Submitting to Governing Authorities

October 14, 2024

Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, October 13, 2024.

Sermon text: Romans 13:1-7


Verse 13 "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. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment." 


1.) Biblical truth leads to Biblical behavior

This is why preaching verse-by-verse is what we think is best. Tim Killer says that it allows God to set the agenda for your church. So here we are, about a month from a pretty significant election... emotions are high... and God, in His agenda for our church, wants us to focus on submitting to governing authorities. 

Now, I am well aware that some of you may bristle at such a notion. Distrust of governing authorities and politicians and legislators seems to be pretty high right now. That is our context. But consider Paul's context. He is writing to a young Christian church under the governing authority of the Roman Empire currently led by Emperor Nero. These governing authorities that he is speaking of would go on to kill him... and many others who would profess the Gospel. And still he puts forth these principles, which have been mentioned previously by him and others, because it is part of what is best for Christian living... these are real Biblical truths that are supposed to lead the real Biblical behavior. 


2.) Christians should be subject to governing authorities.

  • Civil obedience is the general posture of believers... living in such a way as to be subject... allowing governing authorities to do their jobs without getting in the way, knowing that it is always beneficial to have good order in a society. 
  • All authority is from God
  • Resisting will incur judgment

This is the point where many natural objections quickly come to mind... For example... "The wrath of God is toward unrighteousness. What if the government is unrighteous? I am not supposed to be conformed to the world. What if the government is trying to use legislation to conform me to the world? I am called to abhor what is evil. What if the government is evil? What about tyrannical governments like those under the leadership of Hitler, Stalin, and others?" 

  • Instituted by God and approved by God are not the same thing


3 For 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, 4 for 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. 

You'll notice that just having rules isn't always enough to keep good order. That goes all of the way back to the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve broke the one rule/law that was in place, what happened? 


"God placed an angel with a flaming sword at the entrance to Eden to guard it from further trespassing by Adam and Eve and their progeny. So the first law enforcement officer who appears in Scripture is an angel, a minister of God, sent from heaven with an instrument of coercion, an instrument of force at his command, to enforce the barring of access into Eden. The first action of government is to use the methods of force to restrain evil." - RC Sproul


Our God is a God of good order, and as part of that good order we not only have laws, but we also have law enforcement... methods of force to restrain evil... and in these verses we find some standards for the governing authorities...


3.) Governing authorities have standards from God

  • They are not a terror to good conduct
  • They are servants of God for our good
  • They carry out God's wrath on wrongdoers

So under this kind of governing, Christians should have a posture of civil obedience. Peter, after referring to God's people as a chosen race and a royal priesthood, says this... "Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, where it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor." 


5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 


In verses 5-6 we see the important consideration of our own conscience. There is a practicality of paying taxes so that authorities (named here as ministers of God) can do their jobs. Paul cares very much about making sure that our behaviors are in fact Biblical, and in step with a clear conscience. What happens when governing authorities resist their standards from God? When they are a terror to good conduct? When they no longer serve God for our good? When they no longer carry out God's wrath on wrongdoers?


4.) Sometimes civil disobedience is the Christian's only option

This was the case for Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

  • When governing authorities forbid what is required by God
  • When governing authorities require what is forbidden by God

Civil disobedience says, "Rather than go against God, I will trust God and receive whatever penalty the ungodly law requires."


7 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. 


"This is a clear echo of Jesus’ famous saying: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21). Paul surely has in mind this teaching of Jesus, who is clearly saying that the civil magistrate has a limited sphere of authority. Jesus was undercutting a common conception of the state in his era; namely, that the king or emperor was a deity in the pantheon, or so closely allied with the god of the region that the state had a divine authority. Jesus, however, says “yes” to paying Caesar taxes but “no” to paying Caesar worship; that is, “no” to unqualified obedience." – RC Sproul


Trust in God allows us to submit to governing authorities. And trust in God is what keeps us faithful should those governing authorities lead us into temptation and sin. Scripture refers to believers as alien exiles, citizens of heaven, only here for a short time until time melts back into eternity. Our hope is in Jesus, not humans. Our eternal reality should impact every single part of our temporary home here on earth. So when it comes to submitting to governing authorities and voting on who those governing authorities will be, we can cast our vote full of hope because our hope is in God, not man. 



Discipleship Questions:

  1. How do you initially respond to a call to "submit to governing authorities"?
  2. How does trust in God temper your response? 
  3. How do these verses help you during this election season?
  4. Why is it important to know that governing authorities have standards from God?
  5. What happens if governing authorities forbid what God requires or require what God forbids?
  6. Should you ever follow governing authorities into temptation and sin?
  7. How should these verses impact how we pray during this election season?

Arm Yourselves

June 11, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, June 8, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 4:1-6 Prepare to suffer Is. 50:6-8a I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. 7 But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. 8 He who vindicates me is near. The martial language indicates that discipline and grit are needed to live the Christian life, particularly in view of the suffering believers encounter. -Thomas R. Schreiner Some people won’t like you if you follow Jesus When a culture abandons biblical standards, when extramarital sex, cohabitation, and birth outside of marriage become normal, people attack the church for its moral snobbery and judgmentalism. Peter warns us that if we do take a stand, we need to expect slander, not applause. -Daniel M. Dorian This is one of the hardest things a new Christian has to face. Your friends liked you because you shared in “the same flood of debauchery.” It seemed great fun at times, but then you came to embrace Christ… But your friends have not… They will be surprised when you say “No.” -Juan Sanchez. Keep an eternal perspective Our outcome is glorious Suffering is good for us Let’s remember that suffering accomplishes God’s purposes. It exposes what or whom we are trusting (1 Peter 1:6–7). - Juan Sanchez Ecc. 7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. Discipleship Questions: Verse 1 tell us to arm ourselves by thinking as Christ did about suffering. How did Christ arm himself for and against sufferings? What does it look like for us to do that? Have you ever lost friendships (or had them change) because you were following Jesus? Do you fear that we (or our kids) will experience greater persecution in the future? If yes, how should we handle that fear?

I Believe That We Will Win

June 3, 2025
Notes from Lance Shumake's sermon on Sunday, June 1, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 3:18-22 Jesus suffered and died in order to bring us to God Jesus conquered death by his resurrection “A wonderful text is this, and a more obscure passage perhaps than any other in the New Testament, so that I do not know for a certainty just what Peter means.” —Martin Luther Problem #1 - he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison —Jesus preached through Noah to those who lived at that time (1 Peter 1:10–12) —Jesus proclaimed His victory to evil angels (see Genesis 6:1-4) Problem #2 - baptism now saves you —Scripture is clear - we are saved by grace not works —baptism pictures our salvation from God’s judgment through the resurrection of Christ “The waters of baptism, like the waters of the flood, demonstrate that destruction is at hand, but believers are rescued from these waters in that they are baptized with Christ, who has also emerged from the waters of death through his resurrection. Just as Noah was delivered through the stormy waters of the flood, believers have been saved through the stormy waters of baptism by virtue of Christ’s triumph over death.” —Thomas R. Schreiner, 1, 2 Peter, Jude —in baptism we are appealing to God for a good conscience "This appeal is an act of the heart looking away from itself and from all human instruments and calling on God, appealing to God, for grace to save.” —John Piper —in baptism we are pledging to God to live in a manner worthy of the gospel Jesus ascended to heaven and now reigns over everything “We can face suffering as Christians with confidence rather than panic, and hope rather than despair, because the road marked with Christian suffering is, no matter what its twists and turns are, the road to vindication and glory. The God who vindicated Jesus will vindicate you, and he will sustain your faith until that day.” –Juan R. Sanchez, 1 Peter For You Discipleship Questions: How does Jesus’ death and resurrection encourage us when we suffer? Why did we need Jesus to suffer and die to bring us to God? How does Jesus’ victory over death give us eternal hope? What are your thoughts regarding some of the problems in this passage? How does what Peter says about baptism elevate the importance of baptism? When were you baptized and how does this passage inform your understanding of baptism? How does knowing our victory is secured help us with all the things this life throws at us?

Who Can Be Against Us?

May 27, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, May 25, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 3:13-17 Nobody can (truly) hurt Christians Psalm 118:6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? Rom. 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? The train of thought is as follows: “No one will be able to harm believers on the future day if they are zealous for good” (v. 13). Indeed, even present suffering is not a sign of punishment but of blessing both now and especially in the future, on the day when God rewards his people with eternal life. -Thomas R. Schreiner Honoring Christ Erases Fear Share your faith with strength and gentleness Embrace balance Be prepared to share The truth of the gospel is a public truth that can be defended in the public arena. This does not mean, of course, that every Christian is to be a highly skilled apologist for the faith. It does mean that every believer should grasp the essentials of the faith and should have the ability to explain to others why they think the Christian faith is true. -Thomas R. Schreiner Be prepared to suffer “I’ve spent a number of years in India and Africa where I found much righteous endeavor undertaken by Christians of all denominations; but I never, as it happens, came across a hospital or orphanage run by the Fabian Society [a British socialist organization], or a humanist leper colony.” -Malcolm Muggeridge Be bold! We will likely suffer as Christians in this world, but that suffering is slight and temporary compared to the eternal inheritance that awaits us. The worst thing that can happen to us is that we die and receive our promised inheritance. Can you imagine how emboldened Christians would be if we only believed what Peter is saying? -Juan R. Sanchez Discipleship Questions: Does the fact that nobody can (truly) harm us comfort you? What would change if we lived like we really believe that? Are you a more confident person as someone who knows Christ? Does your security in Christ embolden you to take some risks in life, knowing that the worst that could happen is death? How equipped / prepared are you to give a reason for the hope that you have? What would grow your confidence and competence in that? Have you considered joining Michael Clark one day for evangelism at the harbor? Well….you should….
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