God and Government
God
“The authorities that exist have been establishes by God. For he is God’s servant to do you good.”
(Romans 3:1)
Governments are raised up and taken down for the purpose of God. If we have a dishonest, oppressive government, rest assured it is for a purpose. But, be of good cheer…it will only last as long as it is needed.
Government
“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees…What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run? Yet for all this, his (God’s) anger is not turned away.” (Isaiah 10:1)
No government or authority is exempt from the purpose, blessing and wrath of God!
The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar was not a righteous king, but he was raised up to punish Israel for their rebellion against God. God said he would rule over Israel for 70 years. After 70 years Babylon was punished for its ruthlessness.
Pharaoh was the most powerful man of his time. Egypt had oppressed the Israelites for 400 years and Pharaoh was told to let the people go. He would not listen. He was killed…and Egypt was ruined.
Herod made a speech. He believed the chant of the crowd:“This is the voice of God, not a man.” He did not give God the credit and was eaten by worms. (Acts 12)
Christ
One interesting thing about the life and teaching of Jesus is that he did not get involved in politics…except to expose the sin of authorities (politicians). Jesus called Herod a fox. He called the Pharisees hypocrites, snakes and whitewashed tombs. He accused them of following traditions instead of God’s law. And, He did not resist his own illegal arrest…because of his stated purpose to die for the sins of the world.
Christ-Like
The word Christ means “anointed one”. If we are to imitate Christ, is it reasonable to react to government as an anointed one sent from God. (II Cor. 2:17) This sounds arrogant, but it is very simple. We are set apart by God to deliver a message from God!
When we boldly deliver the message (good or bad), we will have the same result…some will listen, some will ignore and some will want to destroy the messenger.
But, the messenger must deliver the message!