Verses one through five of Romans thirteen present a
bitter pill that many people find hard to swallow. It is the belief
of the author that the higher powers are ordained by God and that we,
as the body of believers acting in concert with each other, should in
no wise resist the higher powers. There is no power but God. Does
this speak only of the church? No. It also speaks of civil
governments.
Those people who are over
the little man at times seem to be monsters. They send our young
people out to die in their wars. They tax us into poverty. They
pretty much have their way in all matters and benefit at our expense.
Was the author speaking of such powers as Rome? Yes. But, the Romans
were cruel in their subjugation. How could Paul recommend obedience
to such a government?
Paul's purpose was to
unite the churches into a single body. There had to be a single
standard that covered them all – a spiritual approach to worldly
issues. One may not simply say that the powers should only be
comprised of sympathetic souls who treat well those who are of like
mind. The world is full of unlike minds. God puts them all on the
playing board. God has ordained the enemies of his people as well as
the friends of his people.
Let me ask a question of you. How are you to overcome
the evil with goodness if there is no evil to overcome? The extended
question, then, is how will you overcome evil with good if you set
yourself at odds with it? Isn't that the old mind? Isn't that the way
of the world? Didn't the author just instruct us in chapter twelve,
rather than be conformed to, that is, to act in accordance with the
standards, ways, or rules of the world, to be transformed by the
renewing of our minds?
Don't get me wrong. It
would be great to know that the higher powers were seeded with souls
who thought and acted in concert with all other believers. At least
we would be assured of love and compassion, of righteous discernment.
However, we can't just go out and beat our adversaries into a
mindless subservience to the new mind. The new tactic is to win them
from the inside out.
Christian democracy has
been a hard-won achievement and a boon to mankind but the battle is
far from over. There are still powers in the world that are outdated
and cruel, that seek to beat us into submission. We will win them
from within. We will incorporate them into our brotherhood of the new
mind.
There are two reasons why
the body of Christ should submit to the higher powers. One is because
of 'wrath' and two is 'conscience.' Working back toward verse one
from verse five, the author tells us that there is only one cause to
fear the higher powers. That one cause is if you do things that are
unlawful. The higher powers are described as having a dual purpose.
They are ministers of God to the doers of good for good and to the
doers of evil for revenge. To those individuals who act unlawfully,
the higher powers will execute the punishment of God's wrath.
However, these same will praise and reward all who are in concert
with the law.
The book of Romans was
written by a Christian who was also a Roman citizen. He was in a
position that provided a clear view of both sides of the occupation.
Rome had many gods. When they conquered another culture, they
incorporated that culture's god along with the people. Rome was not
necessarily Christian but it did include Christianity within its
parameters. Their laws were neither necessarily pro-Jew nor
pro-Christian but governed them nonetheless. The author's
instructions to those under the law called for subjection to that
law in the spirit and practice of the Christian faith. The
instructions were without regard to the type or source of the
government.
We look around these days
and see many meek and humble people in this world. They are faithful
and kind, they are willing to put themselves out for the benefit of
their fellow man. We see them in subjection to many different kinds
of governments. Some of these governments are brutal in their
treatment of God's people. They ban their faith and destroy their
places of communal worship. They arrest, torture, and kill them. They
are beheaded, stoned, or burned alive. These actions are perpetrated
against them, not because their faith is wrong, but merely because
their faith runs counter to the higher powers they live under. If one
would flee to a more tolerant culture, there would be no wrong in
doing so. It seems that just being a good person is not enough under
some governments. What good does it do for a person to be in
subjection only to be rewarded with such mistreatment?
All governments, even the bad ones, are composed of
people and can be represented as a solid core around which is a misty
penumbra that is gradually becoming less solid. That was certainly
the case under the Roman occupation for Jews and Christians. There
were cases where a Christian's subjection to the higher power brought
him in contact with Roman officials who were persuaded to the
Christian faith. They, in turn, persuaded others. I think this is an
overlooked point when most of us consider the persecution of
Christians under the higher powers of the Muslims or the communist
Russians and Chinese. Conversion to the Christian faith is the will
of God. For their conscience' sake, it is the responsibility and duty
of the oppressed. 'Whosoever will' is an option that is extended to
the non-Christians through the Christians. It is what Christ died to
provide.
