Principles of Civility Pt 3

If God’s people once again would
take their Bibles and turn to Romans chapter 13. Romans chapter
13. In that chapter, we have come
to a section that provides a bit of
a conundrum for some, not for all. When it comes to government,
politics, the whole political system. I guess one of the phenomena
that I have noticed over the years is that people go through
fits and starts in their participation in human government. And it usually
goes like this, they gradually become frustrated with the government
or with a political office in general or even someone specific
and that prompts them to a greater personal involvement. and the
involvement deepens and you know the next thing you know they’re
posting bumper stickers and soon pins and having meetings and
prompting people to vote and putting signs in their yard and
it goes far beyond even that. And then frustration grows as
things don’t change or certainly don’t change as quickly or as
dramatically or as thoroughly as they had hoped that they would
change. And as their frustration grows, they seemingly hit a wall
and they drop out of the process altogether. Well, the interesting thing is
Paul doesn’t even address that. We certainly have the right to
vote. We certainly have the right and responsibility to participate
in the government the process of voting, the process of electing
our officials. We certainly have the privilege
of serving in that capacity, if that is our particular calling. But we don’t have the capacity
to completely remove ourselves from government. And that, at
the very minimum, is what Paul is addressing here in this chapter. We don’t have the option of just
exonerating ourselves from their authority. We don’t have the
option of removing ourselves from a society or enacting some
kind of a society that operates by anarchy. Certainly, as we saw, Israel
had tried that. That didn’t go so well. Paul
is writing to Christians. And as he’s writing to Christians
he legitimizes human government. That’s plainly evident in these
seven verses. He legitimizes it first by bringing
it up and then by the principles that he extols in his discussion. He says that the human government
is legitimate and that Christians as part of two kingdoms are to
interact with that government. They are to have a relationship.
And what he gives is not the final answer. He doesn’t give
the final word on how government is to function. He doesn’t give
the final word on how we are to function when government is
dysfunction. What he does give is four principles
which we have begun to consider. Four principles of what I called
civility. If you would glance down at your
Bibles at verse one, Romans chapter 13, verse one through seven.
Where Paul writes, let every person be in subjection to the
governing authorities. For there is no authority except
from God and those which exist are established by God. Therefore, he who resists authority
has opposed the ordinance of God. and they who have opposed
will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not
a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to
have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will
have praise from the same. For it is a minister of God to
you for good. But if you do what is evil, be
afraid. For it does not bear the sword
for nothing. For it is a minister of God,
an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil. Wherefore, it is necessary to
be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience
sake. For because of this, you also
pay taxes for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to
this very thing. Render to all what is due them. Tax to whom taxes due. Custom to whom custom. Fear to
whom fear. Honor to whom honor. The last
two Lord’s days we have been considering the first of those
principles. The principle of obedience and
it couldn’t be any more clear. Let every person, every soul
literally. Be in subjection, and we talked
about what that looked like. That we do need to be yielded,
but not if the government is commanding us to do something
that God forbids or forbidding us to do something that God commands.
Let’s be reasonable. But every person is to be in
subjection to the governing authorities, whatever structure that happens
to look like. If it’s a monarchy, if it’s a
democracy. Whatever the case may be, whatever
flavor, whatever particular nuance the government takes, we are
to be as Christians subjected to that government. We are to
be the best in society. And Paul gives the reasons. Now,
let me just tell you that structurally speaking, The second principle
essentially grows out of. The first principle, the principle
of obedience, leads to the second principle, the principle of decency. Let me show you how that happens.
Paul says, let every person be in subjection to governing authorities,
and then he gives the reason why. Why are we supposed to be
in subjection? For there is no authority except
from God. We made that. We looked at that
point. We considered it that God is the one that puts kings
in place. God is also the one that brings
them down again. God is sovereign. God is the
one that’s in control. Ultimately, God put your boss
where he is. God put the governing authorities
in office. God did it. So if you have some
complaints, at least you know where to go. Let every person
be in subjection to the governing authorities, for there is no
authority except from God and those which exist are established
by God. Therefore, Paul wants to drive
the point home by making it practical. What should we do with this?
Therefore, he who resists authority is opposed the ordinance of God.
This doesn’t prevent us from speaking the truth to our governing
authorities, as we saw John the Baptist did. God doesn’t forbid
us from proclaiming the truth and and crying out against sin
and sinful practices. Just because a law a law allowing
people to kill innocent babies in the womb just because a law
has been passed does not mean that we have to be silent. We
must speak up. We must speak out, we must call
sin sin every time. But when we begin to resist the
good authority, when we begin to resist government as government,
when we begin to resist rulers in their office as rulers, Paul
says, that’s when we cross the line and we begin to oppose the
ordinance of God. It’s God that put them there.
It’s God that ordained human government, and he did so for
a purpose. And I told you, I’m telling you,
I’m not just reviewing, I’m giving you the structure of the passage,
and I told you that the second principle essentially grows out
of the first. Paul gives another reason on
why every soul, every person is to be in subjection to the
governing authorities. He’s applied it already. He’s
given us one reason there is no authority except from God,
and he gives us another reason in verse three. And from verse
three through verse four, we have our second principle in
verse three. He tells us for rulers are not
a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Well, let’s let’s
begin there this morning. It’s essentially the second reason
that Paul provides, but it also forms the second principle that
we have. It is the principle not only
of obedience, but the principle of decency. If you will, goodness. Look at verse three. Rulers for
rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. He gives us another reason why
Christians are supposed to be submitted. To civil authorities,
to human government. It’s not merely illustrating
what he has just said, he’s giving us the reason why God has appointed
this government. And that this government, if
it is to function as God has designed it to do in his good
providence, we are to submit because The way God has planned
it out, the way God has ordained it, is that rulers essentially
promote what is good and essentially subdue what is evil. Now, that
is a general statement. I’m not suggesting for a moment
that Idi Amin was a good guy. I’m not suggesting for a moment
that Hitler should have blindly been obeyed at every command.
We talked about this last week with regards to the principle
of obedience. But as we begin to transition
into this second great principle, this additional reason for being
subject to authorities, we come to a distinct principle in and
of itself. The principle of decency. Bottom line is that God, God
is the one that has ordained human government. God is the
one who has instituted it. God is the one that authorized
it, if you will. And suggested that there would
be particular instruments in place that would maintain order
within a given society that would not only promote what is beneficial
for the society, but would also punish crime, evildoers. And so, from a Christian standpoint,
government isn’t to be hated. We talked about that in the first
weeks. How is the Christian? Are we
supposed to have this co-belligerent relationship with them where,
you know, they’re a necessary evil and we fight against them
at every turn? You know, there are many Christians
that not they may not articulate that. They may not tell you that
that’s what they believe, but that’s how they live. Ask him
when the last time was they paid their taxes and I’ll tell you
what they think of human government. Government isn’t an evil to be
hated or loathed or feared. Except in one case. Those who
do evil. Those who do evil should fear
government. Because that’s part of God’s
design. If they want to avoid suffering,
if they want to avoid pain, if they want to avoid punishment,
they are to do what is good. And this is so logical, it’s
almost a point that Paul makes by absurdity. Of course government
is there to promote what is good. One commentator said, never has
any power You know, you think of how absurd this would be never
has any power, whatever laid down as a principle, the punishment
of good and the reward of evil. Even when things go haywire,
even in its worst day, you remember the old phrase, there’s no honor
among thieves. Well, even as society begins
to come apart in the in the times of war, there are principles
in place. You don’t question a commanding
officer in those situations. There is order and the order
has a purpose. You can’t even conceive of a
society that would go about punishing the good and rewarding evil. It’s almost inconceivable. And
so when Paul says it rulers are a cause of good behavior but
not a cause of fear for good behavior but for evil. I’ve said
it before. You know, when you see the lights
on behind you, right, the state patrol, the Fort Collins police,
whatever the case may be, they’re probably not pulling you over
to say, you know, thank you for using your blinker as you approach
that intersection. Thank you, even though it’s posted
40, thank you for doing 38. They’re probably not pulling
you over to reward your good behavior. We’ll talk about that
in a moment. They’re pulling you over because you’ve done
something wrong because they, I’d like to talk to you about
the fact that you don’t have a blinker. About the fact that
you were well beyond the posted speed limit. Nobody has ever been punished
for doing what is right. No government sets itself up
and essentially says, injure your neighbor and we will reward
you thusly. It’s an absurd thought. What
it promotes is good behavior. Government is designed by God
to promote good behavior. Generally speaking there it’s
it’s deeds and actions that promote the good of society and not the
downfall of society that would be to destroy from within. What it promotes this good government
is the actions that promote things that are beneficial
for the masses and not those which disturb individuals and
society itself. As one pastor said throughout
history even the most wicked regimes were a deterrent to murder. Murder in any society is not
just frowned upon in in almost every society ever known. When
a murder is committed then punishment is meted out. He goes on, even the most wicked
regimes were deterrent to murder, theft, many other crimes. Frequently crimes under such
systems are lower than those in the free world. Now we’ll
come back to this in a moment to talk about our own justice
system because I do think Like many of you, it is broken. It’s
not perfect. It does need not only our prayers,
it needs our efforts. It needs our pressure. It needs
our support. We need to support the government
when it does right. But to the point that what he
said, even the most wicked regimes are deterrents to murder. Do
you know what the punishment is in Iran for stealing? your hand. They take you and
cut off your hand. Now, I’m not suggesting that
we adopt that procedure, but that is a deterrent, isn’t it?
You have no more means to steal anything or soon you won’t. The punishment for adultery in
Iran is 100 lashes for both parties, by the way, 100 lashes. That would certainly be a deterrent
for life as we know it in our own country or at least would
begin to minimize such activity. I’m not advocating either one
of those punishments. What I’m pointing to is that
is the role of government. The role of government is to
punish evil and promote what is good and wholesome and beneficial. One commentator flesh this out
when he said the institution of civil government is a dispensation
of mercy. Did you already said it is a
gift of God’s mercy. Can you imagine how haywire this
world would be if there were no government if there were no
laws if there were no stop signs no speed limits no rules against
how people behave how quickly things would spin out of control.
We probably would perish before nightfall, wouldn’t we? The institution
of civil government is a dispensation of mercy in the world. The world
ever since the fall has been in such a state of corruption
and depravity that without the powerful obstacle presented by
civil government to the selfish and malignant passions of men,
it would be better to live among the beasts of the forest than
in a human society. As soon as its restraints are
removed, man shows himself in his real character. Why do you
think so many crimes are committed at night? They do it at night
so they can’t be seen. But if you were to suddenly take
law away, they would do whatever they need to do in broad daylight.
They would steal and pillage. Without any restraint whatsoever,
Government is a God given mercy. It’s a restraint against the
human nature. It’s a restraint against fallen
humanity. And it also promotes not only
the repression of evil, but the promotion of good. And what it
talks about there is just the collective good things that take
place in society. Very general here is this word. Government is there to repress
evil and promote good very generally. First Peter said it this way.
First Peter 3 13 says who is who is there to harm you if you
prove zealous for what is good. And essentially the same thought
is being promoted though that the Christian in society is to
be about good. What does that mean. The obvious
point is are we zealous. For what is good? Good by God’s
standards, not just an obedient follower, not just one who occasionally
does something nice, but somebody who is enthusiastic, zealous. I mean, that’s the nature of
that word. Somebody who wakes up with a passion to do what’s
good and right and wholesome in the world. They’re fanatics. They’re extremists in that regard.
Can you say that about yourself? I mean, I really have to check
myself as I read this. Who is there to harm you if you
prove zealous for what is good? No wonder the world looks down
its nose at most Christians. No wonder government typically
can’t trust Christians. Because they see people that
aren’t just sold out, absolutely sold out, when you look at that
guy, he’s all about what’s good and right and wholesome. That’s
what government needs to see. That’s what our neighbors need
to see. That’s what the mayor of the city needs to see. What
one called a passionate lover of goodness. Is that? I mean,
if you wore that label, if you put that. On your lapel. Would people mock
you? Oh, right. Yeah, a passionate
lover of goodness. Yeah, right. He goes on, he says, a passionate
lover of goodness, goodness may be a burden. It may be a bore,
it may be something which he vaguely and sentimentally desires,
the price of which he is not willing to pay in sweat and effort. Peter says here is that we’ve
got to be zealous for what is good and when we are so. We’re doing what is right and
good, even in an evil government society. They look and they see
he’s only doing what’s right. Peter says, who’s there to harm
you? If a sovereign God sits over you, who is going to harm
you for doing that? So what Paul says likewise echoes
that. The one who conducts himself
properly, the one who does what’s good and right, the one who avoids
evil, sinfulness, lawlessness, he has nothing to fear. And that
doesn’t mean people that know difficulty will ever befall you.
Unjust punishment happens all the time. unjust, unfair things
happen all the time. But what he’s saying here is
a generalization that government by nature has this tendency to
promote what is good and punish what is evil. And that’s what
we ought to be about as Christians. One shepherd said it this way,
believers are to be model citizens. Would you say that about yourself? Sometimes we fudge the taxes,
we fudge on the laws, we fudge here and we fudge there. I really wonder how many of us
could say that we’re model citizens. Where if somebody had a lens
that allowed them to see everything that we did in society, are we
model citizens? Do we recycle? Believers are to be model citizens
known as law abiding not rabble rousing obedient rather than
rebellious respectful of government rather than demeaning of it.
We must speak against sin against injustice against immorality
and ungodliness with fearless dedication. But we must do it
within the framework of civil law with respect for civil authorities
a godly society within an ungodly society. Did you hear what he
said? That we are to function, we are to be seen as a godly
society functioning within a greater and ungodly society. And I would
ask you, if you were the king, who would you rather? Who would
you rather have in your kingdom? A kingdom of troublemakers, sinners,
Those who hate God and hate people or Christians who simply want
to do what’s right. They cry out for God’s grace
to be good and do good and do right to be kind to their neighbor
and to take care and to not steal. Who would you rather? Who would
you rather have in your kingdom? Paul goes on. In this principle
of decency, which he is well into now. He says it quite plainly
there as he gives the second reason on why we’re to be in
subjection for rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior,
but for evil. But he goes far beyond that.
Now he’s well into this principle of decency. To which he calls
us. This second great principle,
he says, he asks a simple question. Do you want to have no fear of
authority? I mean, who wants palpitations,
right? When the lights come on behind you, who wants that? Do you want to skip that? Do
you want to avoid that? Do the speed limit. Check your
bulbs and your taillights, right? Do what you’re supposed to do. Do you want to have no fear of
authority? What a simple question he asks. Do you want to have
no fear of authority? Do what’s good. And you will
have praise from the same. For it is a minister of God to
you for good. Let’s take that piece by piece.
Do you want to have no fear of authority? You see, the society,
the government, we’ve already seen it exists for a good purpose. God put it there for a reason.
God put it there to promote good and punish evil. And so, naturally,
if we lead a peaceful life, if we are generally about doing
what is good, we will have nothing to fear. The times where we step
over the line, the times where we, you know, we blow it, the
times where we set aside principle and we say, I know, but. Then
we have cause to fear. See, because these civil rulers
They’re not only, and I love the way it says this, they’re
not only ministers of God’s servants. We’ll get to that in a moment.
But they’re ministers of good. They’re going about promoting,
generally speaking, what is good. So we should be thankful. First
and foremost, Christians should be thankful for a government.
Paul says it, and we’ll get to that passage in a moment, we
should be about prayer for those in office. We should be about
prayer For those who are governing authorities, we should be about
prayer for our civil government. We should be about thankfulness
on their behalf. Thankful when they do right,
prayerful, pleading with God when they do wrong. Praying for
their souls all the way. Be thankful, that’s what we should
be. Because in that particular way,
we begin to commend ourselves to the world to the gospel. You know what bumper sticker
we should have put on our bumpers years ago. I’m praying for you
Mr. President. Wouldn’t that change
the world. It would certainly change the
opinions of a lot of people around you who know who you are who
know likely how you voted who know that you’re likely disappointed.
I’m praying for you Mr. President. The world needs to
know that. That’s what begins to promote
the gospel to the world. That’s what begins to take away
some of the obstacles, some of the unnecessary obstacles that
stand in our way as Christians trying to promote. The gospel
of our Lord. That other people might come
to know Christ, can you imagine what a testimony that would be? Do what is good. You will have
praise from the same. Now, let’s be reasonable here. The praise that we’re going to
get, I’ve already made the point when you see the lights, they’re
probably not pulling you over to give you an award. Thank you.
You get the safe driver of the month award. We haven’t had to
stop you all month. You know, it’s really a silly
thought. And Paul here is just saying
that generally speaking, As those in civil authority look out over
the land and they see their Christian populace, they will say that,
you know what, I don’t have trouble with that sector. I don’t have
trouble with those people. I really appreciate the way those
people carry themselves. They do what is right. When it
snows, they shovel the sidewalks. Right. We learned that lesson. That’s all they asked us to do.
They do what is right. They’re not a pain in the neck. So, the praise, they’re not going
to come by with awards. They’re not going to give us
a trophy for shoveling our sidewalks. They’re not going to give us
a trophy for our driving, a blue ribbon. I had a boss. I had a boss one time. He was
a character. We were talking about ways that
we could kind of promote, stir up greater service among those
who were employed. And I made a few things that
maybe we could come up with a contest of who gets the most kind of
stuff done. And he said, how about this? How about whoever does their
job keeps their job? That’s kind of fascinating. And
really, that’s kind of how the government functions. How about
this? Whoever does what’s right. Doesn’t have to go to jail. Whoever
does what’s right doesn’t have to face the consequences, doesn’t
have to pay the fine. See, Paul, when he started talking
about good, he doesn’t have just this general vague thing in mind,
Paul, when he wrote to young Timothy telling him how to shepherd
a church. He gave him almost a textbook
description of what he was looking for for the Christian in society. Listen to this. First Timothy
two. First then I I urge he’s not
just making a simple request. Hey if you have the time you
know once a month when you cancel Sunday school if you have a moment
Pray for your pray for your civil government. I urge he says it in the strongest
terms possible. I am absolutely urging you that
in treaties and prayers not just general prayer not just oh God
bless the whole wide world. Keep give peace on earth. That’s not at all. You know that’s
a that’s a general prayer. But what he also urges is specific
entreaties. God, save this man’s soul. Bring him to repentance. Give
to him wisdom beyond his capabilities. Help him. First then, I urge
that entreaties, prayers, petitions, God, I know we’ve been here before.
We prayed a month ago. We prayed the same thing a month
ago, but I’m here again and I’m going to ask the same thing.
Overturn this law. In treaties, prayers, petitions
and thanksgivings. I’m telling you, this one smarts,
doesn’t it? Republicans. Did I say smarts? Thanksgivings
now? The way things are going, the
way the last few elections have gone, are you kidding me? Thanksgiving?
That’s what Paul said. First of all, I urge them that
in treaties, prayers, petitions and thanksgivings be made on
behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority. Well, that pretty much does it,
doesn’t it? That pretty much covers the basis, no matter what
society you live in. No matter what kind of governing
system that you live in or who’s at the top of the heap that pretty
much covers it. Why? Why is it so important that
we pray and thank and petition and we go through all these things,
why is it so important? Paul gives you the reason right
there. I urge that in treaties, prayers,
petitions and thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men for
kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil
and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. You know what human
government is about promoting? Order, productivity, peace, harmony,
justice, care, provision, security, infrastructure, cooperation,
life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. That’s government.
And that’s why we pray. One pastor said the authority
is God’s servant to bring about good, the good of the individual.
Conditions for a tranquil and quiet life, which God’s people
can serve him effectively. You know what is interesting,
and it’s so it’s so germane to our own day that I have to share
it with you know what the Puritans referred to their day and age.
They referred to the day in which they lived as gospel opportunity. You know why? Because they saw
the window closing. It’s always closing. It’s always
evil men will proceed from bad to worse. It’s going to get worse.
It will. It must. It always does. They
saw gospel opportunity and that window did close in England,
didn’t it? It did close and it will close
here, too. What they saw was that for a
season. They had tranquil and quiet lives. They had relative peace, even
the Christians living in Rome had this amazingly peaceful season. For a few more years. And then
the window closed. We need to pray as the Puritans
or for what the Puritans had, we need to pray for a gospel
opportunity, we pray that God would keep that window open as
long as he could, as long as he would. That souls would be
saved so that we would have the opportunity to promote Christ. Said one consciously or unconsciously,
willingly or unwillingly in one way or the other, the power will
praise the good work and punish the evil. The Christian, insofar
as he is obeying the gospel, may be sure that the power will
honor him on the one hand if he does evil, It must necessarily
punish him. That’s the role of government. Look at verse four. In verse three, he asked the
question, you want to have no fear of authority, do what is
good and you are praised for the same. I’m not going to give
you a word, but generally speaking, they will appreciate the fact
that they have you in their kingdom. Verse four says, for it is a
minister of God to you for good. This is such a fascinating phrase. Because it uses our word, the
word we use in church. Talking about guys that I love.
Guys that work hard in our body. Deacons that stole their name. And it gave it to those guys. The word here just means a servant. That’s what a deacon is. What
a glorious term. He’s a servant. in the body of
Christ. But you know what Paul says?
That’s what these governing officials are. They’re servants. They’re
not deacons. Don’t take it too far. They are
servants. They’re ministers of God. God
put them there for his good doing. The word originally meant a table
waiter. He’s a busboy, right? He’s a
busboy in God’s kitchen and nothing more. The ruler is God’s servant. Carrying out God’s bidding, not
his own. I love the way Charles Hodge
put it in context. Listen to this. The reason why
the ruler cannot help but praise the good work and punish the
evil is that he is whether he knows it or not. Whether willingly
or unwillingly, God’s servant. Did you hear what he said? Regardless
of how he got elected, he may not. He may not realize it. He
may never acknowledge it. But ultimately, God put him there
and he will answer ultimately to him. The purposes, Hodge goes
on. The purposes to which he ultimately
gives effect are not his own, but God’s. In other words, he
says God is the one that ultimately is steering this vessel. God
is the one that is guiding him and God is the one to whom he
will answer. He goes on. They themselves are
taught. What those in power are so apt
to forget. that they are the servants of
the people as well as the servants of God. You see, they in our
day and age are governing officials. They will so often claim to be
the servants of the people and they will talk about their constituency
as if they care. And you and I both know so many
times they don’t. They’re not really, truly our
servants, they’re not really there representing us. But it
doesn’t matter what kind of job they do in Washington or down
in Denver or here in Fort Collins, it doesn’t matter what kind of
job they do. To which they have to answer
to us. What he’s saying is that ultimately they will answer to
God because God is the one that put them there, they are God’s
servant. Not merely our representatives. The welfare of the society is
the only legitimate object which they as rulers are at liberty
to pursue. That’s what they’re supposed
to be about. They’re supposed to be about
pursuing what is good and right and wholesome. And I know. Saints, I know how frustrating
it is right now in our day and age. structure of the government,
some of the laws that exist. And you would have to almost
look at this passage and say, you know what this. This could
not have been written by Paul. This could not have been written
by Paul, who speaks so highly of of sanctification and growth
in godliness and a sovereign God, this could not have been
written by Paul, but it was. And next Lord’s Day, I want to
take you on a tour. I want to take you on a tour
to where Paul could stand and say, you know what? Governing
authorities were called to submit to them because God put them
there and they are there to promote society’s good and they are to
promote good and punish evil. Until then, let’s pray. Our merciful King. All of us are somewhere in this
continuum. A continuum of oftentimes frustration. Either we see a growing cause
to get involved, to change laws, to vote, to promote meetings,
to stir up the hearts of the people, to enter into debates,
even to seek public office. Others of us have been that road.
We’ve spent far too much energy. To us, it seems utterly hopeless
and worthless. And in a sense, we’ve given up
and given in. In a sense, we look up to heaven
and look for the Lord’s return as our only hope. But Father,
you have placed us here And as long as we are here, we are supposed
to be subjected to government for the cause of good. God grant
us that we would step back and take a look at how the apostle
prosecuted his own life, how he enjoyed the benefit of government. And how he dealt with his sinfulness.
Lord God, this was the testimony of the Apostle Paul. These are
his words. These are his principles. Grant
us the grace to consider them carefully and apply them to our
life as we pursue a life of decency, goodness, which even heathen
rulers would see, for which they would commend. It’s in Jesus
name that we ask. Amen.