Today, we continue our study of what a servant looks like in our day to day lives. Today, we transition into Romans 13 which describes how a living sacrifice responds to the authority structure in our lives. The authority structure in our lives is so crucial because how we respond to authority reveals our relationship with God. In addition, how we respond to human authority reveals the infrastructure of our souls.
God tells us in the fifth command to "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you."
This is the first of the horizontal commands. The first four have to do with our relationship with God while the last six have to do with our relationship with humans. And, how we deal with our parents authority will be reflected in how we relate with and to others. This means that all the horizontal relationships are mainly impacted by how we learn to honor our parents.
Christian living is not divisible, it is not detachable from any part of our lives. Our relationship with God impacts every aspect of our lives. No part of our lives is unaffected by our devotion to the Lord Jesus. And one of the crucial life areas where Christianity is lived out is in relation to those in authority over us.
In v.1 of today's passage we read, "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God."
Today's passage begins with: "Let every soul be subject to governing authorities." The Apostle Paul begins with this because there is no authority except from God. This means that those in governing authority over us have been place there by God, even the tyrants. By the way, Caesar Nero was the very Nero who eventually took Paul's head off with an axe. God says to us to obey them because they were appointed by Him; He works through them even though they do not know Him. Of course, God doesn't cause them to do evil, just as He doesn't cause us todo evil.
It was shortly after the flood, in Genesis 9, when God established human government. After the flood, God gave the mandate that whoever sheds man's blood, by him, blood must be shed. So, God issued capital punishment for murderers. Not for killers but for those who murder.
In v.2-4 of today's passage we read, "2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil."
The word "resist" is a military term meaning "to arrange yourself to take action against." When we resist the government, we bring judgment on ourselves. This means that we will suffer the consequences of stepping out of line. We live in a culture that does not respect authority, and we are suffering from this lack of respect. Like Israel's culture in the book of Judges, our culture is fast spiraling into anarchy. This is the result of the lack of respect, and this lack of respect is ultimately for God.
We do not ever have to fear if we do the right things because the authorities are only supposed to uphold the law. But if we do what is wrong, we should fear. The word translated "terror" here comes from the Greek word from which we get our word phobia. There should be a certain healthy fear if we're doing what is wrong. We should fear because God works through the authority structure in our lives, even when that authority is harsh.
Note that Paul refers to the human authority in v.4 as God's ministers or servants. God's design for government is to promote justice by rewarding good behavior and punishing evil behavior. And, if we are wise, we will respect the authority. And when we respect the said authority we will grow in the influence of God in our lives.
In v.5 of today's passage we read, "Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake."
At the end of the day, we should do the right things because God tells us to do the right things. And, He tells us to do the right things because so that by doing the right things our conscience is clear. Our conscience is that little place inside of us where God speaks to us of what is right and wrong. It is in that inherent sense of what honors God, that we should find our strongest motivation to submit and obey human government as if it were unto Him. God tells us to do what is right, so that through our ordered lives, He provides His best for us and we provide for others an example of how a society works properly.
