Submission to Governing Authorities

By Tony V. Hammack

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Romans 13:1-7
1 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. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.  3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 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. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.  5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.  6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

1 Peter 2:13-17
13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. 16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.

Introduction
Does this mean we shouldn’t appose any political leader? Do we really believe that government officials have unlimited authority to do anything they want without opposition?

For example, what if our leaders decided to resurrect the old custom of sacrificing your children to the Cananite sun god Molech worshiped throughout the ancient Near East. Would you think God would want you to submit to this?

Adolf Hitler
Hitler wisely embraced Romans 13 to give him unquestioned power by the majority of German Christians.

Sing a Little Louder by Penny Lea
"Week after week that train whistle would blow. We would dread to hear the sound of those old wheels because we knew that the Jews would begin to cry to us as they passed our church. It was so terribly disturbing!  We could do nothing to help these poor miserable people, yet their screams tormented us. We knew exactly at what time that whistle would blow, and we decided the only way to keep from being so disturbed by the cries was to start singing our hymns. By the time the train came rumbling past the church yard, we were singing at the top of our voices.  If some of the screams reached our ears, we'd just sing a little louder until we could hear them no more. Years passed and no one talks about it much anymore, but I still hear that train whistle in my sleep.  I can still hear them crying out for help.  God forgive all of us who called ourselves Christians, yet did nothing to intervene."

So, there are limits to human authority. A father has authority in his home, but does this give him power to abuse his wife and children? An employer has authority on the job, but does this give him power to control the private lives of his employees?  A pastor has overseer authority in the church, but does this give him power to tell employers in his church how to run their businesses? The answer to all three questions is obviously NO! All human authority is limited in nature. No man is to have unlimited authority over the lives of other men. (Lordship belongs to Christ)

Obedience to the government must never be in violation of the law of God.
Acts 4:19
But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges!

Acts 5:29
Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men!”

The Government referred to in the Bible punishes the wrongdoer and commends the one who does right. (Romans 13:3; 1 Peter 2:14)
What is a Christian to do when the government punishes the innocent and Godly while commending the evil?

Romans 13:5 means we must think and reason for ourselves regarding the justness and rightness of our government's laws. Obedience is not automatic or robotic. It is a result of both rational deliberation and moral understanding.

The essence of God’s creation accounts for the liberty built into the conscience of mankind. He has a duty to act when he knows what is right.

If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. (James 4:17)

We know from scripture that there is coming a world leader referred to as the Anti-Christ. The abomination that causes desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel. (Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14)

Antichrist’s Rule Reaches Globally using Finance
It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. [Revelation 13:16-17]

As a Christian should you submit to the Anti-Christ’s government and receive the mark? In this environment the responsibility falls on the individuals in this system to object to the law being carried out.

Revelation 14:9-11
9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

The constant theme throughout the scriptures is the higher powers of government are to promote good and punish evil. Governments that do the opposite are not to be honored.

In order for their to be a world government there must be an agenda to dissolve national sovereignty. In order to have a new world order patriotism and national sovereignty in every nation must come under attack and eventually be dissolved.

The nations with the most resources and power should be the least likely to hand over their sovereignty. Why would they want to? The playing field must be leveled for this agenda to fly in the minds of the worlds richest nations.

This list is based on 2008 GDP figures
1. USA 14.265 Trillion up 2.65%
2. Japan 4.924 Trillion up 12.3%
3. China 4.402 Trillion up 30.1%
4. Germany 3.668 Trillion up 10.4%
5. France 2.866 Trillion up 10.5%

The United States Constitution is under attack by the spirit of the Anti-Christ in order to usher in a world government.

There are enemies outside of our nation but also enemies within our nation trying to dissolve the authority of the Constitution.

"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and he carries his banners openly. But the traitor moves among those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not (as a) traitor, he speaks in the accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their garments, and he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of a city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to be feared." - Cicero, 42 B.C.

New World Order is a term used to describe the uniting of the world's superpowers to secure and maintain global peace, safety, and security.

The New World Order agenda is detailed in documents from the Council of Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission, Bilderberg Group, Club of Rome, United Nations, World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.

Peace and Safety
The Day of the Lord
1 Thessalonians 5:3
While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

There will always be a clash between citizens who try to follow God’s laws and tyrants who try and go against God’s laws.

U.S. National sovereignty is going to come under attack. Do we take the position that well, it’s going to happen and there’s nothing we can do about it? The Antichrist is going to rule the world. Or do we stand up for our Nations sovereignty defending the Constitution of the United States?

What if it’s Hitler knocking at the door and not the Anti-Christ?

All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. ~Edmund Burke

Since our form of government is a representative republic the real authority in our government is delegated to our elected officials by the people. Their responsibilities are overseen by the Constitution of the United States.

In America, the U.S. Constitution is the "supreme Law of the Land." Under our laws, every governing official, civil servant and soldier, publicly promises to submit to and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Romans 13:1-7 to a U.S. Citizen
1 Let everyone be subject to the [Constitution of the United States], for there is no authority except that which God has established. The [Constitution of the United States] has been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the [Constitution of the United States] is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For the [Constitution of the United States] holds no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the [Constitution of the United States]? Then do what is right and you will be commended.  4 For the [Constitution of the United States] is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for the [Constitution of the United States] does not bear the sword for no reason. It is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the[Constitution of the United States] not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.  6 This is also why you pay taxes, for those authorities that serve the [Constitution of the United States] are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Furthermore, Christians, above all people, should desire that their elected representatives submit to the Constitution, because it is constitutional government that has done more to protect Christian liberty than any governing document ever devised by man.

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2007/cbarchive_20070810.html

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