ChurchWith.Us - Post | Submission to the Authorities

Submitted to ChurchWith.Us on 10/30/2011:
___________________________________

Looking back through time, we can see that there have been many good and many bad governing bodies over its people. Some rulers have treated people with respect giving them freedom, choices, and a voice in the marketplace among other things. Other rulers have governed with an iron fist and neglected and oppressed the people seemingly unjustly. Many other variations of what one may deem as "good" or "bad" can be drawn from past governing bodies.

What constitutes as a "good" versus a "bad" governing authority may vary among people, however, Paul tells those in Rome that it is God himself who has established governing authorites. Looking at Romans 13:1-7 (ESV) we read:

1Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.   

-  Romans 13:1-7 (ESV)

Let's break this down. And I would like to say that this is a fairly initial thought process that I had this morning during our 20 somethings Sunday school class where we read this passage.


Verse 1: All authority is from God, including those HE placed in power here on earth. Did you catch that? Is Paul stating an all inclusive proclamation of truth here that all governing authorities throughout time have been, are, and will be intentionally placed there BY God?

For me, this is a hard one to swallow. From every good to every bad governing authority, God has INTENTIONALLY placed them in that position? Is that what Paul is stating? I'm initially assuming that this is what he seems to be claiming, at my initial reading. God put every oppresive dictator in power too? Is Paul just talking about governing authority over Israel? Perhaps, I'm not sure, as this is just a preliminary take on what I'm implying from the text prior to any further study. If this is all inclusive across the earth, then we have to believe that God also put evil men in power such as Hitler, to name an over quoted reference for bad men, though he's earned it. There are many references in the books of Moses where God intentionally hardens the hearts of people and rulers, so it would seem that God could use evil rulers for his good, but that's just simply hard for me to take in. I'd like to state that just because something is hard to take in, it wouldn't in and of itself make something immediately untrue.

Verse 2: Resisting the governing authority is effectively resisting God, since he reigns over them in his authority. Whether this is any and every ruler or just over the Hebrews or some other sub-set of rulers I don't know.

This is also hard to swallow because at first glance that appears to stiffle all resistence to government corruption. Going off my assumption that this governing authority could be ANY governing authority, then was it wrong for our Founding Fathers to resist England and establish their own country? I find it SO difficult to believe that people should not resist government if it becomes corrupt, unreasonable, etc., as this is the very basis of our being in America. Is this what Paul is saying?

Verse 3: This verse has more narrowly defined the scope of what it seems Paul is talking about. "For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad." It seems that Paul is implying that the ruling authority is in very nature good; that the authority is just. This leaves me confused.

Verse 4-7: The authority is God's servant and carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. The recipients of this letter were under Roman authority. So was Paul saying that God was rulling over them through the Roman government? That when they tortured, persecuted, and killed those of faith in Jesus Christ, it was really God extending his arm of wrath and judgement? God wanted them to remain strong in faith and deed through Christ, and then God wanted to persecute them through the Roman authority? Perhaps to 'test' them? Something else? I don't really understand this sort of working if this is how God worked and continues to work.

Paul makes the authorities sound like they have direct revelation from God, or are at least being directed by God to will what God wants, which seems to be against the Christian faith, no?

I'd like to follow up my confusion here with further study and I'd appreciate any further insight someone else may have as it seems very strange from an initial reading. Am I missing something, or is Paul stating something similar to what I have detailed above?