GOD AND GOVERNMENT
THE ROOT OF GOVERNMENT

Clearly, human government is rooted in God’s design and decree. This is taught from Genesis to Revelation in direct precept and implied principle. One such instance is Romans 13:1, which states, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” So, God has appointed human government. As I have been appointed by God to direct the affairs of this church as your minister, so government has been ordained by God to direct the affairs of state as your minister. Three times in Romans 13:4-6, the Apostle declares that government is our minister for good.

Even though there are various kinds of government, and some of these are better than others, any government is better than no government, for that is anarchy! Anarchy is the most horrible condition—no rules, no restraint, utter chaos—a catastrophe beyond all description. The government Paul called on Christians to submit to was led by the depraved despot Nero, seated upon the throne of world empire, and yet, the Apostle commanded Christians to honor him as one appointed to his place by God. In fact, we are told that there is none in power except by the sovereign choice of God. He raises rulers, replaces rulers, reforms rulers, and rejects rulers. God rules the rulers!

Consider what the Bible says concerning the Pharaoh of Egypt during Moses’ day, “For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.’ ” (Romans 9:17). Then, we have these statements concerning Nebuchadnezzar, the tyrant of Babylon,

37 You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power,strength, and glory;
38 and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all— you are this head of gold.
39 But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.
40 And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.
41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes,partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay.
42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile.
43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.
44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.” (Daniel 2:37-45)

Further, we have the case of Christ on trial before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. As you recall, the ruler is baffled that Jesus refuses to defend himself, and the accusations are met only with silence. Exasperated, Pilate cries, “Do you not know that I have the power to crucify You, and power to release You?” (John 19:10), but Christ answers, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above.” (John 19:11).

Sin in its basic and basest form is a rejection of authority and embracing of autonomy. In the garden, Adam rejected the authority placed over him because he wanted to be a god himself. In the first empire, Babel, the people sought to bring themselves up to heaven by building a tower. This spirit marks the sinful heart of man. But, the child of God has repented of this and shows it by subjection to authority. A Christian is to be a model citizen. Even government leaders are under God’s authority and better not forget!