Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Your Role in Government | New Testament | Romans 13

Episode Date: August 4, 2023

How should Christians act in regards to government and society? What do you owe to the state? The president? The government? In today's episode, Patrick discusses Romans 13 and the way Paul guides Christians to participate in government. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Join the TMBT community in reading the entire New Testament in one year. Get your FREE reading plan here. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter@TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Romans 13

Welcome to 10 minute Bible talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Patrick Miller. What do you owe your government? What do you owe the president? What do you owe your state? When we think about applying the Bible to our personal lives, we probably don't find ourselves asking these kinds of questions except when we're voting or paying our taxes.

But for Paul, this was an ever-present question. Wherever he went throughout the empire, Roman soldiers policed the story. streets. They kept the peace. Governors, procurators, provincial leaders, they were all assigned to their post by Caesar, and they ruled over every city and region where Paul lived. And of course, in those days, worshipping the gods of the Pantheon, and especially Caesar, well, that was the cornerstone of civic order. If you didn't do this, the gods wouldn't bless you, and the social order would collapse. The world would descend into chaos. If you didn't do this, you would be considered an antisocial deviant, an outsider, a threat to order. And yet Paul and his followers went one step further.

They announced a different king than Caesar. They declared that Jesus was Lord, not Caesar. That Jesus was the son of God, not Caesar. That Jesus was the savior of the world, not Caesar. All of those titles were normally only applied to the Roman Emperor. And yet Paul and the Christians had the audacity to rip those titles off of Caesar's head and place them like a crown on Jesus. You see, this is why Jesus was crucified. Before his death, even the Jews cried out in the Gospel of John, we have no king but Caesar. Jesus was crucified for being an upstart would be king. Paul was run out of cities. He was attacked. He was imprisoned for the same reason because he told people that their gods were false and that Jesus was the true

ember or not Caesar. The book of Acts says that crowds claim that Paul had quote, turned the world upside down. Later, Romans would kill Paul and Peter and many of their friends for their subversive anti-Roman message. But despite all this radical, subversive behavior, the Christians were a strange group because their behavior in words expressed nothing but love. They respected authorities. They showed them honor.

They cared for their non-Christian neighbors and they cared for their communities. We see this part of the program laid out most clearly in Romans 13. team. Let's pick up in verse one. Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Now, I just want to pause here for a second. This can sound like a very, very positive thing towards government. And obviously something positive is being said, but it's actually, again, very subversive because to the average Roman, the idea that Yahweh, the God of Israel, Jesus, that he is the one who actually sets up authorities, that was incredibly subversive. No, Jesus did not put the Roman

emperor in charge. No, Jesus is not in charge of who governs what areas. And yet Paul is saying the subversive thing, you governments, you are secondary to the power of God. He continues in verse two. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid. For rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath, to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit

to the authorities not only because of the possible punishment, but also as a matter of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes for the authorities are God's servants who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them. If you owe taxes, pay taxes. If revenue, then revenue. If respect, then respect. If honor, then honor. Okay, so Paul is clear here.

Rome is not a hero. The Old Testament is full of nations who were agents of God's wrath, who were holding swords and clubs, just like Paul says in this passage. None of them are heroes. they are all morally ambiguous at best. But those prophets often pointed out that even at their worst, these brutal empires were still used by God to bring about his purposes. The Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks. But in the end, every one of these empires, but in the end,

all of these empires fell under the sword of judgment themselves. When their own bloodlust and wrathfulness became insatiable, and this is the subtext of what Paul is communicating. And so Paul tells the Christians who know the bloody oppressiveness of Rome, he tells them to trust God. Look, he's saying, God's given Rome the sword. And if Rome does its job well, it will create order and punish wrongdoing. But if it fails, God will deal with that too. But what about the Christians? Well, they're not the ones to solve the problem. For them, there's a really simple call. Pay taxes, show respect, give honor. You see, as you look at America today, you may recognize. that it's just the latest iteration of Rome. In many ways, it's much more just, much more fair, and a much more generous place to live than Rome was. And we should celebrate that. That's a good thing. But just like Rome, it's also full of its own lusts, its own violence, its own death and

destruction machines, its own anti-Jesus sentiment. And Paul says to us, pray for your country. Pray that it would stay in its lane, but don't take vengeance for yourself. For you, there's only taxes, respect, and honor. In fact, we ought to read the verses right before Romans 13 because they fill out this program of subversive submission. Romans 12 verse 17, do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it has written. It is mine to avenge. I will repay, says the Lord. On the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him.

If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will keep burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. That's your role with your government and your society. No revenge, no vengeance. Overcome evil with good. Leave the rest to God.