happy sunday y'all
I hope you read this and learn,
the second part willl be coming out next week sunday




imagine that you are a Christian farmer, living peacefully in colonial
America, when word comes that a bunch of politicians in Philadelphia
have declared independence from Great Britain. You are aware of
what Paul teaches in Romans 13 about being in submission to the
governing authorities. What should you do? Which side should you
take? What if General Washington later conscripts you to join his
revolutionary army?



Or, you’re living in Germany in the 1930’s when Adolph Hitler came to
power. You watch with growing horror as he begins systematically
exterminating the Jews. Some of your Jewish neighbors, who were
good friends, are herded off to the death camps, never to be seen alive
again. Then you hear about a plot to assassinate Hitler and you’re
invited to join the conspiracy. If Hitler could be killed, it could
conceivably save the lives of millions of Jews. But you’re aware of
Romans 13 , which commands you to be subject to the governing
authorities. What should you do?



How should Christians relate to their government? If you think that
I’m going to be able to give easy answers to these issues, thank you
for your confidence in my wisdom, but I’m afraid that you’re too
optimistic! Hopefully, none of us will ever face dilemmas as difficult
as the ones I’ve described. But Romans 13:1-7 raises these and other
important issues concerning our relationship as Christians with the
government. When (if ever) is civil disobedience justifiable? What
about armed rebellion or revolution against a corrupt government?
What about capital punishment? Should Christians withhold part of
their taxes to protest government misuse of our tax dollars?



At first glance, Romans 13:1-7 may seem to be out of context. Paul
shifts subjects with no transition or introduction. But in the context,
Paul is speaking about how believers are to live in love and to get
along peaceably with all people. He has just forbidden taking
vengeance and advocated treating with kindness those who mistreat
us. This raises the questions, “Is it wrong to report those who mistreat
us to civil authorities for prosecution? Is it wrong to use force to
resist an aggressor?” So Paul shows that it is proper for the
government to protect law-abiding citizens and to punish evildoers.



Also, Paul was writing to Christians, some of whom were Jews, in the
capital of the Roman Empire. Claudius, the previous emperor, had
expelled the Jews from Rome a few years before because he viewed
them as dangerous (Acts 18:2 ). The Jews hated being under Roman
rule. The Romans often viewed Christians as a Jewish sect, so that
suspicion of revolution was always a concern in the minds of the
rulers. Also, Christians easily could have taken Jesus’ teaching about
the coming kingdom of God to mean that they should work for the
overthrow of the secular, morally corrupt government in order to
help bring in Christ’s kingdom. In fact, when Paul wrote Romans,
Nero, one of the most evil rulers of all time, was on the throne. What
a time for a revolution!



So Paul wanted the Roman Christians to be clear on how they should
relate to the civil government. In Paul’s day, there was no Christian
consensus or Christian-based constitutional law. There was no Jewish
theocracy, as in the Old Testament. But these principles, inspired by
the Holy Spirit, apply to believers down through the ages, living under
various forms of government. Contrary to what many Americans may
think, the Bible never mandates one type of government over another.
While arguably a constitutional democracy with a balance of powers
is the best form of government, the Bible does not ordain it or forbid
monarchy or other forms of government. We can sum up Romans
13:1-7 :
Njoy your weekend y'all