Going to read verses 13 through 17. This is the word of God. The subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme or to governors as set by him to punish those who do evil, 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. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the Emperor. The early Church Father Tertullian once asked, What has Athens to do with Jerusalem? And interpreted, that means something like, what, if anything, does theology have to do with philosophy? If you'll notice, the title of my message this morning is, What has Jerusalem to do with Washington? The same question, I think, could be asked about the subject before us, and if If we were to bring it home to our own consciences, we might ask, what has Jerusalem, what has the Zion, the city of God that comes down from heaven, the glorious church of our Lord Jesus Christ, to do with Washington, D.C.? Or we might put it simpler, what has the church to do with the state? But I would like for you to notice with me this morning from the reading of this text and a little later, I'll be looking briefly at Romans chapter 13 verses one through eight are three sufficiently simple concepts. The first. What is the biblical role of the state? The second, what is the biblical role of the church in relation to the state? And third, what is the biblical role of church members in relation to the church and to the state? First of all, I want to answer that question. What is the role or we might say the sphere of influence that God has given to or assigned to the state? Now, before we address what the role of the state is or the government, we ought to just take a moment and examine what the role of the state is not. So, first of all, I would like to say very clearly that the role or the state does not have jurisdiction over the church. As we'll see in a few minutes, what I'm talking about here is in reference to the function to the calling of the church as the church, which is called by God, established by our Lord Jesus Christ, and is being built up by the Spirit of God. What this means negatively is that the state has no right to question or oppose our faith in God, our study of God's word, our proclamation of the gospel, nor our peaceful assembly to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. As the church, we are a people of whose possession, as Peter says later on, we are a people of God's own possession. We belong to him who is a jealous husband, and he will not share his bride with another. This is why Peter and the apostles in Acts chapter five, when the state, if you will, even though it was sort of a church state in its In its initial setting, at least, as God established Israel as a nation on earth, the state comes to Peter and the other apostles and commands them to stop preaching the gospel. And you remember their response when they said, We must obey God rather than men. There are clear lines of demarcation in the Bible when the state seeks to control or influence the church or even to silence the church. It is simply not an acceptable option. The church must continue to be the church regardless of the consequences that it may inevitably face in similar fashion. Not only does the state not have jurisdiction over the church, but the state does not have jurisdiction over the family. As Paul commands in Ephesians 6, 4 concerning fathers, he says, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction in the Lord. Fathers, as spiritual leaders of their own kingdom, of their homes, have the God-given responsibility to pray for and evangelize and educate and bring up their children in the Lord. When the state seeks to usurp this authority and makes a claim upon children as if the children belong to the state, it is transgressing the boundaries of authority that they have been given by God. So what then, we might ask, is the jurisdiction or the sphere of authority that God has given to the state? Well, let's keep our finger here in first Peter and look over to Romans chapter 13. And let's read that before we go on, because it is quite instructive for. Romans chapter 13, I'll read verses. One through eight. 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. 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 the same reason, you also pay taxes for authorities are ministers of God attending to this very thing. Paid 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. Owe nothing or owe no one anything except to love each other for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. Now the first thing we notice from both of these texts is that the institution of the state or government, the governing authorities that are over us, is a divine institution. It is established by God. We see this very clearly outlined for us in this passage in Romans 13. Peter says, Submit yourself for the Lord's sake to every human institution. Paul says, For there is no authority except from God. And those which exist are established by God himself. Listen to these words from Daniel, chapter two, verses 19 through 23. This is after God gave the dream to Nebuchadnezzar and he couldn't find anyone to reveal the dream or to interpret the dream. God gave the interpretation to Daniel. And this is the prayer that Daniel prayed right after God gave him the interpretation to the dream. The mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven and Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever to whom belongs wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons. He removes kings and he sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and hidden things. He knows what is in the darkness. and the light dwells with him. To you, God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might. You have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter. Well, what does this mean? Simply this. It means that civil government is not an invention of man's mind. It was God's purpose for the world, even from the very beginning. And that's the principle that we need to have in our minds as we move forward in trying to understand this really quite complicated subject that many people disagree about. The root of all of this, I think, is what has been called the cultural mandate or the ordinance in Genesis 127 through 31, which is Doug often talks about certainly has spiritual significance or religious significance as pertaining to a priest. But it also has cultural significance as pertaining to a governor, as pertaining to one who is appointed by God to rule over the earth. And so it says, be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. and rule over it. That is all that is in it. And so we see in this in cultural mandate that God gave to Adam and Eve before the fall that the rulership over the earth was established in creation. Government is something that's given by God for good. And this is the basis for civil government. And the pattern is followed all throughout the scripture Even as we just read in Romans chapter 13, in fact, the word that Paul uses in Romans 13 for the word ministers, you heard me read that when he said they're ministers of God. It's actually the word diakonos. It's interesting because two weeks ago I preached on what is a deacon in the church. What's the biblical role of the deacon as God has given him to the church? And I talked about there are different uses of the word deacon throughout the scripture. And I mentioned this very one. The word deacon is actually used here. In other words, the government, as established by God, is appointed by God to be a deacon. They are to be deacons or servants of God in ministering in the world. And the idea there is, I think, can be understood when we understand the biblical distinction between the role of elders and the role of deacons in the church. God establishes elders in the church to rule over the church, and he establishes deacons in the church to serve the elders, to serve the church in carrying out the various functions of the church. The elders answer to Christ for what they preach and teach and for the way they lead. In short, we could say with Paul that they are bondservants of Christ, they're deacons of Christ, that is, elders are. Deacons, on the other hand, in the function of their office, are servants of the elders to serve the church in the various areas of ministry. Well, of the state, God says, that governors or presidents or senators or congressmen or whoever they are, the mayor of your city, that they are deacons, not elders, but they are deacons of God. God is the one who sets them up. God is the one who rules over them as their elder and their deacons of God. They serve his sovereign purpose in the world. They're appointed by God and they'll answer to God for the way that they served. Did they carry out God's agenda or did they carry out their own agenda? What then specifically is the role that God has given to the state in the administration of its divine mandate? John Murray sums up the words of both Paul and Peter here quite succinctly. Murray says that the sphere of the state is that of guarding, maintaining and promoting justice, order and peace. It is its function to prevent the encroachment upon and to guard the exercise of God-given liberties, rights, and privileges of the citizens, of the opportunity to discharge their divine obligations. In maintaining and promoting these ends, the civil magistrate is invested with the power of the sword to restrain evil, to punish evildoers, and to promote good. Now, put another way, we need to recognize that because the state is ordained by God and given authority that is derived from God, those in civil authority have a divine obligation to discharge its duties in accordance with the revealed will of God. Watch out, David says in Psalm 2, because the day is coming When you who are either elected or appointed to positions of authority, you're going to answer to God for the way that you led, for the way that you governed and ruled over those that were given to you by God to rule over. Now, therefore, the psalmist says, O kings, show discernment. Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the sun, lest he become angry and you perish in your way. For his wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are those who take refuge in him. This applies to every moral and official position and decision that is made by those who are in authority over us. Legislators that have passed laws protecting the so-called rights of women to destroy the life of the unborn human child are going to give an account to God. Judges who have used the law as a personal vehicle to promote godless and vile behavior, which amounts to lawlessness, are going to answer to God in the day of judgment. Kings and presidents who have used their offices to bolster their own power and wealth to the detriment of their citizens, regardless of whether they are called conservative or liberal, Republicans or Democrats, or independence, whatever they might be, they will soon be brought to nothing when they stand in the presence of the true king. So then, that's a brief overview of the role of government as it is ordained by God. And next, I would like to examine the biblical role of the church in relation to the state. As I said earlier, the state has no authority over the church insofar as the church's mission and message is established by God in the law and the gospel or in the whole counsel of God. What this does not mean is that the church is not subject to the state in any respect. The church is subject to the authority given to the state by God, but only in a limited Respect notice in verse 13 of first Peter to Peter says submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution. Well, there is a sense that said that the church is above the state. The church is governed by the law and the gospel by the word of God, by Christ himself, who is our head. We'll examine that. more in a moment, but there is also a sense that the church is subject to the governing authorities as established by God. We have a God given right, for example, and I might say obligation to peaceably assemble for the purpose of worship and edification. It's not an option. We're called by God and commanded by God to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, but to come together as the church, to build one another up in this most holy faith through the preaching of law and gospel. through the mutual edification and encouragement of one another. That is an obligation that God has given to us. But we don't have the right nor the obligation to go parading down Main Street at seven o'clock in the morning with a bull horn in our hand, shouting out, repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. We don't have a right, I might say, to burn the Koran and to try to establish the kingdom of God, as Peter did before the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ, by withdrawing the sword from his belt and cutting off the ear of the soldier. Christ said, put it away. The kingdom is not of this world, Peter. The day will come when I will judge the earth in righteousness and the whole earth will be filled up with the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ. That day has not yet come. Must be careful not to confuse kingdoms. The members of the church collectively have the right and responsibility before God to correct and discipline other members. But we don't have the right to exact capital punishment when someone errs in their doctrine and behavior. Parents, under the authority of the church and scriptures, have an obligation to discipline their children, including the use of the paddle when necessary. What parents do not have the right to do, however, which is governed by the state, and churches should not protect, is the physical abuse of children, which usually flows out of angry outbursts rather than thoughtful and purposeful discipline. As many of you know, as all of you know, I think, we adopted our two boys who were in a family or the lack thereof with a mother and in a household that was addicted to drugs and methamphetamines and was a terrible situation. And I'm thankful for the godly actions of a judge in that county at that time who protected the rights of children and insisted that parents who would want to call themselves parents would follow the law and do the right thing. and conform to her request for them to demonstrate their repentance of their evil ways. When that didn't happen, she rightly removed them from that household and placed them into a family that would raise them up in a godly way. There are ways that the church is separate from the state and even higher than the state. But the church does not exist in isolation from the state. And in areas that do not impinge upon the specific sphere of authority and practice that is commanded of the church, we're under obligation to obey the laws of the state and live in peaceful coexistence with it. The church is not a rebel fringe organization to bring down the state. The church is to live in peaceful coexistence with the state to the greatest of their ability. No matter what the government does, the church in China today and in many other places meets in secret. But they do so because they desire to obey God rather than men. If they come in and arrest the pastor and take him to jail, so be it. They count themselves worthy to be persecuted for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And yet they do everything they can to try to persuade the state that they have the right by God's design and by God's command. to worship the Lord as God has commanded us to do. As I have mentioned twice now, there are ways that the church has given authority over all aspects of life, even the rule of the state. There is a sense that this is manifested in what I want to call the prophetic role of the church. The Lord has entrusted the church with the task of proclaiming the counsel of God to all people, including all institutions. If you read the prophets, what you'll find is that most of the time the prophets found themselves not in churches preaching to the faithful, but in the courts. Or the king's chambers preaching to the kings and to the rulers of the land and telling them to repent of their sin and return to governance, which is established by God, by his word. Now, while the church is not to actually discharge the duties of other institutions such as civil government and the family, it is called by God to define the limits of what those institutions ought to do and ought not to do. Therefore, when the state proposes or adopts a law that is contrary to the law of God, the church has an obligation to oppose the law and expose it for what it is. Sin and rebellion against God. We shouldn't run from calling sin a sin when the state commits a sin, when it steals from its citizens, when it harms its citizens, when it restricts its citizens from obeying God, we ought to say it for what it is. Likewise, when the government fails to carry out its God given obligations, the church has the responsibility to expose it for its neglect. We need to remember that political corruption, just like any other corruption, is sin and is, in fact, public sin. The church is not fulfilling its prophetic role if it does not reprove sin where it is found. I need to say here that the prophetic role of the church to reprove civil authorities for wrongdoing and to exhort them to do right has to be understood within the context of the preaching of the gospel. In other words, any attempt to make our government or our society a moral society Without first exposing our incapacity for morality and our need of regeneration by God's Spirit alone, in Christ alone, is nothing more than works-based religion. There is no moral regeneration of our society, which is why Mason, when he said earlier that we don't live in a Christian nation, was spot on. This is not a Christian nation. It is a nation filled with men who are all sinners against God. This is why, as we discussed in our Sunday school class this morning, that this vision of post-millennialism, where the whole of the country or whole nations would become Christian nations, is simply foolish and doesn't understand. It doesn't take into account the depravity of men's souls, that men sin against God, that rebel against God at every turn. And until Christ comes in judgment and removes them and purges sin from the earth, we will never have a society that is indeed a righteous society, a land in which righteousness dwells. As the scriptures say, one day we'll live in that Beulah land. We'll live in that land that is ruled by Christ. But until that time comes, we must recognize that our attempts to reform society apart from the gospel are futile. It is the gospel that changes men. It is the gospel that defines us as a people of God. It is a gospel that makes us a holy nation and a people. It is the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ that makes us holy before God through the atoning work of our Savior alone. when churches such as the Roman Catholic Church and mainline liberal denominations who have abandoned the gospel of Jesus Christ and yet continue to hold out morality as a means by which society will be transformed are doing little more than spitting in the wind of hell. This is why we need to avoid the temptation of aligning ourselves with just anyone in exercising our prophetic voice as if morality itself were the goal. The goal is not morality without Christ. The goal is Christ who produces the morality in our hearts through his own moral perfection and his substitutionary atonement for our sins. Finally, in regards to this sphere of the church, the church has the obligation to equip the saints and teach them all that the Lord has commanded us. And this is in reference to the last point, the biblical role of church members in relation to the church and state. So what does this mean in regards to politics? Simply this, as you grow through the preaching and teaching of the word in regards to your ability to understand and articulate the gospel and the moral ordinances of the commands of God, which always follow the gospel, you will be a light and I say a burr in the saddle of your community, your state, and your nation. Why? Because you proclaim the need for men everywhere to repent and be converted and to proclaim the counsel of God and expose wrongdoing wherever you see it. Anything less than this is simply political activism. In a quasi-democratic system such as our own, there is nothing inherently wrong with political activism or nationalism, or I think a better term would be citizenry, living as citizens of this world. But if you think for one moment that political activism is going to stem the tide of evil in society, I think you're sadly mistaken. As long as men's hearts are filled with sin, there is going to be every manifestation of evil, every perversion of righteousness and every miscarriage of justice. If you would like to write a letter to your mayor or your state or your national representative, by all means do so. But don't forget to take the opportunity to make them aware of the whole counsel of God, which begins with salvation through Christ alone. Remind them of their obligation before God to do right, but remind them first of their obligation to kiss the sun and to be saved by God's grace through Jesus Christ alone. When standing before Felix in Acts chapter 24, which I think is a wonderful New Testament model of how we ought to address the state. Paul kept his priorities in order. When called to speak, Luke reports in verse 24 that Felix heard Paul speak about faith in Christ Jesus, and he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come. Felix became frightened and said, Go away for the present, and when I find time, I'll summon you. Later, in Acts 26, when Paul is brought before King Agrippa, Paul boldly proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ. And consequently, Agrippa mocks Paul and accuses him of losing his mind. And finally, you can almost see him laughing, Agrippa says, in a short time, you'll persuade me to become a Christian. Paul said, oh, I would to God that whether in a short time or a long time, Not only you, but also all who hear me this day in this court, if I become such as I am, except for these chains. Here then is our first and foremost responsibility when standing before kings or governors or elected officials or any other authority, is to proclaim Christ as the hope of the nations. You have no hope, Senator, apart from the saving grace that is found in Christ alone. The reason why you are corrupt, the reason why your government is corrupt, is because of sin. Because you have transgressed the law of God. And you, just like I, and like all of us, have need of repentance. You need to turn from your sin. You need to turn from your corruption, Felix, and turn to Christ, because the day of judgment is coming. Christ will judge the earth. He will judge you. He will judge your decisions in that chamber. There's only one hope, and that is that you would repent and turn to the Savior. Let's pray. Father, we humbly bow before you this morning because we recognize, God, that if any of us were given that responsibility of ruling over men and civil magistrate, the government that we would most likely, because of our own sinfulness, lead in a very that would not bring honor and glory to your name. And yet, God, we know that you have raised up judges, kings, and authorities who have done the right thing, who have repented of their sin and laid their hope in you alone. Lord, we pray that you would give us the clarity of mind in thinking about our responsibility as both citizens of Jerusalem, of the Church, of the kingdom that is to come, and yet, Lord, we have been left as citizens of this world. We pray, God, that you would help us to clearly think about what is our role, especially in relation to preaching Christ as the hope of the nations, and that Psalm 2 would be our hymn that would reverberate in the ears of our elected officials. We would cry out to them and plead with them. to kiss the sun, to repent of their evilness, and to turn to Christ. Lord, we pray that you would guard our own hearts and minds, that we would not become prideful, that we would not think that we have the ability to do anything. For we know, as Christ said, apart from me, you can do nothing. We know, Lord, that our society, our communities cannot be changed apart from the gospel. We pray that this will be predominant in our thinking, in our minds, and in our actions. We would truly, as a church and as individual Christians, be a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. I thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.