God Loves Through Human Government

Last week we started a new section in our study of “The Love of the Triune God”, considering the fact that God has a common love for all of humanity. God loves the whole world, in spite of our sin and rebellion. He puts us in our time and space so that we might search after him. He providentially cares for each of us. And, he calls all of humanity to believe in Jesus Christ for salvation. For the next few weeks, I want to dive deeper into the ways that God loves the world by considering the common good that he shows to all mankind. We will see God’s common love through human government, culture, and the church.

This morning, we start with God’s common love for humanity expressed through his establishment of human government. Any time I preach on this, it can be prickly because, as Americans, it is ingrained in our DNA to be skeptical of government. The material cause of the American Revolution was the overbearing hand of the English Crown on the American colonies, both in terms of over-taxation and the unjust confiscation of property. With the ever-expanding role of the federal government, and especially the federal bureaucracy, we have become increasingly disenchanted with our government. Regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum, we prefer the absence of government to what we have now. The free-market capitalist will argue that we need less government involvement, not more. But, interestingly enough, the end goal of the communist is the same. Contrary to popular belief, there has actually never been a communist government because no such thing exists. Karl Marx viewed communism as the end of government. He believed that socialism could bring us to a point where we would no longer need government, and that would be communism. So, whether you are far left or far right, in America, we really do not like government. We seem to think that, under the right conditions, humanity would flourish in an Edenic utopia, if only government would get out of the way. Yet, that attitude is not a biblical one. Government is not the enemy of human flourishing. It is a minister of God intended to promote flourishing. Human government is established by God because God loves the special creation he has made, even in our fallenness. He wants us to flourish in the world that he has made, even as we resist doing that at every turn. He wants us to know truth and goodness, even as we see his law as oppressive. So, out of love, God has ordained human government for our good. To see that, let’s read Rom. 13:1-7. From this text, see three points: Government is established by God’s authority, commissioned for our good, and supported for conscience’s sake.

First, from verses 1-2, see that government is established by God’s authority. Paul begins this chapter by calling all Christians to be subject to governing authorities. It’s helpful to understand why he commands this. In context, he has just encouraged believers to endure persecution and to avoid seeking vengeance. In verse 19, he calls us to leave vengeance in God’s hands. Now, in chapter 13, he explains how God brings justice to the oppressed by directing Christians to submit to government. There are three aspects of human government that I want you to see here: God over government, institution over individual, and obedience over obligation. First, in verse 1 we see that God is over human government. Paul says that we should submit to governing authorities because “there is no authority except for God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” At first blush, this statement can seem strange. There is no authority except for God. That would seem to teach that we should only be obligated to God. But, then he says that there are other authorities instituted by God. So which is it? It’s helpful here to define our terms. The Greek word Paul uses for authority is exousia, which focuses on the power to choose. A choice involves at least two things: freedom and power. If you desire to stand up, but you are tied to the chair, then you have no real choice to stand. You are not free to act. Also, if you desire to stand, but your legs are too weak, you have no choice to stand. You do not have the power to effectuate your choice. Paul’s first point is that God is the only true authority, in the ultimate sense. He is the only being who is totally free and completely powerful. His choices are not constrained by the actions of others, and there is no one who can resist his choice. Yet, it is God’s prerogative to delegate his authority to beings that he has created. He does this with angels and men alike. He has established spheres of authority in this world - certain institutions and positions that hold some of his authority in their realm of influence. This means that people in these positions of authority have been given the freedom and power to act on God’s behalf. One of those spheres of authority is that of the government. Daniel 2:21 says, “[God] changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings.” Because this authority has been granted by God, resisting it is not just an act against the people in authority. It is an act against God.

Second, God establishes institutions over individuals. What I mean is that the concern Paul expresses here is not for any one individual ruler, but for the governments they represent. While it is certainly the case that God is sovereign over every election and ascension, this is not a command to unquestioningly serve a tyrant. It is important to balance our obedience to government between two poles. On the one hand, we do not want to fall into political idolatry where we say, “God has established authority, so whatever this ruler does is right.” On the other hand, we don’t want to fall into political anarchy, either, where we say, “this ruler is wicked, so the civil authority itself is illegitimate.” In our day, both are real and present dangers. We can idolize our politicians, placing them above critique because we want the power associated with their rule over what is right and good. But, we can also think that because one individual ruler (or “all politicians”) are corrupt, that the whole government should be ignored or abandoned. What we should recognize is that, regardless of the individual ruler, God has put this government over us, and we have an obligation to honor and obey because it is established by God.

Finally, God expects obedience over obligation. Government is an authority, but it is not the authority. That supreme position belongs only to God. So, if government directs us to sin, we have a higher commitment that supersedes that obligation. As Peter says in Acts 4, “we must obey God rather than men.” Daniel and his friends are examples of this balance. Chadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were faithful servants to the pagan king, Nebuchadnezzar, until he commanded them to bow to an idol. Then, they were willing to resist, even to the point of death. So it should be with us when facing the evil commands of a government, even as it has been granted a realm of authority by God.

Now that we understand the authority of government, let’s consider the purpose of government in my second point: government is commissioned for our good, from verses 3-4. Verse 4 gives us a direct connection between human government and God’s love for the world. It says, “the ruler is a servant of God for your good.” This is a loaded statement that our English translations don’t really bring out. When Paul says that the ruler is “a servant of God”, he uses the Greek word diakonos, which is where we get the word “deacon”. A government official is authorized by God to serve his people. This says two things about human government. First, it says that God views government officials in much the same way as he views pastors and deacons. Certainly, they are accomplishing different tasks, but the work of a government servant is just as legitimate and beneficial to the kingdom of God as the work of a pastor. I want many of you to hear me on this, because our church is full of folks that work in local government in some way. We have clerks and tax assessors and schoolteachers and administrators and fire fighters and policemen who are all connected to this church. Your work is God-ordained and intended for the good of the world. You may have to deal with people having their worst day. You may have to absorb a person’s distain for Joe Biden or Donald Trump because you are a cog in the machine. But know that what you do is intended by God for the good of mankind.

Second, this statement establishes an expectation for those who serve in government. They are to be “servants”. This means that the aim of anyone in power is for the good of the people under him, not his own personal gain. You are not serving so that you can put in enough hours to earn state retirement. You are serving for the good of humanity. You are not serving because it will connect you with powerful interests that you can then leverage after you leave your political career. You are serving to make society better.

This is the heart of what Paul says here - government is instituted by God for our good. The very first establishment of government goes all the way back to Genesis 9:5-6. After the flood, God recommissions humanity to carry out the cultural mandate: “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” That mandate had been all but abandoned before the flood. Men had killed their own family, destroyed the marriage covenant, and the earth was full of violence. In order to constrain the sinfulness of man and protect his image bearers, God established a new law in Genesis 9. He told Noah, “And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” In this statement, God gives authority to men to exact punishment for murder, and in that he establishes human government. From this we see the original intent of government. It is intended to constrain evil. This is why Paul says, in verse 3, “Rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.” 1 Peter 2:14 reflects this, saying “governors are sent by [God] to punish those who do evil and praise those who do good.” Government can never make men good, but it can create a space where good can be done. And, it can encourage those things that lead to human flourishing. So, it can protect the institution of the family and church. It can exact punishment for acts that devalue life or destroy the family or disrupt the church. As a side note, in times past, Christians have been suckered into accepting the idea that government “cannot legislate morality.” This claim is false for several reasons. For one, it ignores the basic God-ordained responsibility of government to punish evil. To say that anything evil is to make a moral claim. Yes, the government can and should enforce a common morality that constrains evil and promotes the common good. For another thing, any law is inherently moral. Laws against murder, steeling, fraud, tax evasion - they are all making moral claims and enforcing them.

Because government is established by God to constrain evil and promote human flourishing, we should support it. This brings me to my final point; government should be supported for conscience’s sake. In verses 5-7, Paul gives two reasons for why believers should support their government. First, we should be obedient to our government because of wrath. If we resist the authorities instituted by God for any reason other than our higher obligation to God, then God will be on the government’s side, not ours.

Second, we should be obedient to government for the sake of conscience. Because we know that all authorities come from God and that our local government has been instituted by God, our conscience obligates us to obey those authorities. And, it is not just a question of obeying the speed limit or complying with an officer’s instructions. We should also actively support our government in seven ways. One, we should obey lawful commands. Titus 3:1 says, “remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work.” Two, we should pay what is owed. Paul says in verses 6-7 that we should pay our taxes because it supports the public ministry of government. This is a principle established by Jesus in Matt. 22, “Render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.” Three, we should give proper honor to those in authority. 1 Pet. 2:17 says, “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” What?! Even the pagan emperor, Nero, who was actively persecuting Christians? Yes, as far as his authority and position go, we should honor him. Even a Democrat president that campaigned on abortion? Yes, even as we resist his policies that would lead to death, we can honor his position and authority. Four, we should pray for our rulers. 1 Tim 2 calls us to pray for rulers because faithful rulers lead to peaceful societies where the church can flourish. Five, we should seek the community’s welfare. In Jeremiah 29, God tells the exiles in Babylon to pursue the good of the city to which they are sent. Sixth, we are to use our lawful rights and appeals. Paul never turned away from an opportunity to use his citizenship to defend his rights. He even appealed to Caesar to avoid the unjust punishment of the Jews. As long as we are justified, we can use the legal system to defend our rights, especially if it leads to a benefit for others. Finally, we should serve in public office when called. The Bible is full of examples of believers who were taken to foreign lands and rose to prominence by God’s sovereign work. They did not turn down these opportunities, but instead they leaned into them because it benefited the world and their people. Joseph, Daniel, Esther, Nehemiah, and Ezra all served in the courts of their foreign kings and serve as shining of examples of how we can do the same.

Brothers and sisters, we should support and honor those in authority because they are ministers of God. We should vote for wise men and just laws. We should pay our taxes. We should serve in government when called to. We do all of this because we know that government constrains evil and promotes flourishing, and this is all established by God because he loves his world.