Thoughts from Romans 13 (part 8)

We’ve covered a lot of ground in our study of Romans 13, but there are some very important points that we still have to think about. And one of these has to do with the context of the discussion of “submission” (“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.”) in the epistles.

As we’ve talked through Romans 13, Titus 3 and 1 Peter 2, we noted that in the last two especially there is an expanded discussion of submission that covers not just government, but other areas of life. Let’s take a quick look at some examples of how this word/phrase is used in these three books:

• (Romans 13 – assumes subjection to God through the government, and I would argue also the fear of God first and foremost – see previous posts)
• “Every human institution” (1 Peter 2:13)
• Servants to masters (1 Peter 2:18; Titus 2:9)
• Wives to husbands (1 Peter 3:1; Titus 2:5)
• Younger in the church to the elders (1 Peter 5:5)

Of course if we look throughout Scripture, we’re going to see some other examples, such as children to parents. But let’s summarize – we’ve got government, family, employment, and church. And you could also speak of self-government. And then God as the ultimate authority.

So the thinking person will realize that there’s a problem we need to resolve here. As Jesus said,“No servant can serve two masters” (Luke 16:13). So how do all of these authorities work together? For example, is it pure hierarchy? So, whatever God says we obey (obviously!), then if He’s silent, we obey the government, and if it’s silent, we move on to – what? Family maybe? … and so on.

I don’t think that’s the way in which the apostles are explaining it. The limits of government are not a matter of what they say or don’t say. The limits are based on the job which God has given to them – and we’ve talked about that several times in this series. In Romans 13, the purpose of the government is to approve the good and punish the evil.

So theologians have used the word “spheres” to describe how the apostles (and in fact the Bible as a whole) explain authority. In other words, every authority has its own area.

For example, the government may not enter your home and tell you that you must discipline your daughter because she was rude to you. That may be a very good command, but if the government commands it, they are entering the sphere of the family. You can tell them – thank you, but that’s my job and my decision as a parent.

Neither may a pastor tell you, as a parent, when to discipline your child. Of course, I hope the pastor is teaching God’s Word and giving wise counsel from the Bible. But it’s not his job to tell you, in a specific situation, how to discipline in your family. His authority is not in the family sphere (except for his own family, of course).

The church does not decide to execute a murderer. That’s the government’s area of authority. (In fact, it’s very informative to view Paul’s discussion of the grossly immoral man in 1 Corinthians 5. His way of dealing with major sin exactly parallels what Jesus said and what Moses said. Except, unlike Moses, he doesn’t call for execution. He’s dealing with the sphere of the local church, whereas Moses is dealing with the nation.)

This goes for responsibilities as well. The government is not responsible to feed your children. However, the government should promote a peaceful free society where you have the ability to work and provide for your family.

Now this teaching introduces some uncomfortable questions. For example, if the government is not the ultimate authority on earth, and we are responsible in the spheres of family and the local church for example, what does that mean for us? It means that, just like human government, we personally have responsibilities.

You see, it’s very easy for us to go running to the government when we have a problem. Or, it’s even easier for us to blame the government when there’s a problem. We ask the government for things, as if they have a big stash of their own money in a back room that they don’t know what to do with. But in the case of most democratic governments, the money actually comes from the people, and the only difference is that they now treat us like children, deciding for us what to do with our money.

I’m sure you’ve read articles or heard news stories about how the government is going to give this money to this cause or that money to that person. And I’m always checking the article for the obvious information – where is that money coming from? Frustratingly, the article never seems to explain that! Of course we know that, ultimately, it’s coming from us, the people of the country. It’s just that now the government will be the one deciding how and when it’s spent.

Again, every authority has its responsibilities and limits.

Here’s another classic example – according to the Bible, whose responsibility is it to educate my children? Well, ultimately it’s the responsibility of the parents! And no, we’re not going to take the time to discuss all of that – home school and private school and public school and Sunday school… but the point it, the concept of “spheres of authority” has certain important implications. Implications that often mean we need to be taking more responsibility in certain areas.

I know, it’s much more fun to complain about the government.

But human authority, given by God, reminds us of our own responsibilities. Including self-government. Self-control. Caring for our families.

Now, there are quite a few examples of this in Scripture, but let’s end for today with one example, from 2 Chronicles 26. Take a look…

But when [Uzziah] was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the LORD his God and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.

2 Chronicles 26:16

But wait – this was a good thing, right? Offering incense to the Lord – a pious act of worship to the true God! But… this was not in his sphere of authority.

But Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the LORD who were men of valor, and they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the LORD God.”

1 Chronicles 26:17-18

The priests – “men of valor”, it says – opposed the king publicly. Because this was not his sphere of authority. It was the job of the priests.

I hope we’re beginning to see the importance of the responsibilities and limits of each “human institution”. Thinking through the “spheres of authority” will help us as we continue to study Romans 13 and as we apply it to different situations. And we’ll try to look at other important principles next time.