What is the Role of Government According to the Bible?
13 Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God. 2 Therefore he who resists the authority withstands the ordinance of God; and those who withstand will receive to themselves judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the authority, 4 for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he doesn’t bear the sword in vain; for he is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil.
This is election season and I usually stay away from politics when I’m in the pulpit. I do that for a couple of reasons; first, I have a spiritual message to bring, and I don’t want people to close their ears to the spiritual message because they view me as a partisan. It’s similar to the reason I dress as I do while in the pulpit. Truthfully, I am most comfortable in sandals, shorts and a T-shirt. But I don’t want you spending the sermon looking at my legs, instead of listening.
The second reason I don’t get political from the pulpit is that there are political issues on which we vote that have nothing to do with the Bible, or what is morally right or wrong. Let me give you an example. A few years ago, there was a ballot initiative to build Intrust Arena. Some people wanted a new arena downtown, others didn’t want taxpayer money to be used for that. I fell in the latter group. Now I could have stated my opinion from the pulpit. But that is all that it would be; my opinion. The Bible does not address the issue.
On the other hand, when I was in my first years of college, the state was debating whether Kansas ought to have a lottery, and allow casinos etc., to be built. In other words, the issue was gambling. Now, the Bible does have something to say about gambling. The lottery is said to be a tax on the poor, and the Bible advocates caring for the poor, that taking their money on a gamble for great wealth. Gambling can be addictive and is a waste of money. And the Bible has a very narrow description of the role of government which arguably does not take in building casinos and running lotteries. So, if I had been preaching then, I would have tackled the issue in order to offer some guidance.
Was gambling a political issue? Yes, but it was also a moral and Biblical issue. And the same holds true today. There are issues that are very political, but they also are addressed in Scripture. So, I choose to address them because the Bible addresses them. And that’s why I’m speaking about the role of government this morning. Because not only do we have an election coming up, but there is an alarming move in this country to change the role of our government. We were founded as a democratic republic, acknowledging our reliance on God, based on limited government, justice, the rule of law, and the protection of individuals. Today, in 6 states in particular, all of those original principles are being attacked and impugned.
There are those who want to remove any vestige of religion, or God from all aspects of not only government, but our culture as well. There are groups marching and rioting who, by their own admission are Marxist, communist in their beliefs. There are riots and destruction, in major cities across the country that are overlooked, the governing authorities refuse outside help, and some even actively promote the violence. City governments are moving to defund the police, and mayhem has made its way to suburban neighborhoods leaving residents in fear for their lives. And at the same time that lawlessness is abounding, some governmental authorities in some states are restricting all kinds of personal activities by law-abiding citizens, because of Covid-19, like going to the park, even singing in church.
Well you might say, “It’s not happening in Kansas, so why are we concerned?” Well I’m concerned because we’ve found over the course of our nations history, that some are not content to change their own state, they want all states to allow what they allow. For example, homosexual marriage was not legalized in the Kansas legislature, but at the Supreme Court level, and it was foisted on the rest of us. There are major issues for the church. We need to think about what we should think, and do. Where do we stand when it comes to government prescribing what the church can and cannot do. And all these issues, all these expectations for our government, can either be reinforced or torn down at any level of government, from the local county commission, to the federal court system. So we need to know what the role of government is supposed to be, so we can stand for what is right, stand up for our faith when it is appropriate, and advocate for a system of government that allows us the greatest freedom to serve our Lord.
Well, I am going to cover 4 major points in this sermon. I will only cover the first one today. But here are the 4 Biblical points about government.
1.Government is ordained by God. 2.Government is to promote justice. 3.Government is to establish the rule of law. 4.The role of government is limited.
I. Government is ordained by God.
13 Let every soul be in subjection (subject to; do what they tell you to do.) to the higher authorities, (governors, mayors, police, governmental boards, president, legislatures, etc.) for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God.
Now that last statement is kind of disconcerting. “there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God.”
That means that nobody slipped by God. We didn’t get to November 4th in heaven and God say, “Oh no, I let the wrong guy become president!” This statement reminds me of something Jesus said to Pilate at Jesus’ trial. Pilate was frustrated because Jesus wasn’t answering his questions, and so he said to Jesus, “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you, or to crucify you?” And Jesus replied, “You would have no power at all except that which was given you from above.” Even Pilate was given his position by God.
2 Therefore he who resists the authority withstands the ordinance of God; and those who withstand will receive to themselves judgment.
It means that government is ordained by God, it was His idea, He instituted it, it serves His purposes.
Now I have four points I want to make about that.
1. It’s not perfect.
2. But we are in a world full of sinners, governed by sinners. So, God gave us government as a structure to keep some semblance of order in a corrupt world.
3. So what is our job? First Verse 1 “be in subjection to the higher authorities.”
4. What does that mean? as long as the government is not asking you to disobey God, do what they tell you to do.
A. Government isn’t perfect
Hold on, how can you say God ordained government, but it isn’t perfect? God is perfect. Hoe could He allow the corruption in government, the governments of North Korea, and Cuba, the evils that we know exist in government?
How can we say that it is ordained by God, yet it’s not perfect? It is an institution given to us to manage a fallen sinful world. It is a structure of authority and submission. God gave that structure to reign in the sinfulness of mankind.
A perfect world would be governed directly by God. And that is only described three times in the Bible.
In the Garden of Eden God governed the first man and woman directly. He gave them the rules, and He enforced the rules. That didn’t last very long because mankind couldn’t keep just one rule.
When Israel was in the wilderness for 40 years, God governed them directly. He made the rules, and He punished them when they disobeyed. But that didn’t work out. Because the people were sinful and rebellious. At one point God was so angry with the people that He told Moses, “get out of the way, I’ll wipe these people out, and I’ll start fresh with you.”
The only other time that God is described as ruling directly is in the future millennial reign of Christ. Jesus will sit on a throne in Jerusalem. He will make the rules and enforce them Himself, and through His emissaries, the transformed Church.
But in the meantime, we have this imperfect system of authority and submission. We are in a world full of sinners, governed by sinners. So, God gave us government as a structure to keep some semblance of order in a corrupt world.
It’s never going to be perfect until Jesus comes back. There is no political party or candidate for office who is perfect. Here’s a rule; if you find a candidate who appears perfect, they are lying to you.
So what is our job? First Verse 1 “be in subjection to the higher authorities.”
There are those who are advocating doing away with authority. Do away with police. The truth is that you can’t do away with authority, or government. If you cast off one kind of authority, there will be another to replace it.
1. Notice what it doesn’t say—be subject to federal, not state, or local authority.
2. Our primary responsibility is to do what we are told to do.
3. Notice that it doesn’t say, be subject to authority, unless it’s a stupid law, or an ignorant lawmaker.
They are all ordained by God. “for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God.” There are no governing authorities, at any level, who are there without God’s knowledge and ordination.
What does that mean? It means that you obey the authorities as though you are obeying God. And if you don’t…”Therefore he who resists the authority withstands the ordinance of God and …will receive to themselves judgment.”
What does that mean? Second, as long as the government is not asking you to disobey God, do what they tell you to do.
Well that is the first point I wanted to make today about the role of government according to the Bible, that we are to submit to it. But how far are we to submit? We are to submit up to the point where government tells us to violate one of God’s laws.
That’s why it is important that we know the Word of God. We have to know where the boundary is. I read an article this week that illustrates that point. Grace Community Church, pastored by John MacArthur, in California was faced with the question about the boundaries of government over the church. As most of you know, many churches were required to close during the Covid-19 scare. But in LA County, California, the rules for churches extended much further than the rest of the nation. The ban on worship extended for a longer time, and even in small church gatherings the restrictions were onerous. They were mandated by law not to sing in church.
And at first, the church tried to comply with the government. But, as time went by, it became apparent that the state was unfairly targeting churches, while allowing mass protests and other gatherings to take place.
Finally, John MacArthur and the leadership of the church decided that they could no longer comply. This is their statement, in part;
“We're not meeting ... because we want to be rebellious. We're meeting because our Lord has commanded us to come together and worship Him,” MacArthur said.
Before last week’s lawsuit was filed, MacArthur and the elders at Grace Community Church had released a statement making a Biblical case for the church’s duty to remain open.
In it the church leaders publicly and respectfully informed civic leaders that they have “exceeded their legitimate jurisdiction,” and “faithfulness to Christ prohibits us from observing the restrictions they want to impose on our corporate worship services.”
“As His people, we are subject to His will and commands as revealed in Scripture,” stated MacArthur, joined by the pastors and elders of the church. “Therefore, we cannot and will not acquiesce to a government-imposed moratorium on our weekly congregational worship or other regular corporate gatherings. Compliance would be disobedience to our Lord's clear commands.”
To read the full statement from John MacArthur and Grace Community Church, click here.
This church now faces a court battle against the state.
I share this with you because it is no longer just a mental exercise for the church to consider the role of government according to the Bible. We have entered a new era in our country where some governing authorities are becoming hostile to the church. So we, as Christians, as the church, must be prepared to “give an answer” to those who would ask us, for why we stand for what we stand for.
Let us pray.