April 13, 2025 • 26 mins
Pastor Ken Davis examines the biblical teaching on Christian submission to governing authorities, exploring why believers should respect and obey human government as a divinely established institution. He challenges us to rethink our relationship to authority while maintaining our primary allegiance to God.
• Genesis 1:27 establishes that humans are made in God's image, forming the foundation for human dignity and governance
• Daniel 4 demonstrates that God is sovereign over human rulers, as seen in Nebuchadnezzar's humbling
• Romans 13 teaches that all authority comes from God, even under corrupt leadership like Emperor Nero
• Three God-established institutions: family (Genesis 2), church (Acts 2), and government (Genesis 9)
• Four motivations for obeying government: for wrath's sake, conscience's sake, love's sake, and the Savior's sake
• Christians obey law enforcement not merely from fear of punishment but from desire to do what's right
• Righteousness produces boldness while disobedience creates fear, even when no one is watching
Join us at Calvary Chapel Southwest Metro in Joshua, Texas, on Sundays at 10:30 am or Tuesday at 7:00 pm. Visit heedtheword.org for a list of all available podcasts.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Heed the Word with our pastor
and teacher, Ken Davis.
Pastor Ken is the senior pastorof Calvary Chapel, Southwest
Metro.
Please join us as we study ourseries entitled Lessons in
Christian Living.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
If we want to be confident that we are not going
to come under judgment, then weneed to conduct ourselves in a
way that is not worthy ofjudgment.
The Bible tells us that thewicked flee when no one pursues,
but the righteous are as boldas a lion.
(00:41):
In other words, if you're notdoing anything wrong, you
haven't got anything to beafraid of.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
There's no shortage of self-help books, motivational
speakers, even opinions outthere about how we're supposed
to live on this earth, but asChristians, we need to take our
direction in this area from theWord of God.
So we're bringing you ourseries entitled Lessons in
Christian Living, taken from the12th and 13th chapters of
Paul's letter to the church inRome.
(01:09):
As Christians, we're not exemptfrom obeying the laws of the
land.
The scriptures teach us thatthose placed in charge of the
people have been appointed byGod.
As long as we're not beingasked to break the commands of
the Lord and as long as we'renot made to compromise our
beliefs, then we are to observethe rules given us by the
governing authorities.
(01:30):
Don't forget to stay with usafter today's message to hear
more information about Heed theWord, specifically how you can
get a free copy of today'smessage.
Now open your Bibles to thebook of Genesis, chapter 1,
verse 27, as we join Pastor Kenwith the first half of part 7 in
our series entitled Lessons inChristian Living.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
We'll be continuing our study today in the book of
Romans, and we'll be continuingin Romans, chapter 13.
But I want us to consider acouple of things before we get
there.
One of them is a point that Iwant you to hold in your mind as
we conduct our study thismorning, and the second is a
(02:11):
backdrop that I want our studyto be placed against, or there's
a story I wanna serve as abackdrop for what we're talking
about today.
So first, the verse that I wantyou to keep in mind is Genesis,
chapter one, verse 27.
And in Genesis 1, verse 27, theWord of God says so God created
(02:33):
man in his own image, in theimage of God, he created him
Male and female.
He created them.
It is important to understandand to remember, as we conduct
our study today, that we arecreated by God and that we are
created in the image of God.
(02:56):
That means that we are aphysical representation, if you
will, of what God is like, notin our sinfulness, but in
perfection.
You see, god made man in hisown image, so man is, in essence
, the image bearer of God.
That's an amazing statement,isn't it?
It's an amazing truth.
So I want you to remember that,as we conduct our study today,
(03:19):
that you and I, and all of us,as mankind, are made in the
image of God.
Now that'll make more sensebefore we finish today as to why
I want you to remember thatfact.
The backdrop that I want toprovide for our teaching today
actually comes from the book ofDaniel.
Now, before I begin, I want youto understand something about
the man that is writing thischapter of the Bible.
(03:41):
This is a chapter of the Biblethat is amazing and, I think,
unique in that it was written bya pagan king.
It was written not by a king ofIsrael, but by the king of
Babylon.
This book was written by theman who was responsible for the
destruction of Jerusalem, theman who was responsible for the
(04:05):
destruction of the temple.
This chapter of the Bible waswritten by a man who could, by
many counts, be considered anenemy of Israel and an enemy of
God, because he was the one whotook Israel into captivity.
Now, in fact, we know that hewas being used of God to
chastise Israel for theirunfaithfulness, and we're going
(04:29):
to see how the Lord, in turn,has dealt with this pagan king.
Daniel, chapter four the wordsof Nebuchadnezzar this is an
amazing statement coming fromKing Nebuchadnezzar, because
Nebuchadnezzar was a man thatwas puffed up and filled with
his own sense of self-importance, and what we have in this
(04:51):
chapter is the story of how Godhumbled him.
There are two points that Iwant to draw from this.
The first point is in verse 17,which says, in the last half of
the verse, that the most highrules in the kingdom of men
gives it to whomever he willsand sets over it.
(05:12):
The lowest of men, proverbs,tells us that the heart of the
king is in the hand of God.
This verse and this passageteaches us that the Lord
establishes the rulers of men,that it is God who sets one
above another or who gives powerto one person or to another.
The second thing I want us torecognize is in verse 19, in
(05:36):
which Daniel says do not let thedream or its interpretation
trouble you.
That's actually what the kingsaid.
And then Daniel answers to himmy Lord, may the dream concern
those who hate you and itsinterpretation concern your
enemies.
Or, in other words, daniel issaying you know, it is my prayer
, nebuchadnezzar, that thisdream isn't aimed at you, but
that rather it would be aimed atyour enemies, and that tells me
(05:57):
something about Daniel.
You see, nebuchadnezzar is theking who was in power when
Daniel was carried away intocaptivity.
Nebuchadnezzar is the king whowas in power when Daniel was
carried away into captivity.
Nebuchadnezzar was the one whoforced Daniel and his friends to
be taught all of the lore andthe learning of the Babylonians.
Daniel and his friends hadevery reason to hate
Nebuchadnezzar, but they didn't.
(06:18):
Daniel served in the court of apagan king, of the one who had
destroyed Jerusalem.
If anybody had reason to hatethose who were in authority over
him, daniel certainly was one,and yet his heart was for the
king and he wanted to see theking blessed.
(06:38):
Now, in the story ofNebuchadnezzar, it would happen
just as Daniel interpreted thedream.
Nebuchadnezzar continued on inhis prideful ways and the Lord
struck him and ripped thekingdom from his hands.
He lost his mind and was drivenfrom the court and actually
spent seven years chained to atree, eating, like a wild animal
, the grass of the field, untilfinally, he humbled himself
(07:01):
before the Lord came to hissenses and realized that it was
God who establishes the kingdomsof men and that it was God who
had given him his kingdom in thefirst place.
And God, of course, restoredNebuchadnezzar to his kingdom.
Now I wanted us to understandall of that as a backdrop or as
an example of the passage thatwe're going to study today.
(07:21):
Turn, if you will, now toRomans, chapter 13.
Now, as we've been studying inRomans, particularly in chapter
12, paul has been teaching ussome lessons in Christian living
.
In Romans 12, we were taughthow to view ourselves in
relation to God, as livingsacrifices.
In relation to the world, asnot conformed to the world, but
(07:42):
transformed by the renewing ofour minds.
In relation to ourselves, inthat we were not to think more
highly of ourselves than weought to think, but rather to
think soberly in relation to thebody of Christ or the church,
using our God-given gifts toserve the body as a whole for
the glory of God.
In relation to one another asindividuals in love, using our
gifts of service but loving oneanother in sincerity.
(08:02):
Using our gifts of service butloving one another in sincerity.
And then, certainly, inrelation to those who are
outside of the body and to allmen, not retaliating, not
repaying evil for evil, butrepaying good in exchange.
You see, not being overcome byevil, but overcoming evil with
good.
And now in Romans, chapter 13,paul continues these lessons in
(08:25):
Christian living by relating tous how we, as Christians, are to
relate to, or are to viewourselves in relation to, those
who are in authority over us, orin other words, in relation to
the government.
Starting in verse 1 of chapter13, paul writes Let every soul
be subject to the governingauthorities, for there is no
(08:49):
authority except from God, andthe authorities that exist are
appointed by God.
Now, that's a hard pill toswallow, isn't it sometimes,
especially if we find ourselvesin disagreement with those who
are in authority.
And yet, as the chief executiveof our nation, I owe him my
(09:12):
respect, don't I?
And the laws that he passes,insofar as they are not in
opposition to the law of God, Iam obliged, as a citizen and as
a Christian, to obey.
Now, that's not exactly a funidea sometimes.
And we look at what Paul haswritten here and we say well,
you know what, paul, that's allwell and good that you want us
to be in submission to theauthorities, but you don't
(09:33):
understand what it's like, right, you don't know what it's like,
paul, to live under ungodlyauthority.
Well, wait a second.
You know who was in charge whenPaul wrote this.
It was a guy by the name ofNero.
Nero was a rotten scoundrel,okay, nero was a wicked, wicked
man.
Nero blamed the burning ofabout half of Rome.
(09:56):
Guess who he blamed it on?
On the Christians, right?
Guess who was most likelyresponsible for it?
From what history tells us, nero, they say that he ordered the
burning of Rome himself.
Do you know why?
Probably, nero loved to buildthings, and in order to make
room to build more things, hehad to get rid of what was there
.
So there's this huge demolitionproject, right, and he burns
(10:18):
half of Rome to the ground.
But you see, the Roman citizensaren't going to be too happy
about that, so he's got to havea scapegoat.
So who does he blame it?
On those dirty, rottenChristians, right?
Nero, the man who wouldultimately have Paul beheaded.
The man who would ultimatelysee Peter crucified upside down.
(10:38):
Nero, the guy who would orderChristians to be sewn up in
animal skins and thrown to thedogs.
Nero, the guy who would haveChristians dipped in tar,
crucified and lit on fire in hisgardens as he would ride naked
through the gardens in hischariot.
Nero?
So if that's the guy who was incharge when Paul wrote, let
(11:00):
every soul be subject to thegoverning authorities, for there
is no authority except from Godand the authorities that exist
are appointed by God.
I don't think we have much ofan excuse, by pointing at the
corruption in our own government, to say that this does not
apply to us, because it does.
It applied to Paul, it appliedto Peter, it applied to Daniel
(11:22):
and it applies to us today.
Now, there are threeinstitutions that God has
established.
The first was the family.
God established the family inGenesis, chapter 2.
Let's go ahead and turn there,genesis, chapter 2, starting in
(11:45):
verse 7, skipping ahead to verse15,.
(12:14):
Then the Lord God took the manand put him in the garden of
Eden to tend and keep it.
And the Lord God commanded theman, saying Of every tree of the
garden you may freely eat, butof the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil you shall not eat,for in the day that you eat of
it you shall surely die.
And the Lord God said it is notgood.
The man should be alone.
(12:34):
I will make him a helpercomparable to him.
Now, of course, he made everyanimal out of the ground and
brought them to Adam, and Adamnamed them.
But skipping on ahead to verse21,.
We see that the Lord God causeda deep sleep to fall on Adam
and he slept and he took one ofhis ribs and closed up the flesh
(12:55):
in its place.
Then, the rib which the LordGod had taken from man, he made
into a woman and he brought herto the man and Adam said this is
(13:21):
now bone of my bones and fleshof my flesh.
And he brought her to the manand Adam said and so we see that
the establishment of the familycame from God.
The next institution that wewant to look at is the
institution of the church, andthat was established in Acts,
chapter 2.
Turn to Acts, chapter 2, if youwill, we're going to have a
little Bible drill this morningNow.
(13:41):
In Acts, chapter 2, we have thestory of the day of Pentecost,
the day when the Holy Spirit waspoured out upon the church, and
we have here at the end of thischapter, in verses 46 and 47,
the statement so continuingdaily with one accord in the
temple and breaking bread fromhouse to house.
They ate their food withgladness and simplicity of heart
(14:03):
, praising God and having favorwith all the people.
And the Lord added to thechurch daily those who were
being saved.
So who is it that builds thechurch?
The Lord, god, builds andestablishes his church, isn't
that right?
So we have the family, whichwas established by God, we have
the church, which wasestablished by God, and we also
(14:26):
have the government that wasestablished by God.
We have the church, which wasestablished by God and we also
have the government that isestablished by God.
I'm going to send you all theway back to Genesis now Genesis,
chapter 9.
Now, in the preceding chapters,we have the story of Noah and
the ark and the great flood thatdestroyed almost every living
thing, except for those thingsthat were on the ark.
And after they get off the ark,god is giving some instructions
(14:49):
to Noah regarding how thingsare to work from now on.
And in Genesis, chapter 9,verses 6 and 7, god gives some
very specific instructions, andhe says this instructions, and
he says this whoever sheds man'sblood by man, his blood shall
(15:09):
be shed For in the image of Godhe made man.
And as for you, be fruitful andmultiply, bring forth
abundantly in the earth andmultiply in it.
So here in Genesis, chapter 9,god has established the first
laws under which human beingswere to conduct themselves, and
(15:29):
it's interesting enough that thefirst law that is enacted is
regarding capital punishment.
Now, there are all kinds ofdebates that go on pertaining to
capital punishment, and we'regoing to see part of that, or
part of what the Bible has tosay about that, in Romans,
chapter 13, in just a moment ortwo.
Now, you may have differingopinions today regarding capital
(15:51):
punishment.
There are some Christians whowill say well, you know what the
Bible says in Exodus, chapter20, thou shalt not kill.
A more accurate interpretationof that would be thou shalt not
murder.
Okay, and murder is wrong.
There's no doubt about that.
It is against God's law.
And yet there are many timeswhen, in order to fulfill the
law of God, someone was killed,ie Goliath.
(16:12):
Right, david was doing God'swill when he fought and killed
Goliath.
In fact, it was really by thehand of the Lord that that was
carried out.
And so there is a place forcapital punishment, and in fact,
I have to tell you, the Bibleteaches it.
So, whatever your view may be,you've got to come to terms,
christian, with the fact thatthe Bible says that if man sheds
(16:35):
man's blood, then by man hisblood will be shed.
And in Romans, chapter 13, wesee the continuation of that
thought, and we're going to seethat in a moment or two.
But the point that I want todraw from that is that the
family, the church and humangovernment ultimately were
established not by man but byGod.
(16:55):
And, given that fact, we needto remember the words of Paul in
Romans 13, 1 and abide by thiswhen he says let every soul be
subject to the governingauthorities, for there is no
authority except from God, andthe authorities that exist are
appointed by God.
You know what Jesus had, thisexchange with Pilate on the day
(17:16):
that he was crucified.
Do you remember?
And Pilate says do you notanswer me?
Don't you know that I have thepower to kill you and I have the
power to set you free?
And what is it that Jesus saidto Pilate?
He says you have no power overme except that which was given
to you by God.
Right, the authority and thepower that you have over me at
this point in time, jesusbasically told Pilate, is power
that you have only because itwas given to you.
(17:39):
That power does not reside inyourself.
Warren Wiersbe, in hisexpository outline of the New
Testament, suggests that inRomans, chapter 13, paul has
given us four motives forobeying human government.
They are for wrath's sake, forconscience's sake, for
(18:01):
conscience's sake, for love'ssake and for the Savior's sake,
and we're going to look at eachone of these in turn.
If we want to be confident thatwe are not going to come under
judgment, then we need toconduct ourselves in a way that
(18:23):
is not worthy of judgment.
The Bible tells us that thewicked flee when no one pursues,
but the righteous are as boldas a lion.
In other words, if you're notdoing anything wrong, you
haven't got anything to beafraid of.
Words.
(18:43):
If you're not doing anythingwrong, you haven't got anything
to be afraid of.
Now, this idea that the wickedflee when no one pursues, but
the righteous are as bold as alion tells me something about
myself, and I would warrant thatit probably tells you something
about yourself as well.
Sometimes I'll be driving downthe street and all of a sudden,
I'll see a police car pull inbehind me and all of a sudden,
something happens inside myheart.
(19:04):
Right, I am overcome with fearand the first thing I do is I
look at that speedometer.
Right, that's not right.
The first thing I do is I putmy foot on the brake, because,
you see, I don't have to look atthe speedometer to know I'm
probably wrong in that instance.
Why?
Because I know I've done wrongin the past, right, I know that
my tendency might be to fudgethat speed limit by the
(19:27):
acceptable four to five milesper hour, right?
So there is a fear that isthere, and that fear comes from
our knowledge of the fact thatwe have done something wrong.
We might not be doing anythingwrong, right then, but we know
that we have before, don't we?
And so we have this fear thatis built into us.
Now, if you don't want to beafraid, what is the right thing
(19:49):
to do?
To obey the law.
Right, If we obey the law, thenrulers or police officers on
patrol will not be a terror tous.
Do what is good and you willhave praise from the same.
It says, for he, that is theone who is in authority is God's
minister to you for good.
But if you do evil, be afraid,for he does not bear the sword
(20:15):
in vain, for he is God'sminister and avenger to execute
wrath on him who practices evil.
Have you ever seen that?
You've seen.
You've been out on the freewayand you're driving along and all
of a sudden, there's this guyand I bet some of you have seen
this guy who flies by you on amotorcycle at 95 miles an hour
(20:37):
on one wheel, right, and what'sthe first thing you say to
yourself Where's a policeofficer, when you need one?
Right, because you realize thatif they saw that man, they'd be
after that guy in an instant,wouldn't they?
And you know that they arethere to serve and to protect.
That is their job, and you wantto see justice done.
(20:58):
Rulers are not a terror to goodworks, but to evil.
If you want to be unafraid oftheers are not a terror to good
works, but to evil.
If you want to be unafraid ofthe authority, do what is good
and you'll have praise from thesame, for that person who is in
authority is God's minister toyou for good, but if you do evil
, you should be afraid, for hedoes not bear the sword in vain.
In other words, those who arein authority have authority to
exercise judgment upon those whodo wrong, and so we need to
(21:23):
obey the laws and to be subjectto those who are in authority
over us for wrath's sake, or, inother words, out of a fear of
the punishment that they caninflict.
We want to obey the laws of theland, first of all, because we
don't wanna suffer theconsequences of not obeying the
laws of the land.
In 1 Peter, 2, 13 through 17,peter writes therefore, submit
(21:45):
yourselves to every ordinance ofman for the Lord's sake,
whether to the king is supremeor to governors, as to those who
are sent by him for thepunishment of evildoers and for
the praise of those who do good,for this is the will of God
that by doing good you may putto silence the ignorance of
foolish men as free, yet notusing liberty as a cloak for
(22:06):
vice, but as bondservants of God, honor all people, love the
brethren, fear God and honor theking.
So we are to be obedient tothose who are in authority.
We are to be subject to the lawof the land out of the fear
that we have of the wrath thatthey have the power to inflict
upon us, because that power wasgiven to them by God.
(22:30):
Now, our second motivation forbeing subject to the governing
authorities is for consciencesake, not just out of fear, but
out of a desire to do what isright.
Romans 13, verses five throughseven, speaks to this.
When Paul writes.
Therefore, you must be subject,not only because of wrath, but
(22:51):
also for conscience sake, forbecause of this you also pay
taxes, for they are God'sministers attending continually
to this very thing.
Render, therefore, to all their.
In other words, the governmentexists for your good.
(23:15):
What does it say in the preambleto our Constitution?
We, the people, in order toform a more perfect union, to
establish justice and to ensuredomestic tranquility that means
the peace of our lives here athome right To provide for the
common defense, to promote thegeneral welfare and to secure
the blessings of liberty toourselves and our posterity to
(23:36):
ordain and establish thisconstitution of the United
States of America.
In other words, it's a socialcontract.
We agree to abide by these lawsfor the good of all.
So we are to be subject to thegoverning authorities because
ultimately, the governingauthorities are to work for our
good.
But in the absence of authority, there's chaos.
(23:59):
The Bible says that where thereis no revelation, the people
cast off restraint.
Or, in the King James, wherethere is no vision, the people
perish.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
The Christian life was never designed to be a solo
flight.
God designed us with the needfor relationships with others
who can encourage us in ourpersonal journey of faith.
Maybe you're listening todayand you don't have a home church
and this message ministered toyou.
Well, we'd like to take thistime to invite you to join us
for one of our worship services.
Calvary Chapel Southwest Metromeets each Sunday morning at
(24:35):
10.30 am and Wednesday eveningsat 7 pm.
Besides our Sunday morningservices, we have ministries for
children, men, women, couplesand youth.
To learn more about CalvaryChapel Southwest Metro, log on
to heaththewordorg.
That's heaththewordorg and whenyou get there, just follow the
(24:56):
link.
Or, if you'd like to talk withsomeone, give us a call.
Our phone number is817-447-5675.
That's 817-447-5675.
So visit the website or call ustoday.
Now we also want to encourageyou to review this study.
This study and many more taughtby Pastor Ken are available at
(25:19):
our website, heedthewordorg.
Many of Pastor Ken's teachingsare available in mp3 format.
You can also receive a CD copyof this message.
Simply log on to heedthewordorgand select the option for CD
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The CD that you'll receive isthe full-length, unedited
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When you fill out the orderform, please keep in mind
(25:40):
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Well, that's all the time wehave for today.
Please join Pastor Ken nexttime as he continues teaching
through our series entitledLessons for Christian Living,
right here on Heed the Word.
You're listening to Heed the Word with our pastor
and teacher, Ken Davis.
Pastor Ken is the senior pastorof Calvary Chapel, Southwest
Metro.
Please join us as we study ourseries entitled Lessons in
Christian Living.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
If we want to be confident that we are not going
to come under judgment, then weneed to conduct ourselves in a
way that is not worthy ofjudgment.
The Bible tells us that thewicked flee when no one pursues,
but the righteous are as boldas a lion.
(00:41):
In other words, if you're notdoing anything wrong, you
haven't got anything to beafraid of.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
There's no shortage of self-help books, motivational
speakers, even opinions outthere about how we're supposed
to live on this earth, but asChristians, we need to take our
direction in this area from theWord of God.
So we're bringing you ourseries entitled Lessons in
Christian Living, taken from the12th and 13th chapters of
Paul's letter to the church inRome.
(01:09):
As Christians, we're not exemptfrom obeying the laws of the
land.
The scriptures teach us thatthose placed in charge of the
people have been appointed byGod.
As long as we're not beingasked to break the commands of
the Lord and as long as we'renot made to compromise our
beliefs, then we are to observethe rules given us by the
governing authorities.
(01:30):
Don't forget to stay with usafter today's message to hear
more information about Heed theWord, specifically how you can
get a free copy of today'smessage.
Now open your Bibles to thebook of Genesis, chapter 1,
verse 27, as we join Pastor Kenwith the first half of part 7 in
our series entitled Lessons inChristian Living.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
We'll be continuing our study today in the book of
Romans, and we'll be continuingin Romans, chapter 13.
But I want us to consider acouple of things before we get
there.
One of them is a point that Iwant you to hold in your mind as
we conduct our study thismorning, and the second is a
(02:11):
backdrop that I want our studyto be placed against, or there's
a story I wanna serve as abackdrop for what we're talking
about today.
So first, the verse that I wantyou to keep in mind is Genesis,
chapter one, verse 27.
And in Genesis 1, verse 27, theWord of God says so God created
(02:33):
man in his own image, in theimage of God, he created him
Male and female.
He created them.
It is important to understandand to remember, as we conduct
our study today, that we arecreated by God and that we are
created in the image of God.
(02:56):
That means that we are aphysical representation, if you
will, of what God is like, notin our sinfulness, but in
perfection.
You see, god made man in hisown image, so man is, in essence
, the image bearer of God.
That's an amazing statement,isn't it?
It's an amazing truth.
So I want you to remember that,as we conduct our study today,
(03:19):
that you and I, and all of us,as mankind, are made in the
image of God.
Now that'll make more sensebefore we finish today as to why
I want you to remember thatfact.
The backdrop that I want toprovide for our teaching today
actually comes from the book ofDaniel.
Now, before I begin, I want youto understand something about
the man that is writing thischapter of the Bible.
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This is a chapter of the Biblethat is amazing and, I think,
unique in that it was written bya pagan king.
It was written not by a king ofIsrael, but by the king of
Babylon.
This book was written by theman who was responsible for the
destruction of Jerusalem, theman who was responsible for the
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destruction of the temple.
This chapter of the Bible waswritten by a man who could, by
many counts, be considered anenemy of Israel and an enemy of
God, because he was the one whotook Israel into captivity.
Now, in fact, we know that hewas being used of God to
chastise Israel for theirunfaithfulness, and we're going
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to see how the Lord, in turn,has dealt with this pagan king.
Daniel, chapter four the wordsof Nebuchadnezzar this is an
amazing statement coming fromKing Nebuchadnezzar, because
Nebuchadnezzar was a man thatwas puffed up and filled with
his own sense of self-importance, and what we have in this
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chapter is the story of how Godhumbled him.
There are two points that Iwant to draw from this.
The first point is in verse 17,which says, in the last half of
the verse, that the most highrules in the kingdom of men
gives it to whomever he willsand sets over it.
(05:12):
The lowest of men, proverbs,tells us that the heart of the
king is in the hand of God.
This verse and this passageteaches us that the Lord
establishes the rulers of men,that it is God who sets one
above another or who gives powerto one person or to another.
The second thing I want us torecognize is in verse 19, in
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which Daniel says do not let thedream or its interpretation
trouble you.
That's actually what the kingsaid.
And then Daniel answers to himmy Lord, may the dream concern
those who hate you and itsinterpretation concern your
enemies.
Or, in other words, daniel issaying you know, it is my prayer
, nebuchadnezzar, that thisdream isn't aimed at you, but
that rather it would be aimed atyour enemies, and that tells me
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something about Daniel.
You see, nebuchadnezzar is theking who was in power when
Daniel was carried away intocaptivity.
Nebuchadnezzar is the king whowas in power when Daniel was
carried away into captivity.
Nebuchadnezzar was the one whoforced Daniel and his friends to
be taught all of the lore andthe learning of the Babylonians.
Daniel and his friends hadevery reason to hate
Nebuchadnezzar, but they didn't.
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Daniel served in the court of apagan king, of the one who had
destroyed Jerusalem.
If anybody had reason to hatethose who were in authority over
him, daniel certainly was one,and yet his heart was for the
king and he wanted to see theking blessed.
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Now, in the story ofNebuchadnezzar, it would happen
just as Daniel interpreted thedream.
Nebuchadnezzar continued on inhis prideful ways and the Lord
struck him and ripped thekingdom from his hands.
He lost his mind and was drivenfrom the court and actually
spent seven years chained to atree, eating, like a wild animal
, the grass of the field, untilfinally, he humbled himself
(07:01):
before the Lord came to hissenses and realized that it was
God who establishes the kingdomsof men and that it was God who
had given him his kingdom in thefirst place.
And God, of course, restoredNebuchadnezzar to his kingdom.
Now I wanted us to understandall of that as a backdrop or as
an example of the passage thatwe're going to study today.
(07:21):
Turn, if you will, now toRomans, chapter 13.
Now, as we've been studying inRomans, particularly in chapter
12, paul has been teaching ussome lessons in Christian living
.
In Romans 12, we were taughthow to view ourselves in
relation to God, as livingsacrifices.
In relation to the world, asnot conformed to the world, but
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transformed by the renewing ofour minds.
In relation to ourselves, inthat we were not to think more
highly of ourselves than weought to think, but rather to
think soberly in relation to thebody of Christ or the church,
using our God-given gifts toserve the body as a whole for
the glory of God.
In relation to one another asindividuals in love, using our
gifts of service but loving oneanother in sincerity.
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Using our gifts of service butloving one another in sincerity.
And then, certainly, inrelation to those who are
outside of the body and to allmen, not retaliating, not
repaying evil for evil, butrepaying good in exchange.
You see, not being overcome byevil, but overcoming evil with
good.
And now in Romans, chapter 13,paul continues these lessons in
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Christian living by relating tous how we, as Christians, are to
relate to, or are to viewourselves in relation to, those
who are in authority over us, orin other words, in relation to
the government.
Starting in verse 1 of chapter13, paul writes Let every soul
be subject to the governingauthorities, for there is no
(08:49):
authority except from God, andthe authorities that exist are
appointed by God.
Now, that's a hard pill toswallow, isn't it sometimes,
especially if we find ourselvesin disagreement with those who
are in authority.
And yet, as the chief executiveof our nation, I owe him my
(09:12):
respect, don't I?
And the laws that he passes,insofar as they are not in
opposition to the law of God, Iam obliged, as a citizen and as
a Christian, to obey.
Now, that's not exactly a funidea sometimes.
And we look at what Paul haswritten here and we say well,
you know what, paul, that's allwell and good that you want us
to be in submission to theauthorities, but you don't
(09:33):
understand what it's like, right, you don't know what it's like,
paul, to live under ungodlyauthority.
Well, wait a second.
You know who was in charge whenPaul wrote this.
It was a guy by the name ofNero.
Nero was a rotten scoundrel,okay, nero was a wicked, wicked
man.
Nero blamed the burning ofabout half of Rome.
(09:56):
Guess who he blamed it on?
On the Christians, right?
Guess who was most likelyresponsible for it?
From what history tells us, nero, they say that he ordered the
burning of Rome himself.
Do you know why?
Probably, nero loved to buildthings, and in order to make
room to build more things, hehad to get rid of what was there
.
So there's this huge demolitionproject, right, and he burns
(10:18):
half of Rome to the ground.
But you see, the Roman citizensaren't going to be too happy
about that, so he's got to havea scapegoat.
So who does he blame it?
On those dirty, rottenChristians, right?
Nero, the man who wouldultimately have Paul beheaded.
The man who would ultimatelysee Peter crucified upside down.
(10:38):
Nero, the guy who would orderChristians to be sewn up in
animal skins and thrown to thedogs.
Nero, the guy who would haveChristians dipped in tar,
crucified and lit on fire in hisgardens as he would ride naked
through the gardens in hischariot.
Nero?
So if that's the guy who was incharge when Paul wrote, let
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every soul be subject to thegoverning authorities, for there
is no authority except from Godand the authorities that exist
are appointed by God.
I don't think we have much ofan excuse, by pointing at the
corruption in our own government, to say that this does not
apply to us, because it does.
It applied to Paul, it appliedto Peter, it applied to Daniel
(11:22):
and it applies to us today.
Now, there are threeinstitutions that God has
established.
The first was the family.
God established the family inGenesis, chapter 2.
Let's go ahead and turn there,genesis, chapter 2, starting in
(11:45):
verse 7, skipping ahead to verse15,.
(12:14):
Then the Lord God took the manand put him in the garden of
Eden to tend and keep it.
And the Lord God commanded theman, saying Of every tree of the
garden you may freely eat, butof the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil you shall not eat,for in the day that you eat of
it you shall surely die.
And the Lord God said it is notgood.
The man should be alone.
(12:34):
I will make him a helpercomparable to him.
Now, of course, he made everyanimal out of the ground and
brought them to Adam, and Adamnamed them.
But skipping on ahead to verse21,.
We see that the Lord God causeda deep sleep to fall on Adam
and he slept and he took one ofhis ribs and closed up the flesh
(12:55):
in its place.
Then, the rib which the LordGod had taken from man, he made
into a woman and he brought herto the man and Adam said this is
(13:21):
now bone of my bones and fleshof my flesh.
And he brought her to the manand Adam said and so we see that
the establishment of the familycame from God.
The next institution that wewant to look at is the
institution of the church, andthat was established in Acts,
chapter 2.
Turn to Acts, chapter 2, if youwill, we're going to have a
little Bible drill this morningNow.
(13:41):
In Acts, chapter 2, we have thestory of the day of Pentecost,
the day when the Holy Spirit waspoured out upon the church, and
we have here at the end of thischapter, in verses 46 and 47,
the statement so continuingdaily with one accord in the
temple and breaking bread fromhouse to house.
They ate their food withgladness and simplicity of heart
(14:03):
, praising God and having favorwith all the people.
And the Lord added to thechurch daily those who were
being saved.
So who is it that builds thechurch?
The Lord, god, builds andestablishes his church, isn't
that right?
So we have the family, whichwas established by God, we have
the church, which wasestablished by God, and we also
(14:26):
have the government that wasestablished by God.
We have the church, which wasestablished by God and we also
have the government that isestablished by God.
I'm going to send you all theway back to Genesis now Genesis,
chapter 9.
Now, in the preceding chapters,we have the story of Noah and
the ark and the great flood thatdestroyed almost every living
thing, except for those thingsthat were on the ark.
And after they get off the ark,god is giving some instructions
(14:49):
to Noah regarding how thingsare to work from now on.
And in Genesis, chapter 9,verses 6 and 7, god gives some
very specific instructions, andhe says this instructions, and
he says this whoever sheds man'sblood by man, his blood shall
(15:09):
be shed For in the image of Godhe made man.
And as for you, be fruitful andmultiply, bring forth
abundantly in the earth andmultiply in it.
So here in Genesis, chapter 9,god has established the first
laws under which human beingswere to conduct themselves, and
(15:29):
it's interesting enough that thefirst law that is enacted is
regarding capital punishment.
Now, there are all kinds ofdebates that go on pertaining to
capital punishment, and we'regoing to see part of that, or
part of what the Bible has tosay about that, in Romans,
chapter 13, in just a moment ortwo.
Now, you may have differingopinions today regarding capital
(15:51):
punishment.
There are some Christians whowill say well, you know what the
Bible says in Exodus, chapter20, thou shalt not kill.
A more accurate interpretationof that would be thou shalt not
murder.
Okay, and murder is wrong.
There's no doubt about that.
It is against God's law.
And yet there are many timeswhen, in order to fulfill the
law of God, someone was killed,ie Goliath.
(16:12):
Right, david was doing God'swill when he fought and killed
Goliath.
In fact, it was really by thehand of the Lord that that was
carried out.
And so there is a place forcapital punishment, and in fact,
I have to tell you, the Bibleteaches it.
So, whatever your view may be,you've got to come to terms,
christian, with the fact thatthe Bible says that if man sheds
(16:35):
man's blood, then by man hisblood will be shed.
And in Romans, chapter 13, wesee the continuation of that
thought, and we're going to seethat in a moment or two.
But the point that I want todraw from that is that the
family, the church and humangovernment ultimately were
established not by man but byGod.
(16:55):
And, given that fact, we needto remember the words of Paul in
Romans 13, 1 and abide by thiswhen he says let every soul be
subject to the governingauthorities, for there is no
authority except from God, andthe authorities that exist are
appointed by God.
You know what Jesus had, thisexchange with Pilate on the day
(17:16):
that he was crucified.
Do you remember?
And Pilate says do you notanswer me?
Don't you know that I have thepower to kill you and I have the
power to set you free?
And what is it that Jesus saidto Pilate?
He says you have no power overme except that which was given
to you by God.
Right, the authority and thepower that you have over me at
this point in time, jesusbasically told Pilate, is power
that you have only because itwas given to you.
(17:39):
That power does not reside inyourself.
Warren Wiersbe, in hisexpository outline of the New
Testament, suggests that inRomans, chapter 13, paul has
given us four motives forobeying human government.
They are for wrath's sake, forconscience's sake, for
(18:01):
conscience's sake, for love'ssake and for the Savior's sake,
and we're going to look at eachone of these in turn.
If we want to be confident thatwe are not going to come under
judgment, then we need toconduct ourselves in a way that
(18:23):
is not worthy of judgment.
The Bible tells us that thewicked flee when no one pursues,
but the righteous are as boldas a lion.
In other words, if you're notdoing anything wrong, you
haven't got anything to beafraid of.
Words.
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If you're not doing anythingwrong, you haven't got anything
to be afraid of.
Now, this idea that the wickedflee when no one pursues, but
the righteous are as bold as alion tells me something about
myself, and I would warrant thatit probably tells you something
about yourself as well.
Sometimes I'll be driving downthe street and all of a sudden,
I'll see a police car pull inbehind me and all of a sudden,
something happens inside myheart.
(19:04):
Right, I am overcome with fearand the first thing I do is I
look at that speedometer.
Right, that's not right.
The first thing I do is I putmy foot on the brake, because,
you see, I don't have to look atthe speedometer to know I'm
probably wrong in that instance.
Why?
Because I know I've done wrongin the past, right, I know that
my tendency might be to fudgethat speed limit by the
(19:27):
acceptable four to five milesper hour, right?
So there is a fear that isthere, and that fear comes from
our knowledge of the fact thatwe have done something wrong.
We might not be doing anythingwrong, right then, but we know
that we have before, don't we?
And so we have this fear thatis built into us.
Now, if you don't want to beafraid, what is the right thing
(19:49):
to do?
To obey the law.
Right, If we obey the law, thenrulers or police officers on
patrol will not be a terror tous.
Do what is good and you willhave praise from the same.
It says, for he, that is theone who is in authority is God's
minister to you for good.
But if you do evil, be afraid,for he does not bear the sword
(20:15):
in vain, for he is God'sminister and avenger to execute
wrath on him who practices evil.
Have you ever seen that?
You've seen.
You've been out on the freewayand you're driving along and all
of a sudden, there's this guyand I bet some of you have seen
this guy who flies by you on amotorcycle at 95 miles an hour
(20:37):
on one wheel, right, and what'sthe first thing you say to
yourself Where's a policeofficer, when you need one?
Right, because you realize thatif they saw that man, they'd be
after that guy in an instant,wouldn't they?
And you know that they arethere to serve and to protect.
That is their job, and you wantto see justice done.
(20:58):
Rulers are not a terror to goodworks, but to evil.
If you want to be unafraid oftheers are not a terror to good
works, but to evil.
If you want to be unafraid ofthe authority, do what is good
and you'll have praise from thesame, for that person who is in
authority is God's minister toyou for good, but if you do evil
, you should be afraid, for hedoes not bear the sword in vain.
In other words, those who arein authority have authority to
exercise judgment upon those whodo wrong, and so we need to
(21:23):
obey the laws and to be subjectto those who are in authority
over us for wrath's sake, or, inother words, out of a fear of
the punishment that they caninflict.
We want to obey the laws of theland, first of all, because we
don't wanna suffer theconsequences of not obeying the
laws of the land.
In 1 Peter, 2, 13 through 17,peter writes therefore, submit
(21:45):
yourselves to every ordinance ofman for the Lord's sake,
whether to the king is supremeor to governors, as to those who
are sent by him for thepunishment of evildoers and for
the praise of those who do good,for this is the will of God
that by doing good you may putto silence the ignorance of
foolish men as free, yet notusing liberty as a cloak for
(22:06):
vice, but as bondservants of God, honor all people, love the
brethren, fear God and honor theking.
So we are to be obedient tothose who are in authority.
We are to be subject to the lawof the land out of the fear
that we have of the wrath thatthey have the power to inflict
upon us, because that power wasgiven to them by God.
(22:30):
Now, our second motivation forbeing subject to the governing
authorities is for consciencesake, not just out of fear, but
out of a desire to do what isright.
Romans 13, verses five throughseven, speaks to this.
When Paul writes.
Therefore, you must be subject,not only because of wrath, but
(22:51):
also for conscience sake, forbecause of this you also pay
taxes, for they are God'sministers attending continually
to this very thing.
Render, therefore, to all their.
In other words, the governmentexists for your good.
(23:15):
What does it say in the preambleto our Constitution?
We, the people, in order toform a more perfect union, to
establish justice and to ensuredomestic tranquility that means
the peace of our lives here athome right To provide for the
common defense, to promote thegeneral welfare and to secure
the blessings of liberty toourselves and our posterity to
(23:36):
ordain and establish thisconstitution of the United
States of America.
In other words, it's a socialcontract.
We agree to abide by these lawsfor the good of all.
So we are to be subject to thegoverning authorities because
ultimately, the governingauthorities are to work for our
good.
But in the absence of authority, there's chaos.
(23:59):
The Bible says that where thereis no revelation, the people
cast off restraint.
Or, in the King James, wherethere is no vision, the people
perish.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
The Christian life was never designed to be a solo
flight.
God designed us with the needfor relationships with others
who can encourage us in ourpersonal journey of faith.
Maybe you're listening todayand you don't have a home church
and this message ministered toyou.
Well, we'd like to take thistime to invite you to join us
for one of our worship services.
Calvary Chapel Southwest Metromeets each Sunday morning at
(24:35):
10.30 am and Wednesday eveningsat 7 pm.
Besides our Sunday morningservices, we have ministries for
children, men, women, couplesand youth.
To learn more about CalvaryChapel Southwest Metro, log on
to heaththewordorg.
That's heaththewordorg and whenyou get there, just follow the
(24:56):
link.
Or, if you'd like to talk withsomeone, give us a call.
Our phone number is817-447-5675.
That's 817-447-5675.
So visit the website or call ustoday.
Now we also want to encourageyou to review this study.
This study and many more taughtby Pastor Ken are available at
(25:19):
our website, heedthewordorg.
Many of Pastor Ken's teachingsare available in mp3 format.
You can also receive a CD copyof this message.
Simply log on to heedthewordorgand select the option for CD
requests.
The CD that you'll receive isthe full-length, unedited
teaching.
When you fill out the orderform, please keep in mind
(25:40):
today's date.
This helps us make sure that wesend you fill out the order
form.
Please keep in mind today'sdate.
This helps us make sure that wesend you the correct message.
Well, that's all the time wehave for today.
Please join Pastor Ken nexttime as he continues teaching
through our series entitledLessons for Christian Living,
right here on Heed the Word.
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