by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Romans 13:1-7<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. I was recently asked if a Christian may serve in the government, particularly in jobs of a\npunitive nature, such as the police or the armed services.\n
A. There are several denominations which hold pacifist views.<\/p>\n 1. Some, such as Quakers, refuse to serve in any capacity where killing might\nbe involved.\n
2. Others, such as the Amish, reject all ties to civil authorities<\/p>\n B. I would like to broaden the question to whether a Christian may participate in\ngovernment\n
II. Upon whose authority does government exist?<\/p>\n A. Paul makes it very clear that governments exist by the authority of God – Romans\n13:1-2\n B. To argue that a Christian may not serve in government is to argue that government\noffices violate the will of God.\n C. Though Matthew left his job as a tax collector to follow Jesus, other tax collectors\nremained in their position\n
1. Zacchaeus was a head tax collector – Luke 19:2<\/p>\n 2. Zacchaeus repented of his sinful ways, but there is no indication that he left\nhis job – Luke 19:8-10\n
3. The tax collector was praised for his humility – Luke 18:13-14<\/p>\n
D. Paul sent greetings from Christians in Caesar’s household – Philippians 4:22<\/p>\n 1. According to William Barclay, the phrase does not mean those who were\nkin to Caesar. Caesar’s household was the imperial civil service with\nmembers throughout the world. The palace officials, secretaries, revenue\nofficials, and administrators were all members of Caesar’s household.\n
E. Recall the occupation of the Ethiopian eunuch – Acts 8:27<\/p>\n 1. Again there is no indication that eunuch was required to leave his position\nto become a child of God.\n
2. Another treasurer was Erastus – Romans 16:23<\/p>\n
III. What about positions that might involve killing?<\/p>\n A. Once again, Paul states that governments were granted the right of enforcement –\nRomans 13:4\n
1. True, vengeance belongs to God – Romans 12:19<\/p>\n 2. But government does not take its own vengeance, it was granted this\nauthority by God.\n a. Albert Barnes once said, “When a magistrate inflicts punishment on\nthe guilty, it is to be regarded as the act of God taking vengeance\non him; and on this principle alone is it right for a judge to condemn\na man to death. It is not because one man has by nature the right\nover the life of another, or because society has any right collectively\nwhich it does not as individuals; but because God gave life, and\nbecause he has chosen to take it away when a crime is committed,\nby the appointment of magistrates, and not by coming forth himself\nvisibly to execute the laws.”\n
b. It is a requirement of the covenant with Noah – Genesis 9:5-6<\/p>\n
3. Jesus in his discussion with Pilate confirmed this – John 19:10-11<\/p>\n
4. Peter also states that governments exist to punish the wicked – I Peter 2:14<\/p>\n
B. Again, we find examples of people in punitive occupations<\/p>\n
1. John’s instructions for repentance – Luke 3:7-14<\/p>\n a. Again notice that John did not include tax collectors or soldiers\nleaving their occupation to show proper repentance from sin.\n 2. Cornelius was described as a godfearing man while serving as soldier –\nActs 10:1-2\n a. True, at that time he was not saved, but nothing indicates that he\nleft his position after becoming a Christian.\n
3. The jailer in Philippi retained his position after his conversion – Acts 16:35-36<\/p>\n
IV. Objections<\/p>\n
A. What if the government is corrupt?<\/p>\n 1. Every action by human government will not be in accordance to the will of\nGod. – Ecclesiastes 5:8\n
2. Governments authority exist by the ordination of God<\/p>\n
3. Obedience to God exceeds obedience to government – Acts 5:29<\/p>\n
4. God judges the judges – Psalm 82:1-4<\/p>\n
B. What if it is not a “Christian” government?<\/p>\n
1. God does not give different laws to the Christian and non-Christian.<\/p>\n
2. Both are held to the same standard.<\/p>\n 3. If \n a non-Christian, acting as an agent for the government, can take a life \n without sin, then so may the Christian.\n
C. How can you love someone and take his life?<\/p>\n
1. Understand that loss of life is the result of sin being committed.<\/p>\n a. I might as well ask how can a parent punish a child if they love that\nchild – Hebrews 12:7-11; Proverbs 13:24\n
b. Does wicked deeds hold consequences or not?<\/p>\n
c. Paul did not object to just sentencing – Acts 25:11<\/p>\n 2. Remember that it was the law of Moses that taught Israel to love every\nman as himself – Leviticus 19:18\n a. The same era where God sent Israel to destroy the Amalekites – I\nSamuel 15:1-3\n
b. Obviously God did not see a conflict in these commands.<\/p>\n c. When a executor of justice did his duty, he incurred no guilt –\nNumbers 35:27\n
D. In a war you could have Christians fighting Christians<\/p>\n 1. True. As we said, every decision, including the decision to go to war, is not\nnecessarily just on a governments’ part.\n 2. It is up to the Christian to decide whether the war is justified or not –\nRomans 14:12\n 3. For example, war may not be used to spread Christianity – John 18:36; II\nCorinthians 10:3-6\n
a. Hence, the crusades were violations of God’s will<\/p>\n
E. Christianity is a religion of peace<\/p>\n
1. In prophecy of the Christian era – Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:9<\/p>\n 2. This was fulfilled in Jews and Gentiles joining in the Church – Ephesians\n2:14-16\n 3. It ought to take a lot to get a nation following Christian principles to go to\nwar. \n a. But we must recognize that all the world doesn’t follow\nChristianity.\n
b. Governments still have the right to defend its citizens.<\/p>\n c. We must do the best that we can, though peace may not always be\nreached – Romans 12:18\n
V. Individuals may decide that they are uncomfortable with executing judgment.<\/p>\n
A. This is fine – Romans 14:22-23<\/p>\n B. Yet, at the same time, it is clear that the Scriptures do not teach that a Christian\nmay not be involved in government, including its duties to execute judgment.\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 13:1-7 I. I was recently asked if a Christian may serve in the government, particularly in jobs of a punitive nature, such as the police or the armed services. A. There are several denominations which hold pacifist views. 1. Some, such as Quakers, refuse to serve in any capacity where killing…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[32],"tags":[310],"class_list":["post-61988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-government"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19633,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-are-conflicts-between-military-service-and-gods-will-handled\/","url_meta":{"origin":61988,"position":0},"title":"How are conflicts between military service and God’s will handled?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 28, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I read the article on your web site about\u00a0Christians and military service\u00a0written by a friend of yours. It's a question that I am grappling with right now. There are quite a few things in his article that I am compelled to question. One of them is the section under\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1440,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/may-a-christian-serve-in-government\/","url_meta":{"origin":61988,"position":1},"title":"May a Christian serve in government?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 22, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: May Christians serve as punitive agents, such as soldiers or policemen, for the civil government? Answer: There are several denominations which hold pacifist views. Some, such as Quakers, refuse to serve in any capacity where killing might be involved. Others, such as the Amish, reject all ties to civil\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93642,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/prayer-for-our-nation\/","url_meta":{"origin":61988,"position":2},"title":"Prayer for Our Nation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 2, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton \"Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving 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 is good and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17499,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/will-christians-go-to-heaven-after-killing-other-christians\/","url_meta":{"origin":61988,"position":3},"title":"Will Christians go to heaven after killing other Christians?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 20, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My wife and I had a discussion about Christians who participate in a war against another country that may have Christians in their army. The question is, will Christians go to heaven after killing other Christians? My wife asked me this many years ago, and I still don't have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35640,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/government-argues-businesses-are-secular\/","url_meta":{"origin":61988,"position":4},"title":"Government Argues Businesses Are Secular","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Source: Steven Ertelt, \"Obama Admin Tells Court: Hobby Lobby Must Obey HHS Mandate,\" LifeNews.com 01 November 2012. The government continues to push for change by insisting that businesses pay for birth control pills and \"morning after\" pills as a part of their employee's insurance plans, even if the owners of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Issues"","block_context":{"text":"Issues","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11368,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-right-for-a-soldier-to-kill-in-war\/","url_meta":{"origin":61988,"position":5},"title":"Is it right for a soldier to kill in war?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 18, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Shortly after my fiance and I get married I will deploy to Iraq for the first time. I, being an infantry soldier, am trained to kill. It has always been a major concern of mine to kill in war, and I wonder if this is a sin recognized by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61988\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}