1 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. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 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, 4 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. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay 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.
— Romans 13:1-7, ESV

In 1970, with fatigue from the Vietnam War plaguing every American, Edwin Starr wrote and recorded a song that became the national anthem of the time:  “War … What is it good for?  Absolutely nothing!”  

Nixon helped bring an end to that national tragedy, then created another one with Watergate.  After that, people began applying the Edwin Starr-spangled-banner to our government.  When neither the lame-duck Ford nor well-meaning Carter administrations managed to restore confidence, Ronald Reagan won a landslide victory with the campaign slogan, “Government is not the solution, government is the problem.”  

Is government good for nothing?  Is government the problem?  Or, does God and God’s word take a different view?  

What is government?

“The governing authorities” of the ESV, or “higher power” of the KJV, defines the person or persons who sit atop the hierarchy of a group of other persons.  Whether inherited, invested, or elected, those who govern have some authority and exercise certain power over the governed.  The amount of authority and power depends upon the kind of government, which ranges from absolute monarchy to popular democracy.  

We all have an idea of what government is and what government does, but the question remains as to whether or not government is good.  It depends upon who you ask.  In the history of Christianity, two of the go-to theologians are Aurelius Augustine and Thomas Aquinas.  

Augustine said government is bad, or at best a necessary evil.  Obviously, he was a Republican.  He contended that government is a product of the fall.  Since man rebelled against and refused to be ruled by God, he is left to appoint inferior leadership of his own choosing, which ultimately leads to problems.  As a citizen of a country that has run up a multi-trillion dollar deficit in times of relative peace and prosperity, I think Augustine was on to something.

However, I am going to side with Aquinas, the Democrat, at least for today.  He said government is a product of creation, not the fall.  As God rules with sovereign power over the universe, He ordained from the beginning that His creatures should live in communities and have some form of government to rule them.  Animals have leaders of the pack, angels have archangels, and humans have government officials, from tribal elders to mighty kings to elected representatives.  Though the fall did corrupt government, government was meant to be good.

I cast my vote with Aquinas only because Paul’s particular paragraph is patently pro-government.  He is encouraging Christians to be supportive and submissive.  And he did so in a historical context in which the Roman government under Emperor Nero was not kind to Christianity at all.

Government, proverbially speaking, is ordained by God, necessary for mankind, and to Christians. Paul says it is “for your good.”  So what is it good for?

What is government good for?

Government is good for expressing God’s desire for community.  Our one, true, and living God is Himself “Elohim,” a majestic plural, a tri-unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  He created us to live in community: the family unit (daddy sings bass, mommy sings tenor, me and little brother join right in there), the faith unit (Israel with its Temple and multiple synagogues in the Old Testament, the Church with its various congregations in the New Testament), and functional units (nations, states, cities, and even the dreaded HOA).  God did not make us to live alone, and government is supposed to foster a spirit of unity, cooperation, and sharing, when it is good.

Government is good for expressing God’s devotion to authority and organization.  Rebellion and anarchy are not friends of God.  Submission is a virtue to be cultivated, discipline is in a Christian’s job description.  In this text and elsewhere in Scripture, when one submits to the authority God has placed over them, where it be parent or politician or potentate, he or she is actually submitting to God.   God establishes authority and blesses submission, so He intends government to serve the people and people submit to the government, when it is good.

Government is good for expressing God’s declaration of morality.  God engrained in every man a conscience.  Though the conscience, too, is fallen and sometimes seared, it still serves to give us a sense of what is right and wrong, helpful and harmful.  Government is meant to be “the avenger” of the good and “bear the sword” upon the bad, when it is good government.  

Of course, government is not always good.  There are ruthless dictators, as existed in Paul’s day.  There are bloated and corrupt democracies, which exist in our day.  Though created to be good, sin has turned many a government bad.  So, what are Christians to do?  

How can Christians make government good?

Bad government wrought by bad officials will always exist.  Clearly, God will judge those corrupted by power and money for the evils they inflict upon people.  But people, at least God’s people, will be judged by the way we respond to the government God has given to us.  

We are responsible before God to make our communities the best they can be, honorable to God, helpful to people.  Families thrive when father, mother, sister, and brother do their God-given part.  Churches grow spiritually, and often numerically, when the leaders and the members do God’s will God’s way.  And government can be good when sufficiently strengthened by Christians of good faith.  So let us do our part by obeying the imperatives in this text as they apply to government.

“Be subject” (vs. 1-5).  The bulk of this sacred text is devoted to the hardest part of the Christian life.  Since depravity has a propensity for pride, and since even the redeemed of the Lord struggle with indwelling sin, we pridefully resist giving humble submission to sovereign authority.  This is true when it comes to God Himself, for every sin against Him is a sin of pride, of thinking we know how to govern our own lives better than God.  Original sin illustrates and proliferates.  

So if it is easy to disobey God and God’s word, it is even easier to disobey man and human law.  But since about eighty percent of Americans claim to be Christian, can you imagine what a better country we could live in if just the Christians submitted to authority?  Imagine driving in Hot Springs without people making rolling right turns in front of you, or speeding to get around you.  Imagine our Natural State without trash or toxic pollutants.  Imagine our country without the current high rates of crimes.  Imagine our current government unburdened with irresponsible citizens who clog up the courts, take advantage of government programs, and are otherwise unwilling to work for a living and obey the laws of the land.  

“Pay taxes” (vs. 6-7b).  Next to sin, the thing many Christians hate most is taxes.  But we shouldn’t.  They are a necessary means to the ends of making our government, our community, and our people better.  Taxes provide services we often take for granted, like water and sewer services better than King Solomon ever knew.  Taxes provide for safety and security, through our police and military.  Taxes provide for roads we can use to go see our grandchildren.  Yes, we should praise God for taxes, pay our taxes, and pray that our leaders will keep them as low and use them as efficiently as possible.  

“Respect” (vs. 7c).  The actual word used by Paul is phobia, which as you know means fear, but in this and other contexts is better interpreted reverence or respect.  More precisely, it means respect for a government office, and by default the person who occupies the office.  Remember, Nero was the Emperor of Rome at the time.

I owe a great debt to a sweet, older lady in my first church named Sera.  Instead of shaking my hand as always as she left the service one Sunday, she drew it back, made a fist, and shook it in  my face.  She said, “You are our Pastor, and you should not talk about the President of our country that way from the pulpit.”  She was right.

I cannot remember exactly what I said.  I do know that I never said it again.  Think of what a better country we could have if at least the Christians knew how to agree to disagree with respect, to rightly call out immoralities and illegalities but with respect, to address the party we did not want in power with respect, with the hope they will do the same.  

“Honor” (vs. 7d).  Respect we give.  Honor is earned.  I speak now to the many Christians in government, or who aspire to occupy some government office.  Be a man or woman of honor.  Honor the Lord, first and foremost.  Honor your marriage if you are married, your family if you have one.  Honor your constituents with honesty and integrity.  What a joy it is to call a politician “the honorable” and actually mean it.  What a blessing it is to any government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”  A Christian in office should be someone who can sincerely say, “I am from the government, and I am here to help.”

Are there any exceptions to these rules?  Of course.  We cannot submit to a government or law that violates the word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We cannot pay taxes if we lack the money because of unjust and excessive taxation.  We cannot respect those who blatantly violate the oath of office and laws of the land.  We cannot honor what is dishonorable to God.  But these are exceptions, not rules, in our still exceptional country.  

Government, what is it good for?  Something?  Great things, actually, if we look at government and participate in government from God’s point of view.