Submission to authority

Read Romans 13:1-7

Giving the Prez His Props

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there
is no authority except that which God has established. The
authorities that exist have been established by God.
~Romans 13:1

Digging Deeper: “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities.” Deal with it, Democrats! Republicans, respect your president! And just hold on a minute, Independents, you’re not exempt from this either!

Whether it is the president or the policeman, city councilmen or congressman, democrat or republican, charismatic governor or senile senator, through the process that gave them their role, God has granted these officials the authority to lead you. In light of that, God expects you to “give them what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.” (Romans 13:7)

So come on people, give the president his props—the proper respect God expects from you for, if nothing else, the office he holds. I understand that you may not like him—Paul never said you had to—but he is God’s servant (Romans 4:4). And if you choose to rebel against his authority, well, you might as well shake your fist in the face of God, because that is, in effect what you are doing:

“He who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. (Romans 13:2)

By now, depending on what party you roll with, you may be quite irritated with what I am saying. You might even be thinking that these seven verses in Romans 13 may just be the one and only place in Scripture that is not divinely inspired; that Paul took leave of his senses at this point and wandered off the reservation when he wrote about respecting and obeying governmental leaders.

Sorry, that doesn’t cut it. These seven verses are Bible, which means that they are inspired, and that you are accountable for them. Like it or not, you and I will one day stand before God and give account for every idle word (Matthew 12:36) that we speak against the politicians that somehow—Lord only knows—got put into leadership over us. So be careful! Be respectful. And remember that ultimately, their authority derives from God’s authority, and they, too, are not just accountable to the voting public, but to God himself.

Having said all that, there are ways to redress grievances with governmental authorities. There is a democratic process for electing and removing leaders, and Christians ought to be actively, aggressively and unashamedly engaged in that process. And, furthermore, believers are never, ever expected to obey a leader or a law that violates God’s higher law. (Exodus 1:17, Acts 4:19) Should that happen, you and I are given permission by God to speak truth to power, resist—non-violently, of course—and be ready to go to jail, if not the gallows, for our faith.

But by and large, the most common and persistent response our Christian faith calls for in terms of our relationship to governmental authorities is prayer.

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (I Timothy 2:1-4)

Pray for the president—you gotta be kidding? Submit to his authority—are you nuts? Give props to a guy I don’t respect a whole lot—get real! Well, think about this: Paul’s words here in Romans 13 were written around AD 57 when a guy named Nero was emperor of Rome. To say the least, Nero was not a nice guy—especially to Christians. (Check out Foxe’s Book of Martyrs)

So here’s the deal: If Paul could do it, so can you!

“Truth is the daughter of time, not of authority.”
~Francis Bacon

This Week’s Assignment:

Read: Romans 13:1-14

Memorize: Romans 13:8

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.”

For Your Consideration: When Paul wrote Romans 13, he didn‘t insert a chapter break at the end of chapter 12. Chapters and verses were later added by editors, so what Paul wrote in this chapter was a simply continuation of his call in Romans 12:1-2 to offer our everyday lives as pleasing worship to God. In light of that, consider how your attitude toward governmental leaders (Romans 13:1-7), your treatment of the people in your life (Romans 13:8-10), and your personal purity in immoral times (Romans 13:11-14) might need to change to in order to be offered as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.

Read I Timothy 3

“I am writing you these instructions so that…you will know how
people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household,
which is the church of the living God.”
(I Timothy 3:14-15)

Thoughts… One of the big differences I have noticed between my parents (they are now in their 70’s) and me (I am not in my 70’s) and the different generations we represent is our attitude toward authority. People of my parents generation seemed to quietly, willingly and obediently accept authority while people of my age and younger seem to automatically question authority. The rebelliousness of the 60’s marked that sea change from the respectfulness of the 50’s. Nothing captures this change better than the philosophy popularized by whacky 60’s psychologist Timothy Leary, who preached, “Think for yourself and question authority.”

Though sounding good on its face, in reality it has been taken to an extreme to where authority isn’t just questioned now, it is resented, and in many cases, rejected out of hand. For the most part, this attitude toward authority has had a deleterious effect in our society in general, and specifically it has had a corrosive effect in our homes, in our schools, and even in our churches.

We need to be very careful in our response toward all authority in our lives. I am certainly not promoting blind submission to anyone who is in charge. God has given you a brain, and you need to use it to “think for yourself.” Likewise, you have every right, and a God-given responsibility, to question the validity of anything that seems contrary to the values of the kingdom. Yet at the same time, you must recognize the divinely ordained role of the leaders whom God has placed in your life.

I would suggest to you that one of the best and first places to begin evaluating your attitude and response to leadership is in the church. Now since I am a pastor, this may sound somewhat self-serving, but the reality is, God is very concerned with peace, love and harmony in his family, the church. That is why letters like I and II Timothy were written. That is why God gave very clear instructions for church leadership roles, such as pastors, elders and deacons.

The church is a family, and like any family, there needs to be loving, wise, and honorable parents in order for the family to be healthy and happy. Likewise, there needs to be honor and respect from the children toward the authority of the parents. So it is in the household of God. Paul was very concerned that people understood God’s “code of conduct” for life in the family, and the role of the leaders was to ensure good and honorable behavior in the church.

I say all this to challenge you to review your attitude toward the leaders who serve you, especially in the church, the most important arena in which you live. I hope that you will look at your spiritual leaders in a different light from here on out. I hope that you will have a whole new appreciation for them. I hope that you will encourage them more often than you do now. I hope that you will pray more diligently for them, since they have a very difficult task on their plate. I hope that you will respond to their authority more respectfully and trustingly the next time there is a leadership initiative. And if you sense they are leading in a way that is incongruent with kingdom values, think it through, question them about it, but do it with honor and love.

Ask yourself this question: Am I a delight for my spiritual leaders to lead?

“Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep
watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey
them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden,
for that would be of no advantage to you.”
(Hebrews 13:17)

Prayer… Dear Father, make me a delight for my spiritual leaders to lead. Make me an instrument of love, peace and harmony in my spiritual family. May I also conduct myself in your household in a way that respects my leaders and honors you.

One More Thing… “The authority by which the Christian leader leads is not power but love, not force but example, not coercion but reasoned persuasion. Leaders have power, but power is safe only in the hands of those who humble themselves to serve.” — John Stott

Tag Archives: Submission to authority

Romans 13: Giving the Prez His Props

How To Behave In Church