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August 31, 2008
Pentecost 16
Romans 13:1-10
Pastor Joel Zank

Christian, be a Faithful Citizen!

(Romans 13:1-10)  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. {2} Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. {3} 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. {4} 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. {5}Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. {6} This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. {7} Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. {8} Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. {9} The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." {10} Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

In name of God the Father, who is over all and through all and in all, dear fellow redeemed,

Our Savior Jesus once called you and me “...the salt of the earth.”  Do you know what he meant by that? We use salt to flavor our food. Perhaps Jesus was saying that we Christians add flavor to an otherwise “tasteless” world. That might well be, but in Jesus’ day, more than anything else, salt was a preservative. In a time when there was no refrigeration, no “dry ice,” and no “vacuum sealing,” salt kept food from spoiling. It is in this sense, first and foremost, that you and I, together with all Christians are “the salt of the earth.” In other words, we are the preservative God has added to this world. Our godly example and our faithful witness to God’s love in Christ are the reasons this world continues to exist.

Wow, that’s a huge responsibility, isn’t it! The weight of the world rests on our shoulders. That is true, but our God has not left us to carry the load by ourselves. Remember what Jesus says, the yoke he places upon us is easy and the burden so light. Why? Because he’s already done all the heavy lifting. Right? He’s already borne the sins of the whole world on his back and so freed us and all people from sin’s guilt and eternal curse. To be the salt of the earth, then, means nothing more than to live in the joy and peace of God’s full and free forgiveness. It means to live like the holy people God says that we already are thanks to his Son. These are the truths to keep in mind as we consider the words of Romans 13 where St. Paul says to each of us, “Christian, be a Faithful Citizen”: 1) In recognition of God’s authority; 2) In respect for God’s servants; and 3) In fulfillment of God’s law.

We might wonder why God’s Spirit would bother to devote a section of his Scriptures to the topic of citizenship. While the reasons are many, two stand out. Because we Christians are just passing through this world on our way to heaven, we’re often tempted to leave this world’s affairs in the hands of its unbelievers, as if they were somehow in charge here. Secondly, we Christians may wonder how we should respond and react to those in authority who do not share our beliefs and convictions. That was certainly the case with the Christians living in Rome during the days of the Apostle Paul. They lived under the anti-Christian government of Emperor Nero who would just as soon kill a Christian as to look at one. Did God’s people owe any allegiance at all to someone so hostile and immoral? Here is Paul’s answer: “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” (Romans 13:1).

Everyone, without exception, must submit, that is place him or her self under each and every governing authority, whether that happens to be the leader of our nation or the local crossing guard. Why must we submit? Because all authority belongs to God. He is the Ruler of all things. That means that no one comes to power without God’s permission; to say otherwise would be to imply that our God is not the Almighty.

So Christians everywhere have to obey all authorities, always? Of course they do. What Paul says applies to all Christians whether they are living under a democratically elected president, or egotistical dictator. The only time Christians can’t and won’t obey is if the authorities order them to break one of God’s commandments. That’s it. Otherwise we are to regard all authority as God’s and all laws as if they were his. Any thoughts or actions to the contrary are nothing short of rebellion.

Rebellion, that’s what God calls it when you or I decide that we’re going to fudge the numbers a bit in order to reduce our tax bill. God says the same thing about our decision to drive faster than the speed limit. We offer excuses - every one’s doing it, 65 is too slow, the police don’t care. But God will have none of it. He calls every lawbreaker a rebel no matter the excuse, and judges each violator a sinner, worthy of his wrath and deserving of his punishment. If such truths scare you, they should: “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” (Romans 13:3).  Christian, you have nothing to fear, no concern if you’re audited, no reason to look in the mirror for flashing lights, not when you live your life recognizing that the authorities that exist are placed over you by God himself. Your willing obedience to their rule will not only bring you peace of mind and their praise, more importantly such obedience will be a testimony to all that your trust is in God as the Lord of your life. To obey our leaders is to obey God.

But this obedience in and of itself is not enough. God demands more. So Christian, be a faithful citizen in respect for God’s servants.

We are used to calling those who minister in the church, “God’s servants.”  It should not surprise us to discover that God calls by that same name those who serve him in government. It only stands to reason that since all authority belongs to God, all who hold positions of authority, believers and unbelievers alike, are God’s servants. More than that, it is God’s intent that each of these servants should be a blessing to us, as Paul says, “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.”

God has established government in all its various forms so that we may lead safe and peaceable lives in this sinful world. Without government, we would have only  anarchy.  Sinners would do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted to whomever they wanted even to the point of murder. To hold our sin in check, God has given his servants in government great power, the power of the sword and with it God’s permission to carry out capital punishment. This is not to say that the government must always employ this power, but no one can say the government is in the wrong if it chooses to do so. After all, the government is the agent of God’s wrath in this world, his representative put here by him to protect us at all costs.    This means that you and I will want to show great respect to those in government, not only because they hold such great power over our lives, but as Paul says in verse 5, we will do this for conscience’ sake.

God means for it to trouble our conscience greatly if we should choose to treat the person in authority with anything but the respect due him or her as a servant of God. In our democratic society we are accustomed to criticizing the ideas and opinions of leaders we don’t agree with, but God would have us know that when this criticism becomes personal in nature, it crosses the line of sin. Whether the government official is someone we voted for or against does not matter. Once the person assumes office, he or she wears a cloak of honor provided by God himself, and so that person deserves nothing but our support and respect. Paul writes: “This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. {7} Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor” (Romans 13:6-7).

Up to this point Paul has talked about what we are to do as faithful citizens, namely submit to God’s authority. He has spoken of the attitude with which we will do this–one of deep respect. Now Paul speaks to our motivation as he again says to each one of us, “Christian, be a faithful citizen in fulfillment of God’s law.”

Throughout this section of Scripture we have been addressing God’s will as it is expressed in the Fourth Commandment, the commandment that deals with our relationship to God’s representatives here on earth. In verse 9, Paul mentions several other commandments by name “‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ and ‘Do not covet.’” All these, like the Fourth Commandment, are part of what is called the second table of the law. The first table, made up of the first three commandments, speaks to our relationship with God. The second table deals with our relationship to everyone else and can be summed up in this one rule, "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Romans 13:9). Love, perfect love for God and neighbor is to be our motivation for keeping everyone of God’s commandments.

You understand what this means, don’t you. If we pay every penny of tax that we owe, but do so grudgingly, if we drive the speed limit but do so only out of fear, if we show respect to our leaders outwardly, but inwardly hold them in contempt, then we still have not kept the commandment. For our God not only demands right actions, he demands perfect motivation - he demands a spirit of love from us that never considers its debts paid, but instead always happily has more to give. Anything less than this perfect love is sin in God’s sight, sin that leaves us owing an eternal debt of punishment in hell. Based on all that we have heard today, what else can we do, but claim this debt as ours. We have not done what God says is right; we have not loved as God says we must.

So how in the world can Christ call us salt? We look just as rotten as everyone else! How are we salt? Only through faith, the faith God has given us in Christ. For by this gift our sin-debt is canceled, not discounted but canceled. For you see, faith lays claim to Christ’s sin-payment in hell, a payment that completely atones for all our cheating, and grumbling, for all our rebellion. Thanks to that payment we no longer owe God even a moment’s worth of suffering. And that’s not all faith does, not by a long shot. For faith goes on to claim Christ’s holiness too. That’s right! Faith takes all Christ’s love, his love for this whole world, and it makes it our very own, so that now when our God looks at you and me, he sees nothing but that love of Jesus pouring out of us, fulfilling the law’s every demand all of the time. So you see, through faith in Jesus, you and I have everything we need to be citizens of heaven. Our future there is perfectly secure which means are days here are completely free, free from all fear and obligation. We’re free to live lives of thanks to God, free to be the salt Jesus has made us to be. And part of being salt is to live as faithful citizens, paying our taxes, choosing and voting for God-fearing leaders, praying for their success, running for office, defending the rights of others, in short, doing all those things that make our country and our world a peaceful place in which we can share the good news about Jesus, so that more may believe in his saving name. Christians, never forget that this is our Father’s world. Yes, it’s true we’re just passing through on our way to his eternal home, but still we have a purpose. We’re the salt God has sprinkled on his earth. As long as we’re here, we have the privilege of showing our friends and neighbors what a wonderful thing it is to live and love as God’s forgiven children, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.