The Christian and the Government
Romans 13:1-7 

The story is told of an argument between Babe Ruth and a home plate umpire who called Ruth out on strikes.  "There's 4,000 people out there who would have called that last pitch ball!" shouted Ruth.  "Perhaps so," replied the umpire, "but mine is the only call that counts."

When it came to calling balls and strikes, the umpire was the authority and even the great Babe Ruth had to submit to his authority. 

As Christians, you and I understand what it means to submit to authority.  We believe that the Word of God is THE highest authority there is. And even though we sometimes want to argue the call, we must, in the end submit to the call that God makes in His Word. 

What are we to think however when we hear St. Paul say, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities..."  Is the Bible contradicting itself when it asks us to "submit yourselves to God,"  (James 4:7) and "submit yourself to the governing authorities."  Sometimes, in trying to follow Scripture we may feel like we have one foot on the dock and one foot in the boat and the boat is drifting away. 

You and I have a duel citizenship.  We are citizens of the Kingdom of God.  And we are also citizens of a country.  And scripture calls us to submit to the authority of Christ and His Church as well as the government.  In order to help us understand how we are to do both, I've drawn five distinctions between the two. 

I.                    The Nature of State and Church

            A. State.

The first distinction to be made between the two kingdoms is in their nature.  The nature of the state is visible.  We were reminded just how visible the governing authorities are during the recent presidential primaries and the current campaigning. 

Awhile ago, we went to Washington DC and took the tour of the White House and the FBI and we knew we were at the center of the government.  When children study geography in school they study a map of the USA. and they see its boundaries, where this government's authority ends and another's authority begins. 

If  you would like to remove yourself from the authority of the government that has authority where you are, you may do so by relocating and taking up citizenship in another area. 

            B. Church.

The nature of the Kingdom of Christ is invisible.  In Luke 17:20, Jesus says, "The Kingdom of God comes not with observation;  nor will people say here it is, there it is, because the Kingdom of God is within you." 

You cannot look on a map and locate the Kingdom of God.  There is no place where you can go to escape the Kingdom of God.   It is the David who realizes this when he says, "Where can I go to hide from Your Spirit?  If I go up to the heavens, you are there;  if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. " (Ps.139). Our citizenship in the Kingdom of God does not change, no matter where we live. 

So then, we see that the governing authorities which we must submit to are relative depending upon where we are located but our submission to God's authority is constant because His Kingdom has no borders. 

II.                  Duration.

            A. State.

The second distinction to be made between the two kingdoms then deals with their duration.  The "governing authorities" have a limited duration.  They are temporary.  The will not last forever.  All you need to do is take out a world atlas that happens to be just five or ten years old and you will see that many of the "governing authorities" that did exist are no longer there. 

How many schools and classrooms have had to chuck their obsolete globes because the USSR no longer exist and lots of other countries with strange names do? 

            B. Church.

The Kingdom of Christ however is eternal.  It will never end or fail.  The writer of Hebrews says, "Your throne Oh Lord will last forever and ever." (Heb.1:8).  Jesus praises Peter for his good confession in saying that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.  He goes on to say that Christ will build His church upon all those who confess the same, and "the gates of Hades will not overcome it." (Matthew 16:18). 

There will come a time when the authority of the state will have no authority over us.  Yet, the Kingdom of God will never end and we will always be called to submit to it's King. 

III.                Purpose.

            A. State.

The third distinction between the state and the church has to with the purpose for which each exists.  There is an old saying that goes, "The object of the state is world peace.  The object of the church is eternal peace."  The purpose for which the government of any country exists is to establish and maintain order and a peaceful society and to work for the physical welfare of its citizens. 

In order to carry this purpose out, the state has the authority to punish those who disrupt the order and peace of society or interfere with the physical welfare of others.   This is what Paul is talking about when he says, "If you do wrong, be afraid, because he (the governing authority) does not bear the sword for nothing.  He (the governing authority) is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer." 

This is why the state has an army and navy to protect its citizens from outside threats.  It makes laws concerning commerce, trade and industry.  It adopts certain health standards that it enforces.  It provides for the care and support of the poor and those unable to care for themselves.  It does all this, not out of pity or mercy or even a sincere love for its people.  It is simply the duty of the state to protect and promote the welfare of its citizens. 

In order to carry out this purpose, the state must employ police, FBI, and others and this requires money.  Therefore, the state has the authority to levy taxes in order to carry out its purposes.  It is the duty of the citizens of the state to pay those taxes and St. Paul acknowledges this when he says, "This is why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing."

            B. The Church

The purpose of the church however is to promote eternal peace.  When Jesus sends Paul to carry out His purpose, He does not send him to promote the physical well-being and safety.  "I am sending you to the gentiles to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God so they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me."  (Acts 26:17-18). 

The eternal peace which the Church is called to provide, is a peace that it is able to give even when the state is not able to provide the peace and order and physical well-being that it is commissioned to provide.  Jesus reminds His disciples in John 14:27, "Peace I leave you, my peace I give to you.  I do not give it to you as the world gives peace."   The Peace of God is a peace that is available even when the country is at war.  Even when our physical well-being is in jeopardy.  Even when the world around us is in chaos. 

IV.               Standards for Authority

            A. State

The fourth distinction that we must notice between the two kingdoms is the standard for their authority.  The state follows the dictates of human reason.  Lawmakers develop laws which they reason, will advance the welfare of their citizens in the best way possible.   These laws come from the minds of men and women in response to the circumstances and conditions which they are faced with.  As conditions change, laws change.  Votes are taken as a way of confirming the sound reason of a particular law. 

Citizens of a country are required to submit to the laws of the land, even though they may be flawed just as human reason is sometimes flawed.  Because the law of the land is a product of men and women, where compromise is involved, and less than perfect is accepted as the best that can be done.   And yet for the sake of order and the public welfare, citizens must submit to them. 

            B. Church

The church follows the dictates of Scripture.  Jesus says that the Church, "must teach everything I command you."  (Matt.28:20).  The standards of the Kingdom of Christ are formulated entirely from the mind of God and not at all from the mind of men and women.  The church has no right at all to set up rules and laws that are not contained in scripture.  The church has no business ever voting on matters of doctrine. It may vote on practical matter of how to go about its mission - but the final word on the mission itself is as final as Christ's words, "It is written.." 

Furthermore, because scripture is the only standard for the church, and scripture does not change, the standards of the church do not change.  They remain the same, no matter how much the conditions of the world change.  As social conditions change, the laws of the land change to keep up with society.  God's Word however does not change, no matter how out of step with the world today it may seem to be. 

V.                 Means.

            A. State.

Finally, it will be helpful to distinguish between the means used by the two kingdoms to carry out its purpose.  The state uses force to accomplish its mission.  Just try disobeying the law and I believe you will find that the authorities will try to bring you into line with the help of the police, IRS agents, prisons, or as Paul says, "with the sword." 

            B. Church

The church however uses preaching of the Word of God to carry out its mission.  When that is not effective, it cannot use force.  When Peter raised his sword at the arrest of Jesus, Jesus commanded Peter to put the sword away.   The most it can do is dissolve its fellowship with the offender in the manner that Jesus prescribes in Matthew 18. 

Jesus says that submission to His authority comes only by hearing and believing.  "My sheep hear my voice and they follow me."  When men and women become citizens of  the Kingdom of Christ, they submit to His authority out of love for the shepherd, by faith that comes by hearing,  never by force. 

VI.               Harmony of the two because both established by God.

            A. God has established.

Two kingdoms, each one distinct from the other in nature, duration, purpose, standards and means.  How are we to submit to both?  The key to the answer is in our Epistle text.   Paul writes, "There is no authority except that which is established by God."   They are both created by God, each with it's own purpose. 

Both to be working in perfect harmony with one another.  And yet we know that the two Kingdoms do not always work together in perfect harmony.  And so we must speak about what we are to do when the two conflict with one another. 

There are only two situations in which we as Christians must not submit to the authority of the state. 

First, when the State prohibits what scripture commands.  And second, when the State commands what scripture prohibits. 

Sometimes, the governing authorities are not fair.  Sometimes they are not wise.  Sometimes they are altogether wrong. Yet as long as it does not violate the two conditions we have stated, we, as citizens of the Kingdom of God must submit to its authority. 

To submit to the governing authorities is to submit to the authority of God because God established the government.   It is a very poor witness by the citizens of the kingdom of Christ when they do not submit to the governing authorities.  

It is when we submit to it's authority at its worst that we become most like Christ who stood before the governing authority of Pontius Pilate and submitted to his completely unjust authority.  As witnesses to the Christ, we must be good citizens of heaven and earth, because God has established them both.