- Written by Steven Amis
As we continue our study of Romans 13, let’s take a moment to ponder the unambiguous conclusions that we have arrived at so far. God alone is the source of governing authority. The purpose of government is to restrain evil in a society by punishing evildoers. We as the church have been called by our Lord to do the right thing by obeying our leaders ultimately as our obedience unto Him. While these things address why we submit to the government, today we will be taking a closer look at how we submit.
- Written by Steven Amis
When we think about the relationship between the church and the government in our modern context, what often comes to mind is the clash of worldviews that comes between us and the government’s desire to hinder the advancement of the very gospel that the church is commanded to proclaim to all people. While that is perhaps often the case in this fallen world, even manifesting as blatant persecution in some countries, Romans 13 teaches us nonetheless what the role of government is intended to be. Even more importantly, it reminds believers not only that we are to submit, but also why we are commanded to do so. The text does not disregard the sinful nature of men in positions of authority, but rather teaches us that we can indeed live peacefully with them as law-abiding citizens in spite of their sinfulness. As our theme text of this series points out, Christians have a higher calling when it comes to why we submit to our governing authorities.
- Written by Steven Amis
In last week’s blog, we talked about governing authorities and how God is the one who establishes them. We illustrated that He is the source of their authority and explained why it is therefore important for us to submit to our leaders. As Christians, part of what it means to live peaceably with all men entails interacting with people in positions of authority as law-abiding citizens. We are not called to initiate or encourage rioting, looting, or any other form of destructive behavior every time a political or economic inconvenience or perceived social injustice comes our way. Instead, we are called to submit to our magistrates “not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart” (Ephesians 6:6).