Full Text for Romans- Volume 36 - Romans 13 and Temporal Government (Video)

No. 36. >> Romans Chapter 13 Verses 1 through 7 seems to be very important in establishing the Christian attitude about human government. But I would like for you to comment on how these verses function in context here. Why does our attitude toward human government matter at all? >>PROFESSOR DAVID I. M. LEWIS: David, that's a very interesting question. Because you may not know this. But there are some scholars of Romans who have actually looked at Romans 13:1 through 7 and have argued that they really think this does not fit the context of what Paul is talking about in the exhortation section here. In other words, Paul at the end of Romans 12 is talking about the life of love. And then in Romans 13 Verse 8 he starts talking about the life of love. And sort of in it between this discussion of the life of love, he suddenly sticks in these seven verses about our attitude towards the human government. So there are some scholars who believe that this was actually put in by somebody else after Romans was originally written. There is, however, no textual evidence for that anywhere. And so in all likelihood, Paul wrote these verses. But people have noticed that they seem a little bit out of context. Well, maybe. This exhortation section in Romans 12 and 13, Paul really is just sort of giving us you know various aspects of what the Christian life is like. And now here suddenly he seems to very decisively shift and focus upon one particular issue. Our life in the world. And then more specifically, our relationship to human government. Now, one other interesting interpretation matter here is that people would point out that when Paul wrote this in 57 AD, the emperor at the time was Nero. Nero was the fourth of the Roman emperors. And you probably would think of Nero, David, from what we know as being a mad man. A bad emperor. An evil person. The guy who persecuted the church and who killed Christians. Well, very surprisingly, though, the early years of Nero's reign was seen as a time of great enlightenment. He was considered a great ruler and enlightened ruler. People almost saw him as the perfect emperor in the early years of his reign before he began to show his insanity and his madness and his sin later in his reign. So some people say that the reason Paul is writing such a positive view of the Roman government in Romans 13 is because that happened to be a time when the government actually was pretty enlightened. And then some people think that this is Paul's attempt actually to kind of you might say suck up to the Roman Empire to kind of show: Hey, I'm on your guys' side. I'm encouraging Christians to pay their taxes and to give honor to the governing authorities. I think, of course, this is a very harsh reading of Paul. I don't think Paul was ever the kind of man that thought he needed to suck up to anybody. That certainly isn't evident in his work in the book of Acts. And it's not evident in any of his epistles. And I think what Paul is writing here actually fits the exhortation. Because he is actually telling us what God's will for us is, very specifically here in our relationship to the human government. David, I can remind you that Luther's interpretation of the Fourth Commandment embraces not only honor and respect given to parents. But also honor and respect given to all authorities. And that would include to government authorities. Luther would say that these governing authorities have been placed here by God to bless us. And in fact, one specific blessing that's outlined in these verses of Romans 13 is that the government is the -- has the sword given to them from God to execute God's wrath upon evildoers. And this is one benefit of the government that we as Christians should recognize. And give thanks for. And actually recognize that this is God's work. That the government has the authority to punish criminals. To punish evildoers. To maintain order. And that this is a good thing. This is a good thing especially for the church. Because we can rejoice when there are times of peace and prosperity and order. Because that gives us then the freedom to do God's work in preaching the Gospel. In fact, Paul very much benefited from the organization of the Roman Empire in that he could travel on Roman roads from city to city, he could sail on ships without fear of piracy because the Roman government had created a time of stability and prosperity and order. And so I think Paul would write these words whether the emperor was good or whether he was bad. Whether the emperor was persecuting Christians or whether he wasn't, this truth remains that, you know, the governing authorities were placed there by God. And so this would be a reflection of the Fourth Commandment. To keep that commandment we also give respect and honor to those who are in charge. Whether those governing authorities are Christians. Whether they are unbelievers. The fact of the matter is those in the position of authority have been placed there by God to fulfill his purposes in executing his wrath upon evildoers. Remember back in Romans 1:18, the wrath of God is being revealed against all wickedness and godlessness of men. Well, one means by which that wrath is carried out is through the governing authorities. So David, I can introduce a concept that I'm sure you've heard of, another Lutheran distinction is the distinction between the two kingdoms. In other words, God executes his rule in two different ways in this time and place. There's the kingdom of the left hand and the kingdom of the right hand. The kingdom of the left hand is where God rules through power and he rules through his law. And this would now be the first use of the law. The law is a curb. How? The law restrains gross outbursts of sin. It restrains sin. And how does God fulfill that purpose? Well, very often he does it through the government. You get out into your car, there are speed limit signs and red lights and stop signs. What behooves you, David, to obey those signs, to do what the law says? Well, very often it's the fact that you know there's going to be these guys wearing uniforms carrying guns and billy clubs riding in specially marked cars so when you see them you're going to automatically check your speedometer and make sure you're going the right speed limit because they have the authority to pull you over and ticket you if you're driving recklessly and dangerously. And of course they also have the authority to intervene when a crime is being committed. To investigate and pursue criminals. To bring them to courts where they can be tried. And this whole system is part of God's kingdom of the left hand. And we as Christians should in faith see beyond the police and the city councilmen and the Governor and the President of the United States and all of the organizations that lie in between, we should see beyond them the hand of God himself in a very good way blessing us by giving us this time of order and prosperity where we as Christians then can freely go about our business of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, it's true that the government is not always moral. Is not always right. And not always effective. Nevertheless in a very general sense this is how we view the government. The kingdom of the left hand, where God rules through his law to maintain order and to punish evil in this time. Now, the kingdom of the right hand, this is the church. Where now God rules through his grace. He rules through his Word, both law and Gospel, for the purpose of calling people to saving faith in Jesus Christ. And this, of course, is where you, David, are focusing your attention. Because your vocation and the vocation you're training for to be a minister at a congregation very much is focused now upon what God is doing through his Word and sacraments to condemn the sinners of their sin. The second use of the law. To call people to saving faith through his Word and sacrament, the Gospel. To exhort Christians to lead a godly life. The third use of the law. All of this is going on in the kingdom of the right hand. Well, here is what Paul is pointing out to us: We may think that only the kingdom of the right hand matters. But the fact of the matter is is that in this earthly life we live under both kingdoms. We live part of our Christian life out in the world. Yes, on Sundays and other days we gather with our brothers and sisters in Christ. To worship God. To hear his Word. To sing praises to him. To receive the Lord's Supper. But then much of our life is lived out with our neighbors. Which is why many of these exhortations speak specifically to how we live among even the unbelievers who are out there. And we live our lives under a government, which Paul says we ought to see as a government established by law. And so very much our attitude towards the government becomes a very important thing. That Paul must point out to us that: Yes, it's very key that you as Christians give respect where respect is due. Give honor to where honor is due. Pay your taxes. Do these things because this government was established by God. And nowhere does he say it has to be a Christian government or the authorities have to be Christians. That's not the issue so much as that they've been placed here by God. And therefore, when we give respect to them, we're truly giving respect to God himself. And there are a few things that then speak to this. A few of these are brought out in Romans 13. Why should we then live out our lives in relation to the government in this way? Well, No. 1, Paul does bring in fear of punishment. First use of the law. In other words, the government has been given the sword by God to execute his wrath upon evildoers. Well, therefore, Christians, you had better not be evildoers. You had better not break the laws of the land. Because then the government has a right to punish you for that. It doesn't matter if you're a Christian. You're speeding. You still have to pay the ticket. You can't say: But hey, I'm baptized. I'm a Son of God through faith in Jesus. Well, what does that matter on the road? You were going 80 miles an hour when it was a 55 mile an hour zone. You'll have to pay the ticket. So hey, Christian, don't drive 80 in a 55 mile zone. And don't commit felony crimes or those greater crimes or the wrath of God through the government will come down upon you. And you will be punished. And so that fear of punishment ought to motivate you not to violate the laws of the land. Also, beyond this, Paul would be urging us as Christians with the third use of the law. But this is one way to obey and please God. It is pleasing to God when we as believers honor the governing authorities and obey the laws of the land in which we live. It is pleasing to God when we pay our taxes every April 15th. That pleases him. And we should see this as not just obeying the IRS's regulations or obeying acts of Congress. But obeying God himself. That should really be our ultimate goal. And it pleases him when we observe the laws of the land and respect those who are in positions of authority over us. And then finally, Paul doesn't bring this into the discussion. But I will. There is the matter of our Christian witness, as well. Again, the focus of our attention is upon what happens in the kingdom of the right hand. Preaching the Gospel, calling people from sin in repentance to faith in Jesus Christ. Well, it could very much destroy our testimony if we live our lives in such a way that we show that we are rebellious against human institutions. That we disrespect them. That we violate the laws of the land. That we don't have respect for those who are in positions of authority over us. This gives a bad witness to those who are not believers. They might say: Is this what Christians are like? I think Paul was mindful of that in his day, that it would have been a bad witness for the church if, in fact, they weren't respecting the governing authorities. If they weren't paying their taxes. Because then the government would have a good reason to come down upon them. In a sense, if ever the government comes down upon Christians, it ought to be because they are doing what Jesus wants them to do. It ought to be because they are proclaiming the Gospel. Not because we actually deserve it because we're actually breaking a law and acting like disrespectful rebels. Now, one issue, David, though, you might say -- you might ask is: When should Christians disobey the laws of the land. And it's very narrow when we can do that. No. 1, should the government ever ask us to do something that we know violates God's law, then we must resist the government. In other words, if the government should ever ask us to commit murder, we as Christians must say no because we know that God has forbidden that. This would be a time when the government is telling us to do something God has told us not to do. We must say no. The second instance would be when the government tells us to stop doing what God has told us to do. And here specifically our job is to testify to Jesus to preach the Gospel. If the government should ever say: You Christians can't do that anymore, then we would have to disobey the government and do what God has told us to do and continue to preach the Gospel. And then in either case, if we refuse to do what the government tells us to do because it's immoral or if we continue to do what the government has told us to stop doing because it's what God wants us to do, we should then be willing to suffer the consequences. To suffer the persecution that may come down upon us because we're obeying God and not man at that point. This would also be part of the faithful response. That we don't rise up in rebellion or kill the governing officials if they are not Christian and not hostile to Christianity. But instead we as Christians, we do what God wants us to do. We obey the government in most circumstances. In those circumstances when we have to say no to the government, we do and do what God wants us to do instead. But then we have to be willing to suffer the consequences when persecution comes to us. This again, is what happened to Christians in the first centuries of Christianity. The Roman government persecuted them because they confessed Jesus. However, they continued to confess Jesus. They continued to honor the governing authorities. And they gave a very powerful witness by doing that. So that even as the government persecuted the church, the church grew. As they've said, it grew on the basis of the blood of the martyrs that were shed. The church grew rapidly in that time because the witness of the Christian was not nullified by their disrespect for the government or by their -- or by their fear of government persecution when the will of the church and the will of the government were in conflict. And so David, I hope that my discussion here will help you better read and understand and apply Romans 1 -- Romans 13:1 through 7 in the lives of your people.