Listen to the Word of God: 62 Scripture passages that refute 'Christian' Nationalism - #38 Romans 13:1-4

 

Romans 13:1-4 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

You might be surprised to see Romans 13:1-4 in this series given that it is the passage most commonly cited by "Christian" Nationalists themselves to justify their subservience to whichever human authority (including those which commit great evil) they have hitched their wagon to.  

The thing is, Paul isn't advocating here for a union of Church and State, far from it.  What Paul is talking about is much more akin to Jesus', "give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s." (Matthew 22:21)  What Paul is teaching is that the idea of human authority, including governmental authority, ultimately comes from God.  We have not been called by the Gospel to become anarchists, it doesn't matter if that impulse comes from the Right or the Left, it is fundamentally contrary to God's design for human society.  Any Rand was wrong about this, along with much else. {The Philosophy of Ayn Rand: Hatred of the authority of God, a post I wrote, ironically, just as the COVID pandemic was starting and governmental authority would be a major worldwide topic}.

Nowhere in Paul's words does he envision a union between the governmental authority established by God with the Bride of Christ.  Given Paul's very negative history with the Sanhedrin, a group that had compromised its moral authority beyond recognition to wield power under both Herod and the Romans, and the Church's understanding of the Roman Empire as the greatest danger facing early believers, we would not expect Paul to be someone who would want to see religious and political authority working hand-in-glove.  Yet, it was not personal experience, or practical reasons, that held Paul back from proposing that the followers of Jesus Christ seek political power in his name, it was his respect for the providential design of God's will, a design in which God's people had all the power they would ever need to change the world in servanthood.

We can have a conversation about what Christian theology has to say about rebellion, revolutions, and non-violent resistance, and we should include Romans 13:1-4 in our study of God's Word with respect to these topics, but we would be dishonoring God's Word if we allowed these words of Paul to be used to justify turning our backs on the evil that governments do, especially when those governments wrap themselves in a Christian flag.

Sermon Video: "how to live in order to please God" - 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2

In this text, the Apostle Paul establishes two key truths that we take for granted, but that would have been mind-blowing in the Ancient Near East: (1) We can KNOW how to please God, and (2) we can please God in the way in which we live.

Now, Paul makes this assertion by building on the foundation of salvation by grace through faith.  One cannot please God without the forgiveness of sins and the relationship that faith creates.  

How do we know what pleases the Lord?  His Word tells us.  Who can please the Lord?  Every man, woman, and child who comes to Jesus Christ by faith, who is empowered by the Holy Spirit, and who is joined together into a community of fellow disciples.

Listen to the Word of God: 62 Scripture passages that refute 'Christian' Nationalism - #37 Romans 12:17-21

 

Romans 12:17-21 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

On April 7, 2026, the President of the United States wrote on Truth Social, "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again." He was speaking of the 90 million people of Iran.  Much to the relief of the world, the genocide threatened by President Trump did not happen.  That it might have is yet another reason why the Church and the Gospel cannot possibly make alliance with any kingdom of this world.  This grandiose vision of death and destruction is not what we have been called to as followers of Jesus Christ.  In fact, our calling is very nearly the opposite of this: turn the other cheek.

The efforts of Pope Leo, among others, to advocate for the Christian interest in peace were loudly mocked by those in the political realm, with some proclaiming that politicians know better about what the Bible teaches about war.

The kingdoms of this world, whether in this current moment or in generations past, operate using tools and methods, even when they stop well short of the mass slaughter of genocide, that are not permissible to followers of Jesus.  Their ways are not our ways.  The kingdoms of this world make moral compromises for their own benefit, those are choices that are not permissible for followers of Jesus Christ.  Their priorities are not our priorities.  The kingdoms of this world view other nations on a spectrum from ally to enemy, a self-interested scale that often shifts {Consider America's history with our first foe England who later after another war in 1812 shifted to become our staunchest ally}.  By contrast, those who are in Christ have been called to look at humanity without these labels, to view all people as either those who are our brothers and sisters in Christ to whom we owe loving fellowship, or as those with whom we have been called to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Enemies?  Only if they choose to be, we'd rather they accept God's grace and join us in fellowship.

Are the Iranian people the enemy of Jesus Christ?  No.  Are they the enemy of Christianity?  No.  Are they the enemy of the Gospel?  No.  Our response as followers of Jesus Christ in all three cases is to do what is noble, just, and good with respect to the Iranian people.  'Christian' Nationalism stands ready to choose sides in conflicts great and small and, "root, root, root for the home team," but they are wrong, our calling is much higher and much nobler than the whims of geopolitics. 

Sermon Video: A Prayer for a Church that is already Standing Firm- 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Having learned from Timothy that his worst fears (see previous sermon in this series) had not come about because the church at Thessalonica was actually doing well in his absence, the Apostle Paul shifts to thanksgiving and prayer.  

When a church is already standing firm, what prayer need does it have?

Paul offers three possible needs: (1) outside support and encouragement, (2) overflowing love, and (3) blameless devotion to God.

Sermon Video: Labor Not in Vain - Paul's concern for a church, 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5

In sharing his own anxiety over their well-being with them, the Apostle Paul opens up to the church at Thessalonica by telling them that his prolonged (unwanted) absence from them has caused him turmoil.  His reasons?  (1) The relationship that they have will be celebrated when Christ returns. (2) They needed his assistance, which meant sending them Timothy in Paul's stead. (3) Paul knew that they would be facing persecution. (4) He feared that temptation might have caused them to be unfruitful.  

Paul's openness demonstrates the importance to us of our relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ, the need that every local church has for its own version of Timothy to support and encourage it, and our collective reliance upon faith to overcome temptation.