Romans 13:1-7 “What to Do About the Government?”

My sermon title is a little misleading, I suppose. My apologies. You see, the first line of the scripture talks about obeying the governmental authority. However, where or how Romans 13 actually begins is a little unsure. The first line that we read seems to appear only in about twenty of the over 2,500 manuscripts of the early writings we call the New Testament. It appears therefore in less than .01 percent of the manuscripts. I am speaking of the line that says: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.” So, indeed over 99.9% of the early texts start with what comes directly thereafter, “There is no authority except from God.” My question from the sermon title is what are we supposed to do with a line that has been included that does not perhaps belong there but was added in by others with a political point to make.

What? Somebody was trying to put politics into the Holy Bible? That is unthinkable, right? This first line is really suspect in so far as the fact of the matter is that most of the rest of the New Testament has come to us from the “Family 13” manuscripts that are thirteen texts that match almost perfectly. Yet, this first line is not even in the “Family 13” texts. I know that we take the bible to be the “Gospel Truth”; however, as soon as human hands touched the Word of God then we had a sincere problem. And, I think it is always right for us to be informed and question the human transcription and translation.

I think Paul’s true emphasis begins with the next line that we read that is to state that there is no authority except from God. That is the main idea of what he is writing. I hope you agree with me. If you would like to talk more about this issue, you can see me after worship. But, let me reiterate for clarity. I do not believe that Paul’s main point is that we should simply obey civil authority. I believe his point is that all authority comes from God.

What is this authority that comes from God then? Luke 9:1, “Then Jesus called the twelve disciples together and gave the power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. . .” Hmmmm, it is a spiritual gift from God through Jesus that comes to us through faith and the laying on of hands. This is the word that Paul uses exactly to describe the idea of “all authority comes from God.”

If the Apostle Paul simply wanted the members of the early church to follow blindly the Roman Emperor (Claudius at the time of this letter), he would have simply said in his letter: “Follow Claudius.” It would be like handing out a voter’s guide in the church today, which some churches do. “Here, this is our guy. Support him or her.” Paul is definitely not telling the Christians to support Claudius. In fact, he is being quite emphatic that we should all just be supporting God!

I also want you to note something really fascinating that is in English between these first two independent clauses: the word “authority” actually changes meaning. In the first clause, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities,” “authority” is a person in the government. In the second clause, “for there is no authority except from God,” “authority” is an abstract idea referring not to a person but rather to the power that God has over us. Even though it looks like the same word, we see two very different meanings! One is a human being, the other is a gift from God. So, even semantically the ideas do not match.

When I look up the word here that is translated as “authority” in the Greek, I see that it is εξουσια that has as its first definition in the dictionary: “The freedom of choice or right to act.” God has the freedom of choice and right to act over everybody! That is what Paul is saying here! God is above the emperor. God is above our lives. God is above all. It is God’s freedom that we enjoy as Christians.

Galatians 5:1 “For freedom Christ has set us free. . .” You can read the rest of the passage as homework if you like. But, the basic understanding of authority is that WE have the right to choose. Nobody has the the right to choose for us. So, Jesus tells us that for the “right to choose how to live” “I have given you that freedom.” When Jesus lays his hand on his disciples and blesses them with the “authority to cast out demons and to heal,” that means that he is giving them the freedom to act. They are empowered.

Also this means that just because someone seems to have earthly authority that they are not somehow blessed by God. It would be impossible of course for anyone to stand before the church and say that Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, and a line of other tragic dictators ever enjoyed God’s blessings and were somehow authorized by God to do what they did.

In Matthew 19:24 Jesus tells the rich young ruler that it is harder for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I love the idea of how it would be for a camel to get small enough to pass through the eye of a needle. I can see that camel first being unpacked of all of its luggage and other burdens. Then, that camel would get down on its knees to try to be small. Okay, for me that would mean unburdening myself of all earthly things then getting down on my knees before God. Yet, that would not even be enough. I would still be too large!

How small we all are in relation to God’s greatness. How small is our earthly authority in any matter compared with God’s authority over the entire universe! So, the rich ruler (read here an earthly power or authority) must be humble before the authority of God and give up all of this power in order to enter the kingdom of God. And, Jesus gives that to him as a choice.

So, I do that freedom to choose how to live. Should I pay my taxes? This was a trap set by the Pharisees to Jesus. The story comes from Mark 12:13. They ask Jesus whether he is going to pay taxes. They ask Jesus if it is lawful, according to the Torah, to pay taxes unto Caesar. “Whose face is on the coin?” Jesus asks. “The emperor’s,” they respond. Then give it back to the emperor.

We can easily update the story, “Whose head is on the dollar? Give it back to Washington.”

So, going back to the sermon title, what should we do about the government? I believe that we are empowered by God, just as Jesus laid hands on his disciples, to preach the Good News, heal the world, and cast out demons. That includes those in governing positions in an earthly sense. Yes, we have the opportunity or obligation to remind those in authority that God has the ultimate authority in this world. \

You know, when I was growing up, we used to have this admonition that I do not hear anymore: “Watch out, God is gonna get you!” Just as we must honor the law of the land, the land itself must honor God’s Law. And, that is where the real struggle for us in our conscience comes to play.

In our afternoon bible study this last week, one of the participants asked about conscience objectors to war. He had been in the war in Vietnam actually. He went because his country called him to war, but he did not believe in what he was doing there. So, it was right that the war was protested here to help guide the government to stop the killing.

I think about my own personal history on that account. I turned eighteen while in Germany and could have continued my education for free in German university as a German citizen, but it meant that I would have to go into the German military first. That is when I got on the plane and came back to the United States. Of course, the law here was that I had to register for the draft here, which I did, but was never called up in the lottery back then.

This last week in the news an Israeli attack in Sidon, Lebanon, injured six Malaysian soldiers with the United Nations peacekeeping force there. I think about those poor young people who were at home safe in Malaysia the month before who were suddenly caught up in somebody else’s war–not to mention all of the other innocents that have been lost in the fighting. God sees this!

God knows the truth behind every lie. God knows the hatred in every heart. God knows the evil in this world. The God of love, and peace, and grace has the ultimate power and authority. This is the message that Paul sent to Rome, and this is the same message we need to hear today.\

Amen.