Obey the Government?!

Well, today as we come to the Word of God, we're looking back to something we skipped

over from Titus chapter 3 verse 1.

Titus 3:1

And we're going to tackle this difficult subject of how we, as followers of Jesus, should relate

to the government.

We're in Titus chapter 3 verse 1 and Jesus is speaking through the Apostle Paul to Titus

Titus 3:1

and he says this, remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient.

Second, we have this tendency to disobey.

We have this tendency to break the law or at least to want to, to go against the rules.

We inherited this from Adam and it's so deeply embedded in us that even today, whenever a

new law is made that in any way restricts our freedom, there's that little voice inside

of us that just hates it.

Don't tell me what to do.

And we're tempted.

What would happen if I just don't do it?

Why is it that the forbidden is so alluring?

The answer, according to the Bible, is because it's forbidden and we are rebels by nature.

And so when we come to these instructions that are given to us in Titus chapter 3 verse 1,

Titus 3:1

we're naturally disinclined to accept them.

Don't tell me this, Pastor Josh.

I'm not listening.

I don't want to be accountable to this.

But these are the very words of King Jesus to us.

Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities.

To be obedient.

Do you feel the dislike for these words rising in your heart already?

Do you feel the inner lawyer emerging with a yes, but?

Yes, but?

Do you feel the inner weasel inside of you squirming to get away from the clear and obvious meaning

of these words?

He can't seriously mean that as a Christian, I must obey the government.

But what about?

But what if?

Can you feel the excuses rising to the surface?

There are a good many Christians who claim to stand on the word of God

and believe that every word of this Bible is inspired by God.

But when it comes to this verse and others like it,

it's as if they've made a few changes here.

Added a few exception clauses to the end.

Or for some, it's as if they've just stroked the phrase right out of their Bibles.

Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities.

To be obedient.

And we make all kinds of excuses.

Maybe these instructions aren't for me.

Well, who are these instructions for?

As I pointed out a few weeks back,

these instructions are for all Christians, all believers.

That's who Paul is referring to when he says,

remind them.

Remind the people.

If we look back up just a few verses before this to chapter 2, verse 14,

he was saying,

Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness.

And he's just flowing right on.

So Titus, teach these things to them,

the redeemed of Jesus that are there on the island of Crete.

Who should be subject to rulers and authorities and be obedient to them?

Not only them, but also us.

All Christians.

All of us who have been redeemed by Christ and belong to him should be subject to rulers and authorities.

Excuse number two.

Maybe submit just means to kind of, you know, have a submissive attitude.

Well, let's look at what all Christians are to do here.

There are two infinitive verbs given.

And I'm going to put the most literal, hyper-literal translation on screen

so you can see the original word order here.

This is the original word order in the Greek language.

Remind them to rulers and authorities to submit, to obey.

This word order helps us see that both submit and obey are meant to be taken together here.

They are both together.

What we are to do to rulers and authorities.

All Christians are to submit and to obey.

These words kind of explain each other.

They're almost like the left and the right of a stereo speaker coming at you.

And they help us know a little bit of these two words, what each other means.

What does he mean by be subject or submit?

He means to be obedient to.

In other words, he's not just telling us to have a submissive attitude,

but to actually obey rulers and authorities.

And what does it mean to obey someone?

I'm going to open this one up to the kids.

What does it mean to obey your parents' kids?

To do what they say.

So then what does it mean to obey the government?

To do what they say.

It's that simple.

Great.

So we've got the who and we've got the what so far.

All Christians, all followers of Jesus are to submit, are to obey.

Excuse number three.

Well, who are these rulers and authorities anyway?

How can we submit to them if we don't even know what they are?

Rulers and authorities.

Why do you think Paul uses two words here to describe who we're to submit to today?

I think it's the stereo thing again.

It's the left and the right speakers.

Parallel words that help convey that this is a general command about how we're to treat various authority figures that we may have in our various situations.

He could have simply said, remind the people to be subject to the emperor.

Or he could have said, remind the people to be subject to your city mayor or your town magistrate.

But it's not just one particular person that he has in mind here.

It's not just one type of ruler or authority figure that he has in mind.

It's rulers, authorities, plural.

Rulers and authorities, plural.

This conveys that this is a general command about how we are to treat any of the various authority figures that we may have in our location.

Paul could have even listed out all the possible positions that he knew about on the island of Crete here where Titus is.

He could have said, be subject and obedient to your mayor, to your law enforcement officers, to the judges, to your regional governor, and to your emperor.

But then what if he had missed one in a particular town where they have another name for something?

You've got to know that those Christians would be saying, oh, well, look, I don't have to submit to my local leader

because it only says these ones.

And so rulers and authorities, plural.

It's a general whom that lets us know that this applies to all kinds of authorities that we may find ourselves under,

not just those of a certain type.

So let's put this all together.

The who, the what, and the to whom.

Jesus Christ, speaking through the Apostle Paul, is commanding Titus to remind the Christians,

all the Christians on the island of Crete, to be subject to and obey the rulers and authorities.

And at this point, it's worth thinking about what that meant to them back then.

Who were the rulers and authorities of these people in this time when this was written?

Well, Crete had a good number of cities and towns on this island.

And even though the islanders had a reputation of being lawless, of lying, cheating, stealing,

they did have government.

They did have local leaders and rulers.

They had people in positions of authority.

They likely had some kind of ruling council or judge or magistrate or mayor or governor

in each of the cities and towns on the island.

And then on top of that, there would have been the provincial governor.

Crete was under the rule of the Roman Empire.

And the whole island, plus a little bit in North Africa, were part of one province.

And so they would have had their own provincial governor.

If you think back to the land of Israel, during the time when Jesus walked the earth,

there was the Roman governor Pilate, who Jesus stood before.

Pilate was the governor of that whole province of Judea.

And here on Crete, they had a similar kind of role, a similar position.

A guy who ruled and had authority over the happenings of all the islanders.

And then, of course, over the whole Roman Empire, there was the emperor.

And in these days, the emperor was a dictator.

At this point in Roman history, the imperial cult was in full swing,

meaning that the emperor was deified.

And he was worshipped as a god.

So this is the historical and cultural situation of the Christians on the island of Crete.

And it's to these rulers and authorities that Jesus commands Titus

to remind the Christians to be subject to them and to obey them.

As Christians, Jesus wanted his followers to submit themselves to the rulers

and authorities of their day and to be obedient to them.

That's the who, the what, and the to whom of this instruction.

And it's important to notice.

Let's look at the whole first two verses here of chapter 3.

Is there a when?

Is there an if?

Is there an except?

Except.

Be subject to rulers and authorities.

Be obedient to them.

When?

If?

Except.

But.

However.

Unless.

No.

Now there is a biblical exception to this command.

But it's occasional enough.

It's rare enough that the general command to submit to

and to obey the governing authorities can be stated without the exception.

Paul didn't feel the need to mention the exception here.

In other words, the normal Christian life is to be one lived in submission

to human rulers and authorities.

The normal Christian life is to be one lived in obedience to human government.

And the exception, we're going to talk about it,

it's rare enough that it didn't need to be included

in Christ's general instructions about how his people should live.

Generally, they're to be peaceable.

They're to be considerate.

They're to slander no one.

They're always to be gentle toward everyone.

They're to be ready to do whatever is good.

They're to be subject to rulers and authorities

and obedient to them.

And yet, many Christians today do not hear these words.

They struggle to acknowledge this simple instruction from Jesus.

Instead of listening to it and accepting it,

we're tempted to go straight to the exception

and then from there to pile on a whole bunch more exceptions

and sometimes open that up so wide

that what's left of this straightforward and clear instruction

becomes absolutely irrelevant and meaningless to us.

Because we are sinners by nature,

we want to do what we want to do.

And who are you to tell me what to do?

And so we explain away, we diminish, we minimize these words.

And in so doing, we dishonor the Lord.

When it comes to rulers, authorities, government,

the law of our land,

this passage is telling us that as Christians,

we should be known generally as law-abiding citizens.

Not as rebels, not as protesters,

not as people who are always looking to subvert

or to undermine or sneak around the law.

We're to be known as people who,

regardless of what the culture is doing,

people who actually obey the law.

Now, we're going to look at some more exceptions,

some more excuses that Christians raise here

that are unbiblical.

But first, I want you to see just how clear this matter is

from a few other places in the Bible.

And we're going to stick with the New Testament,

even though you could see it in the Old Testament as well.

The first passage we'll look at is

what the Apostle Peter wrote in his letter.

He said,

Dear friends,

I urge you as foreigners and exiles

to abstain from sinful desires

which wage war against your soul.

Live such good lives among the pagans

that though they accuse you of doing wrong,

they may see your good deeds

and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Submit yourself for the Lord's sake

to every human authority,

whether to the emperor

as the supreme authority

or to governors

who are sent by him

to punish those who do wrong

and to commend those who do right.

For it is God's will

that by doing good

you should silence

the ignorant talk

of foolish people.

Live as free people,

but do not use your freedom

as a cover-up for evil.

Live as God's slaves.

Show proper respect to everyone.

Love the family of believers.

Fear God.

Honor the emperor.

So Peter commanded the believers

that were scattered throughout

the Roman provinces of Pontus,

Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia,

Bithynia

to submit themselves

to every human authority.

Even the highest human authority

on earth at the time,

which was the king

of the Roman Empire himself,

the emperor.

And to the governors

that he sent out

to each of those provinces.

Jesus wants his people

to submit to human authorities

and government

and to be obedient to them.

In Paul's letter to the Romans,

this is probably the longest passage

on the subject.

This is what he wrote

to the church in Rome.

He said,

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.

Consequently,

whoever rebels against

the authority

is rebelling against

what God has instituted.

And those who do so

will bring judgment

on themselves.

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.

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.

Therefore,

it is necessary

to submit to the authorities

not only because

of possible punishment,

but also as a matter

of conscience.

This is also

why you pay taxes.

For the authorities

are God's servants

who give their full time

to governing.

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.

Now,

I'm not going to bring out

all the details

of this passage

or switch the sermon

over to this passage,

but it's pretty clear

and straightforward.

Human authority,

human government

is a thing

that God himself

established

and ordained.

He wants there to be

human government

and authority.

And yes,

even in a fallen world,

even in a sinful world,

he wants it.

Human government

achieves

God's good purposes.

Some of his good purposes

for governing authorities

are to keep human evil

in check.

To see that wrongdoers

are punished.

To see that tax revenues

are used

for the benefit

of a society.

three times,

Paul says

that the one

in authority

is God's servant.

Which means

that they do things

for God.

And specifically

in verse 4,

he says,

the one in authority

is God's servant

for your good.

For your good.

That's you,

the Christians in Rome

who he's writing to.

For your good.

For your benefit.

Maybe the first

yeah but

is rising up here.

What about

when the person

in authority

is corrupt?

Here's another excuse

that we make.

Another unbiblical

exception

that we add

into the word of God.

Let everyone

be subject

to the governing authorities

except

when those authorities

are corrupt

or immoral

or ungodly.

Is that what it says

in any of these

three passages?

Not in Titus,

not in 1 Peter,

not here in Romans 13.

Listen,

if a certain

morality

or integrity

or character

of the ruler

is required,

surely

Paul would have

said so here.

I mean,

Paul's writing

to Christians

in Rome.

Think of this.

This is the city

of Rome.

This is the very

heart of the Roman Empire.

Who's in charge here?

It was the Roman

Emperor himself.

A man who

in the tradition

of Caesar Augustus

claimed to be a god

and worthy of worship.

None of the emperors

up until this point

had been morally

virtuous

or men of integrity

or men of godly character.

In many cases,

they were brutal men.

Some of them

were responsible

for persecuting

and even killing

Christians.

Look at what happened

with Pilate

and Jesus.

Pilate handed Jesus

over to be crucified

after declaring

three times,

I find no basis

for a charge

against him.

What kind of justice

is that?

That's corrupt.

Jesus' point here

is not that

every human authority

that's good

is established

by God,

but that every

human authority,

period,

is established

by God

and serves

his good purposes.

Not perfectly,

of course,

but generally,

yes.

And so generally,

yes,

we are to submit

to and obey

the governing authorities

of our land.

I know that we tend

to want to run

to the exception here.

But before we run there,

let's consider,

let's think about

what points

in the story of God,

where in God's story

did he use flawed

and sinful human government

to protect

and even serve

his own good purposes?

Think about the many times

when the Apostle Paul

was being viciously attacked

by his Jewish opponents

in various cities

and towns.

How many times

was he rescued

from their grip

by civil servants,

magistrates,

local government officials,

Roman soldiers?

How many times

did Paul's jail cell

for the night

save his life

from those

who would have

murdered him

had he not been

locked up

and even protected

by the armed guard

outside the door?

And without Roman government,

would Paul's Roman citizenship

have done anything

for him?

On at least two occasions

we know of

in the scripture,

it was his protection,

it was his

get-out-of-jail-free card.

God used

the Roman government

and the judicial system

in Judea,

corrupt as it was,

to protect Paul

from the Jews

who were plotting

to kill him

in Jerusalem.

God used the government

to give Paul

a detachment

of 200 soldiers,

70 horsemen

and 200 spearmen

to safely lead him

out of Jerusalem

to another city.

And then on top of that,

Paul was given

trial after trial.

God used the government

to see that Jesus

was proclaimed

to all these people.

And then God used

the government,

the Roman law,

to see that Paul

was guaranteed

safe passage

to Rome.

And when he got

to Rome,

God used the government

to protect him

until the trial

so that he could

proclaim the gospel

without hindrance.

Now yes,

Christians were killed

by Roman emperors

and history has it

that Paul himself

was later executed

by a Roman emperor.

But that doesn't change

the straightforward command

that Christ has

for his people

in these passages.

Remind the people

to be subject

to rulers

and authorities,

to be obedient.

Look at Jesus'

own life and teaching.

Think about it.

What was he like

with respect

to the governing authorities?

Was he a rebel?

Was he an insurrectionist?

He was the rightful

king of Israel,

chosen by God himself,

and yet he did not

resist the governing

authorities.

In fact,

Peter says that

he's the example

to follow

when he describes

how it's commendable

to bear up

under unjust suffering.

They tried to trap

Jesus over the issue

of paying taxes.

Do you remember this?

Was Jesus loyal

to God

or to the imperial cult?

And what did Jesus say?

He said,

render to Caesar

what belongs to Caesar.

Pay your taxes.

On another occasion,

the temple tax collectors

came around

to collect

the temple tax,

and this is a tremendously

helpful passage

in Matthew chapter 17.

Matthew 17 · chapter mention

They came to get

some tax from Jesus,

and did Jesus

agree with the tax?

He has this little

conversation with Peter,

which basically

reveals that no,

he didn't think

that the tax was right.

He didn't agree with it.

It was ill-conceived.

But what did he say

to Peter at the end

of that little discussion?

Chapter 17,

verse 27.

He said,

but so that we may

not cause offense,

go to the lake

and throw out your line,

take the first fish

you catch,

open its mouth,

and you'll find

a four drachma coin.

Take it

and give it to them

for my tax

and yours.

Now we like to focus

on the miracle there,

and it's a wonderful miracle,

but let's notice today

the stuff around it.

What was Jesus'

response here?

So that we may not

cause offense,

pay the tax anyway.

This is another excuse

that we sometimes make,

another unbiblical

exception clause

that we add

to Christ's clear teaching

about submitting

to governing authorities.

We say,

well,

if the law is unjust,

or if the law is unfair,

or ill-conceived,

or just plain stupid,

then we don't need

to obey it.

But even Jesus himself

paid a tax

he deemed ill-conceived,

so that we may not

cause offense,

pay the tax.

We can disagree

with the laws,

Jesus did,

but we're not free

to just disobey them

just because we

disagree with them.

Another unbiblical

excuse that some make

a reason given

for why we don't need

to submit to

the governing authorities

is that as a Christian,

there's only one

who has authority

over me,

and it's Jesus.

He is the head

of the church.

There's only one Lord,

one King,

one head of the church,

and therefore the government

has no jurisdiction

over me.

But this is faulty logic.

Absolutely,

Christ is the head

of the church.

He is the Lord.

He is the King of Kings.

And he has told us

through his apostles

to obey human government.

If you think that there's

only one authority over you,

and that's Jesus,

you're living in a Christian fantasy.

Jesus is the ultimate authority,

yes,

but if you are a child,

he commands you

to obey your parents,

to submit to their authority.

If you're a bondservant,

he expects you to fulfill

your contractual obligations

to your master

and submit to him

as one under authority.

If you're a wife,

he commands you

to submit to your husband

as the head of your home,

just as Christ

is the head of the church.

And no matter who you are,

if you're a Christian,

Christ commands you

to submit to your leaders

in the church.

Hebrews chapter 13,

Hebrews 13:17

verse 17.

And no matter who you are,

if you're a Christian,

he commands you

to submit to the rulers

and authorities of the land,

just as we've seen

in every one

of these passages.

And so saying,

I don't have to submit

to the government

or obey the law

because Christ

is the head of the church

is just faulty logic.

It's totally unbiblical.

Another unbiblical excuse

that we sometimes make,

we should only submit

to the law

if the law

is constitutional.

This is a devious

and clever sounding excuse

that we sometimes

come up with.

Essentially,

it's argued that

the law that's being

put in place,

well,

it's not a good law.

It's a bad law

because it goes against

the Charter of Rights

and Freedoms,

the Canadian Charter

of Rights and Freedoms.

And I think there's

a certain appeal

to this line of thinking.

Many will say,

well,

by disobeying this new law,

I mean,

I'm actually doing good.

I'm standing up

for the Charter

of Rights and Freedoms.

This is like

a righteous thing

that I'm doing,

protesting this

by disobeying it,

by breaking it.

It's going to help

expose just how bad

a law it is,

how unconstitutional

it is.

But this is another failure

to submit to the clear,

straightforward command

of Christ

to submit to authorities.

And to see this,

I think we need to just

take this passage

and apply it

to our own context today.

Who is the ruler

of Canada

that we have to submit to?

Anyone brave enough to...

We're so confused

about our own government.

It's so complex.

But how can we be obedient

to this command

if we don't even understand

how our own government works?

Admittedly,

we do have a complicated

form of government

in Canada.

The Prime Minister

is not the ruler

of Canada.

He's a member

of Parliament.

who represents

his riding.

And he is the head

of the government,

but he has limited power

as such,

except in the case

of emergencies.

So this is your opportunity

to breathe a sigh of relief.

You do not have to do

whatever the Prime Minister

says.

Technically speaking,

the ruler of our land

is King Charles.

We are a constitutional monarchy.

Pretty soon,

it will be his face

that you'll see

on all the coins

in Canada.

But as most of us know,

the role of the Governor General

on behalf of the King

or Queen in Canada

is largely symbolic today.

And so who

or what

holds authority

over the citizens

of our nation?

Any guesses?

In Canada,

we are a people

ruled by law.

The law

is that

highest authority

in our land.

And the government

of the day

only has authority

over us

to the extent

that the law says.

Now,

the members of Parliament

who are representatives,

they do have the power

to make laws

and to change laws

if they hold

a majority of the seats

in the House of Commons

and if the bill

makes it through the Senate.

We're not just

a constitutional monarchy,

we're also

a parliamentary democracy.

So at the end of the day,

it's not the Prime Minister

that we must submit to.

He's not a dictator

or ruler.

He has limited power

and is himself

under the law.

How does this apply?

We're not being called

to submit to

person,

a person,

so much as to

a body of laws

that have been established

by people

in our nation

over the years.

What is it

that the police officers

enforce?

Is it the Constitution?

The Charter of Rights

and Freedoms?

It's the law.

That's what the police

officers enforce.

That's what they're

supposed to enforce.

What is it

that the judges

go by

to give their verdict

or to sentence

a criminal?

It's the law.

The law of the land

is the thing of authority

which we are under

here in Canada

and since it is

we're to submit

to the law

and obey the law

of our nation.

And here's where

the excuse

that I just mentioned

before unravels a bit.

The Canadian Charter

of Rights and Freedoms,

I mean,

it does not have

that same authoritative

position in our country

that the law does.

The Charter of Rights

and Freedoms

is a guiding document.

It's a thing

that was agreed on

in Canadian history

for the making of laws.

It sets out

an agreement

on what are

the core values

and freedoms

we believe

that all should have

in Canada.

However,

the Charter itself

is not the law.

It's more of

a value statement.

Even in the Charter itself,

rights and freedoms

are guaranteed,

but even the Charter

recognizes that

rights and freedoms

cannot be absolute

in a democracy.

And there are instances

where governments

must put laws in place

that limit

people's freedoms

in order to protect

the lives and security

and freedoms of others.

So the Charter

is just a guiding document.

If the government

of the day

brings in a new law

that in our judgment

goes against the Charter

and infringes

upon our freedoms,

that's not an excuse

for us to just

break that law

because the Charter

is not the law.

The law is the law.

And we must obey the law

because it's the

authoritative thing

in our land.

The police enforce

the law,

not the Charter.

The judges render

verdicts based on the law.

And yes,

they can consult

the Charter

and they do

and sometimes

they overturn the law.

They change the law.

But in our system,

that's the role

of the judges

to do that,

not our role.

And so it doesn't hold

that we are honoring

Christ's command

when we break the law

because we deem it

unconstitutional.

It's not our place

in our system of government

to judge whether laws

are unconstitutional

or not.

That's the role of judges.

Now I know that

all of this may sound

a little abstract,

to think of submitting

to the law.

He says,

remind the people

to be subject

to rulers

and authorities,

to be obedient.

But we should remember

that the law

does empower

certain people

to do certain things

like law enforcement

officers

or tax collection

agents,

judges,

ministers.

So in some cases,

obeying the law

does mean

obeying the person

who wields

the authority

of the law.

It's not entirely

impersonal

and abstract,

but on the whole,

we need to know

that here in Canada,

the supreme authority

is the law.

We also need to know

that there are

three levels of law,

three levels of government

in Canada.

There's the federal law,

the laws of the nation,

there are the provincial laws,

the stuff that we

have to abide by

here in Saskatchewan,

and then there are

the municipal laws,

the things in the town

or in the city

where you live

here in Davidson.

The bylaws.

And all of these

are included

by this command

to be subject

to rulers

and authorities,

whether it's

speed limits,

town bylaws,

building codes,

parking laws.

There's only one

exception in the Bible.

One situation

in which we may

disobey

rulers and authorities,

or in our case,

break the law.

And that's when

the law of our land

says that we should

do something

that is clearly

prohibited

by God

in His word.

Or,

the converse,

when the law

prohibits us

from doing something

that God has

clearly commanded us

to do

in His word.

That's the only

exception in the Bible.

Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego,

they disobeyed

King Nebuchadnezzar

when he commanded

them to worship

his idol.

Why?

Because God

had clearly said,

you shall have

no other gods

before me

and you shall not

bow down

to a graven image.

That's the first

of the Ten Commandments.

And God

vindicated them

and saved them

in that moment.

Daniel defied

King Darius

when Darius

decreed that

no one should pray

to anyone

other than him.

Why?

Because God

has commanded us

to pray to him.

And so Daniel

defied him

and God

saved him

from the mouth

of the lions

and vindicated him.

The apostles

were commanded

by the religious

leaders of the Jews

not to speak

anymore

in the name of Jesus

in the book of Acts

Acts 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4.

But Jesus

had commanded them

speak in my name

go make disciples

of me

all through the nations

preach the gospel.

And so they had to say

to the religious leaders

which is right

in God's eyes

to listen to you

or to him.

You be the judges.

As for us

we can't help

speaking about

what we have

seen

and heard.

So

there is a time

for civil disobedience.

There is a time

to break the law

but it is only

in the case

where there is

a direct conflict

between being

obedient

to what God

has clearly

commanded

and what human

authority

has commanded.

And thankfully

in our day

these situations

are relatively

rare

and occasional.

That might

change

in the near future

here

but I want to

encourage us

to stick to

the word of God.

Sometimes

another excuse

we make

we say

well I just

feel like

the Lord

would have

me do this.

I don't need

to do this.

I don't need

to obey the law.

Don't

go by your

feelings

Christian.

I've known

lots of good

mature

Bible believing

Christians

over the years

who said

the Lord

told me

only to find

out

later

that actually

they were just

kind of hearing

their own fears

their own thoughts

their own anxieties

or reasons.

If you're a Christian

and you're going

to break the law

it better be obvious

in the Bible

that the law

goes against

what the Lord

has commanded.

Otherwise

heed the warning

from Romans

Romans 13:3

chapter 13

verse 3

rulers hold

no terror

for those

who do right

but for those

who do wrong.

There's a better way

with the Lord's help

we just need

to simply listen

to this

straightforward

instruction

that he's

given us.

Be a law

abiding

Christian

in our land.

Do what's

right by the

Lord

and by the

law of the

land.

And I'm

just going to

I'm going to

end with two

examples

different examples.

If the government

passes a law

here in Saskatchewan

that all highway

speed limits

shall from now

on be reduced

to 90 kilometers

an hour

is that a stupid

law?

Maybe.

Is it fair?

Maybe not.

Does it

infringe on your

personal freedoms?

Yes.

Does it matter

if the government

who passes this

law is corrupt?

No.

Do you have to

like the law

or agree with it?

No.

Is there a place

in the Bible

where God

has commanded

us to drive

faster than 90

kilometers an hour

on a highway?

No.

What if your

wife's about

to give birth

in the car?

Doesn't matter.

Do you trust

the Lord?

Then you must

obey the law.

Jesus says

yes I want

my people

to submit

to rulers

and authorities

which in our

context means

to be law

abiding citizens.

Here's another

example the other

way.

On February 26

the government

of Canada

introduced the

Online Harms

Act.

And the main

purpose of this

act is to

make online

content providers

responsible to

moderate content

that's served

on their

platforms.

Now before you

throw the baby

out with the

bathwater consider

that one of the

things that this

act will do is

force online

content providers

to keep child

pornography off

of their

platforms even

if it's just

the users who

would upload

it.

That's a good

thing.

However

there's also

in all of this

an attempt being

made to

criminalize

hatred.

This bill would

amend the

Canadian Human

Rights Act to

define a new

discriminatory

practice of

communicating hate

speech online.

With a reporting

mechanism and

everything you see

something that you

think is hate you

can report that

online.

The problem is

with how this

new hate

offense is

defined.

As part of the

proposed amendments

hate speech would

be defined based on

Supreme Court of

Canada decisions.

The bill defines

hate speech as the

content of a

communication that

expresses detestation

of an individual or

group of individuals on

the basis of

prohibited grounds of

discrimination.

The grounds of

discrimination are

race, national or

ethnic origin, color,

religion, age, sex,

sexual orientation,

gender identity or

expression.

And some of you may

see where the

problem is here.

By this definition

God himself could be

accused of hate

speech because of

what he has said in

the Bible about

deviant sexual

behavior.

If this becomes

law in Canada it

would be illegal for

me to preach a

sermon on Leviticus

18.22 where God

says that homosexual

conduct is detestable.

And then to post

that sermon online as

I do all my other

sermons.

And so what should I

do in that situation?

When I come to that

passage in Leviticus

should I skip over it?

Should I be silent

about it?

Should I just not

upload it to the

internet just to stay

under the radar?

Has God given a

clear command that we

should preach his

word?

Second Timothy 4.2

says preach the

word.

Proclaim what God

has said to his

people.

So this is a case

where man's law

prohibits what God

himself has clearly

commanded.

Thankfully they

haven't made that

determination that the

Bible contains hate

speech yet.

But if this were to

happen I must obey

God and I must

disobey human

government.

These situations are

not always easy.

But may the Lord

find us faithful.

May he give us what

we need.

Let's ask for that

now.

Let's pray together.

Lord Jesus there are

two really challenging

things that we come to

from these words.

First there is how

you want us to

submit to the

government and obey

the government as

the ordinary course of

everyday life.

And that's hard.

So we pray and ask

for your help to be

willing to do it, to

be honest about it, and

to carry it out.

Second there may come

time where we do need

to disobey the

government to obey

you.

And that will be hard

as well.

And so we pray and ask

that you would give us

courage and wisdom and

a resolute conviction

that we are going to

follow you no matter

what.

Help us with these

things in the days

ahead.

Show us the areas in

our lives where we

have been failing and

give us power and joy

to submit ourselves to

you for the glory of

your son Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Man shouldéfice

like you

learn the

people

drop in

your

record

and

we

share them

a

document

and

and

we

get

out.

Everybody