As we've made our way through this confession, we've seen a number of the key doctrines of the Christian faith. Again, the confession's role is not to replace Scripture, certainly not to stand over Scripture, but it's to help us understand Scripture. It is a good summary of biblical doctrine. And so we've seen 23 doctrines up to this point, 23 chapters. Tonight we've come to the topic of the civil magistrate or the governing authorities. And so this is, in 1 Peter 2, one of the passages that helps us to understand how we should relate to governing authorities. This is 1 Peter 2, I'll read beginning in verse 9. And the reason I'm gonna, I'll go ahead and tell you why I'm beginning in verse nine. Beginning in verse nine, because it first of all tells us who we are as God's people, as citizens of God's kingdom, and then it tells us how we're to relate to the kingdoms of this world. And so beginning in verse nine, we're told, you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. For you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God. You had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may, because of your good deeds as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond slaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, Fear God, honor the King. Amen. This is God's Word. And so I think there are a couple really helpful things in those couple of paragraphs that we've just read. First of all, to what kingdom do we belong? Well, we're told in verse 9, you are a holy nation, a chosen race. a people for God's own possession. To what kingdom as Christians do we belong? We belong to God's kingdom. We are members of his nation, a holy people set apart for God. You were once not a people, but now you are the people of God. So to what nation do we belong? Well, Philippians 3 says, you're citizens of heaven if you're a Christian. You are a citizen of heaven. And then he calls you in verse 11, aliens and strangers. Where do aliens and strangers live? They live in a land that's not their own, right? They're sojourners in a land to which they don't belong. They don't have citizenship in. And what Peter is saying is essentially we are sojourners in this land. We are citizens of heaven. We are God's people, his nation, and we are sojourners. We are strangers, ultimately, on the earth. We're pilgrims. But that doesn't negate the responsibility we have as citizens of nations. Our true citizenship is in heaven, and yet we still have an earthly citizenship when it comes to civil residence. And so he says in verse 13, though all these things are true of you, How should you live in this world? Verse 13, submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution. You are citizens of heaven and yet you are members of a particular nation or a particular geographical institution on the earth. And he's saying, submit yourselves to the authority that God has placed over you, whether to a king or to anyone sent by the king to enforce the laws. So, The chapter again is on civil magistrate. What is a civil magistrate? I think it's what Peter describes here. It's anyone in authority or anyone who has been put in place by that authority to enforce the law and to govern. And so we're to be subject then, what Peter is saying, we're to be subject to civil authorities. And I'll use those terms interchangeably as we go through this chapter. You got the civil magistrate, I probably won't use that term because we don't typically use that term, the civil magistrate. Usually we would say the civil authorities or civil governments. And so instead of civil magistrate, I will just call it civil government or civil authority, meaning the same thing essentially when I say those things. But the question here is, what is a civil authority and what is our responsibility to it? That's what this chapter is answering. What's a civil authority? and what's our responsibility to it. So if you have an outline on the bulletin there on the inside, you'll notice there are three main headings based on the three paragraphs of this chapter. The first has to do with the characteristics of civil government. And so that's what we'll start with, the characteristics of civil government, asking the question, where does the idea of civil authority or civil government come from? Who invented the idea of civil government? And the confession tells us, and we'll see in the scriptures where this comes from, but if you look at the first paragraph, we see, God, the Supreme Lord and King of all the world, has ordained civil magistrates, or authorities, to be under him and over the people for his own glory and public good. For this purpose, he has armed them with the power of the sword for the defense and encouragement of those who do good and for the punishment of evildoers. So most of this paragraph is a paraphrase of Romans 13. So if you wanna turn there with me, I think it might help you to read along as we go through it. Romans 13 is another key passage with regard to the proper role and function of civil authorities. Romans 13, especially the first seven verses of Romans 13. Here Paul is basically saying what the purpose of civil authority is and what our responsibility as Christians is to that civil authority. So Romans 13, beginning in verse one, he says, every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God, and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same, for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid, for it does not bear the sword for nothing, for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Therefore, it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience sake. For because of this, you also pay taxes. For rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them. Tax to whom taxes due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. So a couple major points to draw out then from that passage. We're asking the question, what is a civil authority? Where does it come from? And so there are three characteristics of a civil authority listed there. First of all, it's position. A civil authority has been placed over the people. That's clear enough from Romans 13. It says every person is to be in subjection to the governing institutions, the governing authority. So there's authority over the people, but what's over the governing authority? God is. So if you could picture a chart, you have God, the supreme king, lord, and ruler of all things. Under him, there is civil authorities, and then under those civil authorities is all people. So in other words, God's design for society is that there be a governing authority under which all people live. So think about Genesis 6. What does God say about the world prior to Genesis 6, or in Genesis 6, at the time of Genesis 6? What filled the world at that time? Can anyone think of how it's described? Wickedness. And I think specifically violence, right? Violence filled the world. And why did violence fill the world? Well, on the one hand, violence filled the world because men are sinful, but violence filled the world because men are sinful, and up to that point at least, it seems like there had not yet been an establishment of a structured civil government. But after Genesis 9, that's where God actually implements, what law does he implement in Genesis 9? Capital punishment, right? What's the purpose of capital punishment? To restrain evil. to protect society. And so what is the purpose of the government? Well, it is, as we'll see in letter B there, it's to promote the public good. How do you promote the public good? Well, that's letter C, by wielding the sword properly. The sword represents the government's ability to punish evil and to protect what is good. And so here's what the confession is saying, here's what the scriptures are saying. We live in the United States. That's not what the scriptures are saying. Let me go back. We live in the United States, and it's easy for us to think that we live under a particular government, or I should say under a government in general, because who puts that government into place in the United States? The founding fathers did, and we live in a democratic republic, which means who appoints our leaders? The people, right? The social contract, essentially, is that we agree to subject ourselves to the authorities that we ourselves place over us, right? That's how we think about it. Well, that's actually not the most biblical way to think about government. And in fact, it doesn't matter whether we're arguing here that a democratic republic is the best form of government or not, or some other form, but no matter what form of government you have, what's true of that form of government is that the leaders have been appointed ultimately by whom? By God. It's God's design. Not a particular form of government, but it's God's design that the people live under a governing authority. Paul, the apostle, was not writing in 21st century America, in the West. He was writing in a very different 1st century context in which it would look very, very different from our current democratic republic. And yet, even in that context, he's saying the authorities are put here by God. The same could be translated to our own context. Who put the authorities over us here in the United States of America? We the people, sort of. But actually, God did. God put them there. That's the teaching of Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 as well. God put those authorities there for the purpose of promoting the public good, especially and in His own glory. especially by the way that they wield the sword, in the defense and encouragement of good and in the punishment of evil. And both of those concepts are here in Romans 13. If you look at verse 3, It says rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same. How does that work itself out? Well, imagine this idea of having praise from the authorities or encouragement to do good because of the authorities that are in place. None of you would do this, but imagine that you're leaving here tonight on your way down to Radford, and you're going down Tyler Street, and you know that the speed limit is 55, but you find yourself going 65, but just up ahead you see a police officer parked just before Food City as you're going down the hill, and so you gently tap your brakes to knock your speed down 10 miles per hour. Now, why did you do that? One, to avoid punishment, right? But that's what authorities are in place for. They encourage people to follow the law. And so when you're reminded, oh yeah, there's an authority that can inflict consequence on me for breaking the law, it's actually an encouragement to do good so that you'll be praised rather than punished by that very authority. That's why God has put authority into place in the context of civil government. But the same is also true on the opposite side of the spectrum. He has put authority there to punish evildoers, and that's verse four. For it is a minister of God, authority is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid, for it does not bear the sword for nothing. For it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. So the twofold purpose of civil authorities then is the encouragement of good, but the punishment of evil. Now I think we would all very quickly acknowledge that civil authorities don't always function that way, do they? So up to this point we've said that God is the only ultimate king and lord. But as the ultimate king and lord, he has put into place authorities in the civil realm, in the civil government. Those authorities have the responsibility of promoting the public good and glorifying God by doing so. And they do that by rightly wielding the sword, which means they rightly punish evil and rightly reward what is good. Now the question is, do civil authorities always do those things? Did Rome always do those things, as Paul wrote this letter? No, of course not. And so we have to make a distinction between God's ordained purpose for authority and the actual present function of authority. God's ordained purpose is that authorities function the way Romans 13 describes them. that the society would flourish because the authorities rightly punish evil and rightly reward what is good and rightly defend what is good. But they don't do that so often. That's God's ordained purpose, but that's not often the function and practice of the civil authorities. And it's helpful for us to remember that every person in authority is ultimately accountable to God as to whether or not they've used that authority the way that Romans 13 describes it. So to be under God implies, like Romans 13 says, that that person is a servant of God, to accomplish God's purposes. But to be under God also implies accountability. It means they will answer to a higher power who is God himself. And so what Romans 13 is teaching us is that these men and women have been placed into these positions of authority to execute God's purposes, but to the degree that they do or do not exercise those purposes, they will be directly accountable to the one who has put them into service, who is God himself. And so the question is not so much Why is it that authorities don't function the way that God has ordained them to function? I think the answer to that is clear. Because God's expressed will is very rarely carried out by his image bearers. We have twisted and corrupted it. Just because God has appointed those authorities does not mean they will necessarily function according to their appointment. One of the early church fathers, I read this in a commentary on Romans 13 by a guy named Cruz, one of the early church fathers explained it this way, I think helpfully, and just giving us some imagery to think about it. He says, Is an authority like that from God? One who persecutes the church, who attacks the children of God? Could that really be from God? We shall answer this briefly. Nobody will deny that our senses, sight, sound, and thought are given to us by God. But although we get them from God, what we do with them is up to us. God's judgment against the authorities will be just if they have used the powers they have received according to their own ungodliness and not according to the law of God. So we all have been given eyes and ears and hands and everything else that we've been given for the purpose of serving God. Just because we've been given those things for that purpose doesn't mean we do it. The same for the authorities. They've been given that authority for a particular purpose. That doesn't mean they'll always do it. But this is helpful, I think, in reminding us what our responsibility is to our civil authorities. There are times when, as believers, we have the responsibility, as we'll see, always to subject to them in the things that are lawful, but also to remind them of their responsibility before God, to remind them that they've actually been given that position for a purpose, which is to accomplish God's justice, not to twist it. And so a number of things will come to mind as you think about that. What is our responsibility in certain realms of society? Well, often it is to declare what is righteous and to call those who are accountable in those areas to accountability before God and to remind them of their responsibility to do what is just, to do what is right in the sight of the one who's given them that authority. But if you think about it, though there always is some measure of corruption and sin in whatever government structure we're talking about, there's always gonna be some measure of corruption, I think generally we can all recognize that civil authority is a good thing. It doesn't take much to convince us if we see videos or photos or hear accounts of a certain country or certain region where anarchy has taken effect, even for a short period of time. It's not hard to convince us that civil government is a good thing. Even some of the worst civil governments are still generally a good thing because we see the effects of the absence of government in places where anarchy has taken effect. And it's horrible. And so even seeing the chaos and the ruin and the destruction that results in just a matter of days in anarchy should remind us that even a poor civil government is something we should be thankful for as a common grace from God in our society, to restrain a large measure of the wickedness and evil that would otherwise pervade our culture and our society. All right, so that's the first thing, the characteristics of civil government, its position, its purpose, its power. What about Christians serving in civil government? Is it ever appropriate for a Christian to have an office in the government, to have some role in civil authority? This is a relevant question, especially in the days in which the confession was written, because a lot of people said, no, it's never appropriate for a Christian to have any role in civil authority or civil government. As a police officer, as a governor, as a king, as whatever it might be, there is never a situation, it was argued, in which a Christian should be involved in the civil governments of this world, of the kingdoms of this world. And basically, their argument went along these lines. Christians are citizens of heaven, not citizens of the world. And every kingdom of the world has some measure of corruption in it. Therefore, no Christian can in good conscience ever participate in the ruling of the kingdoms of this world because they're inherently corrupt and wicked, and we belong to another kingdom. Instead, we should involve ourselves only in the spiritual concerns of the kingdom of heaven. Never appropriate to serve in civil government. We should only worry about spiritual concerns. Is that a Christian perspective? Is that a good outlook for a Christian to have? Well, I think it's certainly not. I don't think it's anywhere found in scripture, and I think actually scripture contradicts that view very directly. Can anyone think of a good example from the Bible of a godly man who served in civil government in a wicked context? Daniel is a great example. In Babylon, not exactly a godly nation. Daniel had a very, very important role in that government. What's another? Can anyone think of another? Joseph. Yeah, exactly. Those are the two major ones in the Old Testament. Joseph in Egypt, Daniel in Babylon. Both of them serving as godly men and are praised by the scriptures. and both of them serving in the context of very wicked governments and having very important roles in those governments. And so both of them, by their example, remind us or show us that it's very possible to be a godly person serving in civil government in a very godless nation and to do so in a way that honors God. David Chansky says it this way, he's a pastor up in New Jersey. He says a Christian like Daniel in the Old Testament can worthily serve both the Lord and his fellow men, even in a government system that is laced with evil. So if you think about that, our nation here in the United States is not a particularly righteous nation. We should be thankful for a large measure of God's common grace on our nation. But it's not a particularly righteous nation, and yet the Bible would make very clear that it's possible for a Christian to serve in good conscience, even in a government system that is laced with corruption, and to honor God there. And I would argue it's even necessary that certain Christians do that. that there be Christians who are involved in the government oversight of our nation. And so it's part of our role as citizens of the kingdom of heaven to be concerned for the affairs of this world, of the nations in which we dwell on this earth. One passage that comes to mind that's helpful in thinking about that is Jeremiah 29 verse 7. This is speaking of the Israelites in exile in Babylon, and it says this about how the Israelites should live in exile. It says, seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will have welfare. Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you." So seek the welfare of Radford or Christiansburg or Floyd or the New River Valley or Virginia or the United States. Seek the welfare of the cities, the nations that I have sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will have welfare. Part of our role in the kingdom of heaven is to be concerned for the kingdoms of this world, the nations in which we live. And then what is the responsibility of Christians in government? I didn't read paragraph two, but if you look over at paragraph two now of the confession, you'll notice that the second sentence says, in discharging that duty, Actually, I'll just begin in the first sentence. So, in other words, Christians are in a special position to be able to pursue justice when they are in positions of authority in the government. If God has placed even evil rulers in place for the purpose of promoting justice, then how much more would a Christian in that same context have the responsibility to pursue and promote justice? And I think for that reason, we should pray that God would raise up godly men and women to serve in those roles because we need men and women who seek justice in the civil authorities. And then the third thing in that point under that heading, The Lawfulness of Christians Waging War. So again, this is coming from a context in which the Anabaptists in particular, Minos Simon, those who are familiar with the Mennonite movement, the founder of that movement, they would argue that, basically they're pacifists, so they argue that it's never appropriate for a Christian to wage war. The last sentence of paragraph two on the confession says, in pursuit of this, Christians may lawfully, under the New Testament, wage war on just and necessary occasions. So is it right for Christians to wage war? For Christians to serve in the military? For Christians to kill in the context of warfare? Is that something that is lawful? The argument against it is, is most of the time rooted in the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus' teaching that we should turn the other cheek, that we should pray for our enemies, that we shouldn't seek our own revenge or vengeance. And so based on Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, they say Christians are never called to take up arms. They're always called to turn the other cheek. And so is that true? Should Christians ever take up arms and wage war? Well, I think understanding the Sermon on the Mount and what Jesus says there about turning the other cheek in the context of Romans 13 is essential. Because Romans 12, the end of Romans 12 says almost the same thing as the Sermon on the Mount, doesn't it? The end of Romans 12, Paul's telling you, don't seek revenge, don't seek vengeance, don't take things into your own hands. Instead, entrust it to the Lord, and he will deal out retribution as necessary. But entrust it to the Lord, don't seek your own vengeance. That's the end of chapter 12. And then chapter 13 goes into, for the Lord has given civil authorities the sword, which includes warfare. And so, as individual Christians, yes, we're never to take revenge into our own hands when we're assaulted. This is not a discussion of self-defense. That's another topic. But in terms of vengeance, revenge, seeking revenge, the Lord would say, as individual Christians, we entrust it to the Lord. We trust God with it. But when it comes to civil duty, We've already argued that it's appropriate for a Christian to serve in civil government, and understanding a Christian's role in civil government as his civil duty is distinct from that Christian's individual responsibility. As an individual, I have no right or ability in the New Testament to seek my own revenge. But as a member of society, there are times in which it is entirely appropriate and even honorable for me to take up arms with the state for the protection of what is good. and the destruction of what is evil. And so as individual Christians, yes, Matthew 5 applies in every way. But as members of society in our civil duty, there are times when it's perfectly appropriate to serve and take up arms and even wage war as soldiers. One example of that is found in Luke chapter three. So John the Baptist is preaching, he's preparing the way for the Lord Jesus. He's calling on men to repent and people start to come to him. The crowds ask him, what must we do? The tax collectors ask him, what must we do? And then soldiers, Roman soldiers come and they ask him, what must we do? So you've got soldiers coming, John the Baptist is calling them to repentance. What would you expect John the Baptist to say to these soldiers in response to their question? What does it look like for us, essentially, to live as this kingdom that you're proclaiming? What does it look like for us to repent? Well, if you were a pacifist, if you held to that view, you would expect John the Baptist to say, you should lay down your arms. You should no longer wage war. This is a kingdom of peace. Lay down your arms. But that's not what John the Baptist says to them. He doesn't call them to give up their soldiering. He doesn't say to give up their arms. Instead, he just says, don't take money from anyone by force, don't accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages as a soldier. Be content with the wages that you get paid as a soldier. So in an opportunity where John the Baptist had to basically say, you shouldn't be a soldier because in this kingdom, this kingdom of heaven, there's no longer place for war. He doesn't say that. He says, be content with the wages you get as a soldier and act justly in the role that you've been given. And so I think that's an example of a time in which the scriptures condone or even commend the role of a soldier. So yes, I would say, it is lawful, I think the scriptures say, it is lawful for a Christian at times to wage war, to take up arms. And then the last paragraph, paragraph three, has to do with the Christian's responsibility towards civil government. I'll read that paragraph, and then we'll just consider a couple of scripture passages as we finish. Paragraph three says, because civil magistrates are set up by God for the purposes identified, we should be readily subject to them, in the Lord, in all things commanded by them. This is not only to avoid punishment, but also for the sake of conscience. We ought also to make supplications and prayers for kings and all that are in authority, that under their rule we may live a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. So a couple of points to be made there, as you see on the outline. First of all, there are two major responsibilities that we have toward the civil authorities. First of all, we have the responsibility of submission. That is clear from the passages we've read, both from 1 Peter chapter two and from Romans 13. We have the responsibility to submit, to obey the civil authorities that are over us. And in 1 Peter 2, verse 13, which we read to begin this evening, it says there that we should do so for the Lord's sake. It says, 1 Peter 2, verse 13, submit yourself for the Lord's sake to every human institution. For the Lord's sake. In Romans 13, it says, for conscience sake. So what does that mean? It means that we recognize that whatever civil authority is over us has been placed there by God. God has put that authority there. And so out of submission to God, out of a conscience toward God, we submit to the authorities that he's placed over us. We don't submit to the authorities just because we fear the punishment of those authorities. We don't submit to the authorities just because we agree with the laws that they make. Again, in the United States, this is relevant. We don't submit merely because the government was democratically elected. Those are not the reasons for which we submit to the authorities that are over us. We submit because the governing authority was appointed by God, and in submitting to that governing authority, we are expressing our submission to God himself. Our obedience to civil authorities is, at the heart level, actually an act of devotion to God. Not that civil authorities always do what is best, not that their laws are always the wisest, but we submit because we trust God and we are entrusting ourselves to God by obeying the authorities that are over us. Of course, there's limitations to that. We do so in all things lawful, anything that's not contradictory or contrary to the law of God. So what's a good example of that? Maybe one of the primary ones that comes to mind when you think of, in the scriptures, someone who refused to submit to unlawful laws. Laws that contradict God's law in the scriptures. Who, Bethany? Yeah, the apostles in Acts 5, right? They're preaching the gospel, they're arrested, they're told, you need to stop preaching the gospel, and they say, we can't stop preaching the gospel. We have to obey God rather than man. Whether it's right to do so or not, you judge for yourselves, but we have one responsibility, and that is to do what God has commanded us to do. Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, those are some other individuals that stand out as men who refused to bow the knee to the governing authority when it would require disobedience to God. And so that's our responsibility. We are first of all accountable and responsible to God, and then to the governing authorities. And then lastly, our responsibility is not just submission, but prayer. And we'll finish with this passage from 1 Timothy chapter two. One of the best passages when it comes to seeing our responsibility to be praying for the authorities that God has placed over us. 1 Timothy 2, verses one to four. First of all then, I urge that in treaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." So when the church is together, especially as it's being spoken of here, when the church comes together, we're to pray for governing authorities. As individuals, we are to pray for governing authorities. And we're to pray especially because in praying for them, We are asking God to cause them to lead and govern in such a way that the citizens of the kingdom over which they rule will be able to live tranquil, peaceable lives in godliness and dignity. In other words, we're praying that the civil authorities would lead and govern in such a way that they would promote the public good of society, that there would be peace, in order that there not be any hindrance to the gospel. And so our prayers should be that God would lead the nation or lead whatever context we're praying for, that he would lead it to peace and peaceableness through the laws that are established and the enforcement of those laws by the governing authority. I remember a number of years ago I was in a prayer meeting, not a Christ Church prayer meeting to be clear, but it was a prayer meeting, and someone in that prayer meeting asked that God would send persecution on the United States. And the reason they prayed that, I understand the logic of it, basically they thought the church in the United States seems so apathetic. so worldly, so concerned for temporal things. And so this individual prayed that God would send persecution in order to wake up the people of God in the United States. Is that a biblical prayer? Would you ever pray that God would send persecution to the United States? I think that's an unbiblical prayer. I think we entrust that matter to God. If God believes that persecution is necessary, we entrust it to Him. But what we're commanded to do in the Scriptures is to pray for the very opposite. We're actually commanded to pray for peace. We're commanded to pray that God would cause the governing authorities to rule in such a way that we as Christians would have complete freedom to live and express our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so what we're praying for then is that God would do that in the lives of the governing rulers and authorities. The problem is not that we lack persecution in the United States. If our hearts are dull as the people of God, the problem is not a lack of persecution. The problem is just that we need to realize the freedoms we have and take advantage of it. We live in a day-to-day. Most Christians in the world would can only pray for the kinds of freedoms that we experience in the United States. And they are praying for those things in their own countries. We have those freedoms every single day of our lives as believers in the United States. You can freely go out and proclaim the gospel with very little fear of persecution and suffering. That's a privilege, that's a gift to be given, to give thanks to God for. And it's also a gift to be taken advantage of. And I think, by God's grace, I think many of you are doing that very well. And I think, by God's grace, our church is doing that. And we want to continue to consider how can we take fullest advantage of the freedom, the peace that God has established in our land to seek the advancement of His kingdom, the promotion of the gospel. And so we should pray for civil authorities and we should submit to them, ultimately trusting that God will cause them to maintain peace and the public good for the greater promotion of the gospel. Well, that sums up this chapter on civil magistrates. I certainly have not answered all the questions that come to mind when you think of civil magistrates or what civil obedience or civil disobedience might look like in any particular situation, but hopefully that's somewhat of a biblical framework for why it is God has established civil authorities and how it is that we as Christians should relate to them, particularly in our context. So may God help us to be good citizens of heaven and faithful citizens of our own nation. Let's pray. Father, we do thank you that you have made us citizens of heaven, and we recognize that as citizens of heaven we primarily long for and wait for the day when our Savior comes and transforms our bodies into their glorious state and causes us to live with him forever in the new heavens and the new earth, your eternal kingdom, where righteousness dwells forever. We long for that day, and while we wait for that day, we pray, Father, that you would help us to live faithfully in this day, that you would help us to be faithful with the opportunities you've given to each of us to honor Christ. Pray that you would help us to be wise in the way that we relate to the governing authorities, that in all things we would give no calls for blasphemy of Christ, but that even those who speak evil of Christians would be put to shame because of our good behavior, as Peter says it. Father, help us to be faithful to Christ above all things, and help us to be faithful in our own context to the civil authorities you've placed over us. And we pray this in Jesus' name, amen.