Relationship to Civil Laws/Authorities

Introduction: The Christian's Paradoxical Relationship to Society and Civil Duty

0:02 The following message was delivered on Sunday morning, February 14th, 1993, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey.

0:13 Now will you follow with me, please, in your own Bibles as I read in your hearing from the twelfth chapter of the Gospel according to Mark, Mark's Gospel, chapter 12, beginning with verse 13 and reading through to the end of verse 17. Mark 12 and verse 13.

0:46 And they sent unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, that they might catch him in talk. And when they were come, they say unto him, Teacher, we know. That thou art true, and carest not for anyone, for thou regardest not the person of men, but of a truth, teachest the way of God. Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?

1:19 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why make ye trial of me? Bring me a denarius. That I may see it.

1:35 And they brought it. And he said unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's. And Jesus said unto them, Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's.

1:59 And they marveled greatly at him. And he said unto them, Let us now once again pray for the enablement of God's Holy Spirit, as we study the words of that blessed prayer. Holy Father, we thank you for the privilege that has already been ours in this place this morning, to lift up our voices as rational human beings, singing the praises of you, our God, acknowledging our utter dependence upon you, as we have prayed for grace and pardon and mercy,

2:42 as we have together sought your face for your blessing upon the proclamation of the word throughout the earth and upon the lives of your people. And now as we come again to the study of your word, and in particular, as we come desirous of knowing your will for us, as we seek to live in our society, according to your will as revealed in Scripture, may the Spirit be given in copious measures, that the one who attempts to expound and apply the word may do so accurately and in the power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit,

3:27 and that everyone who receives that word, young and old alike, from the least to the most instructive, granted each of us, will know the power and the power of the Holy Spirit, granted each of us, will know the power and the power of the Holy Spirit, granted each of us, will know the power and the power of the Holy Spirit, and will know your word coming to our hearts with light and with power. O Lord, bind the powers of darkness, and may your word run and have free course, and may we think your thoughts after you. Hear us, we plead, in Jesus' name. Amen.

4:05 Now as most of you know, it has been our privilege this weekend, as a church, to host the 8th Sunday of Lent, to host the 8th annual Reformed Baptist Single Conference, which at least for the past several years has met over what we now designate as the long President's Weekend Holiday. And the theme chosen for this year's conference is the Christian and his relationship to society. And as I indicated in the previous hour, the theme is not the church, and its relationship to society.

4:45 That theme was very helpfully and I believe accurately addressed by Pastor Jim Hufstetler of our sister church in Grand Rapids, and the tapes are available in a lovely album in the Trinity Book Service. But rather the concern of the committee was to address the issue of the individual Christian, and his relationship to the society, and his relationship to the society, and his relationship to the society, and his relationship to the society, and his relationship to the society, and his relationship to the society, in which God has placed him. And in our opening session yesterday morning, I sought to demonstrate from the scriptures, that everything, particularly in the New Testament, that addresses this subject,

5:27 assumes two things of those who are addressed. It assumes that they possess a biblical experience of the salvation of God, and it assumes that they sustain a biblical, biblical attachment to the church of God. We then proceeded to consider in the previous hour, what I call the paradoxical relationship of the Christian to society, or more biblically defined to the world. And we saw first of all, the biblical description of the world, and then a biblical description of the Christians paradoxical relationship to the world.

6:11 world. He is not a part of it, but has been delivered from it, and yet he is a part of it in order to minister to it. And then we looked at a biblical description of the Christian's general duty to the world, negatively considered and positively considered. Now in this hour we're going to address the very burning issue of the Christian and his civil duty to society.

The Necessity and Scope of Civil Duty for Christians

6:43 As one whom God leaves in this world, we as Christians are not called to retreat into caves, into monasteries or nunneries, or into geographically isolated Christian communes. As Christians, we necessarily sustain relationships to local, to state, and federal officials, both elected and appointed. As we seek to live our lives in the world, as Christians,

7:25 we face rules and regulations that it is incumbent upon us as citizens of our own society to respect the rules and regulations of the world. As Christians, we are not called to retreat into caves, into monasteries or nunneries, or into geographically isolated Christian communes. And to obey these rules and regulations touch such things as how much pressure we place upon the accelerator of our cars in one section of town or on a given section of a state highway. These rules and regulations touch what we do when we purchase goods and services and have certain percentages

8:05 added in terms of taxes. And certainly this time of the year, we are conscious of the implications of being citizens of the United States as the dreaded April 15th date approaches. Well, what precisely is the duty of a Christian with respect to these things? How can a Christian best glorify God and value God?

8:35 How can a Christian best validate his profession of allegiance to Jesus Christ? In these circumstances with regulations and demands and relationships imposed upon us, how best can the child of God validate the power of the gospel in his own life and commend the gospel to those around him? This question is not a simple one. The question is a simple one. The question is a simple one.

9:05 It is a simple question to answer, for we read in such passages as 1 Corinthians 7.23 that we, the people of God, have been bought with a price, and therefore we are not to become the bond slaves of men. I am supremely as a Christian the purchased property of Jesus Christ. He alone has absolute rights of sovereignty and ownership over me.

9:36 And yet the same scripture that teaches that truth clearly teaches us that every single Christian does indeed have distinct responsibilities to the society in which God has placed him, responsibilities that can be called his civil duties. And there are five major passages in the New Testament that address this matter. The passage read in your hearing, Mark 12.13-17, with its two parallels in Matthew 22

10:15 and in Luke 20, Romans 13.1-7, 1 Timothy 2.1-5, Titus 3.1-2, and 1 Peter 2.13-17. And in the time allotted this morning, it is my purpose to give at least a token exposition

10:36 of these passages, and I have attempted to do so by organizing them under three basic headings, so that when you and I ask the question, what is our civil duty as those who own the name of Christ, these passages should be the fundamental passages that are our constant sphere of reference. I will not be addressing, all of the exceptions, all of the possible principles that enter in to regulate and to alter a strict adherence to all or any of these individual passages,

11:20 but it is my purpose to give a responsible, basic acquaintance with those five pivotal passages given to us in the New Testament. And as we look at them, we'll consider them as I've indicated. Under three headings, the first heading being this. The Christian is to render principled, exemplary obedience to the constituted civil authorities.

Principled, Exemplary Obedience: Jesus' Teaching (Mark 12)

11:51 The Christian is to render principled, exemplary obedience to the constituted civil authorities. Turn with me to the passage read in your...

12:06 Mark, chapter 12. This is the most significant pronouncement in all of the recorded sayings of our Lord Jesus Christ.

12:18 And as is so often true with the sayings of our Lord Jesus, it is in a very real sense the seedbed out of which the more particular flowering of subsequent New Testament teaching emerges. Here you'll remember, as the passage was read in your hearing, the enemies of our Lord Jesus were seeking to trap him in his words. On the one hand, there were the Pharisees who were desperate to prove him to be something less than a loyal Jew fully respecting the law of Moses. And then there were the Herodians,

13:00 and while there is much discussion and debate among New Testament scholars with reference to their precise, precise identity and their precise code of allegiance, etc., one thing is clear is that they had a sympathy with the Herods. That is, with that line of leaders that had their ultimate loyalty to Rome. And in that sense, they would have delighted to prove our Lord to be something less than a loyal subject of the usurping government, of Rome.

13:37 And so our Lord is caught, as it were, in a verbal pincer move. The Pharisees pressing in on the one hand, trying to prove him a disloyal Jew, and the Herodians on the other, seeking to prove him to be a disloyal Roman subject. And as they attempt to do this, our Lord, with Solomonic wisdom, asks them to give him a common coin, and when they, put that coin in his hands, with the question ringing in his ears, shall we or shall we not give tribute unto Caesar, our Lord asks them a question.

14:19 And reading now from Mark chapter 12 and verse 16, and they brought it, that is, the denarius, the common coin, and he said unto them, whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's. For on one side of all of those coins that were the legitimate coinage of Roman exchange would be found the head of Caesar. And our Lord points to this reality and then gives his famous words.

14:54 Jesus said unto them, Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. And they marveled greatly at him. Now what is the basic truth asserted by our Lord in this passage that relates to the question that we are wrestling with this morning? What is the Christian's duty to the civil authority?

15:27 What is the Christian's duty with reference to civil government? Well, in this passage, our Lord clearly asserts, number one, that Caesar has legitimate claims. Look at the text. Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's.

15:53 And here our Lord unequivocally asserts that Caesar possesses certain rights. Now he does not possess them because he is Caesar or because he is Caesar. or because he was given these rights by the consent of the people. But as we shall see in the most definitive passage on the Christian's relationship to the civil government, Romans 13, Caesar was given this authority by God, but having been given it, it is rightfully his possession, and as he exercises it, Caesar has his just dues.

16:36 Our Lord does not say, Caesar has no right to your coins. He has only put his face upon them in one perpetual ego trip. Ignore them. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof.

16:54 Everything belongs to God. Give nothing to Caesar. He did not say that. Our Lord said, Caesar has legitimate claims. Give him his dues.

17:07 But then he says, God has his legitimate claims. Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. As surely as Caesar has legitimate claims, and he is to be given his due, God has his legitimate claims, and we are to give to God his due. And the great principles from this simple statement of our Lord are two.

17:43 Number one, there is no necessary contradiction between rendering to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and rendering to God what belongs to Caesar. And rendering everything to God that belongs to God. Because, you see, it is God who has given to Caesar the right to make certain claims upon his subjects, and therefore to give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's is simply to be giving one aspect of what belongs to God and rendering it to God. On the other hand,

18:23 we learn from this passage that there is no equal dividing of the spheres of claims over men. Though there is a parallel structure in the language, render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and the verb render understood, and render unto God the things that are God's, our Lord is not saying that these are two parallel objects, of our loyalty. No. God has rights that Caesar never dare usurp.

19:02 And at any point that Caesar would usurp rights which belong only to God, and which God has not conferred upon Caesar, then the language of Acts 5.29 kicks in, we ought to obey God rather than man. So that our Lord in this passage is teaching, there is no contradiction between rendering to Caesar his legitimate claims, but he is not in any way teaching that there is an equality of claims.

19:38 God is God and is therefore worthy of being loved and served with all the heart, mind, soul, and strength. So to love any human authority is to be guilty of idolatry. And it was for the very refusal to say Caesar is Lord in a religious sense, while making the confession that Christ is Kurios, Christ is Lord, that many were thrown to the arena in the early persecutions under Nero and subsequent Roman rulers.

20:20 What then is the Christian to do with the civil authority? The Christian is to render principled, exemplary obedience to the existing civil authority. In this particular context, it covers the matter of taxes, tribute, but to demonstrate one other example that our Lord Jesus was not limiting it to that, turn to Matthew chapter 5 for but one other example, for remember this is a survey and not an exhaustive study this morning. Matthew chapter 5, in the Sermon on the Mount,

21:05 where our Lord is exposing the wickedness of the tit for tat, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, personal vengeful spirit which was justified by the perverted teaching of the scribes and the Pharisees and the rabbinical traditions, our Lord says in Matthew 5 and verse 40, and if any man would go to law with you and take away your coat, let him have your cloak also, and whosoever shall compel you to go one mile, go with him two.

21:45 And most responsible commentators and New Testament scholars are agreed that what our Lord is referring to in verse 41 was the right, the right of a Roman soldier to conscript anyone to be his porter, to carry his knapsack or his military gear from one place to another. And our Lord is saying when that soldier would compel you to carry his knapsack from this point to that point to demonstrate that you have the spirit of willing, joyful submission to conflict, constituted authority,

22:27 don't go simply as far as he expects, but as those who do more than others, who are activated and motivated by the principles of the kingdom of grace and of God, you show a joyful spirit to carry his knapsack twice as far as he mandated. And when you come to the end of that, twice the distance, carrying of his knapsack, that soldier is going to find it awfully hard not to say what in the world makes you tick. And then you will be able to say as one who has been light in the midst of darkness,

23:09 salt checking the putrefaction of the resentment with which the average Jew would take that knapsack and drop it just one inch shy of the distance demanded, you will have manifested as a son of God, a daughter of the kingdom that you are made of different stuff, as you render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. Then we turn to the second passage. That second passage is Romans chapter 13. The Christian and his civil duty to society,

Principled, Exemplary Obedience: Paul's Teaching (Romans 13)

23:52 we have those pregnant words of our Lord as the foundational passage. Now as the most extensive passage, Romans chapter 13. Romans chapter 13, verses 1 through 7. And in order to help you think your way through the passage for future and more extensive study, I would urge you to consult the commentary of Professor John Murray, particularly pages 145 to 147, in which he describes the social, spiritual setting which made this directive peculiarly necessary at Rome.

24:36 Why is it that in the epistle to the Romans, we have the most complete treatment of the question, how should a Christian relate to the civil authority? And Professor Murray sets forth some very helpful, as well as convincing insights as to why this is so. But then as you think of the passage, look at it, and note with me again just a brief survey of its overall content. We have in verse 1 the summary and the heart of a Christian's duty to the civil authority.

25:11 Let every soul be in subjection to the higher powers. There's the summary statement. Let every, the one who is more naturally pliant and trusting, not just those who are naturally followers, not just those who are uninformed about governmental policies and principles, not just those who are ignorant of the character and the backgrounds of those in places of leadership. The language is sweeping.

25:50 It is unequivocal. It encompasses all of the people of God. Let every soul be in subjection, to the higher powers. There is your duty and mine in a nutshell.

26:08 We are to be in subjection to the higher powers. And with reference to the verb used, subjection, I quote Professor Murray, the term for subjection is one more inclusive than that for obedience. It implies obedience, when ordinance is to be obeyed, are in view, but there is more involved. Subjection indicates the recognition of our subordination in the whole realm of the magistrate's jurisdiction and willing subservience to their authority.

26:48 This is enforced still more if the rendering of the whole clause is given the reflexive form, let every soul subject himself to the governing authorities. This rendering, for which much can be said, stresses active participation in the duty of subjection. This is why I've used the term, we are to render principled exemplary obedience to the existing civil authorities. That is the sum and substance of the Christian's duty.

27:28 Then, in 1b, through 2a, we are given the basic rationale for this duty. There is no power but of God, and the powers that be are ordained of God. Therefore, he that resisteth the power withstandeth the ordinance of God. The apostle gives the sweeping duty, but then he buttresses it with the rationale, for the performance of that duty.

28:04 Why is every soul to be in subjection to the higher powers? Because the existing powers are ordained of God. Therefore, to resist them is to resist God. Now, what a contradiction.

28:22 In the earlier chapters, the Christian has been described as the bondservant of God. He has been described as the one who, in response to the mercies of God, presents himself a living sacrifice unto God, who is committed to prove the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. And now the will of God is expressed. Let every soul be in subjection to the higher powers.

28:50 Refusal to do so is defiance of God. And it tangles against the whole motif of what it is to be a Christian, who has joyfully embraced the rule of God over him, in gratitude for God's mercy in the Lord Jesus. So we have the summary of the heart of the Christian's duty, then the rationale for that duty, then in 2b we have the implications of refusing this duty. And they that withstand, shall receive, to themselves, judgment.

29:34 You do not get away with defying God. Therefore, Paul underscores the implications of refusing this duty. Then in verses 3 through 6, he gives added incentives for compliance with this duty. Rulers are not a terror for good works, but to the evil.

29:59 Would you have no fear of the power, do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise for the same. He is giving added incentives for compliance with the duty. And then in verse 7, we have a summary of the specific duties we are to render to the civil authorities. So you see how the passage is organized?

30:22 The sweeping general statement of our duty to the civil authority. Let every soul be in subjection to God. In subjection to the higher powers. The rationale given to us, no power but that which is ordained of God.

30:40 Whoever resists the power resists God's ordinance. That has implications. Then to encourage us, verses 3 to 6. But then it's as though someone says, well Paul, I've got the message, but now where the rubber meets the road.

30:55 When April 15th comes, when I go down to Sears, and I've got to pay the, New Jersey State sales tax. And when I get on the turnpike, and I have to pay the toll. And when I drive on the Garden State Parkway, and every time I get up to the speed limit, I've got to stop and plunk in my 35 cents. And wherever I turn, I see Uncle Sam, or I see Mr. Florio,

31:22 or I see someone else sticking his hand into my pocket. And when I go downtown, and I see town officials, and must pay my, local property taxes, and know that 75% of it goes to support an educational system, that undermines everything I hold dear. Paul, what do I do? In the nitty gritty of those things, give me a word.

31:44 Paul says, all right, I'll do that. Verse 7. Render to all their dues. Now, does that language seem to have overtones of the words of Jesus?

31:56 Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, unto God, the things, that are God's. Render to all their dues. And then you have four things. Tribute, to whom tribute.

32:10 Custom, to whom custom. Fear, to whom fear. Honor, to whom honor. Those are the specifics.

32:21 Tribute. This refers to taxes, whether levied on our persons or our property. And he doesn't say, if you had a voice or vote concerning the equity of the tax. Nobody was casting votes there at Rome, concerning what Caesar would demand.

32:51 The whole notion that those who govern, receive their power to govern, from the consent of the governed, is not rooted in the Bible. And the idea, that no taxation without representation, may have resulted in the Boston Tea Party, but it never got its teaching out of the Bible. Let God be true, and every cherished American notion a lie. All said under the shadow of imperial, militaristic, expansionistic Rome.

33:35 Tribute, to whom tribute. Custom, to whom custom. That's like our toll roads. You want to take a load to your grandma's house, and all along the way, somebody was sticking his hand in your pocket.

33:50 And some of them were the Zacchaeuses, and the Levites, who bought the privilege, of operating the toll booths, along Roman roads, where there was Roman occupation, and there was known grasp. Paul says, custom, to whom custom. Cough up. I didn't write it.

34:15 Holy ghost rule. Custom, to whom custom. Then it says, fear, to whom fear. This is the word fear used here.

34:24 Same sense as you have in Ephesians 5.33. Let the wife see, same Greek word, that she fear, that she reverence her husband. Same word in Ephesians 6.4,

34:36 that servants are to render obedience to their masters with fear. It's not the cringing fear of the criminal. It's the reverential awe, that is due, to the person who by God, has been put in the place of authority. Fear, to whom fear.

34:55 And then it says, honor, to whom honor. The proper recognition of the dignity of the office, as appointed by God. Whether it's Mr. Clinton, Mr. Florio,

35:12 Mr. anybody else. Christian, what is the will of God for you, in relationship to the civil authority? Here it is.

35:21 In concrete specifics, tribute, to whom tribute is due. Custom, to whom custom. Fear, to whom fear. Honor, to whom honor.

35:36 And that's why I said you must render principle, exemplary obedience, to the existing civil authorities. It has nothing to do with whether you like them, whether in our system you voted for them, whether you had anything to say about their appointment. None of those factors enter the picture. And in the crass individualistic me-ism of our day, this teaching of Romans 13 is nothing short of radical.

36:16 But until God the Holy Ghost comes back, and rips it out, and rewrites it, this is the will of God, in Christ Jesus, concerning you and me. This is the good, acceptable, and perfect, will of God, for you, and for me. And we show our love to Christ, by our strict, principled, commitment, to the word of his apostle. But then there's a third passage, that teaches this matter, of principled, exemplary obedience, and that's Titus chapter 3.

Principled, Exemplary Obedience: Paul's Teaching (Titus 3)

36:57 Again, just a broad overview of the pivotal passages, looking at their basic content and structure. Titus 3, verses 1 and 2. Put them in mind to be in subjection to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready unto every good work, to speak evil of no man a strong word, word for blasphemy, not to be contentious, to be gentle, showing all meekness toward all men.

37:41 Now it's very interesting, you notice the immediately preceding context of this directive. Paul has been giving to Titus, directions concerning Titus' pastoral input to the various groups of people within the church at Crete. Speaking to older men, older women, younger men, speaking to servants, and how they are all to relate to the end, that they might adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. Chapter 2 and verse 10.

38:16 And he says this is necessary for this reason. The grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to the intent that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. What does it mean in specific and concrete terms to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world? Well, it means that we not only take our directives from the earlier part of chapter 2 with respect to older men,

39:00 young men, and older women, and servants, et cetera, but that as we relate to the powers that be, and remember, he's writing this epistle to a man laboring in a pastoral situation in the isle of Crete, an island in which there was a governmental structure far from theonomic, far from Christian in its perspectives, and yet he says, put them in mind to be in subjection, subjection to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, and in the context, being ready unto every good work to speak evil of no man,

39:45 not to be contentious, to be gentle, showing meekness to all, though not having an exclusive reference to the matter of civic responsibilities and the relationship to civil authorities, surely it has dominant overtones of the attitude with which we carry out our subjection and obedience to the authorities that God has placed over them. And so as the people of God asking the question, how am I as a Christian to relate to society, in particular to the civil authority,

40:30 the Scriptures tell us in this passage that I am to be exemplary and principled in my obedience, I am to do it from the heart, I am to be in subjection, I am to range myself under that authority, recognizing that behind it stands the activity and will of the living God, without whom there is no authority, and I am in that context not to be one continually grousing and bad-mouthing and mocking. I find it, I'm going to say something that some of you won't like, but I don't care.

41:12 If you can square Rush Lumbau with this passage, then be his devotee. Now some of you are going to get mad at me. I don't care. I don't care.

41:25 You have your liberty to listen to Rush Lumbau. I would not impinge on that liberty. But I'm asking you, if as a Christian you can share his spirit and square it with this passage. For some of you don't know who Rush Lumbau is, he's the new darling of conservatives, who has an unusually canny ability to mock and make fun of and to pillory the woolly-headed left and liberals.

41:57 But he's as pagan as any leftist. He's as godless as any leftist. And I'm disturbed when I find Christians making him their model. Be not deceived, evil companions corrupt good morals.

42:13 Now I know somebody's going to go out and say, Dr. Martin said you can't...

42:16 You say what you want. There's lots of witnesses. I didn't say it. But I am saying this.

42:25 Does Rush Lumbau say you who are conservatives may be grieved at this policy of Mr. Clinton and that? Manifest a disposition. Manifest a disposition.

42:39 Of intelligent, principled submission. Be ready to every good work. Speak evil of no man. Do not be contentious.

42:50 Be gentle and show meekness to all men. Will you learn that from Rush Lumbau? Not in a hundred years, unless he gets converted. Then the final passage.

Principled, Exemplary Obedience: Peter's Teaching (1 Peter 2)

43:07 This first heading is our main heading, so don't be scared. The others will be much briefer. Because it takes us through all but one of the major passages. 1 Peter 2.

43:18 Want to know the will of God? How am I as a Christian to relate to the civil authorities? I am to render principled, exemplary obedience to the existing civil authorities. This is the word of Jesus.

43:37 It's Paul's word in Romans 13. It's the Holy Ghost through Paul in Titus 3. But now it's Peter's word as well. 1 Peter 2.13.

43:47 It's very interesting. He has just issued an appeal to believers. As those who are on their way to their ultimate destiny. Their heavenly, upward destiny.

44:01 They are sojourners and pilgrims on their way to a better land. They are to abstain from fleshly lust that war against the soul. Verse 12. Having your behavior seemly among the Gentiles.

44:16 That word seemly means. Having your behavior consistent with what you claim to be. And with what you are as disciples of Christ. That wherein they speak against you as evil doers.

44:31 They may by your good works which they behold glorify God in the day of visitation. There's the general call to a life of consistent holiness. Lived out before the eyes of the ungodly. And then what is the first specific thing that he focuses upon?

44:51 Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake. And then he gets specific. Whether to the king as supreme. Or unto governors as sent by him for vengeance on evil doers.

45:10 And for praise to them that do well. For so is the will of God. That by well doing. You should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.

45:22 As free and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness. But as bond servants of God. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood.

45:31 Fear God. Honor the king. Again a brief outline of the passage. The heart of our duty.

45:39 Verses 13 and 14. Subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake. Including everyone from the king. Down to those who share authority under him.

45:54 What's the rationale for the duty? Verse 15. That by so doing we'll put to silence ignorant and foolish men. That is that we will validate our testimony as the people of God.

46:14 And what then is the potential hindrance? To this duty? Verse 16. A false sense of our freedom.

46:21 As free and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness. But as bond slaves of God. Someone says look. I've been set free.

46:32 I'm liberated in Christ. I call no man master. Why should I honor the king and obey the governor? I'm a free man in Christ.

46:41 Peter says don't use your spiritual freedom. As a pretense for civil disobedience. He was a realist. And he understood that the most precious truths could be taken.

46:54 And made the handmaiden of the purposes of the devil. He was not ignorant of Satan's devices. And then he gives a summary list of specific duties. In verse 17.

47:05 Honor all men. Excuse me. Love the brotherhood. Fear God.

47:10 Honor the king. Give to the king. The one and only. The king.

47:19 The one in supreme place of authority. That honor due to his position. Even though very much about his person. That you abominate.

47:29 And if possible you would rebuke. And call him to account in the presence of God. Yet you honor the king. Because he has been placed in his position.

47:40 In the sovereign will of God. Now in summary. I realize there are many questions not answered. But I do ask you to remember.

47:49 Pagan Rome was in power. When all of these passages were written. When our Lord's words were uttered. Persecution had already begun.

48:00 In the setting in which Peter wrote. It would soon come to the people at Rome. And there is no indication that any apostle was moved. To rewrite Romans 13.

48:12 When persecution broke out under Nero. It stands. As the word of the living God. If the government commands you or me.

48:24 To violate some clear biblical principle. Then like Daniel. We must be prepared to say. Caesar.

48:34 You have required something which God forbids. And I must obey God. And in so doing disobey you. They could find no fault in anything with respect to Daniel.

48:46 Save in the matters pertaining to his God. If Caesar ever intrudes into realms. That God has marked out as his exclusive turf. Then we defy Caesar.

49:04 And we are prepared to pay the price. That's the justification for martyrdom. That it is right to lose my life. Rather than to allow any human being.

49:15 To usurp rights which belong only unto God. But as a general rule. Here is the great truth. In answer to the question.

49:27 What is my responsibility as a Christian citizen. To the civil authority. It is to render principled obedience. To the existing authorities.

Thankful, Fervent Prayers for Civil Authorities (1 Timothy 2)

49:41 But then secondly and very quickly. Because it takes us to the one other pivotal passage. The Christian is to engage. In thankful fervent prayers.

49:53 For the civil authorities. First Timothy two one to five. The Christian is to engage in thankful fervent prayers. For the civil authorities.

50:07 And here we go back to our first message. Where it is assumed that. All who are given these directions. Have a biblical attachment.

50:18 To the church of God. And that's assumed. For these are church directions. According to chapter three.

50:25 Verses fourteen and fifteen. I exhort therefore. First of all. That supplications.

50:31 Prayers. Intercessions. Thanksgivings. Be made for all men.

50:36 For kings and all that are in high place. That we may lead a tranquil and quiet life. In all godliness and gravity. This is good and acceptable.

50:45 In the sight of God our savior. Who would have all men to be saved. And come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God.

50:53 One mediator. Between God and man himself. Man. Christ.

50:58 Jesus. You see the Christian is not only. To render principled exemplary obedience. To the civil authorities.

51:07 But he is in the second place. To engage in thankful fervent prayers. For the civil authorities. Now let's again look at a brief outline of the passage.

51:19 What kinds of prayers are to be made? All kinds of prayers. Joined to thanksgiving. I exhort therefore.

51:30 First of all. That supplications. Prayers. Intercessions.

51:36 Thanksgivings. Be made for all men. The Christian is to engage. In all kinds of prayer.

51:44 Mingled with thanksgiving. For whom are such prayers to be made? For all men in general. But for existing leaders.

51:52 In particular. Be made for all men. Paul obviously can't mean. For every single individual.

51:56 Living on the face of the earth. By name. That would be an utter impossibility. But be made for all men.

52:00 For all men. For all men. For all men. For all men.

52:04 For all men. For all men. For all men. For all men.

52:08 For all men. For all men. For all men. Be made for all men.

52:12 In general. But in particular. For kings. And all.

52:16 That are. In high place. And when he wrote this. You know who was most likely emperor?

52:20 Nero. Pray. For Nero. And pray for all of Nero's henchmen.

52:24 Pray for the Herods. In Jerusalem. Pray for these. Whose morals.

52:30 And whose personal lives. Are such as to sicken us. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

52:35 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

52:41 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

52:45 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

52:49 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

52:54 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

52:58 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

53:02 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

53:06 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

53:10 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

53:14 Amen. Amen. and Timothy working in the area of Ephesus, perhaps it was all of these different people in the concreteness of specific ones that would come to mind to Timothy and to the existing congregation there at Ephesus. What kinds of prayer? He answers.

53:37 For whom are such prayers to be made? He answers. But now thirdly, for what are we to pray? The end of verse 2.

53:46 That we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and gravity. We are to pray that God would so guide the decisions and policies of those leaders for whom we pray that the people of God may carry out their lives and witness in a context of civil stability conducive to godliness and inner quietness. Hendrickson's comments on this part of the text are most helpful. He speaks first of all of the rarity of these adjectives tranquil and calm,

54:28 the latter being found only in this passage, slightly different meaning in another setting. And this is what he writes. The first, that is, the tranquil life seems to refer to a life free from outward disturbance. The second, the calm life, seems to refer to a life free from outward disturbance.

54:46 The second, the calm life, seems to refer to a life free from outward disturbance. The second, the calm life, to a life which is free from inner disturbance. Of course, this merely hints at the real purpose of praying for the rulers. Paul certainly does not mean to encourage a life of ease.

55:00 His aims are never selfish. Rather, the idea is this. Freedom from disturbances such as wars and persecutions would facilitate the spread of the gospel of salvation in Christ to the glory of God. One must read the present passage in the light of the immediately following context, verses 3 and 4, and of other passages from the pastoral epistles.

55:25 Included in the purpose of Paul's prayer is this, that believers leading a life of tranquility and calm may do nothing to create unnecessary disturbance and may conduct themselves in all godliness and gravity. That is, in all piety. Piety and respectability or dignity, striving to be blameless in their conduct or attitude toward God and towards men. Now this is what we are to pray.

55:59 When we pray for kings and rulers, we are not to pray that God will so help them that we will have an increasingly burgeoning G.A. until the Lord comes. The whole life is increasing.

56:23 Instead, it is sheer nonsense in the word of God.

56:32 What are we to pray for as Christians? We are not to be praying, Oh God, purge the church with persecution, send earthquakes, calamity and famine. Where do you find that in the text? I don't.

56:46 I find that I am to pray for those who are over us in authority that we, the people of God, may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness, and sobriety and steadiness. To what end? It's obvious in the following context. It has great gospel ends in view.

57:13 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God, who would have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Oh Lord, create conditions that will be most conducive to your people being vibrant and holy and committed to the work of evangelism, and able to advance the cause of your kingdom. And if a period of greater, tighter, more lean economic circumstances will make us more prayerful and less worldly and less possessive of things and therefore more prayerful and more careful to invest in the gospel, then so be it.

57:56 But it's the great concerns of the gospel that beat within our breasts. We must not be caught up in this obsession with the great problem of our nation is the economy. That's not the great problem of our nation. It's its moral degeneration.

58:16 It's its rootlessness cut loose from every concept of the law of God and of decency and of righteousness. This is the great plague of our nation. It is not the lack of universal health. It is the absence of the impact of the law and the gospel upon the conscience of this society.

58:42 Therefore, we have a responsibility, and I think of you young men and women, who will carry on while some of us are in our graves and would to God the vision of this would grip you and regulate you. And as the churches move into this new generation and some of the leaders, through whom your life has been formed and molded and you're thinking about reality's shape when they are in their graves, the pressure comes to move aside to make the church's agenda something other than this. May you be brought back to this passage and say, No, I remember when that passage was set before us on that singles conference.

59:25 We're to pray that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life, not in all material affluence, but in all godliness, gravity to the end that gospel enterprises might be advanced with great success to the honor of God and to the giving of the Lord Jesus of the reward of his sufferings.

God's Sovereignty Over Rulers and the Gospel's Advance

59:56 This is when we need as believers to go back to the Old Testament and draw some fuel for prayer. And I only have time to just mention them. Remember the God. Remember the God who stirs up the heart of a Persian king named Cyrus.

60:12 Read the opening words of the book of Ezra. God stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia. And he becomes kindly disposed to God's people. And then in Nehemiah 2, Nehemiah is before Ahasuerus, and God disposes his heart.

60:32 Remember how he humbles the pagan sovereign of Babylon. Remember in Acts 12, how proud Herod is stricken dead and eaten of the worms before the eyes of all of his breathless admirers. Dear people, that's the God to whom we pray. God can shake every structure.

60:52 People still stagger at what has happened in the breaking up of the Soviet Union. They stagger beneath the weight of the horrible aftermath when people thought it would be nothing, many, but a heyday of great liberation, and look what it's led to. What do men know? What do men know?

61:14 But dear people, we pray to the God who holds the hearts of kings in his hands. And he can so work that we as his people will lead a tranquil and quiet life in godliness and gravity to the end that the gospel will go forward. Well, let me just give you the third head, and you can work it out in your own meditations. In relationship to society, the Christian is not only to render up, principled, exemplary obedience to the existing powers.

Prudent Influence Upon and Use of Civil Authorities

61:47 He is not only to engage in thankful, fervent prayers for the existing powers, but the Christian is to exercise a prudent influence upon and use of the civil authorities. The Christian is to exercise a prudent influence upon and use of the civil authorities. Where do we learn? From Scripture.

62:15 None of these major passages addresses it. But remember, that's not all the Bible says about the issue. The Christian is to exercise a prudent influence upon those in leadership. A servant of God named John rebuked a king named Herod and pointed out his moral deficiencies.

62:37 Matthew 14, 4.

62:40 Paul, the servant of God, witnessed before an unconverted ruler named Felix. Acts 24. 24 to 27.

62:50 Jesus promised his own when you appear before rulers and governors. Take no forethought what he shall say. It shall be given you in that hour what to say as a witness unto them. Those are some of your key texts.

63:04 Mark 13, 9. Luke 21, 12 to 15. And by analogy, where in our governmental structure we have access to our representatives, local, state, and national, by letter, by text, by telephone, by the legitimate exercise of our rights as citizens, we are as Christians to exercise a prudent influence upon them. And then the Christian is to make a prudent use of them.

63:36 Paul appealed to Caesar. Acts 24, 6 and following. He appealed for protection. Acts 23, 17 and following.

63:47 There is a biblical... There is a biblical doctrine of the proper appeal to the civil authority for protection.

63:57 Galatians 6, 10. As we have opportunity, let us do good unto all men. There are sufficient materials in the New Testament to teach us that as Christian individuals, we're not talking about the church collectively, but the individual Christian citizen exercising a prudent influence upon, and use of, the civil authority. I heartily recommend for those of you wrestling with whether or not you should join in such groups as Operation Rescue, and the forced, so-called non-violent resistance of abortion,

64:41 Pastor Waldron's excellent treatise, We Must Obey God. I heartily recommend this to you. It's not a difficult book. It's only some 28 pages, with a lot of white between the lines and around the borders.

64:55 So it's not a lengthy book, but it captures the essence of the biblical teaching. There are other materials available to you. But I covet especially for you who are here at the Singles Conference, that as so many of you have much of your life yet before you, much more than many of us do, that by the grace of God, you will not only see that it is your duty, under God, to render principled obedience to the existing powers. It is not only your duty to pray for the existing powers, but judiciously to seek to influence and to use them in the will of God.

Conclusion: Glorifying Christ as a Citizen

65:40 This is what it means to glorify Christ in society as a citizen. May God grant that we shall take the word of God, out of love to heart and out of love to Christ, walk in obedience to it. Let us pray. Father, we are so thankful that amidst all the cacophony of the voices of men, calling us to pursue this right and that right, calling upon us to reject and rebel against this court of authority and that structure of authority,

66:25 we praise you for your holiness, holy word. We thank you that it is a lamp unto our feet and a light to our pathway. We thank you that we are not left at the mercy of the opinions of men, to be bullied by men's ideas of what we should do. But we have your gracious word telling us what we ought to do.

66:52 Help us to lay it to heart. Make of each one who knows and loves your truth, the one who knows and loves your truth, the one who knows and loves your truth, the one who knows and loves your truth, our dear son in this place, an exemplary Christian citizen whose walk before you within the structures that you have ordained will validate the Gospel. Shut the mouth of your enemies and commend and make winsome the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. O God, bless your word we pray and for those who not only defy the système civil authority, but defy you the God who stands over it. Will you not humble them, bring them to

67:36 repentance and faith, that they may find joy in coming under the gracious yoke of the Son of God, who said, My yoke is easy and my burden is light. Seal then your word, we pray. Dismiss us with your blessing. May your presence go with us through the remainder of this day. We think especially

67:58 of those who've gathered here in conference. We thank you for each one of them. Do bless them in their fellowship about the table, in their interaction throughout the afternoon hours. May your presence and grace be with them and with us all. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.