10/22 Sermon - Jesus the Risen King Rules: Origin, purpose, reason, guide for government

Jesus Christ the Risen King Rules:

The origin, purpose, reason, and guide for government.

Romans 13:1-7 

- Who is your government leader? Do you know? Do you know who the mayor of your town is? State governor? The president? How about the EU? China? Britain? France? Jon Billups. Kim Reynolds. Joe Biden. Ursula von der Leyen. Xi Jinping. Rishi Sunak. Emmanuel Macron.

- Those are all actually wrongs answers. Our minds go immediately to people, human beings, when we think of governments and leaders. 

- I pray that this sermon will change that. Our government leader is not any person. Jesus is in charge. Specifically, Jesus Christ the Risen King.

- Revelation 5, select verses: “Then I saw a lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne. (The elders and angels sang), ‘You are worthy to take the scroll, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. Worthy is the lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise. To him who sits on the throne and to the lamb, be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever.”

- Our real government leader, our true president, our actual king, is one person: Jesus, the lamb of God. Jesus came into this world and died on the cross, shedding his blood to take away the sins of all people. He rose from the dead and destroyed the grave, opening the way to eternal life for all people.

- We live in Jesus’ kingdom. Do you know what that means for you? In Jesus, our every, single sin, failure, shortcoming is forgiven. In Jesus, we have eternal life in paradise. His rule of forgiveness and life is absolute. He is our king.

- This brings us to Romans 13:1-7 and human government. We view human government with this thought: Christ the risen king rules. In him we find the origin, purpose, reason, and guide for how we interact with worldly authorities.

Let’s talk origin.

1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

- “Alright boys, Luke is in charge.” At a certain age our parents left Luke, our oldest sibling, in charge. This didn’t stop us from fighting. Of course, mom and dad were actually in charge. But they backed him up.

- This is what any government is like. Jesus Christ the Risen King rules all things, but he gives authority to earthly government. There is no exception. “Let all people to subject to all authority.”

- Many in history has asked, “Where does our government get it’s authority from?” Divine right, hereditary, power, social contract, etc. Christians have the best answer: No matter what, without exception, Jesus establishes all government, and he wants everyone to subject themselves.

- Our dad and mom were angry if we fought. God promises divine judgment for those who disobey the government he established.  

Let’s talk purpose

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 you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

- When I am driving the real speed limit, 55 mph in a 55 zone, and when I see an officer, my heart does not jump. When I am going over, even just a couple mph, my heart always jumps a little. “Will he pull me over?” Why? He has the power to give me a ticket!

- Officers and our military do not exist to be our friends. They exist to punish any who break the law or threaten us. Jesus Our risen king gives us eternal blessings, but he also cares about our earthly, temporary well-being too. So Jesus establishes government for a purpose: protection, order, prosperity, and peace.

- They protect us from harm, danger, and evil people with power and authority, with swords, guns, and everything else.

- The government establishes order, so we can all drive on the right side of the road, buy groceries with the same currency and live happy lives.

- The government promotes prosperity, so everyone isn’t begging on the street and we have money for food, clothes, and some enjoyment.

- The government helps us live in peace. When we’re not afraid of being mugged, when there is order in society, when there is prosperity, there is usually peace.

- Paul writes this in 1Timothy, “[Let us pray for] or kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” Christ the risen king, the God of our salvation, uses government for our earthly good.

Let’s talk reason

5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.

- You’ve heard the saying, “Respect is earned, not given.” I get it. If I’m in a position of power, I can abuse my power. But people use that phrase to justify disrespect as well. We submit to the government not because of any inherent qualities in our government, but simply because Jesus Christ, our risen King, commands it. We obey for two reasons:

- 1. Fear of punishment. Our old, sinful nature always seeks to disobey, so when there’s punishment, when an officer gives a ticket to those who speed, we obey.

2. Love for Jesus. Christ the risen king rules everything. He forgives our sins and promises us life everlasting. He established Government for our earthly good. We don’t submit to the authorities because we worship them, or we’re devoted to a party, or we’re caught in a political fever. We submit to the government because we love Jesus, our Savior who died and rose.

Let’s talk guide

6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

- John F Kennedy once asked his listeners in a speech this question, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” This summarizes the Christian attitude. We obey the government, in almost any case, and we ask, “What can we do for our government, for what Christ has established?”

- Jesus, Paul, and others don’t talk about what we deserve from the government or about our personal freedoms. Scripture almost always talks about our duty to the government, what we give to the government.

- What do we give? “Give to Caesar what is Caesars,” Jesus said. Paul says: we pay taxes, what they paid to the Roman government, similar to federal taxes. We pay revenue, which was similar to local or state taxes. We pay our respect and obedience. We listen, even if we don’t like or agree with a certain law or political party. We pay our honor. I don’t care what it’s for, if we mock or make fun of or belittle anyone in authority, that is a sin. Our words should only support, build up, and honor those God has placed over us.

- A god-pleasing Christian listens to their government, respects them, pays taxes, no matter who is in charge! And we do this joyfully! Why? Simply because Jesus, our Savior, asks us to.

- Wait a second! What if the government is evil? Or it does something evil? That happens!

- Paul wrote this letter, Romans 13, during Roman rule, around 57 AD. He said, “pay taxes.” Let me tell you what his taxes went to: state sponsored pagan temples and idol sacrifices, state sponsored bloody colosseum, the military that occupied his homeland of Israel, the wages of emperor Nero who declared that he was a god. Paul still said, “Pay taxes.”

- So maybe our government uses taxes to support abortion clinics, or fund pagan temples, or whatever else. We still pay taxes. God does give us permission to disobey if they government makes us do something sinful. If they made us perform or get abortions, then we disobey. If they made us sacrifice to idols, then we disobey. “We must obey God rather than men” applies if it’s something we do directly. But that’s an exception, not an excuse to disobey something we don’t like.

- This really comes down to a heart issue, right? When we get all worked up and angry over politics and government, when we spend all our time focused on what party or country does this or that, we’ve lost sight of the all mighty, we’ve forgotten who rules all things.

- Christ the risen king rules all things. The battle is over. He won the victory over sin and Satan by shedding his blood, he forgave our sins, he erased away our failures and shortcomings. He won the victory over death. he destroyed the grave; he gives us life. He directs everything in this world for our eternal good. Jesus the Christ rules all things.

- Jesus the risen Christ established all government and commands all people to submit themselves. The origin is from Christ, the purpose is for our good, the reason is out of love for God, the guide is to give to the government what belongs to the government. We leave the rest in Jesus’ hands. Amen.