Romans 13:4-7
"...Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor."
All Christians live in the world with dual citizenship - as citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven and citizen of the nation on earth. The citizenship on earth is temporary, but we need to fulfill our duties and responsibilities, which includes paying taxes, as long as we live. Some scribes tried to temp Jesus by asking Him: "Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" Scribe was planning on making Jesus stumble, but Jesus replied wisely: "Then give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." In other word, we have various duties to fulfill while living on earth, and it is God's will for us to fulfill all righteousness and responsibilities.
Paul also said that we need to respect government; respecting means we need to communicate with it through proper channels. Although earth authorities are from God, they are often misused because of our sin. When that happens, the church needs to break the silence and express our position. We should not pressure the government to change through violence, but use appropriate methods to express our discontent. While we convey our faith, we should also respect the decisions that the government makes. Mutual respect is the right kind of relationship between church and government. The Bible, from the beginning to the end, teaches us to conditionally obey the government; when there is conflict between obeying God and obeying the government, we need to choose God and refuse to obey the governing authority.
In the Book of Acts, when Peter and John were arrested and taken to the officials, the scribes and those in the Sanhedrin threatened them to never preach the gospel of Christ again, and Peter responded: "We must obey God rather than men!" When they came forward to testify for the truth, they brought about great impact and the gospel was spread even more widely. Today, we don't need to avoid talking about politics in the church, because politics impact our daily life. In this day and age, we need to proactively be concerned with politics in order to be witnesses who are influential. May the Lord help us to often pray for the political leaders, ask God to give them a fearful heart while governing the country, so that we may live peacefully on earth.
Pray with Pastor Tong Liu
Lord, please give us a fearful heart so that we would pray for the government, and we ask that you make us good citizens in the world. Help us to fulfill our civil duties, but also to give wonderful testimonies for the truth, so please give us more strength. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!
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