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God’s Sovereign Rule of All Nations & Our Christian Responsibilities
Romans 13:1-7, Judges 21:25, Psalm 33:12, Proverbs 14:34, Jeremiah 29:4-7, Daniel 4:17, Acts 17:26, Philippians 3:20
As Christians we ought to be deeply thankful for the freedoms we enjoy and we also ought to consider the responsibilities that come with these blessings.
The founders of our nation were a diverse group; there were those who had a genuine relationship with the Lord and those who didn’t. However – Their worldview was based on Biblical truth, the Bible and Christian morality deeply formed their thinking. Though not everyone was a Christian in the sense of personal faith, nearly everyone was deeply influenced by Christianity.
Romans 13:1-7 (ESV) –
“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. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 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, 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. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 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.”
God is sovereign, all earthly authority comes from Him and His purpose for government is to reward good and to punish evil. Christians ought to pray for their leaders and encourage them to live up to their God-given responsibilities.
1. A healthy nation continually acknowledges and celebrates that its authority doesn’t come from itself but from God!
Romans 13:1 (ESV) –
“For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”
Psalm 33:16 (ESV) –
“The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.”
Daniel 1:1-2 (ESV, emphasis mine) –
“In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God.”
Daniel 2:21 (ESV, emphasis mine) –
“He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding…”
Daniel 4:17 (ESV, emphasis mine) –
“…that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will…”
Acts 17:26 (ESV) –
“And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place...”
Acknowledging God’s ultimate rule allows our anxiety levels to drop and fear to be transformed into trust. Embracing the truth that God has established the authorities causes us to see things through a different and transformed perspective.
All national authority comes from God and healthy nations recognize this.
1 Peter 2:10 (ESV) –
“Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
Psalm 33:12 (ESV) –
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!”
Psalm 33:12 (ESV) –
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord...”
2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV) –
“...if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
It is good for us as a nation to acknowledge our Creator, we also need to understand that this alone falls way short of saving faith.
Jeremiah 25:8-9 (ESV, emphasis mine) –
“Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation.”
Jeremiah 25:12 (ESV) –
“Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, making the land an everlasting waste.”
A nation’s continued existence is not necessarily evidence that it fears God, it simply demonstrates God’s sovereign control.
2. God has given government for the purpose of preserving order. The purpose of government is to punish evil and reward what is good.
Romans 13:3-4 (ESV) –
“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, 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.”
The absence of governmental authority is anarchy which is awful.
Judges 21:25 (ESV) –
“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
Because of our sin, God has set up government for the purpose of maintaining order and restraining evil. We should be thankful for this.
Romans 3:10-11 (ESV) –
“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”
Jeremiah 29:7 (ESV) –
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
Acts 5:29 (ESV) –
“We must obey God rather than men.”
3. Christians ought to pray for their country and leaders. We should encourage our leaders to live up to their God-given responsibilities.
Romans 13:5-7 (ESV) –
“Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 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.”
Jeremiah 29:4-7 (ESV) –
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
We can sum up what the exiles are instructed to do, saying – Live! They were to seek the peace and prosperity of the city where they lived because their prosperity was tied to its prosperity.
Jeremiah 29:7 (ESV) –
“But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf...”
1 Timothy 2:1-2 (ESV) –
“...I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”
Proverbs 14:34 (ESV) –
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”
How should all this influence how we as Christians live today?
• We need to understand what God’s purpose for civil government is and we should vote to encourage and facilitate the rewarding of good and punishing of evil.
• We should pray for our country. We pray for our leaders and all those in authority because we recognize they need God’s wisdom.
• We pray for revival. We desire to see God move powerfully in our generation, drawing people to Himself. We want to see souls saved.
• We should be thankful for and continually defend the religious liberty we are blessed with. Religious liberty includes allowing others to hold views we believe are wrong.
4. It’s imperative that we remember – Every earthly kingdom is temporary. Nations rise and fall but the Kingdom of God is forever!
Philippians 3:20 (ESV) –
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ...”
Revelation 7:9-10 (ESV) –
“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
The United States (or for that matter any nation) will not last forever.
Ask yourself – How has my thinking been challenged? How has it been stretched? How has it been changed? How has it been affirmed?
Ask – Am I truly a believer? As in American history, many were true believers and others were not, today many are believers and many more are not. Our earthly citizenships, the places where we live, will not get us into heaven.