God and Caesar

Romans 13:1
(reading: 13:1-7)

1. Theological and Historical Context—
(Mark 12:14-17) "When they had come, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? 15 "Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?" But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it." 16 So they brought it. And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They said to Him, "Caesar's." 17 And Jesus answered and said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they marveled at Him."

a. There are no Christian nations

b. America is not Israel

(1) America is not Israel because Israel IS Israel!

(2) America is not Israel because the Bible never states her to be Israel

(3) America is not Israel, because the church is NOT Israel

c. America is not the Church

(1) America is not the church because there has been only one time when there might have been a majority of born again citizens—the Great Awakening—and we cannot be sure even there.

(2) America is not the church because America has no signs of being the church

(a) As a nation, we have no biblical statement of beliefs

(b) Our nation is not indwelled by the Holy Spirit

(c) We do not excommunicate heretics from the nation, only from the church—and that out of style now.

(d) We have no pastor for our nation, nor deacons, etc.

d. What then, is America?

(1) America was and is a land where the Christian faith in all its forms, (true, semi-true, false, and cultic) has been a major influence

(2) America is a land where many people came because of religious freedom.

(3) America is a land where many of its leaders have been Christian men and women, even today

(4) America is a nation used by God for the greatest outreach of the Gospel in history. From these shores, beginning in the late 1700s, millions of missionaries flocked to all parts of the Earth to win souls and establish churches—this is the meaning of a city shining on a hill.

(5) America is a land where the true and Biblical Christian faith has met opposition, political, moral, and spiritual, and were limited persecution occurred from the earliest time forward.

(6) America is a land of incredible wickedness, from slavery to Jim Crow laws, to drugs and the devastation of the 21st century, her behavior has to have reeked in the nostrils of God!

(7) And this wickedness has always existed side by side with incredible righteous acts by courageous and Godly men and women.

(8) But—and remember this—at its bottom, America is a worldly nation, created by God (Acts 17:24-27) for His purposes (Is 46:8-11, Daniel 2:19-28), and like every other nation in history, it will someday pass out of the way in a manner, by a means, in in such a time as chosen by God.

e. The fly in the ointment—our unique form of government

(1) We have no human sovereign—we have two non-human Sovereigns that all recognize

(a) Our first Ruler, to whom we swear allegiance is our Republican form of government and the flag that represents that republic…

(i) “..I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all…”

(ii) But this pledge does not have the force of law behind it. Instead, it is a personal promise which most of us scarcely ever think about, even as we say it.

(b) Our legal ruler, one which can result in our imprisonment for violating its provisions, is a small tract of only a few thousand words—the US Constitution

(i) The Officer’s Oath…“I, Charles Thomas Buntin, do solemnly swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and to bear true faith and allegiance to the same. I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter, so help me God.”

(ii) The Enlisted person’s oath— I, Charles Thomas Buntin (name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

(iii) Those with a moral objection are allowed to leave out the last clause

(2) In essence, each citizen is part of the Sovereign voice of the people, and we are entitled to various rights, such as the right to protest and petition, the right to say nothing to the police, the right to require a search warrant, etc.

“…We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America..”.

(3) And, if we go back to the most basic of our documents, the Declaration of Independence, some shocking possibilities result.

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident:
That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.

(4) So, implicit in our citizenship is the right to rebel—to overthrow the government—there is no other government I am aware of which has such a provision, except for Turkey, whose army is obligated to overthrow and destroy any government that tries to do away with Turkey’s pure secular (non-Islamist) government.

(5) So, when we read Romans 13, some of the provisions are hard to pin down because of the unique nature of our government.

f. The world of Jesus’ day

(1) It was a Roman World, during the period of the Empire

(2) Jesus was born into a subject province ruled by one of the most wicked men in history, Herod the Great.

(3) When Christ was born, the Emperor was Octavian Caesar, aka Caesar Augustus—an absolute ruler, but considered to be an honorable and effective ruler.

(4) When Christ Died, He died under the rule of Tiberius Caesar, a pedophile, a paranoid, murderous, vile, evil man

(5) The initial missionary outreach was done under Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero. In fact, the emperor at the time this chapter was written was Nero!

(6) No human being had any rights except the very elite, and their rights were tenuous at best.

(7) There were millions of slaves in the Roman empire

(8) Homosexuality and pedophilia were not even frowned upon.

(9) Newborn babies who did not meet the approval of the father of the house were set outside to be eaten by wild animals and die.

(10) So when we look at this passage, let us never forget the times in which it was written.

g. Most of our world for most of all times—

(1) No rights

(2) No guarantees

(3) Oppressive, evil governments

(4) Oppressive, evil rulers

(5) Degradations of every kind are rampant visited upon the people by the rulers.

(6) Corruption, exorbitant taxes, and outright theft by people in power.

(7) And there were groups seeking the violent overthrow of Rome—they went by various names, but the NT calls them zealots.

(a) MacArthur’s Comment:

Now also among the Jews were a group of people known as the zealots. Do you remember the zealots? They believed there was no king but God period. And there should be no taxes paid to anyone but God, so they defied the government every way. They wouldn't submit, and they wouldn't pay taxes.
They embarked, the zealots did, on violent action. They started groups. They became murderers, careers of murder and assassination. They were known as dagger-bearers. They were fanatical nationalists I should say. Sworn to terrorism all their life long. And they had a great influence on the Jews. That's why when Jesus came along and the Jews saw His power, they wanted immediately to make him king. Why? Because they wanted the ultimate revolt. The ultimate war to take place, and they would fight and win against Rome.
Now this kind of attitude, this kind of constant fomenting attitude against Rome, is ultimately why the event of 70 AD happened. Finally the Romans took all they could take, and in 70 AD they came in and just wiped out Jerusalem. They killed 1,100,000 Jews. Massacred them. To stop the incessant revolt and revolution.
This is not a Godly attitude. And that's what Jesus meant when he said, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And that's what Paul meant when he said, "Live peaceably with all men." We're not to be concerned with issues of the state and the government as a priority. We're to be busy living Godly lives as the conscience of a nation, and preaching God's word. And not starting revolutions and protesting, and making trouble.

(b) (Mark 15:7) "And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion."

(c) (Luke 6:15) "Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot;"

(d) (Acts 5:36) ""For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing."

(e) (Acts 5:37) ""After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed."

(8) And he people sought to make Jesus King (as Satan had tried also to do!) (John 6:15) "Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone."

h. But Jesus, in fact, ignored all politics, and He did not organize politically—and His apostles followed the example.

The issue of the Christian's relationship to government is a very important issue. It has been through all of the church's history. Christian's have always had to face this issue, and even to struggle with it. Where the church has found itself in all kinds of places, in all kinds of governments, under all kinds of rulers, with all kinds of perspectives and forms of leading and ruling. And so Christians have always had to deal with this matter of: How do you respond to your government? (MAC)

2. The Christian and Divine Providence—(Rom 13:1) "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God."

a. Subjection to Authority— “…Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities…”

(1) This is an imperative, a command—ATR—

(a) ὑποτασσέσθω— passive “…be subject…” submit to, obey, be under the authority of; take a subordinate place (1 Cor 14:34)

(b) “…To line up like soldiers under the authority of a superior officer…” (MAC)

(2) We are to be harmless to the rulers of the nation—1 Pet 2:11-21

(3) We are to pray for our rulers—(1 Tim 2:1-3) "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,"

(4) We are to be subject to the rulers and be law abiding and peaceful—

(a) (Titus 3:1-2) "Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men."

(b) (1 Th 4:11-12) "that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, 12 that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing."

(5) Except in matters of faith and conscience—

(a) (Acts 4:18-20) "And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 "For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.""

(b) (Acts 5:27-28) "And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, 28 saying, "Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man's blood on us!” 29 "But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men."”

(c) Examples

(i) Daniel and his friends refusing to eat non-kosher food

(ii) Example—Daniel’s three friends and the fiery furnace

(iii) Example—Daniel in the Lion’s Den

(iv) Example—Esther coming to the court uninvited

b. Reason 1 for the submission—“… For there is no authority except from God..”

(1) Because God is the basis for all power, in Heaven or on Earth—“… For there is no authority except from God..”

(a) (Psa 62:11) "… power belongs to God."

(2) Sometimes Satanic powers are lent a measure of authority—but “… there is no authority except from God..”

(a) (1 John 5:19) "We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one."

(b) (Luke 4:5-7) "Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. ….""

(3) But eventually, God reclaims the power He has lent for His own purposes.

(a) (John 16:11) ""of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged."

(b) (John 14:30) ""I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me."

(c) (John 12:31) ""Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out."

(d) (Ezek 28:14-17) ""You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you. … 17 "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; …”

c. Reason 2—God has appointed the rulers who rule—“…the authorities that exist are appointed by God…”

(1) (Acts 17:24-26) ""…"And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings…”

(2) Compare—Is 46:9-11, Is 40, Is 44, Dan 2:19-28