Let Everyone Be Subject to the Governing Authorities (Romans 13:1)-Appealing Versus Rebelling-Part II

Romans 13:1 says, "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." In this sermon Pastor Scott taught on Romans 13 and explained why the WCC elders feel led to submit to the government, and appeal, versus disobey. He also explains why the elders don't think the government is telling us to sin. https://youtu.be/vdHa-YOYUFQ Romans 13:1 says, "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities." Pastor Scott explained why the elders will submit to government. Table of ContentsSermon Lessons for Let Everyone Be Subject to the Governing Authorities (Romans 13:1)Family Worship Guide for Everyone Be Subject to the Governing Authorities (Romans 13:1)Sermon Notes for Let Everyone Be Subject to the Governing Authorities (Romans 13:1)Lesson 1: we don’t submit to sin.Lesson 2: resisting authority is resisting God.Lesson 3: we must (part 1) think biblically versus emotionally.Lesson 3: we must (part 2) balance faith and wisdom.Lesson 4: quarantining the healthy occurred in scripture. Sermon Lessons for Let Everyone Be Subject to the Governing Authorities (Romans 13:1) Lesson 1: We don’t submit to sin (Dan 6:6-10; Jer 27:8-12; Acts 5:29-31, 40-42; 1 Pet 2:13-17). Note: This lesson is from Part I.Lesson 2: Resisting authority is __________________ ______ (Rom 13:1-2; 1 Pet 2:13; Titus 3:1).Lesson 3: We must:(Part I) Think ____________________ versus ______________________ (Rom 13:4).(Part II) Balance __________ and ____________ (Lev 13:1-3).Lesson 4: Quarantining ______ ______________ occurred in Scripture (Lev 13:4-6; Psa 91:6).Lesson 5: We submit because we __________ ______ (1 Pet 2:21-23, 3:5; Psa 20:7). Family Worship Guide for Everyone Be Subject to the Governing Authorities (Romans 13:1) Day 1: Read Rom 13:1-2; 1 Pet 2:13; Titus 3:1, and discuss: What other relationships involve submission? What application does our submission in these relationships have to our submission to government? Who was emperor when Paul and Peter told Christians to submit to authority? Why does resisting authority mean we’re resisting God? Why does Paul say the government is for our good?Day 2: Read Lev 13:1-3, Psalm 91:6 and discuss: Why are all of us tempted to think emotionally about the quarantine versus biblically? As Americans and Christians, discuss the two “laws” over us (the Constitution and the Bible) and our relationships to them. What does it mean to balance faith and wisdom? Come up with some examples of what it looks like to combine faith with wisdom, and faith with foolishness (i.e. “I let my kids play in the road, because I trust God to protect them”).Day 3: Read Lev 13:4-6; 1 Pet 2:21-23, 3:5; Psa 20:7, and discuss: In the Old Testament, why were people quarantined even when they were healthy? What application do you see this having for our current situation? Are you aware of any times in church history when Jews and/or Christians observed God’s cleansing commands and fared better than the rest of the population? How does faith help us submit, whether wives to husbands, Christ when He submitted, or us to government?Bonus: Read Leviticus 13-15 and look for the wisdom in the cleansing commands that were written 3,000 years before the medical community decided they were beneficial. Sermon Notes for Let Everyone Be Subject to the Governing Authorities (Romans 13:1) Two Wednesdays ago the leadership shared that at this time we feel led to submit to the government, and appeal through letters, praying, and fasting. Last Sunday I began explaining why we came to this conclusion about submitting to government, and I’m continuing that explanation this morning. Before we look at the verses let me remind you of the first lesson from last week… Lesson 1: we don’t submit to sin. I left this in your bulletins, so you don’t have this nagging question about how far submission to government extends. There is a point that we disobey, and I discussed that extensively in last week’s sermon. But currently, we – the elders – don’t think we’ve reached this point, b/c we don’t think the government is telling us to sin. Later in this sermon I’ll share why I don’t believe the government is telling us to sin. Let’s look at Romans 13:1… Romans 13:1a Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. This is similar to what we read last week in 1 Peter  2:13… 1 Peter 2:13 Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution And it’s similar to Titus 3:1… Titus 3:1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities Titus was a pastor. When Paul told Titus to remind them, he meant, remind his congregation to be submissive to rulers and authorities. The only reason I can imagine Paul telling Titus to give his congregation this reminder is we must be reminded to be submissive to rulers and authorities. And if there’s any time that we probably most needed to be reminded of this, it’s when we don’t want to submit to the government…which makes this particularly fitting, b/c I can’t remember another time more people wanted to disobey government. The Greek word for be subject or be submissive is hypotasso (pr: who-puh-toss-oh). It means “to obey,” which is why it’s translated as obey elsewhere in the NT… For example, Titus 2:5 commands wives to obey their husbands… Titus 2:5 (NKJV) 5 [wives should] be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient (hypotasso)to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. John MacArthur said, “The Greek word [for be subject] was used of a soldier’s absolute obedience to his superior officer. Scripture makes one exception to this command: when obedience to civil authority would require disobedience to God’s Word.”…or would require sinning, which is why we said we wouldn’t submit to sin. Hypotasso (pr: who-puh-toss-oh) is the same Greek word used to command wives to submit to their husbands: 1 Peter  3:1 Likewise, wives, be subject (hypotasso)to your own husbandsEphesians 5:22 Wives, submit (hypotasso)to your own husbands, as to the Lord. The reason I mention this is the same word commanding wives to submit to their husbands is… To be consistent, whatever we think it means to submit to government, we must also apply that to wives submitting to their husbands. So if we say, “Well, I don’t think we need to submit to the government, I think we only need to show honor or respect,” then we must also say, “Well, I don’t think wives need to submit to their husbands, I think they only need to show honor or respect.” Consider this verse… Ephesians 5:24 Now as the church submits (hypotasso)to Christ, so also wives should submit (hypotasso)in everything to their husbands. The marriage relationship is a picture of our relationships to Christ: Christ is the husbandThe church is the wife Wives are commanded to submit to their husbands the way we’re commanded to submit to Christ. The reason I mention this is – again – to be consistent, whatever we think it means to submit to government, we must also apply that to our submission to Christ. So if we say, “Well, I don’t think we need to submit to government, I think we only need to show government honor or respect,” then we must also say, “Well, I don’t think the church needs to submit to Christ, I think we only need to show Him honor and respect.” Look at the next part of verse 1… Romans 13:1b For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. The word For introduces the reason we should submit to governing authorities. Their authority is given by God. Because God is sovereign – which is to say all authority belongs to Him – if people have authority, He gave it to them. Listen to what Jesus said when He was before Pilate… John 19:11 “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had BEEN GIVEN YOU FROM ABOVE.” Pilate was an ungodly man. He turned Jesus over to be crucified. But Jesus made the point that even the authority he had was given by God. This doesn’t mean that God is responsible for the sins of people in authority – they’re still responsible for their sins, such as murdering babies or perverting marriage – but it does mean the authority they abused came from God. Let’s imagine something for a moment… Imagine Paul wrote this when the Roman emperor at the time might not have been a Christian, but was at least a moral man. What could we say? “Well, Paul told them to submit, b/c the emperor was halfway decent. But we’re being told to submit to Governor Inslee and he’s way worse than the emperor in Paul’s day.” Who was the emperor in Paul’s day? Nero. Over the last few weeks I’ve heard people say terrible things about Governor Inslee, usually to argue why we don’t need to submit to him. I’m not going to defend the governor, but I will say this… Even if everything said about Governor Inslee was true, Nero would still be ten times worse….yet Paul still commanded believers to submit to his authority. Since all authority is given by God, to resist authority is to resist God. Look at the next verse… Romans 13:2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. We’re resisting God when we resist the authority over us b/c He’s the One who put the authority over us…and this brings us to Lesson 2… Lesson 2: resisting authority is resisting God. You could say, “I don’t like your interpretation of the verse.” I didn’t interpret the verse. I read it. I don’t know how anyone could read these words without acknowledging that resisting the government is resisting what God has appointed…b/c that’s what the verse says. John MacArthur said, “Since all government is God-ordained, disobedience is rebellion against God.” ...