Sermon: "God-Given Authority"

Delivered July 6, 2008 by Rev. John Schmidt.

Theme: I am an American citizen. But that's not my only identity. In fact, it is not my only citizenship. I am also a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven; that is my most fundamental citizenship. And it's that citizenship that tells me how to be an American citizen. It's not the other way around. We are going to study issue of what it means as Christians to live as citizens of two countries; one heavenly and one worldly.

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Well, we are celebrating a little late 4th of July as we gather for worship today. I have a passport in my pocket. Inside of it there is a picture of me ten years ago. It's an expired passport. Ten years ago I really liked this picture and these days will never come again. Inside there are all kinds of stamps and marks from different places that I have lived, as well as places that I have visited; Russia, Mexico, Japan and other places, England. I can't tell you how many times I was really glad to have this passport with me; a certain feeling of safety when I went in to Russia even though it wasn't communist at the time I went in to it, I went in to that country and I was so glad that I had this with me and I had a sense that there was a good chance that I was going to get out. Even though I loved living in Japan I was so proud to be an American. That is where my identity was and I would always be making thoughts in my mind about Japan is really good at this, but America is really good at that. It's part of who I am.

I am an American citizen. But that's not my only identity. In fact, it is not my only citizenship. I am also a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven; the kingdom of God and that is not symbolized by a passport, but symbolized this table and by my baptism. That is my most fundamental citizenship. You see my citizenship in heaven is my primary citizenship. It's the eternal citizenship. It's not that I am in the kingdom of heaven and my citizenship is in something in the future. That kingdom exists right now and Jesus right now is Lord and King of that kingdom and I am a member of his body. I am a member of God's family. I am a member of that people. I am a citizen of heaven. And it's that citizenship that tells me how to be an American citizen. It's not the other way around.

We are going to talk about politics today. It's a good time to do it because it's an election year. My goodness the things that we are hearing right now. But today we are not going to talk about who to vote for and we are not even going to talk about what the important issues are issue by issue. Instead we are going to talk about the bigger issue of what it means as Christians to live as citizens of two countries; one heavenly and one worldly. How are we to think about our country, how are we to think about politics as Christians? Being an election year it is important because we are constantly hearing things. There is campaign news on all the time. Now that we have cable television and websites and everything 24-7 there is some new breaking news.

You hear sound bites constantly, accusations and insinuations. People are raising money and people are trying to get the vote out and people are polarizing. And that polarizing even includes Christians. There are people who are Christians and websites that affiliate with Christian groups that not only disagree with one another, but they act as if those who disagree with them can't possibly be reasonable or spiritual people. They treat each other in un-Christian ways. There are some mean and ugly websites out there and I am getting email from Christian people that I find embarrassing in the way they treat the people with whom they disagree. It is so easy to focus in on the candidates or on what the issues are in this election that we forget the bigger picture and there is a bigger picture. How does a Christian also function as a citizen? What does it mean to be an American citizen as a citizen of the Kingdom of God?

I am going to begin with easy part first. We are going to go to the Book of Romans, Chapter 13 for a few minutes and we are going to look at the easy part before we look at the part that is a little more challenging. Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for your word and we pray now, open it up so that we might hear and see what you want us to hear and see, not words of people, but your words understood in ways that bring honor to you. And so we commit this time to you in Jesus' name. Amen.

Let's begin with Romans 13:

"Everyone must submit himself 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, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 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 he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor."

We begin with Paul's teaching. The first point is that Christians are called to be responsible citizens. Now, when Paul wrote this it wasn't an easy time for Christians. Rome wasn't treating Jews or Christians very kindly at this point. The Jews had just been expelled from Rome; forced out of their homes with no provision for the future, forced out and pushed in to the countryside. A very unjust act. Christians were considered to be atheistic and unpatriotic people; unpatriotic atheists. And why was that? Because they didn't view Caesar as God and part of patriotism for Roman people; part of being a true Roman citizen was recognizing in their minds that Caesar was Lord. The earliest confession of the church is that Jesus is Lord and when we said that as a church it wasn't just a religious statement. It was a politically charged statement. Jesus is Lord, therefore, the Caesar is not; the emperor is not. This was so strong that not only were the Romans mistrusting the Christians, but there is a great likelihood that Christians in Rome were involved in some episodes of civil unrest in these early years. And so into this tense situation Paul writes these words and there are some words and phrases that are important as we just kind of move through that passage. These are words and phrases that probably wouldn't have been that welcome to the people he was writing to.

The first one comes up right in the first verse; submit. Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities. What Paul's argument is that we need to accept their authority because it's a rightful authority that has been established by God and that authority is basically there to keep order and to protect people, to reward what is good and to punish what is wrong. Now it doesn't mean to obey unconditionally, because these people that Paul is writing to are people who have said Jesus is Lord and so by saying that they automatically are not obeying every law and every social convention. But even though that reality is there, he tells them to submit to the authorities around them. What he is telling them is that our obedience to Jesus as Lord does not mean that we rebel against the other powers and authorities around us. Those were hard words for many Christians at that time and still are hard words in some situations. But I think this is the easier part for us as Americans.

Verse 3 comes up with another phrase; do what is right. "Do what is right and those in power will commend you." What Paul is driving at here is that the vast majority of what it means to be a responsible citizen in any country, at any time, are things that are just basically common sense and good morality. And so if we just do what it right we escape many of the things that would make living in a society difficult. And so we are called to participate as moral and righteous responsible people. Do what is right. Most of what is expected by any government can be fulfilled by doing just what is right in God's eyes too.

Well these were hard things to hear but the next phrase was probably the worst. It comes up in Verse 6; "This is also why you pay taxes". This has never been good news. It was probably really bad news there. Remember what kind of government this is? This is a government that is demonstrably corrupt. This is a government that is persecuting Jews and Christians. This is a government that is clearly militaristic and they are not even given decent citizenship in this realm and yet Paul tells them "Pay your taxes". This was not good news. It was not a happy part of the Book of Romans for the Romans. Pay your taxes. The government that is in place is under God's sovereign rule and we should participate and even support it by paying taxes.

Verse 7 comes up with a series of phrases. "Give to everyone what you owe him. If you owe taxes, taxes. If it is revenue, revenue. Respect, respect. Honor, honor." It's a summary sort of statement that tells us that we are supposed to be responsibly participating in the environment around us and the government around us and the society around us. What Paul is teaching is that to be a citizen in heaven one of our responsibilities then is to be a responsible citizen here. Confessing that Jesus is Lord means we are free people. Our citizenship is in heaven. We are a Holy nation called from every tribe and every nation. But this doesn't mean that because of that we rebel and cause chaos the moment we see religious impurity or injustice in the society around us. The Apostle Peter teaches the same thing as Paul.

1st Peter, Chapter 2: "For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a coverup for doing evil. Live as servants of God."

So, the first part of being an American citizen while being at the same time a citizen of the Kingdom of God is to be a responsible American citizen. And so that means that we are supposed to obey laws; even traffic laws. We are supposed to show respect to our leaders. We are supposed to pray for them. We are supposed to pay taxes. We are supposed to register to vote. We are supposed to listen to the candidates. We are supposed to learn the issues; give money to the campaigns if we want to, volunteer and helping the campaign if that is what we desire to do. Speak out in appropriate ways; even seek office if that is what God is leading you to and vote. This is all part of what it means to be a responsible American.

Christian faithfulness in a broken world includes being law abiding citizens and seeking responsible participation in government even governments that aren't perfect. Now that's the easy part for us as American's what Paul says here. There is a more difficult part. It's not the whole story. We confess Jesus is Lord. That means he is our Divine Leader. He is our Master. He is our Savior. He is our King. Jesus is the one who deserves and demands my total personal loyalty. He is the one that demands moral obedience. He is the one that demands political allegiance. Our true citizenship is in heaven. Jesus is Lord; therefore, Caesar is not. Jesus is Lord; therefore, the president is not. All human authority is ultimately accountable to Jesus the Messiah king. We see a picture of what this accountability means in Psalm 2. So I would like us to turn in our Bibles back to Psalm 2 and take a look at this entire Psalm that deals with the fact that Jesus is the ruler of all nations.

Psalm 2: "Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One. "Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters." The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, "I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill." I will proclaim the decree of the Lord: He said to me, "You are my Son ; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery." Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him."

Let's go through this section by section. Verse 1 to 3. Well, Verses 1 to 3 show us that there is a tension between all world powers and God's powers. Why did the nations conspire and the people plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand together against the Lord and against his anointed one. There is a rebellion against God in every governmental system in history and every government system that we experience today. The sin of the human heart, at heart there is a pride and a godlessness. I want to run life on my own. I want to keep God distant. I don't want his rulership in my life. That is an essential part of what it means to be involved with sin and to be a sinner. And this thing that exists on a personal level, also then exists on a corporate or systemic level. There are tendencies for whole societies to try to throw off God. Let us break their chains they say and throw off their fetters. America is no different. We have that same sinful tendency. Israel, a government, the one government in history directly formed by God in his name miserably failed at this. They constantly pushed God away to live in their own wisdom and their own way. So this front few verses in summary tell us there is a godlessness in all human politics, all human systems.

Let's go to Verses 4 to 6. Verses 4 to 6 show us that God is not at all threatened by that tendency. In fact, it says here that the one enthroned in heaven laughs. All of this human power, all of these human systems and governments saying, "We don't want God to be ruling us. Keep your distance. We don't want your chains"; when God sees that he laughs. The next line says, "He scoffs." The next line "He rebukes" and finally "He terrifies them." These are strong words. We normally talk a lot about how we as the church change societies and that God is at work to redeem societies. But the fact is, when societies push God away there are consequences. There are consequences to those who rebel against God. God has the power to rebuke all human powers. God has the power to replace those powers and he has replaced those powers and he will replace those powers, all nations are accountable to God.

We go to Verses 7 through 9. The world, the entire world is Jesus inheritance. All the earth is his possession. "Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance. The ends of the earth your possession." Jesus is at work to redeem society. Jesus is at work to send the church out to proclaim a kingdom of light in a world or darkness, but the fact is this same Jesus when pushed away is still Lord. And Verse 9 declares what happens in the end to all powers who stand against him. "You will rule them with an iron scepter. You will dash them to pieces like pottery." What Jesus can't redeem he will destroy. There will be no power in heaven or on earth, no authority, no power, nothing spiritual, nothing human, nothing angelic that will ever stand to challenge the sovereign power of God. He will tolerate no challenge.

So the final Verses 10 to 12 tell us what smart people do when they are in a situation like that. What does it mean to be wise? "Therefore you kings be wise. Be warned rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear. Rejoice with trembling." "Blessed are all of those who take refuge in him." The wise thing to do if this is reality where God is in sovereign control; he is not at all concerned about the power of any challenges to his sovereignty. If God is righteous and demands accountability then what is smart to do now? It's smart as individuals and nations to submit to him. The end is in sight. Serve now. Fear what absolute righteous power can do if we persist in godlessness and injustice. That is what Psalm 2 warns us about.

Now Romans tells us to be good citizens, but our calling is more than just obeying laws and paying taxes, because what Psalm 2 and other places of scriptures teach us is that we the church are the first outpost of a new kingdom that is a direct and final threat to every existing government. All governments will be destroyed. Every knee will bow, including our knees and the knees of our government. So what does that mean if we are part of the kingdom that's that threat, who has that Lord who stands over all powers, what does it mean? It means that we always have to live in a prophetic tension with our own culture. We can't ever buy in wholesale to what's going on. The first thing is we can't be blindly patriotic or partisan. We can be patriotic. I am wearing my 4th of July shirt. We can be patriotic, but we can't be blindly so. We have to see the weakness and sin of our country; not just its strength. We have got to see the downside of our favorite party.

When we make a list of all of the problems on the other side; can we make a list half as long about the problems on our side? And something beyond just one of the problems with my party is we have not been in power long enough. We've got to have that perspective just like the prophets were sent to the Israel, the churches sent to the nations. Not only to proclaim good news, but to proclaim the kingdom of God, that all powers were subject to him, that all authority we have is delegated authority and we are responsible for the way we handle it. This is the harder part for us as Christians. We have to be willing to ask hard questions; not only of the other party, but of our own party and even hard questions of the president once he is elected to office. We can't despise other people who disagree with us. We have to have humility, because we are all accountable to God. Responsible citizens, prophetic members of another kingdom.

What it adds up to is that we are Christians first and Americans or Canadians or Japanese second. That is what it means to say Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Lord and everything else in life bows to him.

A few weeks ago in the news, the Baltimore Sun, there was an episode about dipping the flag in Annapolis to the cross and I was really disturbed that some people were saying this should not be done because the American flag bows to no one and nothing. That really disturbed me; the arrogance of that. But it also disturbed me the people who were defending it, because they were saying, "look it's a tradition. It doesn't mean that much." I could not believe this when I read those arguments. That disturbs me as well, because it really does mean something. Jesus is Lord and even America has to bow to that lordship; now or some day. Jesus is Lord. No other power will be allowed to stand against his. Jesus is Lord. All powers are accountable to him, to pursue righteousness and justice. Jesus is Lord. No other power, no church, no political party, no country can ever get our unquestioning loyalty. Jesus is Lord. One day, every knee will bow; every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. It is the passionate desire of God to see the whole earth respond to him. And till that day we the church proclaim this truth in anticipation of that day. Jesus alone is Lord.

Let's pray. God, we believe this and yet we need so much grace to learn how to live it. You are the Lord. Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that you are Lord to the glory of God the father. Show us now how to live as citizens here even as we know we are citizens in heaven. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

© 2008, Rev. John Schmidt
Central Presbyterian Church, Baltimore, MD 21204 410/823-6145
www.centralpc.org