Sermon Tone Analysis

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.[1]

 

Baptists have consistently opposed any diminution of the rights of the individual to seek and to pursue their own faith, or for each person to decide to be without faith if that is the choice.

Baptists have been on the receiving end of state sponsored religious oppression themselves, not occasionally, but frequently.

The First Baptist Church of Boston, Massachusetts was organised on June 7th, 1665, in defiance of two laws which had been passed by the General Court of the colony.

The first law stated that all persons wishing to form churches must first obtain consent of the “magistrates and elders of the greater part of the churches within this jurisdiction.”

The second law declared that “if any person or persons within this jurisdiction shall … condemn or oppose the baptising of infants … such person or persons shall be subject to banishment.”

Thomas Gould, the first pastor of that congregation, and Henry Dunster, a member and the first President of Harvard College, had each refused to have their babies baptised.

In fact, Dunster was forced by the General Court to resign his Harvard position because of his refusal.

In the following years, many members of that congregation were punished by the government for holding to the Baptist “heresy.”

They were arrested, jailed, publicly beaten, fined and often not allowed to speak in their own defence.

One Sunday in 1680, worshippers found the doors of their church building nailed up by order of the General Court, with the following notice posted:

 

All persons are to take notice that by order of the Court the doors of this house are shut up and that they are inhibited to hold any meeting therein or to open the doors thereof, without license from Authority, til the General Court take further order as they will answer the contrary at their peril, dated in Boston 8th March, 1680, by order of the Council.

Undaunted, the congregation met outdoors in the cold and rain.

The following Sunday, inexplicably, the doors were found open never again closed by the authorities.[2]

Baptists consider authority to be limited by God who gives it.

The social order, as we know it, is dependent upon authority which God has appointed.

Peter teaches us, Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.

For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.

/Act /as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but /use it /as bondslaves of God.

Honour all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honour the king [*1 Peter 2:13-17*].

Ours is a lawless day—many people are self-centred and callused.

Multiplied laws, many of which are irrelevant to peace and good order, are routinely ignored.

Nevertheless, parliaments and legislatures continue to produce yet more laws designed to regulate our thinking, our morals, our attitudes.

In such a reckless environment, what is a Christian supposed to do?

To whom shall we look?

What should be our attitude toward our various governments, as they grow increasingly irrelevant?

The Christian in the Modern State — 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.

Central to any understanding of the message is the question of what role a Christian plays in our modern, increasingly pagan society.

Must we obey unjust laws?

Is the power of the state absolute?

Is there a place for disobedience?

These questions I hope to answer over the course of our studies in this particular chapter.

I confess that this chapter is controversial.

J.

C. O’Neill reportedly wrote that, “These seven verses have caused more unhappiness and misery in the Christian East and West than any other seven verses in the New Testament.”[3]

I doubt that this is an accurate assessment, but the verse is prominent in many criticisms of the Faith.

Certainly, one argument advanced by Islamic scholars for the superiority of their religion is that they are not required to submit to non-Muslim authorities.

The teaching of the Word of God is that a Christian is responsible to be a good citizen, seeking peace within the state.

Clearly, this is the intent of the Word of God.

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth [*1 Timothy 2:1-4*].

The implication is that we honour God through honouring those in authority—in so far as such authorities fulfil the divine intention to ensure that good is the result of their service and that wrongdoers are held to account.

The intent of this passage must be clarified in light of all that the Apostle has written preceding this portion of Scripture and in light of what follows.

Good is the approval of that which honours God and evil is anything which dishonours Him.

Good is that which leads to peace and security both nationally and individually.

Thus, that which is good is the revealed moral law of God [cf.

*Romans 7:12*].

The revealed will of God is good, or virtuous [see *Romans 12:2*].

Though these are general statements, they are nevertheless true statements.

Why is murder against the laws of Canada?

The reason is that is violates the moral law of God.

Why is theft against the laws of Canada?

Again, theft violates the moral law of God.

Good is that which is moral and righteous.

Government is to have as its guiding principle, good.

Except the people of a nation uphold moral conduct, society soon degenerates into a corrupt system where individuals misuse the authority of government to obtain what they want at the expense of others.

The Constitution Acts of 1867 and of 1982 spell out the form of Canadian government, but the power for sound government is the virtue of the Canadian people.

That which is wrong is easier to name once we know how to define what is good.

According to what Paul has previously written, suppression of the knowledge of God is wrong, as is haughtiness and self-exaltation (idolatry) [see *Romans 1:18-23*].

Homosexual acts and attempts to coerce approval of such acts are wrong [see *Romans 1:24-27, 32*].

Likewise, greed, malice, murder, conflict, gossip, slander, insolence, arrogance, disobedience to parents, together with a ruthless attitude are wrong [*Romans 1:28-31*].

Government was never meant to be our master—neither as a ruthless monarchy, a dictatorship or an oppressive parliament.

The American founding fathers were convinced that people have the full power to govern themselves, and that people may choose to give up some of their rights for the general good and the protection of rights.

Nevertheless, each person should be self-governed, and this is why virtue is so important for citizens.

So long as government fosters what is “good,” we Christians approve of it.

In as much as government promotes what is “wrong,” we are compelled to disapprove of it.

This does not necessarily mean that we are in rebellion against government, but instead we seek what leads to peace so that we may worship God and thus honour Him.

The Source of all Authority — There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

There are two reasons given for Christians to practise subjection to governing authorities.

First, there is no authority except from God.  Second, those authorities that do exist have been instituted by God.  “While civil magistrates or judges are divinely ordained, that ordination carries with it no status in the church: they are ‘men who count for nothing in our community’ [*1 Corinthians 6:4* neb].”[4]

God is sovereign.

There is no authority except that which comes from God.  Every right we hold as citizens devolves from the fact that we are created in the image of God.

For this reason, the founding fathers of the American republic spoke of unalienable rights—including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Paul is not setting here an absolute condition for our relationship to government.

“What we have here is a general exhortation that delineates what is usually the case; people should normally obey ruling authorities.

The text is not intended to be a full-blown treatise on the relationship of believers to the state.

It is a general exhortation setting forth the typical obligations one has to civil authorities.”[5]

The state is a divine institution with divine authority.

Christians are neither anarchists nor subversives, but rather realists.

In commenting on this verse, John Stott writes, “We need to be cautious…  [Paul] cannot be taken to mean that all the Caligulas, Herods, Neros and Domitians of New Testament times, and all the Hitlers, Stalins, Amins and Saddams of our times, were personally appointed by God, that God is responsible for their behaviour, or that their authority is in no circumstances to be resisted.”[6]

What is clearly taught is that all human authority is derived from divine authority.

You will perhaps recall the account of Jesus standing before Pilate.

Pilate boasted to Jesus, Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?

To this claim, Jesus responded, You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above [*John 19:10, 11*].

Pilate misused his authority to condemn Jesus.

Nevertheless, the authority he wielded had been delegated to him by God.

The underlying point is that God is sovereign; all authority derives from Him.  Authority [ἐξουσία] lies within the purview of God.

The concept implied by this word is “freedom of choice” or “jurisdiction.”[7]

Thus, all human authority is divinely delegated and limited.

The corollary to this point is that if all authority resides in God, then likewise all rights are derived from Him.  Until we confess Him as God, the Author of rights and the possessor of authority, we enjoy neither rights nor authority.

The issue of authority was a problem for the scribes and the Pharisees as they witnessed Jesus at work during the years of His ministry.

You will recall that Jesus taught as one who had authority [*Matthew 7:29*].

His healing ministry was a demonstration that He had authority to forgive sins [*Matthew 9:6*].

The authority which He possessed, He conferred on His disciples [*Matthew 10:1*].

Christ, as God, possesses authority.

His is the divine authority which God alone possesses.

Perhaps you will recall that the Great Commission is prefaced by the Master’s Words, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me [*Matthew 28:18*].

We who are believers in the Risen Christ have received authority—authority to build one another in the Faith [see *2 Corinthians 10:8*; *13:10*].