The Christian’s Responsibility to Government

GOLDEN TEXT: “And he said unto them: Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.” —Luke 20:25

ROMANS 13:1-7

PAUL wrote that “the powers that be are ordained [margin, or, ordered; Gr. arranged under] of God.” This was quite literally true in the days of the Early Church. In 606 B.C., when Zedekiah, the last Jewish king, was overthrown by the Babylonians, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon became the ruler of the world. He had a dream in which he saw a humanlike image, with head of gold, breast of silver, thighs of brass, and legs of iron. Daniel explained that these four parts of the image represented four “kingdoms,” beginning with Babylon, to each of whom the God of heaven would give dominion.—Dan. 2:19-45

These four kingdoms, or empires, successively were Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Rome was ruling the world in the days of the Early Church, so it was very proper to say that the civil powers of that time were ordained of God. Paul’s explanation of what the Christian’s attitude toward these civil powers should be indicates one of the Lord’s reasons for his partial recognition of Gentile governments. They were used by him to maintain a measure of peace and order in the world so that the Lord’s people could carry on with their witness work, and otherwise be blessed by the Lord.

The Gentile governments at no time have been recognized by the Lord as his kingdom. And while the Roman Empire has long since vanished, the principle of obedience to the reasonable laws enacted by civil powers still holds. Actually, the Christian needs no laws to compel him to be orderly in his community, and not to exploit others, through theft or otherwise. But the law helps to restrain the ungodly from harming others, and in this arrangement the Christian benefits. And for this benefit he should be thankful.

Our Golden Text presents a proper balance as between our loyalty to civil governments and our loyalty to God. The things which belong to Caesar should readily be rendered to him. But we should remember that we have devoted our lives to God, and they belong to him. If laws are passed which conflict with our obedience to God, then the Christian can be obedient only to God.

I PETER 4:12-16

Jesus was obedient to the powers that be, yet he was persecuted unto death, not because he had disobeyed any laws, but because he proclaimed the truth, and exposed the errors of the religious rulers of his day. We are to follow in his steps, and when we do, we should not be surprised if, like Jesus, we also are persecuted. Peter wrote, “Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings.”

It is the privilege of every follower of the Master to suffer and to die with him. But let the cause of our sufferings be our fidelity to truth and righteousness, and not any evil-doing on our part. “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye,” Peter wrote. But there is no cause for rejoicing if we are reproached because of being evil-doers. Nor should we, in the name Christ, do radical things simply to bring persecution upon ourselves. Even if we succeeded in being persecuted under such circumstances, we would not be suffering “for righteousness’ sake,” but for our own foolishness.—Matt. 5:10: I Pet. 3:14

Peter explains that those who suffer as Christians need not be ashamed. To be a Christian in Peter’s day was not praiseworthy in the sight of the world. It was more or less a title of derision. Attitudes have changed since then. Now the name “Christian” is honored by the world. It is still true, however, that those who truly follow in the footsteps of Jesus, letting the light of the divine plan shine out into the darkness of the world, usually are not appreciated.

In America and certain other parts of the world today there is a large degree of tolerance manifested, so that the severe persecutions of the past are seldom experienced. Governments protect minority groups to a degree, and for this we can be thankful. But we should ever remember that we are commissioned to be “the light of the world,” and whatever trying experiences come to us while faithfully fulfilling our commission should be accepted with rejoicing. We should consider opposition from the world as an evidence of God’s favor.

QUESTIONS

Explain the manner in which the Roman Empire was “ordained of God.”

Have any of the worldly governments ever been recognized by God as his kingdom?

Are we to obey civil powers when they demand things contrary to God’s law?

Explain what it means to be partakers of Christ’s suffering.

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