What God Says about Government
As a Christian, I love righteousness. Much of what most governments do is against godly
principles and, unfortunately, is unrighteous. My spirit is grieved by what many leaders are doing; from legalizing the murder of little babies, to stepping up acceptance to let older and sick people die because of the money required to attend to them, forcing the country to accept sinful lifestyles, fighting wars for monetary reasons, removing freedoms that were earned by the blood of past patriots, rewarding ungodly behavior, and punishing righteousness. As my grievance list grows, my blood pressure goes up. If I had my way, I would stop the ungodliness immediately and throw ungodly rulers out of office this instant. God, however, thinks differently.
Romans 13 gives God’s perspective on government. We are commanded to be “subject to the higher powers.” We are to let them rule. We are also told that God allows them to be in that position (vs. 1), and that if men oppose them they “shall receive to themselves damnation (vs. 2).” Whoa, I want to get those ungodly politicians far from being able to make any decisions and God is telling me that I will have to answer to Him if I do so. Gulp! Wait a minute. What do I do? Obey God, naturally.
“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.” Romans 13:1-2
Paul tells us in Romans 13 that if we resist the governmental powers over us, we are violating God’s law. The law of the land is necessary. It curtails wanton sin. Without a ruling body, everyone would do what they thought was best and anarchy would rule. All citizens would suffer. There would be no order.
God allows the person that is ruling to do so. Two times the ruler is called a minister of God (Rom. 12:4, 6). Proverbs 8:15 reminds us, “By me kings reign and princes decree justice.” John 19:11 states “… Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above ….” Like it or not, the power ruling our country is allowed by God. God could easily remove the ruler if it was His will.
Obviously, not all rulers are just. There are “good and evil” leaders. Rarely are there righteous leaders. When Paul was writing this, he certainly was remembering the evil, destructive ruler that was killing Christians at the time, but the point was God allowed that leader to be in position.
Why would God allow so many godless leaders to lead the people the wrong way? I do not have the answers to that question. I do know that many times the people get closer to God when the government oppresses them or rules unjustly. In America, the leaders we have are voted in. We, as a people, have chosen them to take control. A poor, elected leader in our country speaks volumes of the people who voted him in. We got what we (not all of us, of course) wanted. Hopefully, a bad leader will drive people to their knees and looking toward God.
Christians need to be outstanding examples in civil life. We are often the only example of how a Christian should behave that most of the world will ever see. It is our responsibility to be a good testimony for God by heeding His commands and trusting that He knows better. We need to support and pray for our leaders. While we have the opportunity (by voting), we need to do all we can to make sure the best, most God-honoring-and-obeying officials are in office. Honoring the authority allowed over us is honoring God.
Romans 13 gives God’s perspective on government. We are commanded to be “subject to the higher powers.” We are to let them rule. We are also told that God allows them to be in that position (vs. 1), and that if men oppose them they “shall receive to themselves damnation (vs. 2).” Whoa, I want to get those ungodly politicians far from being able to make any decisions and God is telling me that I will have to answer to Him if I do so. Gulp! Wait a minute. What do I do? Obey God, naturally.
“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.” Romans 13:1-2
Paul tells us in Romans 13 that if we resist the governmental powers over us, we are violating God’s law. The law of the land is necessary. It curtails wanton sin. Without a ruling body, everyone would do what they thought was best and anarchy would rule. All citizens would suffer. There would be no order.
God allows the person that is ruling to do so. Two times the ruler is called a minister of God (Rom. 12:4, 6). Proverbs 8:15 reminds us, “By me kings reign and princes decree justice.” John 19:11 states “… Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above ….” Like it or not, the power ruling our country is allowed by God. God could easily remove the ruler if it was His will.
Obviously, not all rulers are just. There are “good and evil” leaders. Rarely are there righteous leaders. When Paul was writing this, he certainly was remembering the evil, destructive ruler that was killing Christians at the time, but the point was God allowed that leader to be in position.
Why would God allow so many godless leaders to lead the people the wrong way? I do not have the answers to that question. I do know that many times the people get closer to God when the government oppresses them or rules unjustly. In America, the leaders we have are voted in. We, as a people, have chosen them to take control. A poor, elected leader in our country speaks volumes of the people who voted him in. We got what we (not all of us, of course) wanted. Hopefully, a bad leader will drive people to their knees and looking toward God.
Christians need to be outstanding examples in civil life. We are often the only example of how a Christian should behave that most of the world will ever see. It is our responsibility to be a good testimony for God by heeding His commands and trusting that He knows better. We need to support and pray for our leaders. While we have the opportunity (by voting), we need to do all we can to make sure the best, most God-honoring-and-obeying officials are in office. Honoring the authority allowed over us is honoring God.
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
— Edmund Burke
VOTE WHEN YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY!
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