How to Honor God and Government
If you’ve ever felt the tension between respecting governing authorities and living out your allegiance to King Jesus, you’re not alone.
We live in some of the most politically charged and polarizing environments. As Christ-followers, we’re called to uniquely be of two worlds simultaneously. Like a spiritual amphibian, we are both citizens of earth and citizens of heaven (Philippians 1:27; 3:20). In Romans 13:1–7, Paul gives instruction to the church in Rome, the heart of the empire, to live in submission and honor to governing authorities. For many of us, we read this passage with our own set of caveats. Let’s be honest, we have a different take on this passage depending on if the person we voted for is in office or not! But Paul’s instruction is not for submission, if you like the rulers. And that’s where the challenge for us lies. How do we live as dual citizens of heaven and earth? Here are just a few thoughts inspired from Scripture to lead us the right way.
Respect governing rulers, even if you hold disagreements with them.
Paul did! Mind you, Paul would have KNOWN how evil governments could be! He saw the government unlawfully take the life of some of his friends. Many Christians died for their confession the first 300 years of the church. He himself would eventually be executed under the orders of emperor Nero. Note, too, many historians would consider Nero to have been clinically insane by our modern conventions. His rulership was not kind or sensible. Yet, Paul wrote the letter to the Romans (with chapter 13 being in it) while Nero reigned as the sovereign over the empire. So, however we read this passage, we CAN NOT read it as blindly, blissfully living under the governments of the nations we find ourselves in. That was not the experience of the readers of Paul’s letters, nor is it ours.
Obey the decrees of the land unless they compromise a commitment to Jesus.
Well, Paul respected the rulers in place, even while he knew they were not the true sovereign of the world (even if they posed as such). The early church had an uncanny way of complying with rules and ordinances until it became a matter of compromising worship and devotion to King Jesus. In those cases, they pleaded to having to obey God over man and accepted the consequences of their actions. Acts chapter 5 provide plenty of fodder supporting this! For example, we are committed to sharing the gospel, no matter what rules are put in place.
The early Christians refused to make the Gospel a political movement.
Sure, the gospel can (and probably should) influence how we vote and interact in politics, but mind you, that was not a luxury for the early Christians. They didn’t have a voice or vote in politics. So, we have some privileges that they did not. Yet, do we believe our spiritual influence is limited to what is happening in politics?
Taking a cue from the early church, we should see that what’s happening in politics might make our lives easier or harder, but it has no bearing on our mission or our authority (given by Jesus) to accomplish our mission!
Christ’s “Great Commission” (Matthew 28) comes in the context of His declaration of his dominion (“all authority in heaven and on earth”) being extended to the nations through his people! The gospel is not just a story we believe, it’s an announcement that the kingdoms of the world are being reclaimed by the king of heaven. So, no matter how the political climate morphs and evolves, we are called to be steadfast in our commitment to Jesus and making his good news known!
With all of this said, it’s important to not read Romans 13, or any instructions on how we are to live, in a vacuum, as if the biblical story is not leading us somewhere in terms of what God’s plan is for the world. We should take immense comfort in the fact that nothing happens as a surprise to God. Humanity is not the author of human history, God is. And while people’s choices play a role and have consequences, nothing any person or any government does can thwart God’s ultimate plan.
Trust in the reign of the perfect, eternal kingdom, not the temporary, flawed placeholders.
Remember, earthly governments are just placeholders until Christ returns to finally, fully, and forever reclaim kingship over our world! In the meantime, every few years political leaders will make promises that sound like they are bringing us into the promised land of American ideals. But no matter how savvy the leader is (or how much they can live up to their promises) there is no utopia of government. It will always have faults. It will always disappoint us. We tolerate the imperfect system of human governments in the meantime. We submit to governing authorities even while we don’t compromise our ultimate allegiance to King Jesus. And one day the earth will rejoice as the true and rightful king comes to set all things right and make all things new!
God’s people, be encouraged, our Lord Jesus will be acknowledged as King of kings. And every knee will bow and every tongue will confess His Lordship (Philippians 2:6–11 and Revelation 19). We eagerly await that day, and we live on mission until then.
Until the kingdom of Christ comes, live as the best citizens here and now.
Being a Christian, a citizen of heaven, doesn’t give us an excuse to be bad citizens here. We should be the best citizens, bettering the world around us and seeking to make the most of our time. We ought not lose sight of what makes the Church so potent in the world.
Legislating social change can do some good to discourage evil, but that doesn’t have the power to change the heart. As the Church, we are here to facilitate the ministry of transformed hearts. Transformed lives change society!
Christianity had an unprecedented and unstoppable presence across the Romans Empire (and eventually changed the spiritual landscape of the entire globe).
Although Christians lived as a counter-society with an alternative Lord and King in Christ, they still worked cooperatively (in as much as possible) with the social structures they were in, not just to make a difference in the world but to make the world a different place. Their actions served as exemplar benefactors of the society, and their trademark difference in the world was their compassion (as I wrote about in this blog post). Therefore, Christians lived in a delicate tension with their fidelity to King Jesus while subjecting themselves to the (corrupt and wicked) rulers of the day.
There are many examples of people who loved God and led well in difficult times.
Daniel was leading at an elite level next to the king of Babylon without compromising his commitment to God or the ethics of how to live as God’s people! This—all of this—is hard to do. And so one of the most practical things we can do is to pray our way through this. And as we do, pray for our governing leaders. Consider what Paul wrote to Timothy, in Ephesus, a place that was hostile to the gospel at first (see Acts 20).
1 Timothy 2:1–2 (CSB) First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
Every time you feel ill thoughts towards a political leader, pray for them.
Don’t let their evil turn your heart bitter. It is easy to dehumanize politicians and write them off as corrupt sinners. But these are people too, equally needing the mercy of God. We pray for their salvation and for their conduct to keep in step with God’s precepts.
Overcoming evil with good and maintaining our commitment to Christ is our witness to a fallen and dying world. There is something, better put, someone worth living for and dying for—the One who lived and died for us. Jesus is worth it. We honor Him by living honorable lives as citizens of heaven and earth committing to the gospel that is true, good, and beautiful.