“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. Consequently, he who
rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and
those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” – Romans 13:1
Wow! Did you hear that? We are to submit or be subject to all
governing authorities, because God is the one who gave them their
authority. That means your local
officials and all federal officials – even the President. You may not agree with everything they do or
say, but according the God’s Word we are to honor and submit to them. When we do we are honoring God. When we refuse to submit to them and the
rules of the land, we are ultimately rebelling against God.
Do you
pay your taxes without complaining?
Do you
support the office of President even though you voted for someone else?
The
only time we should refuse to submit to governing authorities is when they go
against God’s standards. An example of
this is Daniel 3 when the king told
everyone to bow down and worship his golden image each time they heard the horn
blow. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
refused the kings orders. The king threw
them into the blazing furnace. You know
the story. God protected them and they
came out of the furnace unharmed. In Daniel 6 the king issued a decree that
no one should bow before any god or man except the king. Daniel refused and continued to pray to
God. The king put him in the lions’ den,
but Daniel was protected by God and was unharmed.
Paul
tells us why we should submit to authorities.
First, God has places them in authority and by submitting to them we are
submitting to God. Second, if we rebel
we rebel against God and God will bring judgment on us. God has a purpose in everything He does. He even uses evil rulers to make His plans
complete.
Acts 1:15-19 and 2:23
illustrate clearly that God used evil acts by Pilate and evil people to
accomplish His plan of sending Jesus to die for sins of those who would trust
Christ as Lord and Savior. Another
example is that of Joseph Genesis 45. It was God’s plan that he be sold into
slavery by his brothers in order to save them from a severe famine. His brothers meant to do evil, but God used
Joseph for good.
What
kind of example do you set for others who watch your response to governing
authorities?
Do they
see you cheating on your taxes?
Do they
see you breaking the speed limit or a running red light?
What is
your attitude toward paying taxes? Are you grateful? It’s the taxes you pay that provide paved
roads, pay for programs for those in need, support our armed forces, benefits
all kinds of agency and pay salaries for police and firefighters and people who make rules and run our government. We should be grateful because of our taxes we
are kept safe, which gives order and prevents chaos.
Christians are required to:
Be
subject to the government unless it ask us to disobey God – Rom 13:1, 1 Peter 2:13-14; Acts 4:19-20;
5:29; Dan 1, 3, 6
Grant
proper honor to those in authority – Rom
13:7; 1 Peter 2:17
Do
right and cooperate with government authorities whenever possible – Titus 3:1-2;
1 Peter 2:15
Pay
taxes – Rom 13:6, 7; Matt. 22:17-21
Pray
for government authorities – 1 Tim.
2:1-2
Be
informed and vote for candidates and issues which uphold God’s purposes – Matt. 5:13-16; Titus 3:1
We are
to respect and honor everyone.
“Honor your father and mother.” – Ex. 20:12
“Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and
revere your God. I am the Lord” – Lev. 19:32.
“Let the elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy
of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.” – 1 Tim. 5:17
“God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of
lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, who no one
as seen or can see. To him be honor and
might forever, Amen.” – 1 Tim.
6:15b-16
How can
we respect and honor those who character and decisions are different from ours? We can listen to them and their
opinions. We can be kind accepting their
choices. Don’t argue with them. We can give them our opinion and focus on God
because He is in control. We can pray
that God will guide them in the right way of thinking.
How
does the amount of time complaining about government compare to the amount of
time you spend praying for the government?
Principle: Scriptures teach that everyone must submit to government authorities because they have been established by God.
Next time
we will study Romans 13:8-14. Have a blessed day and thanks for visiting my
site. Hope to see you here again. -- I
encourage you to trust in Jesus.
__________________________________________
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