God’s Servant for Good (7)

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, andgiving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this isgood and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior… 1 Timothy 2.1-3

A time to oppose
A cursory reading of Paul’s teaching about government from Romans 13 might leave the impression that whatever government demands of its people, they must be ready to perform. Some might believe Paul to be saying that we must obey whatever government tells us to do, and not resist its authority.

But that would be to misunderstand Paul’s view of government as a servant of God for good. As Paul himself demonstrated, and as Scripture teaches throughout, any government that goes beyond what God authorizes, or which ignores His good and perfect will, is susceptible to falling into corruption and decay. And at times it may be necessary to oppose such governments, even to disobey the demands they make of us (more on this in a later installment in this series).

This is especially the case where the promulgation of the Gospel is concerned.

Government and the divine economy
Whenever in Scripture governments positioned themselves in the way of God’s plan for His people and His economy for the world, those governments ended up with the short end of the stick. Pharaoh, the enemies of Israel, Nebuchadnezzar, Herod – all learned the hard way that you cannot flout the eternal purposes of God and expect to remain long in power.

Paul understood this well, and this is why he taught that civil governments should make it possible for people, and for Christians, to live peaceful and quiet lives, godly and dignified in every way.

The government we seek will be a Gospel-friendly government. It will understand that the Christian religion, contrary to the claims of some of its detractors, has been the greatest force for beauty, goodness, and truth in the history of the world.

It will understand that the wisdom and spiritual insight of the Scriptures far surpass all the noblest and best teachings of philosophers and religious thinkers from every age.

And it will not impose burdens on the Church that prevent her from seeking and advancing the Kingdom of God and the benefits of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit that Kingdom brings to all men (Rom. 14.17, 18).

Creating good government
But the government we seek – government which serves God and people according to His good purposes and plan – is not out there waiting for us to find it. The government we seek – lawful, good, selfless, wise, strong, and Gospel-friendly – will have to be created; and in this country that must be done by “we the people” who represent the bottom line of the civil order.

We are naïve and foolish to think that our existing government will “reform” itself to become the kind of government we seek. This government, like many governments, has strayed too far into the mode of self-perpetuation, self-aggrandizement, and self-indulgence to be willing to rein itself in in any kind of meaningful way.

“We the people” must work to secure the government we seek. That work begins in prayer, prayer for our existing government and political leaders, prayer for the kind of government we understand to be pleasing to God and beneficial to men, and prayer for our nation and its people, that we may wake up to the demands of good government before our weak and growing weaker government drags us over the brink of national disaster.

We must pray, and we must educate ourselves in a Biblical view of government, talk with one another and with our neighbors, become more involved in the process of creating the government we seek – and pray, pray, pray.

This country does not need to end up in the dust bin of history. It’s not too late to see God-honoring government at all levels in our society. But to gain that high objective we shall have to bend low on our knees, seeking the Lord daily for the kind of government we seek.

Next steps: For you, what next steps do you need to take in order to help our government become God’s servant for good? And if you do nothing, what can you expect? Share your thoughts and plans with a Christian friend.

T. M. Moore

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This week’s study, God’s Servant for Good, is part 2 of a 5-part series on The King’s Heart, a Biblical view of government and politics, and is available as a free download by clicking here. We cannot understand God’s view of government, or how to function in a political environment apart from faith in King Jesus and His rule. Order T. M.’s book The Kingship of Jesus  to supplement our studies of God and government..

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.