God’s Servant for Your God

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^“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:1-4).

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

The IRS. The FBI. City Hall. The Mayor. The Governor. The President. Even the names of governing authorities can stir frustration, disappointment, betrayal, distrust, or fear. In angry and divided times, many assume that officials at every level are not to be trusted. That is why St. Paul’s words sound so startling: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.”

Many Christians—on both sides of the political aisle—take it for granted that governments are corrupt and dehumanizing and that it is part of our marching orders as followers of King Jesus that we should offer serious criticism and opposition even, if necessary, at any cost to our personal prospects.

Sadly, our text has been used—and abused—by many people in power as a way of telling their subjects to keep their mouths shut and step in line even in the face of flagrant abuse. But when we put these verses back into their context, right here in the letter, we start to see what Paul is getting at. He has just said, strongly and repeatedly, that private vengeance is forbidden for Christians.

This does not mean, on the one hand, that God does not care about evil or, on the other, that God wants society to collapse into chaos where the bullies do what they like and get away with it. In fact, even in places where people hate the authorities and fear the police, when someone commits a serious crime, everyone affected by it wants the authorities to find the culprit and administer justice. That is a basic, and correct, human instinct. We do not want to live by the law of the jungle. We want to live in an ordered, properly functioning society.

This is Paul’s central point: Christians do not advance the Gospel by becoming lawless rebels. Jesus is the true Lord of the world, so His followers need not pick unnecessary quarrels with lesser lords. They honor governing authority not because every ruler is good, but because God uses government to restrain evil and preserve order.

If we followers of Christ become known as lawless rebels concerning the authorities, then what will a watching world think of us with respect to obedience to Christ Himself? True, we are indeed a revolutionary community, but if we go for the normal violent and lawless revolution, then we will be playing the Empire game on Empire terms and that is always a losing proposition for the Gospel.

But, while making this point, Paul is making one or two others of great interest. To begin with, he declares that the civic rulers and authorities have been put in place by God Himself. This would be news to Nero and the other emperors, who believed (or claimed to believe) in their own divinity, certainly that they held power in their own right rather than as a gift from the One Creator God, who was, in fact, their sovereign. They would have laughed at such a suggestion.

Christians are called to believe, though, that the civic authorities are there because the one true Lord wants His world to be ordered, not chaotic. This does not validate particular actions or governments. We retain the right to make bad decisions and vote for bad officials and pass bad laws which we enforce badly. God is not at fault for our faults. Rather, it is merely to say that some government is always necessary in a world where evil flourishes when unchecked.

Of course, Paul knew that quite often one might do the right thing and find the rulers doing the wrong thing. You only have to read the stories of his exploits in Acts to see that. But notice in those stories that, precisely when the authorities are getting it all wrong and acting illegally or unjustly, Paul has no hesitation in telling them their proper business and insisting they should follow it. Hardly the way to become popular, but completely consistent with what he says here.

Paul stands within the Old Testament tradition, where prophets denounced pagan rulers yet also confessed that God could work through them for His people’s good. That tension reaches its climax when Jesus stands before Pilate. Though Pilate acts wickedly and unjustly, Jesus declares that his authority has been given from above.

It is a profound truth: there is no authority except that which God has established. God’s overriding concern in establishing governments is to bless us with an orderly and peaceful existence, hence it is the duty of God’s agents to encourage and commend those who do right. But when the peace is jeopardized by lawbreakers, God’s representatives need to step in to restore order and punish evildoers. Earthly leaders are God’s servants for good, His avengers of wrath.

Paul’s teaching does more than explain the place of government; it exposes our sin. We live in angry, cynical times, and contempt comes easily. Scandals multiply, rumors pass for news, political debate collapses into name-calling, and slogans promise either to “drain the swamp” or to “burn the whole thing down.” In such a climate, God’s command to honor His servants confronts every one of us.

The Law for this day may seem mundane, only because it is broken so often and so easily. We live in angry, cynical times. We are troubled as a nation by upheaval. News reports detail scandal after scandal among politicians, substituting rumor and “unnamed sources” when the news day is slow. There’s little trust in elected officials, and lots of calls to “drain the swamp” or “burn the whole thing down.” Political debate is reduced to name-calling and mudslinging.

Now, I’m not naïve. I’m aware of corruption and trouble in the government. I know about immorality among politicians, both in their personal lives and in legislation proffered. As a citizen, I’ve got a few opinions. But I’m not in the pulpit as a citizen; rather, I’m here as a called and ordained servant of the Word. And the Word says, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”

Therefore, says the Word, exercise Christian care in how you treat those placed in authority. You’ll be tempted to be angry that the officer is pointing the radar gun in your direction when you’re in a school zone, running late. You’ll find that glee comes easy when a politician you don’t care for gets his or her comeuppance. These are the times in which we live.

This obedience is not absolute. When rulers command what God forbids or forbid what God commands, Christians must obey God rather than men. Yet even then, the Christian does not delight in contempt or chaos; he bears witness, accepts the cost, and continues to pray for those in authority.

But this is not merely about human contests for power. Those in authority hold offices God has established for our good, even when they exercise those offices badly. Therefore, Christians may oppose injustice and call rulers to account, as Paul himself did, without surrendering to hatred, contempt, or delight in another’s downfall. Where criticism becomes spite, where disagreement becomes scorn, and where another’s ruin becomes our pleasure, repent.

Furthermore, pray for these authorities, whether you agree with them or not. Pray that they resist temptation, act with integrity, repent of positions that contradict Scripture, and serve their neighbors in love. Pray also for their families. Their failures do not excuse contempt, and mere disagreement does not release you from obedience. Unless a law requires you to sin against God, keep it. Where you neglect prayer and choose scorn instead, repent, for sin against those God appoints is also sin against God.

That may sound strange because we rightly hold God’s representatives in the Church to the standards of their office. But civil government belongs to God’s rule of this fallen world, and He often permits deeply flawed people to hold office. Nero ruled when Paul wrote Romans, and he became a brutal persecutor of Christians. Even under such a ruler, Paul commanded Christians to be subject, pay taxes, and accord honor. Nero’s authority came from God; Nero’s evil did not.

And who sentenced Jesus to death? Pontius Pilate, a Roman governor who abused the authority entrusted to him. Yet Jesus acknowledged that Pilate’s authority had been given from above, and He willingly submitted to the cross. There the worst injustice in history became the instrument of your salvation. Christ bore your sins, suffered God’s judgment in your place, and died so that you may have everlasting life.

In this Gospel, rejoice. Earthly authorities are sinners: they fail, break promises, and often seem far removed from those they govern. Jesus Christ, your eternal King, is without sin. He does not remain distant. He promises, “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:20). He is among you today in His Word and at His Supper, keeping every promise He has made.

Jesus does not come into your midst to take from you, but to give—to give you grace by His Word of Holy Absolution, to give you His very body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins. He does not come to you with power and sword to give orders and say, “If you obey these laws, then you can be My people.” He comes in grace and says, “I have obeyed the laws for you where you could not; and by My obedience and My death I have made you My people.”

And where many rulers fall prey to the temptation of believing that they exert power over others for personal gain, the Son of Man—the King of Kings!—continues to serve you with grace and mercy, even as He came in the flesh not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. He gave Himself into death to appease God’s wrath for sin. He truly is the Servant for good!

Because Jesus gave His life as a ransom for you, your sins are forgiven and the kingdom of heaven is yours. Until He comes again, He gives civil rulers to preserve order and restrain evil; some will serve faithfully, and others will not. Pray for them, obey them where you can do so without sin, and accord their office the honor due. Yet place your final hope in none of them. Your eternal King has conquered sin and death, and His kingdom is yours forever.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.