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Everyone is to be subject to the governing authorities, whether you agree with that governing authority or not. If you resist the governing authority that God has established, you'll incur judgment. Not only from the person that you resisted, but from God.
When we understand the text.
This is When We Understand the Text, a daily study of God's Word, that we may be filled with the knowledge of His will.
Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. Hey, happened to catch a couple of Mormon missionaries yesterday. I was a little bit strategic, I will admit. I saw them walking down the sidewalk, so I parked in a place where I knew they would walk right by me.
And was able to kind of step out and have a conversation. We talked for about 15 or 20 minutes. And eventually it led to a point where they were both kind of saying, well, you know, we could sit here and talk about these things for forever.
But, you know, it's something that you got to study for a long time. You got to really commit yourself to. And it left the door open for me to say, well, could I give you something to study? And they both looked at each other and said, well, sure.
I said, hang on just a second. And so I went back to my truck. I got a couple of my books out. 40 Mormon Beliefs and What the Bible Says. And I handed them both a copy. And I said, would you take a look at this and study it?
Not real long. And all of the sources that are cited there are Mormon sources. And then responding with what the Bible actually says about those things. And so if you'd take this, you know, guys, take a look at it, come talk to me.
I told them where my church was to come on by and visit with me sometime. And they said they would look at it. So we'll see how that goes. But anyway, yes, the book 40 Mormon Beliefs and What the Bible Says, available now at our website, www .utt .com.
Click on the Bookstore tab toward the top of the page, which I might change the name of later on. But at least now it's still called Bookstore. So click on Bookstore. It'll take you there. You'll see the book.
Order some copies for yourself. Multiple copies. You can pass them on to somebody. I try to keep the cost low so that, I mean, the whole point is to do ministry. It's not really to make a buck. I don't make a whole lot off of it.
Enough to be able to keep doing this. How about that? All right. Here we are in a study of Romans 13 today. If you want to open up your Bible and join with me there, Romans 13. And we'll begin in verse 1.
I'm going to read through verse 7, just like yesterday. Let 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.
Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For 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. For 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.
Therefore, one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath, but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this, you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God attending to this very thing.
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. We go back to verse 1. Let 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. This is something that Jesus said to Pilate. When Pilate had sent Jesus away to be flogged, and then when he came back, Pilate said to the crowd, I find no guilt in him.
The Jews answered him, we have a law, and according to that law, he ought to die because he has made himself the son of God. So Pilate went back to Jesus and said to him, where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer.
I mean, imagine if Jesus said to him, I'm from heaven, you know, Pilate would think that he was mocking him. So Jesus simply did not reply. So Pilate said to him, you will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?
And Jesus answered him this way. You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given to you from above. Therefore, he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin. And so we come back to this here, where Paul says, let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God.
Paul really is quoting here the words that Christ said to Pilate. Those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. And so, therefore, as he goes on in verse two to say, we need to respect those governing authorities.
Whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. Not just judgment on earth by those whom we disrespected, but also the judgment of God. For we did not submit to that authority which had been established by God.
Whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed. We see the disciples, the apostles, acting to authority very respectfully. Peter and the other apostles, when they were even brought before the Sanhedrin, they did not revile or revolt against the things that were going on there, even according to Jewish law.
Rather, they said, you must deal with us how you know that you need to deal with us. But as for us, we're going to obey God rather than men. The apostle Paul also responded very respectfully to the Roman government.
When he was brought before Festus, he called Festus, most excellent Festus. Festus, after hearing Paul's testimony, said, Paul, you are out of your mind. And Paul said, I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words.
He was being very respectful of the man that had been put in a position over him so that Festus would listen to what it was that he had to say. And Paul understood that Festus was there appointed to his position by God.
And God was either going to change Festus' heart by the message that Paul was sharing or by whatever Festus ruled, Paul was going to get an opportunity to share the gospel even more. He had already appealed to Caesar.
And so he knew that what Festus was ultimately going to do was turn him over to Caesar, send him to Rome to appear before Caesar, which was what Paul wanted because he wanted to preach the gospel in Rome.
So Paul was respectful to Festus in the way that he responded to Festus, though he was being tried very unjustly. For even Festus and Agrippa said to one another, this guy would be set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.
Paul had done nothing wrong. Even the governing officials couldn't find anything wrong with Paul. But Paul was very respectful to obey the laws and to respect those who had been placed in a governing position.
I will tell you that as a man of God, it really bugs and irritates me whenever I hear a reporter be disrespectful to the president. Whenever I'm watching the news and I hear a reporter sass the president or will interrupt the president and talk over him and all this, that is disrespectful.
I hate it. I can't stand to watch that happen because I know that that particular reporter does not respect God and what he has ordained the way that the scriptures say that we must. God has appointed these people to positions of authority.
Now, there are people who are going to abuse that authority. But if we are disrespectful against that authority, if we try to go against that which God has established, we will incur judgment by that authority and also by God.
So we must be respectful. You as a Christian cannot say Barack Obama is not my president. OK, he's he's murderous. I mean, it passes all these abortion laws that kill 3000 children a day. That is true.
But he's still your president. You live in the United States of America. You as a citizen of this country. He is your president. If you are in the United States of America illegally, you are breaking the laws of this country and you still can't say that Obama is not your president.
You are within our borders. You have to obey our laws. And he is your president. The police are your police force. This military is your military. You must respect those who have their positions of authority for all positions of authority have been instituted by God.
And whoever resists that authority will incur judgment. Doesn't mean we can't be critical. I mean, there are times when we will criticize the decisions that Barack Obama has made. Jesus called Herod a fox.
John the Baptist was also critical of Herod. But even in these times of disagreement, we still must be respectful. And in the ways that we disagree, we still might incur judgment on ourselves. Ecclesiastes 1020 says, even in your thoughts, do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom, curse the rich.
For a bird of the air will carry your voice or some winged creature tell the matter. I don't know that Solomon necessarily had the Internet in mind when he said for a bird, a tweet, a Twitter, right? Will carry your voice or some winged creature tell of the matter?
It kind of ironic that Twitter is Twitter now, isn't it? So anyway, if we if we try to argue or contest with authority, there are times when we can disagree. But we must disagree in a civil way for for that disagreement.
At times, we're just going to have to keep our mouth shut because the disagreement could get us in trouble with the law. If a police officer pulls you over and says that you were going 70 in a 55 and you argue with him, no, I wasn't.
And you guys get into a fight and it leads to you being arrested and you try to resist arrest. You're going to be in even bigger trouble than you were when the police officer first pulled you over. Even an officer has a position of authority and that position of authority must be respected.
Todd Freel of Wretched, you know who you know, who Todd Freel is. Some of you found when we understand the text because of Wretched. So you surely know who Todd Freel is. But anyway, as he's been working on this new DVD called Untethered, I'm really looking forward to it.
He's been on a lot of college campuses. There was a video recently that Wretched released about a situation that the Wretched crew had with a police officer on Clemson University's campus there in South Carolina.
And I loved the way that Freel responded to that officer on the Clemson campus. Go and look that video up because it is great. And this is exactly the way that we need to be respectful of authority. The officer was telling Freel to do something and Freel would say to him, I'm going to do what you're telling me that I need to do.
You are an authority and I want to respect you. But I want to ask why. And he's very respectfully asking for the officer to give him a reason for why Freel was being told to do what he had to do. Because Freel understood the law one way and he felt like this officer was telling him to do something that was contrary to the law.
So he's looking for clarification from the officer. But being very clear throughout the exchange, I want to respect you as an officer and I'm going to do what you're telling me to do. But I still would like to know why or what's going to happen if I don't obey.
Not saying that I won't obey, but what would happen to me if I didn't? And it was a great exchange. So look that video up. Really love that. We need to be respectful of those people's of those persons who have been placed in authority and not get this attitude of thinking like, well, if they're not obeying God's law, if they're not saying what God's word says, then I don't have to obey you and I don't have to follow you.
No. OK, if the law or a person who is placed in authority tells you to stop speaking the name of Christ, don't preach the gospel anymore. Well, you can say to that person, I must obey God rather than men.
But you still must do that respectfully or otherwise you're going to incur judgment for being disrespectful. Maybe not because you were preaching the gospel. And so we must be respectful, law abiding citizens, knowing that each person that has been given authority has their authority from God.
In Acts chapter four, beginning in verse twenty seven, Peter and the other apostles, they pray for truly in this city. There were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness while you stretch out your hand to heal and signs and wonders are performed throughout the name of your holy servant Jesus.
And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. So though they were arrested, though they were beaten because of the gospel of Christ that they proclaim, the apostles did not shrink back, but they were filled with even more boldness to preach the gospel.
Notice that in that prayer, they did not complain about that circumstance, but they even praised God for Pilate and Herod and the positions that they had been given because they were predestined for those positions to accomplish the will of God.
And that was the crucifixion of his son, Jesus Christ, for the sins of all mankind. It doesn't mean that Pilate and Herod were innocent. They still had to repent of their sins also. But those men were appointed to their positions to fulfill the will of God.
And so even Peter and the other apostles did not complain about the authority or the positions that had been given by these men that had come against them for preaching the gospel. Rather, they praised God for being counted worthy to suffer for declaring the name of Christ.
We must not be afraid of the rulers and authorities in the high positions that they have, for they are a terror, not to good conduct, but to bad, as we read in Romans 13, 3. And we'll continue on from there tomorrow.
Lord God, I pray that we would be filled with boldness to preach the gospel. What can man do to us? We are sealed by the Holy Spirit of God, and our future in your eternal kingdom is set and secure. So give us the ability to speak the gospel to those that we encounter.
And let us also understand your word that we may have respect for those who have been placed in positions of authority, knowing that in those positions they are fulfilling your will. We want to do your will.
What is pleasing to you, let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Guide us in these things in the name of Christ, we pray. Amen.
You can find a complete list of videos, books, devotionals, and other resources online at www .utt .com. Thanks for listening!