority. chain of command. That's the
way it was when I was in the service. I was low man on the
totem pole. I was an apprentice seaman. And
there was the bosun's mate, and there was the chief petty officer,
and there was the lieutenant, and there was my commander. Under
every one of them, I began to climb a little bit. I didn't
get very high, but I climbed a little bit to where you know
my children were growing up. Robbie, Danny, Becky, and And
one day Paul came to his mother and said, Robbie bosses Danny,
Danny bosses Becky, and Becky bosses me, and I don't have nobody
to boss. That's tough, but that's the
way it is. And there's no power but of God.
It's of his appointment, it's of his permission. And this is
talking mainly about civil and judicial authority. But it always
fits every other situation. Now read on. The powers that
be are ordained of God. Now that's established. The higher,
those in charge. Now whosoever. Now here's the
natural consequences. When we rebel against our parents,
when we rebel against teachers, and rebel against principals,
these young people, The two principals and the board of education hands
down some rules about dress and about conduct and they rebel
against it. We rebel. We rebel against the
policeman. We rebel against people in government. When we do, listen, whosoever
therefore resisteth this power, this authority, he resists God. He resists the ordinance of God.
Those who resist and rebel against those who are above them and
over them and in authority, proper authority now, is actually resisting
God. Rebelling against God. Rebelling
against the ordinance of God. You know Samuel. Samuel said
that. The people of Israel kept coming
to Samuel. Samuel, God put him in charge.
He was a prophet, and they kept coming to him saying, we want
a king like other nations. We want to be like other nations.
We want a king. And it displeased Samuel, and he went to the Lord.
He said, Lord, these people keep aggravating me, wanting a king. And the Lord said to Samuel,
let me just read it to you. I won't misquote it. It's over
here in 1 Samuel. Listen to this. And the Lord
said, Samuel. Give them what they want. Hearken
to the voice of the people in what they say. They're not rejecting
you. They're rejecting me. That's powerful, isn't it? Let
them have what they want. Let them have their way. Go ahead.
Let them go. Let them go. Because it's not you that they're
resisting and battling against. It's me. And that's what Paul's
saying right here. Whoso resisteth the authority
His real goal is God. He hates God. He won't obey the
one to whom God gave the right to direct and lead and teach. He's going to have his own way.
So God said, let him have it. And he's going to resist, look
at the next step, and they either resist or receive to themselves
damnation. That's the end of rebellion,
is damnation. Justify it. Now, let me make this clear.
Obedience and submission to those in authority does not include
those who misuse authority. Leaders and officers who set
themselves above the laws of God, laws of honesty and decency
and truth. Children, obey your parents in
the Lord. Isn't that clear? require you to steal, you rebel
against him. You see what he's saying? Wives,
obey your husbands as unto the Lord. When men require women
to do that which is contrary to the word of God, you rebel. You see that? When men set themselves
up in defiance of God's law, I'm going to resist When they
make their wills and their way my rule, I'm not going to abide
by them. You see what I'm saying? When
life and liberty and peace and godliness are at stake, we resist. Bishop Latimer was in the court
of King Henry, and in 1539 King Henry put out six articles requiring
all He was head of the Church of England, incidentally. He
put out six articles that were to be obeyed by all the apostates. Latimer quit, walked out. I'm not going to obey the king
when he disobeys God. Now that's clear, not clear.
So when people, we're talking about those who rule and who
reign in truth and honesty. All right, verse 3. Rulers, officers,
those in authority, they're not a terror to good works. They're
not a terror to good works, but to evil. Those in authority are
not a terror or an enemy to people of good conduct and right motives. Laws and rule and authority is
only hated and resisted by those whose works are evil and their
intentions are evil. That's the people that the rules
and the authority are enemies. He said you do that which is
good and you'll not be afraid. Do that which is good and you'll
have praise and approval of the authority. Do that which is good. Isn't that clear? Those in authority and those
who make the rules and those who enforce them are not terribly
good works. You know, they're arguing about
the ACLU and all these people, my rights and liberty. They argue
against having an identification card. I don't mind having a card
that tells I'm a citizen of the USA. I don't mind having a card
giving my name and address and my phone number and my Social
Security number, do you? Why would I fear? Authority is no terror to a man
who's doing the right thing. That's just so. They have it
in other countries. Everywhere I went in Spain and in France
and in those countries over there, I had to show my passport. But
I'm proud to show it. I'm an American. Proud to show
it. Look at verse 4. He's the minister
of God to thee for good. He's the minister of God. He
says that twice in this verse. Listen. Now who are we talking
about? We're talking about the governor, we're talking about
the policeman, we're talking about the principal, we're talking
about the teachers, we're talking about the boss, we're talking
about people who run things and have the authority to keep order.
We're not talking about preachers here now, we're not talking about,
especially saved people. We're talking about people of
higher authority who are in charge. You see what I'm saying? He's
a minister of God. He says that twice. He's the
minister of God to you for good. For good. Can you imagine what
this land would be like without authority? Can you just imagine? What it would be like not to
have a policeman riding up and down the street? Jails to punish
evil doers. Judges. Judges sitting on the
bench. He's a minister of God for our
good. What value would your property be without those to protect it? It wouldn't be any good. What chaos would rule our town
and our streets without the officers of the law? He's the minister
of God for my good. He can't preach to me, but he
can make it safe for me to come over and preach. You see what
I'm saying? He can't come by in the patrol
car and bring me to church, but he can make it safe for me to
drive to church. See what I'm talking about? He's
a minister of God to you for good. What would be our liberty, our
safety? Our children wouldn't be safe
on the streets if we didn't have laws and rules and guidelines
and officers and judges. Our homes would be in danger. I'll give you a simple illustration. Think about a basketball game
without a referee. I wouldn't want to be that person,
but I'd like to see it on TV. Think about a baseball game without
an umpire. They'd kill each other. Those
fellas would kill each other. But there stands a man. You're out. Just say it. This was brought
home to me one time in Birmingham, Alabama. I was there in a Bible
conference and the sheriff, Deputy Sheriff died, Oscar IV. He was a member of that congregation
and he died of cancer. I knew him quite well. Very nice
man. And Brother Griswold had his
funeral. And all that place was packed with policemen, just packed
with policemen. The sheriff's department and
the highway patrol and the city of Birmingham people. And Brother
Griswold took this text for his text. And he said this man was
a believer in Christ. That this man was a minister
of God for our good. A minister of God. But now he
said, if thou do that which is evil, be afraid, because he bears
not the sword in vain. He's a minister of God, and he's
a revenger. Ours is not to get vengeance,
but theirs is the, they use the sword of God and get vengeance
upon these snipers. They're going to pay, and they
should pay, and the authority will make them pay. But wouldn't
it be terrible if we didn't have that authority and left it up
to us to run this thing? Chaos. So this is why God orders
all things for our good. And we are to be responsible
people, obedient people, keeping the peace by recognizing, respecting,
and obeying, and subjecting ourselves to those who are in charge. That's
not practical, isn't it? But that's to us, I'll let us
read on. Therefore, you must need be subject,
not only for wrath, not because you're scared, not because you
fear, but for conscience sake. That's the reason believers are
subject to authority, not so much because they fear punishment,
or to avoid the wrath of God, but people who have understanding
and wisdom approve of authority. They approve of it. They approve
of leadership. They approve of good laws. As
a matter of conscience, as a matter of wisdom, as a matter of principle,
God's way is the best way. It's the only way. It's my way. That's all. It's my way. I love
authority. I love it. You know one reason
I didn't have too much trouble when I went in the Navy, submitting
to authority, my dad taught me what authority meant. He taught
me. I grew up saying yes sir. And
it wasn't hard for me to say yes sir. It wasn't hard at all. And I say to parents, use the
authority God gives you. Use the authority God. Sit down
and talk to that young man. I love you. You're my son. But
you're not going to run this house. I am. And we're going
to do it the way God wants it done. And you're going to obey
me, and you're going to submit to the rules, and you're going
to do what I tell you to do. If I'm going to feed you, and
clothe you, and give you a place to sleep, you're going to mind
me. Is that wrong? You're foolish if you don't.
There's no reason for parents to suffer under the reign and
rule of rebellious children. And there's no reason for our
schools to be like they are. We just need to give some authority
to these teachers. You parents let them... My parents were always on the
side of the teacher. No use me coming home whining
and complaining about what... Mind him, son. That's what Paul's
saying here. Mind him, son. I just named this
message Mind Him, Son. All right, let's read on. Verse 6, for this cause, because
they're the ministers of God for our good, we pay tribute,
we pay taxes. For this cause we pay taxes,
tribute and custom is taxes. That's what we're talking about
here. For this cause we pay tribute. What cause? Because these public
servants, governors, magistrates, officers of the law, city and
county officials, firemen, teachers, principals, All these people
are God's servants. They're servants of the Lord
for our good, and they're worthy of support, good support. It
says, for this cause pay you taxes, they're God's ministers
attending continually upon this very thing. This is their work,
this is their business. And I put four children and six
grandchildren that had gone to Paul Blazer High School. Hager
Middle School and Paul Glazer. And it cost me so little. It
cost me so little. Somebody built the building,
pays the teachers, runs that thing, all that. Four children
and six grandchildren through those schools. I shouldn't mind
paying a few taxes, should I? The policemen protect me, the
firemen protect my home, the people I got the city building
and the county offices. They provide me to build highways,
pave my street. Doris and I left the garage door
open one night. Policeman came by and rang the
doorbell. I went to the door and there he stood. He said,
Reverend, I saw your garage door was open. I was checking to see
if everything's all right. Thank you, sir. And that's what he's saying here.
Render therefore to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute
is due, custom to whom custom is due. That's right. I'll show you whether the Lord
called those the same thing, tribute and custom. Matthew 17,
verse 25. Listen to this. Tribute and custom. He says in verse 25, Matthew
17, he said yes, and when he was coming to the house, Jesus
preceded him, saying, Simon, what do you think? Of whom do
kings of the earth take custom or tribute? See, it's the same
thing. Of their children or strangers. Peter said of strangers. But
what I'm trying to show you is he says tribute and custom are
the same. Taxes and custom, that's the
same. So render to whom taxes are due,
pay them. Customs are due, pay them. Support
liberally those who serve us in whatever way. Be generous.
Now he says, and fear to whom fear. See verse 7, fear to whom
fear is due. Render fear to whom fear. What's
that word fear? It's respect. It's respect. It's honor. It's obedience. And then honor to whom honor?
Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon
the land which the Lord thy God gavest thee. Honor them. Husbands,
honor your wife as the weaker vessel. Give honor unto her,
Peter said, as the weaker vessel. Honor her. Honor to whom honor? Pastors and elders are worthy
of double honor who preach the word. That's what it says, 1
Timothy 5.17. So let's read that verse 7 again, then
we'll show you verse 8. Be patient with me. Render therefore
to all their dues, taxes to whom taxes due, customs to whom customs
due, respect and obedience to whom that's due, honor to whom
honor is due, owe no man anything. Is this saying don't ever borrow
any money? No, that's not saying that. You couldn't own a home
if you couldn't borrow money. Most of us couldn't own a car.
We have just and honorable debt, it's fine. What's this talking
about? It's talking about this. These things that are our obligations,
respect, honor, obedience, submission, don't owe that now, pay it. Pay
it. Don't know that. Don't know that. But above all things, love one
another. Here's the whole solution. Love
one another. He that loveth another hath fulfilled
the law. For this thou shalt not commit
adultery. This is the second table. The
first table of the law, thou shalt not take the name of the
Lord thy God in vain. I shall not make of thee any graven image.
I shall not bow down to worship the Lord only. That's having
to do with our relationship. The last five commandments are
having to do with our relationship with one another. Honor thy father
and thy mother. I shall not commit adultery.
I shall not kill. I shall not steal. I shall not
bear false witness. I shall not covet. And if there
be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this.
Love your neighbor as yourself. If you love your neighbor, you're
not going to steal from him. You're not going to lie on him.
You're not going to commit adultery. You see, if you love your neighbor.
You're not going to covet. So love is the fulfillment of
the law. Love works no ill to his neighbor.
See verse 10? Love works no ill to his neighbor.
Therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. There's nothing required
in God's law that's not fulfilled because we love each other. And
the same thing is true of our relationship with God, if we
love him, we'll do what he says. So closing with these words,
and that knowing, that knowing the time, knowing the time, it's
high time to wake out of sleep, it's a special time, because
now is the accepted time, today is the day of salvation, this
is the day of good news. Knowing the time, it's a special
time. Now is the accepted time. Today
is the day of salvation. It's a critical time. Seek you
the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he's near.
David said this over here in the Psalms. He said, Lord, Psalm
39, listen. Lord, make me to know my end,
the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am. I
has made my days as a hand breath, my age is nothing before thee.
Verily every man in his best state is altogether vanity."
It's a critical time. It's a special time, it's a day
of grace. It's a critical time, I don't have a lot of days left.
It's a time for me to wake out of indifference and sleep. Knowing the time, it's high time
to wake out of sleep, indifference. How would you illustrate that?
Listen, 1 Kings 18, Elijah came near to the people of Israel,
and he said, How long halt ye between two opinions? If the
Lord be God, follow him fully. If they'll be God, follow Him."
What was their response? Scripture said, the people answered,
not a word. Indifference. And that's what
Paul is talking about here. It's time, knowing the time,
it's high time to wake out of indifference, out of neutrality,
out of sleep. For our salvation is nearer than
when we believe, and our salvation being nearer, condemnation for
those who are not saved is nearer too. The night is far spent,
the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the
works of darkness and put on the armor of light, and let us
walk honestly. As in the day, not in rioting
and drunkenness and chambering and wantonness, not in strife
and envy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ. And don't make provisions for
the flesh. Don't make provisions for the
flesh. Don't put yourself in situations where the flesh dominates. Don't subscribe to things that
stir up the flesh. Don't run around with people
who are harmful to your spiritual relationship with God. Don't
make provisions for the flesh. If you make provisions for the
flesh, the flesh is going to dominate. That's right. You make provisions. You succumb
to this way to fulfill the lust thereof.
It'll take over if you make provisions, unless you rebel against it.