Sermon Title: The Christian’s Relationship to Civil Authority
Sermon Text: Romans 10:1-13
Sermon Summary: Civil authorities are instituted by God for our wellbeing and are to be obeyed unless they command what is contrary to his word. God also rules his people inwardly by transforming hearts through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Preacher: Rev. Dr. Christopher D. Jackson
Liturgical Date: Pentecost 15, Proper 18 A
Calendar Date: 2026-09-06
Location: Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church in Door County

Saint Peter’s serves Sister Bay and other locations in Northeast Wisconsin.

The following transcript has been cleaned and lightly edited with the assistance of AI:

TRANSCRIPT

Father and the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Today we are taking up the theme that civil authority is instituted by God for our wellbeing. La tema del sermon, la autoridad civil es instituida por Dios para nuestro bien. So today we are taking up that theme on the basis of our reading from Romans chapter 13. “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” And on the basis of this we’re going to be taking up three points. First of all, that civil authorities are instituted by God. That therefore, second point, civil authorities are to be obeyed insofar as they do not require anything contrary to the word of God. But then finally we’re going to be talking about the fact that God rules in another way besides the civil authorities. Rule not of external compulsion, but rather instead a rule of the heart by means of the gospel of Jesus Christ. A rule that he exercises over his people. So let’s think of that first point.

Civil Authorities Are Instituted by God

Civil authorities are instituted by God, and the scriptures are absolutely 100% clear about this. It doesn’t get any more clear than Saint Paul saying, “There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” Now I want you to take a look at the end of verse one there in Romans chapter 13. Let me ask you a question. Do you see an asterisk? Do you see a footnote? No. You see a period. They have been instituted by God, period. No ifs, no ands, no buts, no asterisks, no footnotes. God is Lord of all, and therefore nothing happens apart from His will. And when it comes to the government, when it comes to civil authorities, it is God who has established them in their place.

Now, in God’s wisdom, God does, on occasion, settle people into civil authority or groups into civil authority which are unrighteous and unholy, and go against the will of God. As Christians, we are very aware of this, and yet we understand that God has His purposes, which we may not fully understand. Think about the civil authorities in the time of St. Paul. St. Paul was very familiar with civil authorities in various ways. He, for example, was aware of the fact that the Jewish civil authorities brought Jesus forward in order for Him to be tried in front of Pontius Pilate, the Roman authority, and eventually killed. St. Paul wasn’t there, but St. Paul also knew of the fact that Pontius Pilate was an unrighteous man and had betrayed what is good and what is true. He knew that even while Pontius Pilate knew the truth that Jesus Christ had done nothing wrong, had no deserving of death in Him, yet he gave Him over to be crucified. Pontius Pilate knew this from the inside. Or rather, I should say, St. Paul knew this from the inside. St. Paul, after all, before he was converted to Jesus Christ, used the political system in order to extradite believers from Damascus, for example, from various places back to Jerusalem in order to be persecuted there. And in many ways, he was probably the right man for that job, both as a Jew and as a Roman citizen, and an educated one at that. He was able to play in both parts of that political system, and to his own evil ends. St. Paul understood that yes, there can be evil actors in civil authority, and they may do things and command things which are unrighteous, and yet St. Paul is convinced of this fact that they are all in that authority by the power of God, and their exercising of evil is contrary to the will of God, which God’s will is to bless us by means of their authority, which brings us to our second point.

Civil Authorities Are to Be Obeyed Insofar as They Do Not Command Anything Contrary to the Will of God

The civil authorities are to be obeyed insofar as they do not command anything contrary to the will of God. So God has established authority for a very clear purpose, that it may go well for us. We see this in His institution of authority, for example, in His discussion of authority in the fourth commandment, “Honor thy father and thy mother.” We’ve always understood that, by the way, to, yes, talk about the authority that father and mother have, but we also understand that this applies as well to all other forms of authority on Earth. And that’s the first command with a promise. Honor your father and mother, honor authority in order that it may go well with you all the days of your life. And I’m convinced Saint Paul has this in mind in part as he discusses the civil authorities, where he says this, that “Rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain.” And so therefore, we are called to obey civil authority externally in part so that things might go well. Things might go well for us, things might go well for those around us as well.

Through civil authority come things like traffic laws, which order our traffic so that we don’t go running into each other willy-nilly. Through civil authority comes the various laws by which we’re able to hold up a contract so that we can do business one with another in ways that are predictable and expectable and are down to our mutual wellbeing. Through civil authority comes protection from all kinds of powers which would seek to undo us. Through civil authority, for example, comes protection from fire which might consume our homes if it’s not suppressed, protection from criminals who would rob us and deprive us of the things that the Lord has given us for the upkeep of our bodies and for the wellbeing of those in our households as well. And it is for this purpose in part that Saint Paul encourages Christians to be obedient to authority. And notice St. Paul doesn’t really give, once again, much of an exception. Now there are ways in which clearly Christians are not called to obey civil authority in some matters. We’ll get to that in a minute. But that’s a very high bar that is there, right? It’s a very high bar. St. Paul doesn’t say, “Obey civil authority insofar as you like the person who is in authority.” Saint Paul doesn’t say obey civil authority insofar as you agree in your personal judgments with the various laws. He says, “Obey so it might go well with you, and as well so it might go well with others.”

It’s been a little concerning to me, quite frankly, that many Christians are appealing to various kinds of unscriptural things to work out for themselves various easings of conscience with regards to their relationship with the civil authorities, and with law. God’s Word will have none of it. God calls us to be obedient insofar as what we’re called to do does not expressly violate the will of God. And there’s precedent for this as Christians as well. In the time of the early church, there were things that were being commanded by the civil authority, which clearly did go contrary to the will of God. So for example, it was commanded by the civil authorities in the early Christian times, at various times and various places, to render pagan sacrifice, to sacrifice to the pagan gods, or to make an allegiance to Caesar as if he is God. He certainly claimed at times the title of the Son of God. And Christians refused to do this, and they refused to do this oftentimes to the shedding of their own blood. It’s a big reason why Christians were persecuted, were rounded up, were taken and were put in front of gladiators and wild animals in the various circuses, in the coliseums around the Mediterranean world. Christians refused to render unto Caesar what is God’s, even while they gladly rendered unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, including tax, revenue, honor, respect, and so on. And as Christians, we are called in like manner to do the same thing, to render these things to the civil authorities, but to never render to them anything that belongs to God alone. And the greatest thing that is owed to God above all is our hearts. We love the civil authorities and render them honor and respect, but we do not allow them to take a place in our hearts where only God ought to be. We do not make a God out of civil authorities, but instead we recognize that they stand under the one true God.

God Rules His People by the Gospel

And God rules over us therefore as Christians, yes, through civil authority, through the stick and the carrot of the law. And St. Paul talks about that, right? So he gives approval to those who do good. There is your carrot. And then he says, “But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain.” And there is the stick. But as Christians, we render obedience to the civil authorities for a far greater reason and a far greater purpose, not simply externally, of external compulsion, but rather out of internal desire to honor and to love God, who has established the civil authority. God rules over us Christians above all, not through the external compulsion of stick and carrot, but rather through the internal formation of the heart. God transforms our hearts by means of the Holy Gospel. Apart from the work of God, our hearts are cold, dead, set against one another, and set against God. But through the message of the forgiveness of God in Christ Jesus, the Lord transforms our hearts into hearts that then trust Him and love Him and have faith in Him, and that faith empowers us Christians to live as subjects in the civil realm in ways that other people cannot and do not.

One of my children is a student at the United States Military Academy at West Point. And something that’s been such a joy for me to see is the preponderance of Christian students there. There is a palpable Christian ethos on that campus, in many ways far more than many externally Christian campuses. And that doesn’t surprise me when you start to think about it. Because as Christians, those who trust in the Lord, therefore, we are able to serve in the civil realm in the way that others do not. We’re willing to sacrifice life for the sake of our fellow countrymen. We’re willing to trust God even in political situations we don’t agree with, because ultimately we know that God is in control. And therefore, a soldier, for example, can serve even when the political situation is something he doesn’t entirely understand or agree with, and yet he can serve, a Christian soldier, knowing that God is ultimately in power, and that His will be done, and that he does a good thing for the sake of his countrymen in terms of working for his defense.

And so my urging for you brothers and sisters in Christ is this: is to above all understand that your ultimate home is in heaven, and your ultimate king is the King of Kings, the Prince of Princes, the Lord of Lords, God in heaven. A God in whom you have faith, a God in whom you trust, and a God whom you love, and out of that faith and trust in Him, therefore seek to live to the well-being of those around you in the civil realm. As messy, as complicated as that can get, seeking to do good, not simply out of external compulsion, but rather out of love for the neighbor. And by this means, we Christians are able to live in the civil realm in ways that go beyond and surpass those who have no faith. In a minute we’re going to sing God Bless Our Native Land. And the very last phrase of that hymn is, “God save our state.” May this truly be the case. May it be the case that the Lord preserve our state, both the state and the national government. And may we as Christians be at the forefront of love for the neighbor and seeking a good civil life together. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.