“Government—God’s Servant”
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen. “The Lord is my shepherd . . . surely goodness and mercy shall follow
me all the days of my life.” God your Good Shepherd has established in
this world two conduits, to channel his goodness and mercy into your life.
These two conduits of God’s goodness and mercy are represented by the two flags
at the front of our sanctuary, the Church and the State. What is the purpose of the Christian Church? Maybe the Christian
Church is like a museum, to collect together and put on display all the good
people? But, the Bible says, “There is no one righteous, not even one . .
. if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
If the Christian Church is a museum for the sinless, none of us would get in
door. Maybe the Christian Church is like a health club, for the soul.
If you follow the strict regimen, if you work hard enough, you’ll shed that ugly
sin, and build up the goodness it takes to get you into heaven. But, the
Apostle Paul says in Galatians, “By observing the law no one will be justified.”
If the Christian Church is a spiritual health club for you to build up your own
salvation and earn your own way into heaven, then you might as well cancel your
membership, because you’ll never get there. If the Christian Church is not a museum for the sinless, or a health
club to build up your own salvation, then what is it? The Christian Church
is a hospital, where spiritually sick sinners like you and me are GIVEN God’s
miracle cure for sin, forgiveness through faith in Christ. Paul puts it
this way in Galatians: “I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
himself for me.” Jesus also loved you and gave himself for you: Living a perfect life to
make up for your imperfection; dying on the cross as your substitute; enduring
in your place the punishment for your sins; and rising from the dead as God’s
declaration to the world: Your sins are all forgiven. Paul expresses the Good News of the Christian Gospel beautifully in 1st
Timothy: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men.” That is God’s
miracle cure for sin, which the Church dispenses: Because God’s Son Jesus Christ
gave himself as ransom for you, you are justified, cured of sin in God’s sight.
As the book of Acts says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be
saved.” It’s easy to understand that the Christian Church is a conduit that God
uses to channel his goodness and mercy into your life. But, why do we have
that other flag up here, in a place of honor, at the front of our sanctuary?
Listen again to what Paul says about government in today’s Epistle Reading from
Romans: “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for
there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities
that exist have been established by God.” Most people think government is a human invention, something mankind
ingeniously figured out, as a way to make our lives better. But,
government is really divinely established, the other conduit that GOD has
established in this world to channel his goodness and mercy into your life. The word “anarchy” means “no government.” It was 25 years ago
this summer that there were terrible riots in Los Angeles, and the result of
just a few hours of anarchy was horrendous death and destruction, from which
that part of the city and the people living there have never really recovered.
It’s frightening to imagine what our world would be like if anarchy like that
was the rule instead of the exception. Violent chaos, not just for a few hours,
here and there, now and then, but everywhere, all the time, every day. You
and your loved ones and all that we hold dear would be destroyed. It is for that reason God in his wisdom established government among
us, for our good, to maintain order in our world. And it is our duty as
good Christians to also be good citizens, to support the government God has
placed over us. It is actually God who requires us to support the government by paying
taxes, as Paul says in today’s Epistle Reading: “Give everyone what you owe him:
If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue.” And as Jesus
declares in today’s Gospel Reading: “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s,
and unto God that which is God’s.” It is also our duty as Christians to support the government by obeying
its laws, as Paul commands in today’s Epistle Reading: “Everyone must submit
himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that
which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by
God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what
God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”
Paul also tells Pastor Titus, “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and
authorities, to be obedient.” The only exception to obeying the government is if the government
either commands you to do what God forbids, or forbids you to do what God
commands, as in Acts when the government forbid the Apostles to preach about
Jesus, and they replied, “We must obey God rather than men.” In the democratic system God has placed us in, it is also our duty as
Christians to support the government by participating in the political process,
by exercising the privilege of voting—that is all part of rendering unto Caesar
that which is Caesar’s. Finally, it is our special duty and privilege as Christians to support
the government with our prayers, on behalf of the government and our rulers, as
Paul tells Pastor Timothy: “I urge, then, first of all, that requests,
prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all
those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness
and holiness.” “The Lord is my shepherd . . . surely goodness and mercy shall follow
me all the days of my life.” God your Good Shepherd has established in
this world two conduits to channel his goodness and mercy into your life,
represented by the two flags at the front of our sanctuary, the Church and the
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