If you would, remain standing for the reading of God's Word and turn to Romans chapter 13. Romans chapter 13. If you're using a pew Bible, you can find that on page 948. Romans 13. We will look at the first seven verses this morning. 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 a 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, our 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. Praise God for his word. Please be seated. So in Romans 12, The Apostle Paul began discussing righteous living only after he spent 11 chapters teaching sound doctrine. There is a warning for us today concerning what Paul did. Having items delivered to us within one hour or two, fast food, Amazon, traffic updates, notifications, and simple access to knowledge worldwide on our phones, we must not leap over doctrine and jump to applying principles to our lives. Even for us this morning, we can probably name books, and different things we have come across in our short lifetime in which we can say it was a bad thing to start applying principles in which could not be found from God's word. Sound doctrine comes before right principles. Without the right doctrine, there is no righteous living. Sound doctrine and right principles, they are both needed for us as Christians to live before the Lord rightly. When we put principles before doctrine, this will bring legalism, eliminating God in our high calling of doing all things for his glory. When righteous living is ignored by the pastor or the hearer, doctrine is wrongly taught, or the hearer has accepted deception, and the result is a promotion of a cold and fruitless religion. Both doctrine and righteous living are needed if God's children are to please and enjoy the Lord in this life. Righteous living springs up only from right doctrine. Both right doctrine and right living are required of us as Christians, knowing the word, obeying the word, and living lives that please the Lord. Our life is to be that of fruitful labor before the Lord and for the Lord. Our greatest devotion in this life is to be our devotion to Jesus Christ. And maybe you have said amen this morning to that. There will be fruitful labor in your life if that amen is actually legit. If you actually believe it, you will devote yourself to knowing the word and obeying the word for the Lord and for his glory, not for justification, but for the pleasing of the Lord. That is our greatest labor, to be fruitful for the Lord. Our greatest devotion is to be our devotion to Christ. God's righteous children are to live righteous lives. And Paul begins discussing this in Romans 12. our life among the body of Christ, our life with other brothers and sisters in Christ, our life among the lost, and among governing authorities. Our life among governing authorities is to be pleasing to the Lord, as is every area. Look at Romans 13, verse one. Let every person, so you're not exempt, I'm not exempt, let every person be subject to the governing authorities. There is no authority except from God, and those who exist have been instituted by God. So God's children are to be subject to the governing authorities on this earth. So every authority is instituted by God himself without exception. So good or bad authority, God has established them all. This one verse, if embraced by us as God's children, It will lead us to stop complaining, whining, gossiping, and lead us to our knees in prayer, trusting our great God as we grow through whatever trials He is bringing. So three truths that I want to break down for us during part of our time together this morning, we find in Romans 13 to one. Truth number one, God is not idle over His world. He is ruling. He is not a clockmaker who has stepped back and wind everything up and wondering what is going to happen. He's not idle over his world, he is ruling. Truth two, God establishes all governing authorities for his divine purposes and glory. God establishes all governing authorities for his divine purposes and his glory. And number three, God's children are to obey what he has instituted. God's children are to obey what he has instituted. Let me begin with these words from R.C. Sproul, because anytime we talk about authority, I know exactly what comes up in your mind. If we are not willing to submit to God, it is more difficult to submit to the police department the government, and other authorities that rule over us. It is the duty of every Christian to be in subjection to the authorities. You see, when we sin, we do not submit to the Lord. And this is why Paul is covering this important topic here in Romans 13. Paul needed to address governing authorities to those in Rome. Why? Why was this so important to bring up right now? Because the governing authorities in Rome were the cause of Christians being killed. This was of high importance for these people in Rome to listen and to hear what Paul was saying. If you flip back to Romans 8, beginning in verse 31, Paul said, what then shall we say of these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies, who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died, more than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand, who indeed is interceding for us. But who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, for your sake, we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. So even if the government is to bring death upon us, God has established the authorities. And going back to justification, what shall separate us from the love of God if we belong to the Lord? Our lives among brothers and sisters in Christ, they are to honor the Lord. Our lives among the lost are to honor the Lord. And our lives among every governing authority is to be pleasing to the Lord, for he has established them. We are called to civil obedience as the church. Romans 13 verse one, let every person be subject to the governing authorities. There is no authority except from God and those that exist have been instituted by God. So God is not idle over this world, he is ruling. The Lord is not wondering what will happen, nor is he responding to what is happening. He is orchestrating all that comes to pass. Every second that you and I have experienced today, He has caused it or allowed it to happen for His glory and divine purpose. If our great God was not all powerful, if He was not ruling over His creation even now, His promises would just be mere dreams and aspirations of a God that can't do anything. But He has determined every second from before creation, birth and death included. The trail to justification all determined by God. Our trail in sanctification, the process has been laid out by the Lord and cannot be touched by man. He is governing over all things through all he has appointed, including earthly authorities. The Lord will fulfill all of his promises because he is ruling right now with all power. Listen to these verses which describe the Lord. Psalm 135.6, whatever the Lord pleases, he does in heaven and on earth and the seas and all deeps. Proverbs 16.9, the heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his step. Proverbs 16.33, the lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the Lord. Matthew 10, are not two sparrows sold for a penny and not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered, fear not. Therefore you are more value than many sparrows. Our great Lord, he is providentially ruling over all things. So what the Lord has established, we are called to obey. Over all our actions in all of history, he has been working, he is working, he will work, he will bring about his divinely determined goal. Romans 8, 27 and 28. He who searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the spirit because the spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God, a few things work together for good, right? No, all things work together for good for those who love him who've been called according to his purpose. When we wonder what God is doing as his child, we should never doubt that he has stopped working for his glory. Never. How easy it is for us to sit back and to do that though. Lord, how are you glorified in this? When the darkness seems not to lift, He is sanctifying. And for those who love Him, He is working all things for their good. Lord, at all times, even before the world was created, He has remained loyal to His glory. He has remained loyal to His promises. He has remained loyal to you as His child. Christians must not view the Lord as idle, lazy, or indecisive. His plan is absolutely perfect and His perfect will is coming about. God is not idle over His world, He is ruling. Number two, God establishes all governing authorities for His divine purposes and glory. All governing authorities. That's all without exception. Russia and Putin, Ukraine and Zelensky, the United States and Biden. None of this caught God by surprise because he established them all. Every soul that is in authority over you and I exist because God has placed them there. The London Baptist Confession of 1689 put it this way, God, the Supreme Lord and King of the whole world has ordained civil authorities to be under him and over the people for his own glory and the public good. For this purpose, he has armed them with the power of the sword to defend and encourage those who do good and to punish evildoers. So all authorities are ordained by God under him and over the people. Why? It's his glory and our good. Without the governing authorities that God established, the world would be more corrupt than it is now. Now, what am I not saying? I am not saying that governing authorities are exempt from being corrupt because we know that's not true. or that the government of the United States does not ignore the Lord, I am simply declaring that just as we see God appointing evil kings or good kings in the Old Testament, there is a reason behind it, his will, his glory, and our good as his children. And we dare not step before the Lord and say, Lord, I don't agree with what you're doing. Jesus understood this when he was on trial in John 19. Pilate said to him, You will not speak to me. Do you know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you? Jesus answered him, you would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. God establishes all governing authorities for his divine purposes and glory. Number three, God's children are to obey what he has instituted. I love that there's not any caveats here. It doesn't say, if you don't like it, you can work your way around and find some off-beaten trail. Nope. This is a loaded principle that I will try to cover, but one thing is for certain, when authority exists, we naturally buck against it. Even in this church. At times over the last eight years, the authority has brought things to you and the natural indication is to buck against it because we haven't thought about it. What do we do when what is happening we are against? How about something practical for us today? What about abortion? How do we respond and represent Christ when established authorities abandon the God who made them? Let's go to the 1689 again. Because civil authorities are established by God for the purposes stated, we should submit in the Lord to them in everything lawful that they require. We should submit not only for fear of punishment, but also for the sake of conscience. We ought to make requests and prayers for kings and everyone in authority so that under their rule, we may live a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and honesty. And if that were true, a lot of our social postings would be no more. 1 Peter 2.17, honor everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the emperor. 1 Timothy 2, first of all, then I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and the thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings, and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good and is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. The first thing we need to do when we see things that we are not for, and even before that, knowing that God has established it, we need to be men and women of prayer. We need to stop discussing all the things that we hate from our president and our government, our authorities that God has established, and start praying for them. We are to obey what he has instituted, and when we are commanded by authorities to go against what God has clearly said, we obey God, we don't obey man. Peter and the apostles, they were arrested and commanded not to teach in the name of Jesus Christ. In Acts 5.29, and Peter and the apostles responded with these words, we must obey God rather than men. In the same manner, Daniel was asked to worship a false god, and Daniel responded with these words in Daniel 3 verse 18. Be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. If our government calls us to sin, we do not obey. R.C. Sproul words it this way, we are always and everywhere to obey the authorities over us, boss, police, governor, whatever the authority may be, unless the authority commands us to do something that God forbids or forbids us from doing something that God commands. Sometimes we must disobey. If the civil magistrate calls us to sin, we must say no. We are not free, however, to disobey the civil magistrate when we disagree with it or when authorities make us suffer or experience inconvenience. That's the part that we really hate. When we are inconvenienced as God's people or when we suffer as God's people, Lord, maybe we need to do a better job of studying the life of Christ. God ordains authorities for blessings and sometimes for judgment. But he has instituted what is instituted. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, United States President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Mayor Linda Martin, U.S. Police Chief Mike Brown, Texas Senators, your boss, your parents, your pastors, all the authorities in your life have been established by the Lord. Peter and the apostles, they refused to listen to the high priest in Jerusalem when they were told to stop preaching in the name of Jesus Christ, rightly so. Many in Canada have been asked to not preach certain passages of scripture and if so, they would be thrown in jail. We do not obey. We have been entrusted with God's word and we are to preach it, all of it. Just because we don't like something, or we are suffering an inconvenience we are still to obey. We do not agree as Christians to the killing of babies. The Lord who made us calls us to value human life. So we are to push back against the law with the truth of God's word. Exodus 1. But the midwives fear God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. So God dealt with the midwives and the people multiplied and grew very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, every son that is born to the Hebrews, you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live. Exodus 20 verse 13, you shall not murder. Abortion is murder. Genesis 1.21, so God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him. Male and female, he created them. Psalm 139, for you form my inward parts. You knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works. My soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you. When I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed substance. In your book were written every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. There is a reason why Romans 12 tells us that vengeance is the Lord's, and it does so right before we get to Romans 13. He will repay. We are to overcome evil with good. We are His people. He is the Lord. The authorities that exist, they have been instituted by the Lord. Romans 13, verse 2. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities, resists what God has appointed. And those who resist will incur judgment. So God ordains governments. We don't resist. And when you do, you are opposing God, and earthly authorities have the God-given right to punish lawbreakers. Look at 13.3. 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. There's a word that we need to remember here in 13.3. It's wisdom. Generally speaking, those who do evil are punished by the rulers that God has established, generally speaking. Christians are to behave as His children, living righteous lives among all, including the governing authorities that He has established, even if they are wicked authorities. It is right doctrine followed by right living. If we quickly jump over the correct doctrine we will start applying principles in which please us and not the Lord. Verse four, he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid for he does not bear the sword in vain. He is a servant of God and avenger who carries out God's wrath in the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath, but also for the sake of conscience. So God appoints the governments as well as the people. Robert Yarborough notes, God rules this world in part through delegating government to civil servants. So in this appointing, the Lord has given them the power of the sword, that is, they have been given power by God to enforce the law. They have been given the right to punish, including that of capital punishment. Genesis 9, verses one through six speaks to this. As God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and the fish of the sea, into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything, but you shall not eat flesh with its life. that is its blood. And for the lifeblood, I will require a reckoning from every beast. I'll require it from man. And from his fellow man, I'll require a reckoning for the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image." So earthly governing authorities are God's servants for our good. This includes the right of punishment. 1 Peter 2, be subject to the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be the emperor as supreme or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good, you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Every human institution has foolish people. We need to remember that. And when you get home today and you look in the mirror, remember you're one of the fools. Every human institution has human people. Every president and governor though, they are also evil. And we are to submit, this is the will of God. We were all born sinners separated from a holy God in need of salvation. By doing good, we silence those who are foolish. You may think, well, I don't really see that as the case here on earth. By doing good, you silence many that are foolish just before the Lord. Romans 13, five, therefore, one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath, but also for the sake of conscience. We are to submit for the sake of conscience. Our conscience tells us that something to what God has established is right, and what is against God is wrong. James Montgomery Boyce uses these words concerning the conscience. God has quickened the Christian's moral nature so that he or she not only knows what is right as opposed to what is wrong, but also has been given a true desire and ability to do what conscience demands. So we know that we are to do good. And that we have the desire and ability to do what God has commanded of us. Therefore, as God's children, we are to do it. This is part of living a righteous life. In Romans 13, verse six, for because of this, you also pay taxes. Now for many of you, you might get upset when you hear that. Or you got your first paycheck and you started asking questions. Who is this FICA? Because of this, you also pay taxes for the authorities or 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. One example in being subject to the authorities is in the paying of taxes. I believe Jesus was confronted with this. in Matthew 22. Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle Jesus and his words. And they sent their disciples to him along with their Herodians saying, teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully. And you do not care about anyone's opinion for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us then what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? But Jesus aware of their malice said, why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax. And they brought him a denarius, and Jesus said to him, whose likeness and his inscription is on it? He said, Caesar's. He said, and therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. When they heard it, they marveled, and they left him and went away. We are to pay all what is owed them, for the Lord has established every authority. I love the wisdom that John MacArthur provided. As servants of God, civil authorities not only should realize that they serve by God's sovereign permission, but they are therefore held accountable by him for serving responsibly on behalf of society. Now, it is true that we have many who are in authority who are not serving for the people, they are serving for selfish means. The authorities established our ministers or servants of God and God's people by living a quiet and dignified life, we are to stand up for the truth and remind them of this. This means that those in these positions are to use the tax money to serve the people and not themselves. All in authority, all Christians are to behave as his children in the world that God is governing. We can easily remember and think that like, look at all these people that are in authority. Yes, God has established them. The one who is governing this world is the Lord, not man. God governs and establish all in his world. We are to remain his humble servants. We are to pay all of what we owe, what God has established in and through his servants, taxes to whom taxes is owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to those whom respect is owed, honor to those whom honor is owed. The Lord has established them all. You may not like the person, but respect the position that God has placed them in. Because God has ordained it. God has moved them there. By honoring them, you are honoring the Lord. All earthly authorities, they are sinners. And not all are doing what will please the Lord. Not all of our taxes will go to what is honorable. But this does not mean that we take Romans 13 verses 1 and 2 and we void them out as Christians. God's children are to live righteous lives. That includes life among the body of Christ, life among brothers and sisters in Christ. That means a honorable life among those who are lost and a honorable life among the governing authorities that God has established. God is not idle over this world, he is ruling. God establishes all governing authorities for his divine purposes and his glory and his children, we are to obey what he has instituted. We are to live by the truth of God's word and we are to speak the truth. When there are things like abortion that we know is sinful, we speak out and love and we point the truth to them and we remind them that God has placed you in authority. This is wrong and you don't do this. When the authorities that God has established are dishonoring the name of the Lord, we are to continue to stand upon the truth of God and point all to what he has said. And remember, God will judge. Do not stop in honoring the Lord because the authorities of this earth have or the church. He has called us to himself and we are called to live for him. God is accomplishing his sovereign will even when everything around us seems dark. So some questions for us this morning, some questions for myself. Are we submitting to the governing authorities that God has established? For many of us, we're flapping our mouth too much to other men, and we're not praying to the Lord for them. For many of us, maybe we cannot remember the last time we prayed for our governor. We prayed for our leaders and led. We find this over and over again in the scriptures. Harris and Biden will not honor the Lord lest they're saved. But that doesn't mean the Lord's not going to use them to do his will. Do not stop in honoring the Lord just because the authorities have. Are you submitting yourself to the governing authorities that God has established? Are you standing on and standing up for truth while living an honorable life? Because both of those things can happen in living an honorable life. You can say, this is what God has says, these are what the elders in authority have said, and they don't agree. This is wrong. And you can stand up for truth and live an honorable life for the Lord. Are you holding out God's truth and speaking to those in authority to live up to what God has appointed them to do? Because what God has appointed them to do, those in authority, we find in God's word, we find how they are to rule. And as God's children, we know how we are to submit. For the children and youth in this room, are you honoring your father and mother? If you don't get this one right, you're gonna really struggle with all the other authorities that God has placed in your life. And maybe you're 42, 41 like me. I'm still called to honor my father and mother. Learning at a young age to honor your parents will help you in the future with other authorities in which God has established. Many lives have gone to the wayside because they refuse to obey the authorities in which God has placed in them for their good. If anything, as individuals this morning, and as a church, we need to be reminded that we need to be praying for those in authority, for our mayor, those who govern over us, our president, our vice president, the police chief, we need to be praying for them that they would honor the Lord with their decisions. And when they don't, may we live quiet and dignified lives, standing up for the truth and not afraid to say, this is what God has said, because they will be held accountable by the same Lord. Father, I thank You for this morning. Father, first and foremost, Lord, help us to submit ourselves to You each and every day, not forgetting You are King of Kings. You are Lord of Lords. You are ruling over all of Your creation. You are bringing about Your perfect will. Who are we as creatures made in Your image to walk against You? Remind us, Lord, of Your greatness, Your holiness, Your righteousness, Your perfection. Remind us of the great mercy in which You have had on us and saving us Remind us that you have called us to live righteous lives before you. Who are we? Help us to have a greater understanding of who you are by knowing your will and getting into your word and meditating upon it. For all the authorities that you have established, Lord, may we glorify you by obeying those authorities. And Lord, those things that are not pleasing to you, like abortion, we pray for the ending of that. May we as your people do everything that you have called us to do to stand up for human life. Help us as your children to not complain and murmur and whine, but remember that you are a sovereign God. You are doing your perfect will in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, and today. We can trust you as your people, Lord. Help our unbelief, help us to trust you and to image you. It's in the name of Jesus Christ we pray and we ask all these things, amen.