Render Unto Caesar (Conclusion)

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This is a sermon based on Romans 13:1-7 and is part of a sermon series through the book of Romans. This message discusses the Christian's obligation to respect and submit to authorities.

Written Excerpts:

Those who were here last Sunday know that I didn’t really have time to dig into our study of this chapter as I planned, so we just kind of shared some highlights of the subject that is presented here.

Today, I want to return to this passage to look more closely at the message the Apostle Paul is giving to us regarding the Christian’s responsibility to be subject to the governing authorities.

Last week I began by sharing some quotes that I’d found in Draper's Book of Quotations …

Quotes by Plato; George Washington; Calvin Coolidge; & Charles Colson

Plato, The philosopher (428-348 B.C.) – “The penalty that good men pay for not being interested in politics is to be governed by men worse than themselves.”

Charles Colson – “While human politics is based on the premise that society must be changed in order to change people, in the politics of [God’s] kingdom it is people who must be changed in order to change society.”

This explains why we have political philosophies which strive to create a “utopia” here on earth, but fail to address the deep corruption that exists in the hearts of human beings.

We are studying the portion of Paul’s letter in which he has been talking about how the principles of salvation through Christ should affect the conduct of believers.

He definitely believes that faith in Christ should impact the conduct of the believer.

We’ve studied chapter 12 already, so let’s turn our attention to the 13^th chapter to learn what Paul tells believers regarding their role as citizens under authority.

Apparently the Apostle Paul realized that there was a need for him to address this issue even with Christians living in the first century. He is writing to believers living in Rome, which was the capital of the empire. (Probably writing during the reign of Nero.)

If you have one of the outlines I’ve provided for our study, we are going to be looking at the section labeled with the letter “D”…

D. Christian conduct involves respect for authority. (13:1-7)

i. Respect for authority is expected. (1, 5)

In the outline here I have stated this point quite “modestly” by saying that respect is expected. The reality is, the wording of the text shows that respect is commanded.

I believe that there is a good possibility that Paul is basing his remarks on a command given by God in the book of Exodus.

Exodus 22:28 (NKJV) "You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.

a. Respect includes submission. (1, 5a)

The form of the verb that is used here indicates the voluntary placing of one’s self under the authority of another. In this case, the governing authorities.

In verse 1 the verb is in the form of a command.

In verse 5 the verb itself isn’t in the form of a command, but it is further clarified by the words “must needs be” (KJV) or literally, “it is necessary.”

Paul doesn’t give any qualifications, he just says, be subject; be submissive. I agree that there are other passages that shed some light on this directive, but we’ll come back to that later.

The point is, don’t be rebellious or revolutionary against legitimate authorities.

b. Submission involves compelling reasons. (5b)

According to the second half of verse 5 there are two basic reasons to be submitted to civil authorities.

“for wrath” – out of fear of retribution or punishment if we don’t.

Submitting out of fear can have the idea of awe or reverence, but there is also the element of fear of consequences.

However, fear of consequences does not produce right attitudes.

Illustration of little boy that had been told to sit in a chair for awhile because he had been disobedient. He said, “I may be sitting down on the outside, but I’m standing up on the inside!”

“for conscience” – out of a personal moral obligation to obey God because we love Him and want to please Him.

ii. Respect for authority is explained. (1b-4)

Immediately after commanding that the Christian believers be submitted to the governing authorities, Paul explains why it is necessary and reasonable to do so.

a. Authority is ordained by God. (1b)

“For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.”

There are several OT passages of Scripture that I shared last Sunday, which help explain Paul’s rationale for saying what he says in the second half of verse 1.

A few of them especially speak of God’s sovereignty over pagan kings. Hear what the prophets say about God’s authority over them.

 Jeremiah 27:6-7 (NKJV) And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant; and the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him. ⁷  So all nations shall serve him and his son and his son's son, until the time of his land comes; and then many nations and great kings shall make him serve them.

Daniel 2:20-21 (NKJV) Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. ²¹  And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.

Daniel 4:17 (NKJV) 'This decision is by the decree of the watchers, And the sentence by the word of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, Gives it to whomever He will, And sets over it the lowest of men.'

b. To resist authority means resisting God. (2)

Since all authority is ordained by God; i.e. He raises up rulers and puts down rulers, then it is only logical to conclude that…

Rebelling against authorities is the same as rebelling against God.

Sometimes in Scripture, God is portrayed as raising up specific rulers to bring judgment upon the nation for their corruption and immorality.

To rebel against the authorities is to rebel against God, which will result in bring condemnation upon ourselves.

c. Authorities serve God by promoting good. (3-4)

“God’s minister;” “minister of God” – The word for “minister” is the same word that gets translated “servant” and “deacon” in other contexts. (In v.6 however, it is a diff word; “liturgy” comes from this word and it referred to servants in the temple performing rituals, sacrifices, etc. for worship.)

Paul again is emphasizing that civil authorities are serving God by keeping evil in submission in the society.

Rulers & authorities, as a general rule, are not a threat to “good works” but to evil ones.

They exist for the purpose of keeping law and order and to see to it that evil does not gain the upper hand in society.

He goes so far as to say “if you do evil,” i.e. if you violate the standards of lawful conduct and commit evil against another citizen, then you have every right to be afraid, because the “minister of God” is going to bring judgment upon you.

“bear the sword” – probably a direct reference to capital punishment.

iii. Respect for authority includes appropriate support. (6-7)

In verses 6 & 7, the Apostle concludes his comments about submission to authority by reminding the Christians that government structures have to be funded by some appropriate means. That means tax $.

a. Support is given through required taxes. (6)

“tribute” – is translated “tax” in most all recent translations.

He is acknowledging that citizens must support the necessary means to provide for the public safety of the society.

I don’t believe that this verse gives elected officials the right to confiscate the wealth of some citizens for the primary purpose of giving it to other citizens, which in turn, helps them buy votes for the next election.

As I stated some time ago during my series of messages on the Ten Commandments, the 8^th commandment still says, “Thou shalt not steal,” even if you’re in a position of power and authority.

b. Support is given through attitudes and actions. (7)

“Render to all their due” – i.e. pay your moral obligation

Paul explains what we owe to our leaders in addition to taxes. He first mentions “tribute” (taxes) again, then he adds:

“custom” – another word for tax. Some believe it represented an indirect tax on goods, while “tribute” could represent tax on lands.

“fear” – probably a reference back to vv. 3-4, when he says we have nothing to fear if we are behaving the way we should, but if we commit crime, we better fear.

Now, he is saying that we should rightfully fear those in authority, not because we have committed a crime, but because of the potential for justice if we should. i.e. have respect, reverence.

“honor” – in chap. 12, v. 10, the Apostle instructs Christians to prefer one another in honor. The same courtesy should be extended to rulers and authority figures.

Conclusion:

I think that we can see from these verses that a Christian should be one who is respectful and submissive to ruling authorities rather than rebels and instigators of revolution.

At the same time, we must realize that the kingdom of God does not = the kingdom of this world, nor does the kingdom of this world = the kingdom of God.

The kingdom of God cannot be ushered in by the powers of this world. In other words, politics cannot accomplish moral/spiritual revival. It must occur in the hearts of the citizens, and it must come from God.

As responsible Christian citizens in a nation that is becoming more and more heathen in its beliefs and practices, we still have a Christian duty to be respectful and especially to pray for the governing authorities.

We need to be praying for God to help all our leaders to be what God wants them to be.

If and when those in authority try to compel us to do something that God specifically condemns, then there are scriptural passages that indicate we should “obey God rather than man.”

Acts 5:29 (NKJV) ²⁹  But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men.

We don’t have the time to deal with this issue today, but the Bible does give us some guidance on how believers should behave when we feel we must disobey the government. That’s a discussion for another time.

As I stated last Sunday, we Christians have the difficult task of living as citizens of two kingdoms – the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the governing authority in which we live.

May God grant wisdom and courage to all of us that we might not only understand our responsibility as citizens, but that we might have the courage to stand for God in an increasingly pagan society. 


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