The Kingdom on the Left Romans 13: th after Pentecost September 7, 2014 Pastor Chip Winter

Transcription

1 The Kingdom on the Left Romans 13: th after Pentecost September 7, 2014 Pastor Chip Winter Grace to you and Peace, from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen. The text for our sermon is the Epistle appointed for the day and read from the thirteenth chapter of St. Paul s letter to Rome. My dear family in Christ, there is no comparison: the greatest gift we ve been given by our Father in Heaven is His Son, Jesus the Christ. Along with Him, or better yet through His mission to the cross and beyond the empty tomb, we have received grace upon grace; the forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with God and life eternal as His beloved children. It is the Holy Spirit Who has worked faith in our hearts to receive these treasured gifts, resulting in Christ Jesus rule in our lives through what has long been known as God s right hand. Today we re going to talk about God s left hand and the kingdom through which He is at work there. What is perhaps the second greatest gift God has given, the one through which He works by His left hand, is our government. If you have trouble stomaching that line take a moment to think about what it would mean to live outside the first world for a while. Say, in a third world country ravaged by Ebola, or suffering through continuous malnutrition, where there is hardly such a thing as an emergency room or a judicial system that runs without bribery or bartering. 1

2 Our local, county, state and federal governments are great blessings to us as they provide police services and fire protection, regulated utilities, equality under the law, roads and highways, educational systems, military protection and the freedom in which to enjoy them as that has been outlined in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We can elect our leaders, and we have the freedom to replace them or run for office ourselves, if we so desire. It s worth noting that none of the Gospel writers records Jesus condemning, complaining about or criticizing the civil government. That would be the government that would soon crucify Him unjustly and later go on to level Jerusalem within forty years. It s perhaps even more remarkable that St. Paul could pen these words during the bloody reign of Nero, having lived through Caesars Tiberius, Caligula and Claudius. His words ring out, 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. (1). The government bears the sword at God s good pleasure, a servant of the Almighty, an avenger who carries out God s wrath on wrongdoers. That set of truths in the passage before us today was a great deal of comfort for many of the officers of the Fort Collins Police Services when I served with them for ten years as a police chaplain. The ability, the necessity of wielding force was not something they took lightly, whether it was physical restraint or the drawing of a weapon. Such pressures moved the Police Services to have both a staff psychiatrist and a force of chaplains to encourage the officers in their duties. The government is God s servant to keep law and order, whether the one in authority is a believer or not. That may come as a shock to some, but there is Biblical precedent in the Old Testament as well. Isaiah 45 mentions King Cyrus, the unbeliever, whom God used to punish the 2

3 Babylonians. He ruled much of the world as God s chosen instrument ; God conquering and ruling through the pagan, Cyrus. There is, of course, a caveat here. We must obey the law unless our government requires us to do something that is in direct contradiction to God s will revealed in the Scriptures. Then, like Peter and the rest of the Apostles in Acts 5, we say, We must obey God rather than men, and in all likelihood suffer the consequences of men. Such was the action of Dietrich Bonheoffer with respect to the Nazis during World War II. In Eric Metaxas book Bonheoffer: Pastor Martyr, Prophet, Spy, one reads that Bonheoffer came to the conclusion that the government must be warned when it is heading in the wrong direction, opposed when it fosters injustice and stopped when it actively perpetuates evil (pp ). In the succession of provocative lines we then come to the encouragement to remain in subjection to the ruling authorities. Why? Why, to avoid God s wrath and for the sake of one s conscience. The wrath we know, For we know him who said, Vengeance is mine, I will repay. And again, The LORD will judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:30-31). The sake of conscience? Yes, though that can be a great deal more subtle. When I was a younger father I at times set a very poor example of impatience for my children. I would mutter about the lack of skills of the other drivers occupying the road with me. This was often when I was going over the speed limit, too, while getting them to school, to dance, to violin lessons, what have you. It was when Mary and Chase began to mimic me in my muttering that I realized how awful I sounded. My conscience was seared by the words of my children. I was convicted by their witness 3

4 both of my breaking the 5 th commandment in speaking ill of my brothers and sisters (calling them fools, and the like) and of breaking Romans 13 for going over the posted speed limit. Well, God is all around and witness to all that we do. Indeed, Joshua warned the children of Israel that the very rocks around them the landscape that had witnessed God speaking to them and their acknowledgement that they would certainly obey would bear witness against them if they strayed and followed false gods and idols. (Joshua 24) It ought also to be for the sake of conscience that we monitor what we say about our elected officials and those who are in positions of responsibility to serve for our good. They are placed where they are by God and St. Paul has reminded us that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28). And then there comes a summation of the law, an all-encompassing assessment of the commandments: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Jesus, out of love for you and me, fulfilled the law. He completed it in His perfect obedience and moved ever forward to the cross where that life of perfect obedience would be offered as the sacrifice for all sin. His perfect love fulfilled the law for you and me. Convicted by the law, assured of God s forgives through faith in Jesus passion, death and resurrection, we look anew at the commandments given by God. We look anew at the work of His right hand the laws of His word concerning murder, coveting, adultery and stealing and out of love we desire to serve God in obedience. And we look anew at the work of God s left hand, the work of the governing powers He has allowed to be responsible in our city, county, state and nation. Out of love we enfold them in our prayers, we obey the ordinances that are part of our life in this community, we speak honestly and 4

5 assertively when the powers that be are straying from what is right and true, and we bear witness in it all to the majesty, power, truth and grace of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit the One God Who rules over all, now and forever. Amen. 5