Political Duties of the Christian
Teacher
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Lesson 11
BASIC BIBLICAL TEXT
Romans 13.1-7
BASIC BIBLICAL TEXT
1Let 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. 3For 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.
Romans 13.1-3
BASIC BIBLICAL TEXT
4For 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. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. 6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Romans 13.4-7
GOLDEN TEXT
Romans 13.10
Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.
AIMS
* Recognize the importance of submitting to the authorities;
* Demonstrate the virtues of Christian character in society;
* Practice agape love.
INTRODUCTION
The theme of love continues in Rom 13 and extends to the areas of duty and civil responsibilities. Respect for civil authorities and the payment of taxes are part of Christian civil duty. Paul reminds Christians that the essence of the commandments is love; whoever loves, therefore, fulfills the Law (Rom 13:8).
Paul interrupts his discussion of agape love to clarify that the conflict between agape love and civil justice is not to be interpreted in terms of antitheses, but in terms of attitudes that are complementary.
1. THE BASIS OF CHRISTIAN LOVE AND ETHICAL DUTIES
1.1. AGAPE LOVE
For Paul, as for John (1 John 4:7-10), agape is God's essential nature, His redemptive goodness concretely expressed on the cross (Rom 5:8). It is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit and thus is the supreme and all-encompassing gift of the Spirit.
In chapters 12 and 13, Paul outlines his practical response to the righteousness of God manifested in the life of the Christian. He makes a general application of agape love as the main characteristic of the Christian life, highlighting how this principle manifests itself both inside and outside the Christian community.
The expression "all Israel" (Rom. 11:26) must be understood correctly: it is not a reference to each Jew individually; rather, it is an allusion to the group of Jews who voluntarily received Jesus as Messiah and submitted to the plan of redemption offered in Christ.
1.2. Christian ethics based in God’s grace
Again and again in Paul's letters doctrinal exposition is followed by ethical instruction (Eph 4:1). Here, almost abruptly, the definition of the transition from doctrine to exhortation occurs. For years, Paul had been in controversy with the Pharisee element in Christian communities, which placed great importance on the Mosaic Law. He had written the Letter to the Galatians and the Second Letter to the Corinthians in the heat of this controversy.
In Corinth, staying in the house of Gaius (Rom. 16:23), one of the few who personally baptized (1 Cor. 1:14), Paul had free time and peace. This was the opportunity to define, systematically, the conclusions to which the Spirit had guided him regarding the question between Christ and the Law. All the apostle does, therefore, is to indicate the general way in which the Spirit of Christ leads the believer to behave both within the church and in society at large (Gal 5.22,23).
1.2. Christian ethics based in God’s grace
1.3. Virtues must be preserved
Paul is concerned with the practice of the virtues that characterize Christians before civil authorities and society in general. In Corinth, Christians were destroying unity and ministry because they misused spiritual gifts.
They exercised these gifts as a means of personal advancement, not as a means of building up the Church. They also emphasized the gifts as an end, and therefore the gifts lost their spiritual virtues. They had all the gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor 1.4,7), but they lacked the fruit of the Spirit, composed by: love, joy, peace, kindness, longsuffering, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance (Gal 5.22).
2. FREEDOM THAT ACTS IN LOVE
2.1. LOVE APPLIED TO THE GOVERNMENT
Love is what makes everyone confess that Jesus is Lord (Rom 10:9). Having confessed Jesus as Lord, these same people are still obliged to obey the earthly authorities, since subjection to Christ is also manifested in the sphere of obedience of each citizen to the constituted authorities.
The two main divisions of the epistle to the Romans correspond to the difference between kerygma (the proclamation of God's salvation in Christ) and didachê (instructions given to believers, particularly in the area of ethics) found throughout the New Testament.
2.2. Freedom in love fulfills the law
In Romans 13:8, Paul takes up the theme of love, presented as an exhortation in chapter 12:9-21. In the text, he presents an important definition of the relationship between ágape (unselfish love) and nomos (law); for, according to the usual understanding in antiquity, love embraces that which is the meaning of the Law (Rom. 13:10).
No Christian should be recognized for the gifts he exercises, but for the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit is generated, comes from within, is in continuous development, is an expression of the character of Christ and identifies with who we are; the gifts, with what we do.
2.3. Freedom to be a live sacrifice in love
In the dispensation of the Law, ancient religion centered on the sacrifice of a dead animal, offered for sin and disobedience before reconciliation in order to obtain it. In the dispensation of grace, God offered His beloved Son out of love (John 3:16), to grant humanity perfect reconciliation (Rom. 5:8-11).
The text of Romans 12:1 is the connecting link between the two parts of the epistle. With "body" (soma), as opposed to flesh (sarx), Paul refers to people as full and total being. The body must now become an organ and instrument of God. "To present the body" is practically the same as to present ourselves to God, for it is only through our bodies that the world acts upon us; and we, over the world.
The sacrifice of atonement offered by God in the person of His Son must now find a response in the full consecration of the believer. The born-again person must live in complete consecration and intimate communion with the Lord, living a life according to the fruits of righteousness.
3. ETHICS IN PRACTICE - WAITING FOR SALVATION
3.1. CONSCIOUS OBEDIENCE
Surely the apostle would agree that Christian conscience might lead him to say, like Peter and John: We ought to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29; Acts 4:18-21). This can exceptionally occur when a ruler's actions collide with Kingdom principles and God's sovereign will.
Under normal circumstances, the Christian's duties to constituted authorities, and to each individual person, are clear: we are to obey the law, knowing that this law is ultimately established by God and that human rulers are his. ministers for the benefit of human beings (Rom. 13:1-7).
3.2. Waiting for consummation
The apostle concludes his exhortation by reminding us that Christians are to live a life according to the new age, which is about to arrive, in its glory, with the coming of Christ (Rom. 13:11, 12).
We must not be conformed to the scheme of the present age; our mind (nous) must be transformed into harmony with God's new age (Rom. 12:2). "Knowing the time", we do not behave like those who do not know that the end is near.
It is possible to submit to governmental authority and at the same time refuse to be conformed to this world. Both actions express God's will (Rom. 12:2).
3.3. Clothed in Christ
In Paul's terminology, the entire Christian life can be described in the action of "putting off" and "putting on." The process begins with justification and baptism into the Body of Christ (Rom. 6:3,4).
The Christian must be in tune with the fact that he must put off the works of darkness and put on the weapons of light.
We need to put on the weapons of light, revealing our true identity in Christ, behaving in an ethically appropriate manner, and becoming weapons in the Lord's hands in the day-to-day battle and in the final eschatological battle. The exhortation as a whole is summed up in a brilliant sentence: But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and be not mindful of the flesh in its lusts (Rom. 13:14). In this powerful Pauline exhortation, the real meaning of serving God through His beloved Son can be highlighted in practice.
CONCLUSION
Chapter 13 of the letter to the Romans highlights that the righteousness of God in the life of the Christian, provided by Jesus Christ, must be manifested in the streets and in society on a daily basis. Authentic Christianity is evidenced in the personal practice of the fruits of God's righteousness.
This applies in the relationship with the people around us, in the fulfillment of political obligations, in the respect for the authorities, in the love of our neighbor, not being tax evaders and not letting ourselves be contaminated or dominated by the passions of the world. Practical justice is what manifests itself in the reality of daily life on the streets and in society.
GOD BLESS YOU!
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