First Allegiance vs. First Amendment – Romans 13

Scripture: Romans 13

Introduction

• Addresses what the Christian worldview of government should be
• The First Amendment to the Constitution was written to limit governmental interference with personal religious beliefs (freedom of religion, not from religion)
• Commentary quote Chuck Smith (2000) “I do feel that there are rare occasions where the law of God does supersede the law of man, and on these occasions I must be obedient to God…Why does God, then, allow evil men to reign if God is the one who establishes it? Basically, because men want evil men to reign over them, and in order that they might be brought to judgment, God will allow those evil rulers to lead people in order that they might receive the rightful judgment of God.”
  • The “rare” occasions 20 years later are now overwhelmingly common. Government overreaches and usurpations are part of a determined agenda to marginalize and destroy First Amendment constitutional protections, particularly for those who are now branded “Christian Nationalists.” Christians will soon be “domestic terrorists” who oppose cultural Marxism in our nation and described indecorously as “democracy.”
  • Never before in American history has the tension been so high between obedience to ungodly, oppressive, and harmful government and the inclination toward civil disobedience due to violation of God’s Word and conscience.
  • We must remember, however, that the apostle Paul wrote this epistle during the reign of Roman Emperor Nero who heavily persecuted Christians. Christians then had almost no rights to fall back on for justice or survival. Many wound up in the Coliseum or were crucified and used as human torches.

The Institution of Government is Ordained by God (v. 1)

 

Human government, as an institution, is ordained or established by God. Authority to govern comes from God, but can be horribly abused and harmful. The absence of authority is anarchy which is not established by God, and produces chaos and despair. The imposition of totalitarian rule is tyranny which is also not established by God, and produces rebellion, war, and destruction. If a person is subject to a governing authority, he or she should respect and obey it as unto the Lord (1 Pet. 2:13-15). Although the essential roles and purposes of government are to exercise justice, keep the peace, reward good, and punish evil, its authority is not absolute.

 

God Does Not Approve of Evil Human Government (v. 2)

Although God does not approve of evil human government, He will hold such governments accountable for their sinful actions. He has used evil governments many times in the past to judge or chastise other nations He wishes to correct, as in the case of using Assyria to judge the ten tribes in northern Israel, and Babylon to judge the two tribes in southern Israel. He has also judged and destroyed evil governments and nations that no longer exist today, such as Moab, Edom, and Babylon. Those who resist (Gr. anthistemi = withstand or set against) authority against conscience that violate God’s commandments are not opposing God’s ordinance for intended good government, but nevertheless we should understand that disobedience will receive condemnation and punishment. We know that laws are not always moral simply because they are legal. We are today very late into the end times where evil is increasingly considered good, and good is deemed evil (Isa. 5:20).

 

Obeying Government for Good Should Not Cause Fear (v. 3-5)

 

Government must be obeyed for good, which should cause no fear. Rulers are considered ministers of God when they are good and punish evil (v. 4). When the government demands action from someone under their authority that is supposedly “good” or is in “compliance,” but is evil according to God’s law and conscience, then we are to obey God’s law supremely, and not sin by obeying an evil law. Again, opposing government mandated evil may bring severe consequences. Make sure of your intended course of action by prayer and counsel.

 

To help you decide, ask yourself this question, “Which honors God? Obeying an immoral law for the sake of doing what is legal and enforceable, or refuse to obey an immoral law and honor God above man with a clear conscience?

 

Render What is Due to Whom It is Due (v. 6-7)

 

Jesus made it clear that we as believers are to give what is due to human government, and what is due to God to God alone (Matt. 22:20-21). Obedience to human government that is serving God (v. 6) should also be seen as obedience to God fulfilling a part of our worship. Rendering (Gr. apodidomi = give up, give back), and not illegally evading, taxes, customs, respect, and honor of office (not necessarily the one holding office is honorable) is a function of clear Christian conscience before God. It’s not simply right by law, but dually right before God to whom the Christian is accountable.

 

Christian Obligations in an End Time Governed Society (v. 8-13)

 

• Fulfill your debts and love one another as you would want to be regarded (v. 8-9)
• Do not wrong your neighbor, but demonstrate Christ’s love toward them in increasingly distressing times (v. 10-11)
• The day of the Lord’s return is near. It is a time to be salt and light, and be vigilant (v. 12-13)

Putting on Christ Daily as Times Become Tougher (v. 14)

Paul uses the allusion of “putting on” Christ several times (Gal. 3:27; Eph. 4:24; Eph. 6:11; Col. 3:10,12,14; 1 Thess. 5:8) to describe the conscious, deliberate actions of Christians to spiritually clothe themselves with Christ against the world, flesh, and the devil. Our spiritual garment is to cover all of us, and to not be exposed or vulnerable to its demands on our emotions, desires, weaknesses, etc.

 

Tension Between Government and the Church

 

What does it look like when government progressively overreaches into church affairs, attempts to control the church and limit freedoms? How have Christians historically responded?

 

Progression of “Refusals” within the Church

 

• Refusal to criticize the state (silence out of fear of reprisals or persecution, acceptance out of ignorance)
• Refusal to be silent (peaceful protests, rallies)
• Refusal to act/comply/obey state action (civil disobedience)
• Refusal to support the state (activism, legal opposition, asylum elsewhere)
• Refusal to be controlled by state (active resistance, underground movements, riots, sabotage, guerilla warfare, assist state opposition)

 

“In the first place, the church can ask the state whether its actions are legitimate and in accordance with its character as state, i.e., it can throw the state back on its responsibilities. Secondly, it can aid the victims of state action. The church has an unconditional obligation to the victims of any ordering of society, even if they do not belong to the Christian community. The third possibility is not just to bandage the victims under the wheel [of injustice], but to put a spoke in[to] the wheel itself.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

 

Progression of Conflicts Between State and Church

 

• State seeks agreement between state and church – state is supported, or “blessed” by the churches
• State overreach into church autonomy and affairs
• State churches developed and independent churches restricted or outlawed
• State persecutes, arrests, imprisons noncompliant pastors/leaders

 

Where is the United States Today?

Although our government in the United States is a constitutional republic, it has been metamorphically progressing into an ungodly socialist “democracy” since the early 20^th century. With that progression has come pressure to diminish Christian influence, religious expression, raising Christian families in society, and involvement in business and government. There is no doubt that the United States is now in rapid political and economic decline, and under judgment for her willful rejection of God that began in earnest in the 1960s. The moral depravity is such that America is a leader in drug addiction, pornography, violent crime, and sexually transmitted diseases. There is now little Christian influence and moral restraint remaining in government. The collectively degenerate moral pygmies in government have taken our nation to a state of economic brinkmanship and dependence so deep that our national economy will eventually collapse.

Many years ago, a Scottish historian, Alexander Fraser Tytler (1747-1813) prophetically described the eight stages, or life cycle, of democracies as borne out in world history. He stated, “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.”

Illustration Source: Bear State Books: The Tytler Cycle Suggests A Democracy Only Lasts 200 Years

The Point of No Return

Friends, we are now at the point of no return in America according to Tytler’s description of democracies. God has graciously given America more time (the Constitution was ratified in 1789, 233 years ago), but we are now living on borrowed time.

An Incurable Wound

In Jeremiah chapter 30, God has Jeremiah prophecy against Judah that her sins of abandonment of God toward false gods and failure to repent are so entrenched that she has an incurable wound
(Jer. 30:12-14). I believe the same indictment has been made against America by persistent prophetic voices over the past 60 years. God never judges without warning, and He also offers mercy in the midst of judgment to allow for repentance.

Because of our history of unparalleled prosperity, power, and influence among the nations, America has for decades labored under the delusion of American exceptionalism, i.e. that that America’s values, political system, and history are unique and worthy of universal admiration – and all other nations should defer to her. Perhaps at times, but certainly not forever. Many would say this is so because America is a nation that was founded on Judeo-Christian principles and the Bible. That is true, but no longer living up to perpetuating that claim. America was used of God in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries to advance the gospel by great missionary movements, and later through technological advancements of satellites and television, to also advance the gospel. But America is no longer the leader for that purpose. What used to be the number one sending nation of missionaries is now fourteenth. That mantle of missionary zeal has since passed to South Korea, and America is now fourth on their list to which missionaries are sent. America is still a nation with Christian faith, but it is rapidly diminishing. We would best be characterized now as post-Christian and post-modern.

God uses the nations to accomplish His purposes in the world (Dan. 2:21; Ps. 72:11). As said earlier, some are used to judge others (Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persian empire, Romans); some are spared for a period of time and later swept into the dustbin of extinct nations (Edom, Moab, Ammon, Nineveh, Urartu); some are resurrected, developed and preserved for future prophetic fulfillments (Israel, Russia, Turkey, Iran, and others). I personally believe that America, not being mentioned in end time prophecies (though many strain to “prove” that it is), that at least it will be included within one of the ten king or ten regions of global government that the Antichrist will eventually dominate in the Tribulation. At worst, America will no longer be a leading world power, even commercially, due to dangerous global infiltration, weakening, and domination. America may be consumed both within and without and cease to exist as a key player in end times prophecy with respect to Israel.

Where Does Your Allegiance Lie?

Knowing where we Americans are in history and spiritually as a nation, Christians within the nation have to decide where does our first allegiance lies: in government, or God?