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. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. (Rom 13:1-5)On the periphery are things like the death penalty. If you are opposed in principle, you need to find a "work around" for "he does not bear the sword in vain" because that sounds like support for the death penalty. But the main problem is much larger. In a society taught "Question authority" as a fundamental tenet, we are being told, "Be subject to the governing authorities." Then it piles it on. The existing governments "have been instituted by God." Wait, really? Have you looked at Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, killers of millions and millions? "Instituted by God"? Worse, "Whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed." Really??!
The biggest objection here is not the vagueness of the text; it is the assault on our experience. You don't have to look far to find bad governments everywhere. Winston Churchill said, "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others." Even the best are bad. So how are we to deal with this?
It turns out that history in general and the Bible in particular is full of this concept. In Exodus an evil Pharaoh opposed God to the death -- his own. Why? God said to Pharaoh, "For this purpose I have raised you up, to show you My power, so that My name may be proclaimed in all the earth." (Exo 9:16) Evil government instituted by God for His good purposes. The prophet Habakkuk complained about Israel's sin and God told Him, "I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own." (Hab 1:6) An evil government instituted by God to accomplish God's plan. The Bible claims that the execution of the Son of God was performed by evil authorities orchestrated by God (Acts 2:23; Acts 4:27-28). Evil government instituted by God to accomplish God's plans. In fact, when Paul wrote the passage in question in Romans, he wrote it to a church at the heart of the Roman empire ruled by one of the worst Caesars, Nero. Paul wasn't making a rose-colored claim. This idea, then, doesn't require that we consider all governments good governments; it simply says that God uses both good and bad governments as His tools.
Now, we certainly need to fill in one gap in the command. When the disciples were ordered to violate a direct command from God, they deferred to God (Acts 4:19-20; Acts 5:29). True. And we must factor that in. Of course, there's no command from God that would require us to cheat on our taxes or violate speed laws, is there? But if Scripture is replete with examples of evil governments instituted by God for His good purposes and we have a genuinely good God who works all things together for good, it seems to me that we should take this kind of difficult text more seriously if we're going to be true to a trust in a good God. Doesn't it?
9 comments:
My study this month is in the book of Romans, just finished chapter 13, so this was a good blog for me to read. I like what versebyverse ministries says "Its not news to acknowledge that government is imperfect and often unrighteous, but its still better than what is was like during the time of judges". Judges 17:6 English Standard Version (ESV)
6 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
"The absence of of government is always worse than a bad government. The deeds of the worst despot cant compare to the the unrestrained sin of millions of people doing whats right in their own eyes".
"In the meantime, we have human government with all its flaws, God raises up imperfect rulers to accomplish His will. We trust that God can achieve His good and perfect will using even complete idiots and despots"
Yes. I figure if God could use Balaam's donkey ... or even me ... He can use bad government for His good ends.
What about when a ruler is a terror to good conduct? Is this saying we shouldn't resist evil governments?
Given Pharaoh, the Chaldeans, Pilate, and Nero who were all in biblical times and proved to be God's tools while being evil (and even terrors to good conduct), how would you answer that?
There are certainly ways to resist bad government without running contrary to this teaching. Appealing to the ruler is but one. In our country, voting is another. Lobbying for change yet another. But to act maliciously against the existing government...that is, violent acts of rebellion, law-breaking, etc...would not be among them. Where it really gets dicey is when a government is overtly brutal and murderous. Can it be against government to protect one's life or the lives of others from their murderous plans? I think it's a pretty easy call that a line has been crossed wherein this teaching no longer applies. In lesser cases, it's a judgement call upon which our hearts and intentions will be judged.
On a side note, this topic relates to debate about a just God and what constitutes One going on elsewhere. Is God just if He allows bad governments/rulers to exist? It would depend upon what purpose is being served. His or ours?
I have no quarrel with the concept that God raises up bad governments in order to further His plans.
I also would argue that He has, can, and potentially will, use the military force of one nation to raise up or tear down any given government.
On both counts, it's certainly biblical (like the Chaldeans and Israel).
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Craig! How'd you do that?
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