After Pentecost
Romans 13:1–10
1Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. 8Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 10Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
The greatest gift that God has bestowed on us is his Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, and the salvation he won for us on the cross. Through Christ's atoning sacrifice our sins have been forgiven, and through Word and Sacrament, the Holy Spirit has worked faith in our hearts to take hold of this great treasure. Christ rules in our hearts and in his Church through the kingdom of God's right hand. But
What about God's Left Hand?
I.
God rules by his left hand through the institution of government and the laws of men. Our government is also one of God's other great gifts, but perhaps the one least remembered. If you don't believe that, just live in a "third-world" country for a while. We have received countless blessings from our local government, our county government, and our state and federal governments. They provide police and fire protection, regulated utilities, due process of the law, roads and highways, public educational systems, Social Security, military protection . . . and the freedoms to enjoy them, spelled out in our Constitution and Bill of Rights. We can elect our leaders, and we have the freedom to replace them or run for office ourselves if we want!
Generally speaking, if we obey the laws and stay out of trouble, government leaders, including the police, are our friends. Paul says in our text, "For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad . . . do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good" (vv 3–4). It's interesting that the Gospel writers don't record Jesus condemning, complaining, or criticizing the civil government—even though it would soon crucify him unjustly and level Jerusalem in less than forty years. It's even more remarkable that Paul penned these words during the bloody reign of Nero and had lived through Caesars Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius! He says here, "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God" (v 1).
So, is the United States a Christian government? Although many of our Founding Fathers professed to be Christian, and there are many Christians in America today, we are not a theocracy. Luther had a good understanding of God's kingdom of his right hand and God's kingdom of his left hand, which came in part from a correct understanding of our text today, Romans 13.
We're thankful to God that we live in a nation that still somewhat allows us to live as Christians without government interference and persecution, although being a Christian in 2014 isn't as popular as it was in 1950. But we are not technically a "Christian nation," and that's okay because God rules through the government with his left hand, not his right hand! The governments of China, Indonesia, or even Iran are as much under God's left-hand kingdom as America. This is how God keeps law and order among the people of the world.
To disobey the government law is to disobey the "avenger who carries out God's wrath"—usually. We must obey the law . . . unless our government requires us to do something that is in direct contradiction to God's will in the Holy Scriptures. And then, like Peter and other apostles in Acts 5, we say, "We must obey God rather than men," and also then be ready to suffer the consequences of men.
However, some twist the meaning of this verse. For example: For the safety and well-being of society, God's Word and our government both have laws against murder. To be forgiven of murder in God's eyes, one must truly repent of this sin, including having remorse, faith in Christ, and a genuine conviction never to do it again. Conversely, our government's responsibility in dealing with a murderer will usually result in assigning prison time or capital punishment. Church and state represent the two kingdoms of God's right and left hands.
One area in which God and our current federal government are in great disagreement is on the subject of abortion. God's Word condemns abortions as the wrongful taking of human life. Our government, however, created a law in 1973 that allows abortion in almost every situation. What must Christians do when the laws of God conflict with the laws of man? The Bible says, "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).
A few people who call themselves Christians therefore believe that to protect the lives of unborn babies we must resort to radical violence. In the name of God, they murder abortionists or blow up abortion clinics. But their actions involve committing the same crimes that they protest. Paul, in Romans 13, reminds us that God has given us the secular government as his servant to punish evildoers. We cannot obey God by disobeying the laws of the state. Fortunately, we have the opportunity in America to change laws and elect leaders who will follow God's will.
The government is God's servant to keep law and order, whether the one in authority is a believer or not! Isaiah 45 mentions King Cyrus, the unbeliever, whom God used to punish the Babylonians. He ruled much of the world—for a little while—as God's chosen instrument. God conquered and ruled through pagan Cyrus. God even calls Cyrus his "messiah."
Several years ago there was an American woman who lived for a time in Saudi Arabia. One day she borrowed her husband's car to make a short run to a grocery store, and she was T-boned by a ten-year-old boy who was speeding recklessly down an alley in his father's car. She received the ticket and a huge fine and was completely responsible for all the expenses because women were not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, but little boys can. That was the law of the land. She broke the law and she paid the consequences.
Secular rulers and governments are God's rule of his left hand and threaten punishment for wrongdoers! So do what is right!
Conservative Lutheran Christians might claim to be law-abiding citizens for the most part, but we are confronted by the first use of the Law (the curb) more than we care to admit.
In a few months, most of us will be completing our tax returns. Some may be trying to think of a way to "write off" their vacations to Disney World by claiming it as a "professional expense" because they ran into a co-worker in the same boat while riding the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride. But that's tax evasion, a violation of both kingdoms! "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's" (Mt 22:21).
Those of you who drive to work may be late some morning and zip through a traffic light as it turns from yellow to red—and actually gets blurred because you're traveling so fast. You may be tempted to say you're on the way to the hospital because your wife is about to give birth . . . and, by the way, "What is the quickest way to Mercy Center?" The apostle says, "It is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience." And once we stretch our conscience a few times, it gets looser and looser.
There are consequences for breaking the laws of those in secular authority. Paul states, "But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he [the government authority] does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer" (v 4). Swords were used by the Roman government in the first century to cut things off—mostly heads—and they had the right to do it to keep law and order.
God has given us the tremendous gift of the secular government to protect us, to care for us, and to provide for us—and he tells us to obey the government. Here in Romans 13, Paul says, "Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed" (v 7).
There are consequences for breaking the laws of the land, whether we get caught or not! And when we break those laws, and the government exercises its authority over us through punishment—whether they be fines, community service, jail time, prison, or execution—God's right hand of grace and forgiveness will wash us clean as "the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 Jn 1:7). He paid the price on the cross of Calvary, and on our repentance declares us eternally "not guilty."
The Roman government had a special form of execution reserved for the worst criminals: crucifixion. It was slow and excruciatingly painful and involved both the right and left hands of Jesus. "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor 5:21). It was this divine-human exchange, whereby he got our sin, and we got his righteousness. And God is okay with that! Amen.