INTRODUCTION
When
you hear the word ‘policeman’ what is your instant reaction? I grew up in small villages in west Cumbria,
where we had a village bobby who lived in the local police house and was known
to everyone. He could be stern when
required, but you knew he was on your side, and was there to protect and look
after people. But imagine what it must be like to live in a country where the
police and authorities are not to be trusted, but feared or even hated.
Or what
about words like ‘government’ or ‘the council’?
In this country we have become a lot more cynical about our elected
representatives in recent years. But we are fortunate that we live in a
democracy and can hold our officials to account. What about those people who live in countries
where the government is genuinely corrupt and dehumanizing, where human rights
and freedoms are not respected or upheld.
How
would you respond if someone said not only do we have to be obedient to these
civil powers, but that they were established by God Himself? It seems an extraordinary claim to make, and
yet this is exactly what Paul does in our reading from Romans.
‘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. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is
rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring
judgment on themselves.’ (Rom 13:1-2)
This passage has been subject to a lot of debate, and interpreted and
understood, used and even abused in many different ways. For example these verses were used by the white South African government
in the 1980s to justify their policy of apartheid, and to try and try and
stifle opposition.
Therefore this passage does
raise some very serious questions; is Paul honestly saying that the Herods and
Neros of New Testament times, and the Hitlers, Stalins, Amins, Gdaffis, Saddams
and al-Assads of our times were personally appointed by God, and that their
authority is not to be resisted? If so,
it raises huge moral and ethical challenges.
EXAMPLE OF BONHOEFFER
What would you have done
if you were living in Nazi Germany during the 30s and 40s? Would the right thing be to oppose the
regime, even take up arms against it, or to submit to the regime because
whether you liked it or not, it was the governing authority?
For
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, this was a question he personally had to wrestle
with. Bonhoeffer, was a German Lutheran
Pastor and theologian who helped establish the Confessing Church in the 1930s,
which arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to Nazify and control
the German Protestant church.
Bonhoeffer
was a determined opponent of the Nazi regime from its first days. In April 1933, four months
after Hitler became German Chancellor, Bonhoeffer raised the first voice for
church resistance to Hitler's persecution of Jews, declaring that the church
must not simply "bandage the victims under the wheel, but jam the spoke in
the wheel itself."
Bonhoeffer’s opposition to the regime ultimately resulted in him getting
involved with the German resistance movement, where he had to wrestle with the question of whether it was ever right
to justify murder. Bonhoeffer came to
the conclusion that Christians have a duty to act in accordance to the will of
God. And therefore when assaulted by
evil, to ignore that evil, or do nothing to try and stop it, would be to simply
condone the evil, and therefore be a greater wrong. Therefore Bonhoeffer believed the evil of the
Nazi regime had to be tackled face on by direct action.
Bonhoeffer therefore played a part in Operation
Valkryie, the failed plot to assassinate Hitler. Because of his involvement in the German
resistance Bonhoeffer was arrested and executed on April 9 1945 at Flossenburg
Concentration Camp, just two weeks before the camp was liberated by the
Americans.
How does the decision that Bonhoeffer made to resist
Hitler, sit with the instruction given in Romans chapter 13, which says that ‘whoever rebels against the authority is
rebelling against what God has instituted’? Is Paul in effect really saying that the
right thing to have done would have been to support Hitler’s regime, rather
than oppose it?
To answer this, let’s look in closer detail at what
Paul writes.
EVERYTHING IS UNDER GOD’S RULE
The first point Paul makes is that ultimately all
things are under God’s rule, because God
is the Lord of history, and there is no power or authority higher than God. Therefore the government authorities that exist in the world do so by the authority
granted them by the supreme authority, God Himself. All human
authority is derived from God’s authority, that is why Jesus was able to say to
Pilate, ‘You would have no power over me
if it were not given to you from above’. (John 19:11)
But even though Paul says all authorities that exist have been
established by God, that does not mean that what they do is always approved by
God. In the book of Micah we read ‘what does
the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly
with your God.’ (Micah 6:8) This is true not just of us as individuals,
but also the rulers and authorities that have been put over us. So whenever a government is guilty of
injustice, oppression, persecution, discrimination or war mongering, this is
something in direct contradiction to God’s will.
Think of it this way. God ordained marriage, but not every marriage is
reflective of the character of God. In some marriages you find abuse, cruelty,
injustice and divorce. That does not reflect the character of God, but none the
less the institution of marriage is God-ordained. And the same is true of the
authorities and powers that rule over us, they are ultimately God ordained
institutions, even if they don’t always reflect God’s loving nature.
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
Paul says that ‘whoever rebels against the authority is
rebelling against what God has instituted.’ (13:2) This raises the question is it ever right to
disobey the government? Granted that the
authority of rulers is derived from God, but what happens if they abuse it, if
they reverse their God given duty, commending those who do evil and punishing
those who do good? What is the right
thing to do in those situations?
The answer is that we should obey the
authorities in all that is moral and right, but obedience to God, always comes
before obedience to the state.
If the state commanded us to do something that
God forbids, or forbids what God
commands, then our Christian duty is to resist, not to submit, to disobey the
state in order to obey God. Our moral
duty is always to put God’s will first, and so whenever laws are enacted that contradicts
God’s law, civil disobedience becomes a Christian duty.
We see a number of examples of this in
scripture. When Pharaoh ordered the
Hebrew midwives to kill the newborn boys, they refused to obey. ‘The
midwives… feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do,
they let the boys’ lives.’ (Ex 1:17)
When King Nebuchadnezzar issued an edict that
all his subjects must fall down and worship his golden image, Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego refused to obey (Dn 3).
When King Darius made a decree that for thirty days nobody should pray ‘to any god or man’ except himself,
Daniel refused to obey (Dn 6). And when
the Sanhedrin banned preaching in the name of Jesus, the apostles refused to
obey saying ‘We must obey God rather than
men’ (Acts 5:29) This is the strict
meaning of civil disobedience, disobeying a particular human law because it is
contrary to God’s law.
Today there are Christians who face imprisonment and persecution in many
different countries around the world, because the civil laws of the country
where they live are in conflict with the laws of God. For example Bonhoeffer,
who in defiance to the Nazi Government, helped smuggle Jews out of Germany and
into safety.
In situations like this, there is often great
personal risk involved, but the primary concern of the people involved is to demonstrate
their submissiveness to God, not their defiance of the government.
OUR DUTY TO THE GOVERNMENT
At the time Paul wrote this letter, Nero was Emperor
in Rome, and the reputation of Christians at the time was poor. No good could
come to the cause of the gospel if Christians therefore developed an additional
reputation as trouble makers.
Instead Paul says that as
Christians we have a duty to be obedient to the government that we find
ourselves under, and that we should also pray for those who rule over us.
Writing to Timothy he says ‘I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all
godliness and holiness.’ (Timothy 2:1-2)
And in his letter to Titus Paul
says ‘Remind the people to be
subject to rulers and authorities, to
be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good’ (3:1)
And the Apostle Peter urges ‘Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to
every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme
authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to
punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should
silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as
free people, but
do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show
proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honour the emperor.’
(1 Peter 2:13-17)
As Christians we are to be
noted for our civil obedience. We have a
duty to obey the government in everything that is moral and good. To pay
our taxes, and to obey the laws of the land. We are to live a righteous and
peaceable life so that the light of the gospel shines clearly through us. Paul writes ‘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 in authority? Then do what is right
and you will be commended.’ (13:3)
So for example if we don’t break the law, if we obey the civil authorities, we won’t
have to suffer the fear and worry of getting caught and punished. If however,
you choose not to obey civil authorities, if you choose to break their laws, we
need to recognise that God has given them the power to enact judgment on evil
and disobedience. That is what is meant by 'bearing the sword'. They have the
power and authority to inflict punishment on us.
The simple message is that we
have a responsibility before God and all humanity to obey our civil authorities
and pay our taxes because they are servants of God for our good, and they are
in a position that deserves our fear, respect and honour.
OUR GOVERNMENTS DUTY TO US
As well as our duty towards the ruling authorities, Paul makes it clear that the state
carries a responsibility to care for its people.
Paul writes ‘For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good.... They are God’s servants.’ (Romans 13:4)
This is why we are to submit to authority in all that is
lawful and right, because God has designed the government to be society’s
protectors and enforcers of civil law and order.
Twice
Paul uses the word diakonoi/servant to
describe the role and function of the state.
John Stott in his commentary on Romans 13 writes “those who serve the state as legislators, civil servants, magistrates,
police, social workers, or tax collectors, are just as much ‘ministers of God’
as those who serve the church as pastors teachers, evangelists or
administrators.’ This is why it is
so important that we pray for those in authority, and recognise that what we do
in our daily lives, is as much part of our Christian ministry and calling, as
anything we may do within church.
Paul makes it clear that
the state’s function is to promote and reward good and to restrain and punish
the evil, and to bring order and stability to the world.
President Kennedy’s
famously said: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can
do for your country.” But we need to ask
both questions. Those over us clearly
have a duty towards us, but we also have a responsibility to be good citizens,
to effect change, to hold those who are in positions of responsibility and
power accountable. And also to submit in
everything lawful and just, to the authority of those above us, to honour its
representatives, pay its taxes and pray for its welfare, so that we can encourage
the state to fulfil its God appointed role and, together work to build a more
just and fair world for all God’s people.
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