A Message by Pastor Michael Palmer

Given to Green Ridge Baptist Church

October 25, 2009

SUPERNATURAL CHRISTIAN LIVING:

OUR RESPONSIBILITITES TOWARDS THE

GOVERNING AUTHORITIES

Romans 13:1-7

We must put the text in context. Paul is God’s missionary. His desire is that the life lived by every believer should demonstrate a radically changed life. And his desire is that the Gospel might be proclaimed to everyone, every culture, etc. And that is best accomplished through governmental order and submission to governmental authority. So the point is the primacy of the Gospel message moving through our lives, not a political agenda!

I. GOD IS SOVEREIGN: THIS IS THE STARTING POINT FOR THIS DISCUSSION.

Sovereign: God is in overarching control of history; all governments that exist are there by His design! There is an overarching purpose or plan to what God is doing in history.

“There is NO authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.”

Illustration: Pharaoh – Oppressor of the Jews. God used the arrogance of Pharaoh to demonstrate His power through the ten plagues. In the end, He and His armies were put to death in the Red Sea. Even the evil man had been put in his position of authority by God. God used him to demonstrate His power to Egypt, the nations of Israel, and to us today!

Second Illustration: Nebuchadnezzar – See Daniel 4.

II. SUPERNATURAL CHRISTIAN LIVING MEANS WE SHOULD EAGERLY DESIRE TO SUBMIT TO AND RESPECT ALL AUTHORITY THAT GOD HAS PLACED IN POWER!

· This is a good testimony to all those outside the faith – a Gospel motive.

· This is, of course, to avoid God’s judgment – the punishment which should come as a result of breaking the laws.

III. ALL GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITIES ARE ULTIMATELY ACCOUNTABLE TO GOD FOR THE WAY IN WHICH THEY RULE AND LEAD.

· “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct but to bad.” (Hendricksen)

· “For he (government) is God’s servant to do you good.”

· “It is clear, then, that, in writing as he does here in Romans 13:2, the apostle is thinking of the ruler who is performing his duty of preserving order, approving good behavior, and punishing evil. In that case he who opposes the authority is, indeed, resisting the divine ordinance.” (John MacArthur’s Commentary on Romans, page 434)

· “Under normal conditions and circumstances the ruler, in the sphere of civil government, represents the divine will with respect to the people’s conduct as citizens. Moreover, the basic aim of the one in authority is not to hurt but to help, ‘to do you good.’ As the result of the work and watchfulness of these governmental representatives, the believer is able to lead ‘a tranquil and quiet life in all gravity and godliness’ (1 Timothy 2:2). (John MacArthur’s Commentary on Romans, page 435)

IV. THERE ARE SOME LIMITS ON THE GOVERNMENT IN RELATION TO THE CHURCH AND ITS MISSION.

1. The State cannot forbid the proclamation of the gospel nor should it expect Christians to refrain from such activity.

· (See Acts 4-5: Peter and John before the Sanhedrin – “we must obey God rather than man.”

· We have the commission of our Lord Jesus – Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8.

· We have a changed life – we have found forgiveness of sin and a new purpose in life through Jesus. We can’t help but tell others!

2. The State cannot force or command Christians (or anyone for that matter) to perform immoral or non-Christian acts.

· We, as Christians, cannot obey immoral (unbiblical) commands.

· Our disobedience must be respectful, humble, and thought out.

· You must be willing to suffer loss or even imprisonment – it may come to that!

3. The State cannot flagrantly ignore righteousness and justice without Christians expressing God’s standards in the Marketplace.

4. The State cannot make people more moral or better.

· Civil laws are (or should be) a reflection of God’s revealed law – the state prescribes penalties for breaking the law.

· The State can provide moral boundaries for a society but only God can change the heart.

· The State provides a framework for the church to operate and is due respect and submission.

· The office of the State when witnessing the “good citizenship” of the Christians can be affected by the Gospel and possibly have a more favorable opinion of the Lord and those who call upon His name. This facilitates the spread of the Gospel.

5. TRUE MORALITY COMES FROM GOD. IT IS REVEALED BY GOD – MORALITY COMES FROM “REVEALED RELIGION” (Boice).

· “… it must work its way into national life through those citizens who know and sincerely desire to please God” (Boice).

V. SUPERNATRUAL CHRISTIAN LIVING MEANS WE WILL SEEK TO FILL OUR HEARTS AND MINDS WITH GOD’S WORD AND INTERACT WITH THE GOVERNMENT WITH A CHRISTIAN CONSCIENCE.

1. We desire to obey the government in order to keep our conscience clear.

2. We desire to engage the government with a Christian conscience – but do so with the attitude of submission.

3. Over-reaction to the government wrongdoings is actually counter-productive to the Gospel.

Please read these two contrasting quotes:

“The government has no right to forbid the free exercise of propagation of religion. No secular ruler has the right to violate the Ten Commandments or force others to do so. The government has no right to compel Christians to commit unjust acts or to act contrary to an informed Christian conscience. But that is the important point here. Conscience! A Christian should have an enlightened moral conscience because he should know the Word of God, and because he possesses the Holy Spirit to help him understand it. Also, because he has a new nature, the Christian should have a stronger desire to exercise that conscience rightly. A secular ruler might know a right course of action but decide not to pursue it simply because it might be inconvenient, not in his own selfish interests, opposed by his friends, or for any other number of reasons. The Christian cannot think this way. Therefore, regardless of whether an action is convenient, personally advantageous, or popular, the Christian ought to pursue the right course of action. This means that a Christian will stand against the State when it does wrong, regardless of the consequences. The world may say, ‘You’ll never get ahead if you do that.’ But the Christian will ask not whether the position is advantageous or popular, but whether the position itself is right and will act accordingly. Governments have often been wrong. Our own government is frequently wrong. Christians will stand against those wrong actions and for the right ‘because of conscience.’ (J. Montgomery Boice, Romans, Volume 4, page 1667)

“Even social and political activities that are perfectly worthwhile can deplete the amount of a believer’s time, energy, and money that is available for the central work of the Gospel. The focus is shifted from the call to build the spiritual kingdom through the Gospel to efforts to moralize culture – trying to change society from the outside rather than individuals from the inside. When the church is politicized, even in support of good causes, its spiritual power is vitiated and its moral influence diluted. And when such causes are supported in worldly ways and by worldly means, the tragedy is compounded. We are to be the conscience of the nation through faithful preaching and godly living, confronting it not with the political pressure of man’s wisdom – including our own – but with the spiritual power of God’s Word. Using legislation, adjudication, or intimidation to achieve a superficial, temporal “Christian morality” is not our calling – and has no eternal value.” (John MacArthur, Romans, Volume 2, page 207)

Some issues that require loving, intelligent, continuous engagement with our government:

1. The very role of government as it relates to the history of ideas – philosophy of governing and the foundation of our country.

2. Taxes and issues of re-distribution of wealth and the way the country spends or overspends.

3. Abortion and all the issues surrounding the Sanctity of Life.

4. Public Schools and the curriculum development that is based more and more on an atheistic, man-centered worldview – what should our (the Christian’s) response be to that, etc.

5. Separation of church and state does not mean separation of God from state!

VI. SUPERNATURAL CHRISTIAN LIVING WILL ALWAYS KEEP THE GOSPEL AND EVANGELISM AS THE PRIORITY OF LIFE.

· The true “radical” is one who is radically saved and demonstrates Jesus in his/her daily life.

· There is a brokenness and love for people.

· There is a continued admission of need for Jesus – a laying of oneself down as a “living sacrifice”.

· There is an engagement with the culture with a continual respect for God’s authority and those in authority (under God).

· There is a radical obedience to the Great Commission; that is THE priority for every believer.

Do you know Jesus Christ personally as your Savior and Lord? You can turn from self and sin and trust Him today. He will forgive you and come into your heart (the Bible calls this being “born again”). Why don’t you trust Jesus Christ right now and express that trust to Him in prayer?

If you need a church where Jesus Christ is preached and people want to connect to Him daily and experience His power; then Green Ridge is the church for you. We want to be a church that makes a difference for Christ locally and globally. You can have a significant part of this wonderful Gospel mission.