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Romans 13
Sermons from Commons Church. Intellectually honest. Spiritually passionate. Jesus at the centre. Since 2014.
Because Romans 13 is not it was never a weapon for the powerful to wield. It was advice for life on the margins. Welcome to the commons cast. We're glad to have you here. We hope you find something meaningful in our teaching this week.
Speaker 1:Head to commons.church for more information. Welcome today. My name is Jeremy. If we haven't met, thank you for being here. It really is a big deal that you come and you worship with us, so thank you for that.
Speaker 1:We appreciate it. Last week, we wrapped up our first series of this new decade. We'll talk about that in a second. Today, we jump back into an old series from the last decade. For the past five years now, we have taken some time each year to look at the book of Romans.
Speaker 1:We've been working our way through it chapter by chapter, and I think we are now 24 sermons into this series at this point. But this year, we will actually finish the letter to the Romans. And if you remember all the way back five years ago to year one, I believe that in the first week of that first year of the first series, we covered the first verse of the book of Romans. And after that Sunday, I was worried whether we would actually make it through in five years, but here we are. Now still a lot of ground for us to cover in Romans over the next five weeks together.
Speaker 1:We are gonna look at chapters thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, and then we have one week to look back over the whole letter and recap. But before we get started today, I do want to say something. I wanna say thank you. Paul is not always the easiest author to work with, and Romans is certainly not his easiest letter to process. And one of the things I love about this community is the fearlessness with which we are able to tackle some of these more difficult or intense sections of our Bibles.
Speaker 1:And speaking of intense sections, we just finished a series called Swipe Right. We spent three weeks talking about sex for minds, bodies, and souls, and the feedback on that series was incredibly encouraging. The number of people who spoke with me and told me that they have heard of the Song of Solomon but have never actually heard it talked about in a church surprised me, although I get it. Sex and sexuality can be uncomfortable conversations and you really do need pastors like Bobby and myself that have very little in the way of personal filters. However, it is certainly better than your gym teacher in sweatpants who gave you the sex talk in high school.
Speaker 1:No? Maybe that was just me. But before we look back, let me say something here. Sexy is hard, and these conversations can be difficult for a lot of us. I hear that.
Speaker 1:I honor that. But more than that, I really do hope that you feel and you sense that you have nothing ever to be ashamed of in this room. That is not where we find joy. That is never where we will find our healing, and your story is absolutely without qualification welcome here. So with that said, let's look back on swipe right.
Speaker 1:In the first week, we talked about our brains, how we think about sexuality, and how we process an evolving sexual ethic that comes to us within the text of our Bibles, and how we begin the hard work of understanding the whole story so well that God can continue to guide us and lead us toward healthy faithful relationships in our lives today. In the second week, we talked about our bodies and what it means for us to live in our skin. We talked about how we can embrace and even learn to love the physical reality of what it means to be human within the particulars of our personal story. And then last week we looked at our souls. Bobby walked us through the story in the Gospel of John where Jesus meets a woman at a well.
Speaker 1:And that story in that culture would immediately conjure up thoughts of romance. Men meeting wives at wells was a common trope in Hebrew storytelling. But here Jesus does something surprising. He speaks with her but he invites her to own her story. He welcomes her.
Speaker 1:He honors her. And in that, he inverts our imagination. He takes a setting where the audience is conditioned to expect sex, and he gives them intimacy and conversation. And this is an incredibly important frame for our sexuality. That in some sense, every human interaction, even our worst moments are either an expression of or a bid for love.
Speaker 1:And so of course we have guarded our sexuality. Of course we have created rules and barriers and walls behind which we protect our sexuality, and not all of that is bad, but it's also why if we misplace the why and we begin to think that sex and desire are the problems we're trying to solve instead of the gifts that we are working to express well, then we actually end up doing terrible harm to ourselves. Sex is not your problem, disconnection is. And that can be bound up in all kinds of different ways. It can be the fact that we are told that our bodies are not enough.
Speaker 1:It can be the fact that we are afraid to open ourselves in vulnerable ways to each other. It can be the separation of our physical desires from our soul's need to be seen and known by another. But honest, free flowing conversations where you can bring your full self to the table free from any shame, this is where good sex begins for all of us. Now there is of course a lot more to be said. Three sermons are not enough and so we will find ourselves circling back here in the future.
Speaker 1:But as Bobby said last week, friends, therapists, pastors, all of these can be holy prophets in your life that can help you hear your story in new more truthful ways. So seek out those voices in your life and be good to yourself. Today, we find ourselves back in Romans at chapter 13. If you want to backtrack and find any of the previous sermons in this series, they are all available at youtube.com/commonschurch. You can subscribe there to follow along.
Speaker 1:But today, we are going to cover being for and against a persecution complex. What it means to be more than conquerors and finally, the final authority. First though, let's pray. Creator God, who has shaped each of us as full human persons. Persons with bodies and souls and emotions and desires.
Speaker 1:Persons with spiritual and relational and physical needs. Might you bring near to us the people who can help us become the most healthy whole versions of ourselves. Those who can listen well and speak truth. Those who can hold confidence and respect our boundaries. May you be present in all those you bring near to us.
Speaker 1:And as we turn now our attention back to this ancient letter to Rome, May we once again find ourselves here in these words, taught and shaped, discipled in the way of Jesus as we invite our friend Paul to share with us once again In the strong name of the risen Christ we pray. Amen. Okay. We are gonna dive right in today because that's kind of how Paul starts this new chapter anyway. But there are three sections in this chapter and we're gonna look at them all.
Speaker 1:They deal with government and taxes and love. And that third one might not feel like it fits with the other two for you but hopefully we'll see how Paul pulls them together. In chapter 13 verse one he writes, 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. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
Speaker 1:For rulers hold no terror for those who do right but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from the fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 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.
Speaker 1:Now, in a politically loaded time, Paul here writes some politically loaded words. And whether you think I'm talking about ancient Rome or today, you are correct. However, let's take a look at this because we're going to need to do a couple things here. We have to look at how this passage has been used badly, and then we're going to have to look at the larger context so that we can situate what Paul is really trying to say here. Before that though, my son is really into authorities these days.
Speaker 1:He's very concerned with who exactly is in charge of who in his life. He will develop these long and elaborate chains of command that we are supposed to follow in our house. Something like this from last night. Dad, you are in charge of Cedar, and I am in charge of you, and mom is in charge of me, but really my brain is in charge of my body, so I am in charge of everyone here. And in one sense, I am not sure that's how it works, but in another it also kind of is.
Speaker 1:So as badly as my son has misconstrued authority in our home, Romans 13 really has sadly been one of the most tragically misused passages in our Bibles. In fact, in our current political climate, it is actually quite tame compared to how this passage has been weaponized in the past. Recently, a famous pastor with a national profile in The United States claimed that these words here from Paul give the president moral authority to quote, take out foreign leaders as needed. He went on to say quote, the book of Romans is very clear. God has endowed rulers full power to use whatever means necessary.
Speaker 1:The authority to do whatever whether it is assassination, capital punishment or evil to quell the actions of evil doers. When asked, what about a page earlier when Romans 12 says do not repay evil with evil and he said simply does not apply. Now that might seem shocking for those of us with a predisposition towards the peace of Christ but the sad truth is those comments are actually pretty mild comparatively. Romans 13 was used by the apartheid government in South Africa to affirm their racist policies. It was marshaled by church leaders in Rwanda to uncritically support the genocide in that country.
Speaker 1:It was used by the German state church to legitimate the Nazi government under Hitler. On the screen right now is the flag of the German Christian movement that operated in Germany from 1932 to '45 with the stated goal of aligning the German state with Protestant Christianity. And seeing the Nazi symbol embedded in across the DC there representing the words Deutsche Christen, It is shocking, it's offensive, it's sad, but it is also part of our history. In fact one of the enduring expressions of Christian faith was a document called the Barman Declaration which was created in direct response to this movement. Figures like Karl Barth who went on to become one of the most if not the most important theologian of the twentieth century.
Speaker 1:German theologians like Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was eventually executed for his opposition to the Nazis contributed to the statement which had six theses. First, the source of revelation is only the word of God Jesus Christ. Any other possible sources including earthly powers will not be accepted by the church. Two, Jesus Christ is the only Lord of all aspects of our lives. There shall be no other authority.
Speaker 1:Three, the message and the order of the church should not be influenced by the current political climate. Four, the church should not be ruled by a leader or a fuhrer. There is no hierarchy within the church. Five, the state should not fulfill the task of the church or vice versa and therefore, six, the Barmlin declaration rejects. First, the subordination of the church to the state and second, the subordination of the word and spirit to the church.
Speaker 1:Now notice the beauty of how this declaration is constructed because not only does it say that the church should not be the servant of the state, it also ends with the statement that the word which is already defined in the first theses as Jesus and the spirit which reveals Jesus to us must not ever be subordinate to the church. In other words, as Christians our allegiance is no authority not even the church. Whether that's here, this church in this room or the state church in Germany, our allegiance, our worship is only ever given to Jesus. And so these Christians including Bonhoeffer who was executed for this declaration, they were persecuted specifically because of their opposition to authority grounded in their reading of Romans 13. So how can one passage be used both to support and oppose the government?
Speaker 1:Well, for that we need to do some digging. Because one of the things we first need to understand here is the context within which Paul writes this letter to a small Christian community in Rome living in the shadow of a hostile authority. Remember tradition tells us that Paul was eventually executed by this authority here in this city less than a decade after writing this letter. But at this point in history it is not likely that Christian persecution was widespread or systematic in Rome. It was more likely localized and sporadic.
Speaker 1:Now the book of Romans is probably being written in the mid to late fifties. Revelation is probably being written in the late eighties, but even by then we read in a section called the seven letters that some communities are facing terrible persecution. Other communities are doing quite well in Revelation. They're wealthy and they're comfortable and they want to stay that way. So persecution of Christian communities in the first century was real but it was not necessarily organized.
Speaker 1:In fact one of the big moments of persecution we do know a lot about was the great fire of Rome. In '64 of the common era, a huge fire breaks out in Rome, lot of the city burns, and the people begin to turn on the emperor who is Nero at the time. They don't think he's done a good job managing the crisis and he needs a scapegoat to divert attention, and he blames the Christians. This is known as the first great persecution. But the thing is, at this point, Rome doesn't really care about Christianity all that much, at least not yet.
Speaker 1:They just need an easy scapegoat they can blame things on. And so after the tensions die down and fire is forgotten, Christianity is kind of ignored again as evidenced by the book of Revelation. And so it's important we understand that because that is the context that Paul is writing to here. There is localized sporadic persecution of the Christian communities but for the most part the church in Rome is able to fly below the radar here. And Paul knows this.
Speaker 1:In Romans five Paul writes, we boast in the hope of God but not only that, we also glory in our sufferings. For we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, character, hope but our hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the spirit. A little later in chapter eight he returns to this theme. He says, for who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Oppression, distress, peril, persecution, the sword?
Speaker 1:No. In all of these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us first. And sometimes I see people quote this passage and they'll be like, yeah, that's right. I am more than a conqueror. And I'm always like, no.
Speaker 1:That's not what he's saying here. Conquerors aren't being celebrated. They're the ones who are stepping on the throats of the people he is writing to. What he's saying is you are more than a conqueror. You're something different than a conqueror.
Speaker 1:In Christ, you are a new creation proof that there is a new way to live in the world. In fact, he goes on to say in the very next verse, for I am convinced that neither death nor life nor angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all of creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God. What he's saying is that these conquerors that surround you, they aren't as powerful as they think they are. And you, you are more than all of that. So yes, there's persecution in Rome.
Speaker 1:Paul is aware of it. Paul speaks to it throughout the letter but it's not this widespread systematic persecution we might imagine when we think of those weird left behind books. With all of that in the background, all of a sudden Paul's guidance to Rome in chapter 13 starts to make a little more sense. Because Paul is not someone who is in love with the authority of the Roman Empire. All of his writings are shot through with challenges to Roman Imperial theology.
Speaker 1:We opened this series five years ago talking about one of his favorite greetings, grace and peace. That was a direct challenge to the slogan of the Roman Empire which was peace through victory. As we mentioned, he is eventually executed by the Roman state for his opposition to Roman oppression. But, in the context of sporadic localized spontaneous violence like there was in Rome at the time, what is his advice to his friends here? It's essentially keep your head down.
Speaker 1:Play by the rules as long as you can and don't bring more attention to yourself than you need to. Now we'll talk about when you need to in a second here. Understand that when Paul says there is no authority except that which God has established, that is not an endorsement of Rome, it is an endorsement of the Christ who supersedes Rome. And when Paul adds consequently whoever rebels against the authority will bring judgment on themselves. This is not an endorsement of that judgment as if it was a good thing.
Speaker 1:This is a caution against throwing your life against the wall needlessly. Romans 13 is Paul saying, you live in an unjust world. You live under an unjust system and your job is to bring light and love into all of that wherever you can, but please choose your battles wisely. Because you are more than a conqueror, Which means your job is not to fight violence with violence or hatred with hatred or evil with evil. Your job is not to pit one empire against another.
Speaker 1:Your job is to be a living breathing counter narrative within your community that challenges everything the empire stands for. Just look at the last words of chapter 12 as Paul launches into this argument about authority. He says, do not, never repay evil to anyone with evil. If it's possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. If your enemy is hungry, feed him.
Speaker 1:If your enemy is thirsty, give him something to drink. Do not be overcome by evil around you but overcome evil with good. Because for Paul, this is the Christian story in the face of authority as ones who follow the way of peace. We are called to embody an alternative rooted in the lordship of Christ, salt and light that brings out the divine flavor and color all around us covered up always. And so now it's not surprising that Paul will acknowledge the good that a government can do.
Speaker 1:He says they are God's servants agents of wrath to being punishment on wrongdoers in verse four. He says this is why you should pay your taxes in verse six. Give to everyone what you owe. If you owe taxes pay them. If respect, respect.
Speaker 1:If honor, if honor. Because Paul isn't against the Roman Empire. He's not against anyone. Paul is for Jesus which means he is for everyone. And it's only when his fourness rooted in the love of Christ is then challenged or hindered or blocked or arrested that Paul calls for conflict with those who oppose human flourishing.
Speaker 1:And this is why as a church, here we can work together with the government of Canada to facilitate the resettlement of refugees. It's not because we endorse the empire that surrounds us. It's because when we can live at peace and we can be for those in need, we celebrate that. It's also why at the same time we can protest the treatment of indigenous persons at the hands of the same government. We why we can call for truth and reconciliation to prevail because our allegiance is not is never to the authorities that rule over us.
Speaker 1:This is why a man who once said whoever rebels against the authority God has instituted will bring judgment on themselves could also be the same man who would bring the full judgment of the Roman Empire upon himself when he needed to. Because Romans 13 is not, it was never a weapon for the powerful to wield. It was advice for life on the margins. It was guidance offered to a vulnerable community in the hopes that the powers might be would provide enough space for them to flourish. And sadly, that is not what happened.
Speaker 1:Less than a decade later, Nero had come to power and it was these same Christians who had done their best to live at peace, who were scapegoated and persecuted. They were turned on exactly like their Christ. Maybe that makes you think that Paul was a little naive here, but that's not the word I would use. Because I think Paul saw the beauty and the good of a community that sought to live at peace whenever possible. But I think he also recognized the intoxication of power that often prevents those in authority from seeing difference as beauty.
Speaker 1:And so look at the way he transitions out of his authority's argument. He defers to those in power where he can. He acknowledges the good that can come from Rome. He agrees that you should pay your taxes. And then he does something really interesting here.
Speaker 1:He says, Let no debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love one another. For whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, all of them are summed up in this one command. Love your neighbor as yourself for love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore, is the fulfillment of law.
Speaker 1:Now, hopefully this is familiar. Right? We spent the entire fall directly in the words of Jesus but notice the unusual connections Paul is making here. First he says, if you owe taxes pay your taxes and then he says let no debt remain outstanding except love. He says let everyone be subject to the governing authority and then he says love does no harm to a neighbor therefore love is the fulfillment of law.
Speaker 1:And we've heard this before. It's central to Jesus teaching but here in Romans all of it carries a double entendre doesn't it? Because, yes, the law is Torah, but here in Romans, especially in chapter 13, law is also the authorities. The laws that govern us, the rules, and the regulations imposed on us. And Paul has no problem with those assuming we understand them in their place.
Speaker 1:Because Paul knows that even when we do our best to live at peace, and even when we try to follow the laws that surround us, there may come a time when the law of the land contradicts our commitment to love. And when that happens, Paul is under no illusions. The church in Rome here is clear. It is love that supersedes the legal. Because Paul is hopeful but he is not naive.
Speaker 1:And Paul is optimistic but he is not foolish. Paul longs for peace wherever it can be found but never at the expense of the lordship of Christ or the love of neighbor. You see, if you take this section and you back things up and you read chapter 13 in the context of this whole letter to a persecuted church in the shadow of an empire, you begin to hear something very different than you do when you read this letter from the perspective of the empire. And this is often key to reading Paul. His letters are so specific and personal.
Speaker 1:They speak to very concrete times and places in history and the location from which we read them is almost as important as the words on the page. Because our understanding is born from our ability or inability to put ourselves in the shoes of those receiving them. So let me leave you with a reading of this section that is inspired by the work of Sylvia Kiesmat and Brian Walsh in their book Romans Disarmed. This is not so much my attempt to translate this passage but an attempt to read this or hear this as it might have been received some two thousand years ago. Dear friends, in dangerous times like these, remember this always.
Speaker 1:Do not be overrun by evil, but instead choose to overcome evil with good. For you are more than a conqueror, and peace is in the end always more powerful than war. Reconciliation surpasses revenge and generous hospitality. It can disarm even the worst enmity. But what about this empire that surrounds us?
Speaker 1:Those principalities and powers that threaten to overwhelm us and the menace of violence that looms over us all the time. Can we really be obedient to Christ in one moment and then to the war machine of the state in the next? Well, here's my advice to you. The state has no authority in itself at all. All the power it seems to wield it comes from the very Christ its violence betrays.
Speaker 1:And so while we grant no ultimate authority to the state, we should be wise around it. It does after all bear the sword and though it may present itself as benevolent, the taser guns and the stun grenades, the tear grass and lethal force, they all come out pretty quickly, especially if you don't look like them. So choose your battles wisely, and don't expose your vulnerable neighbors needlessly. Power should be feared as long as we don't allow fear the last word. So we live alongside all of our earthly authorities but we subject them always to Jesus the Messiah.
Speaker 1:All judicial rulings, all constitutions, all executive orders, all subject to the law of love. A law rooted in the radical tradition of Torah. A law that supersedes all those who grasp at power For this is how the gospel undermines, subverts, and transforms the very foundations of the world. That all laws become subject to this law, Christ's love. Amen.