You are listening to Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call. Still ahead, Dave and Tom continue their weekly in-depth study of the Doctrine of Salvation, please stay tuned. Now:
CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH
In this regular feature Dave and Tom respond to questions from listeners and readers of The Berean Call. Here is this week’s question: Dear Dave and TA, As elections are drawing near, I find myself trying to come to grips with Romans chapter 13. I don’t like any of the candidates. Bush has been a great disappointment to me, yet whoever gets elected to office, Romans:13:4For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. tells me that he is the “…minister of God to thee for good.” And then verse 1 seems to say that whatever person wins is ordained of God. So, here is the way I understand all of that: It doesn’t matter who I like, or don’t like, or whether I vote or don’t vote, God puts people into office. I guess I’m so upset by what’s taking place I’m blaming it on God. I know that’s not right, so I need your help here.
Dave:
Tom, let me straighten him out.
Tom:
Dave, you can help me here, too, go ahead.
Dave:
It does not say that God put Hitler in power, or that He endorsed Hitler. What it says is God has ordained that there should be authority, and the authorities ought to be His ministers for righteousness, this is what it says. But I do not obey them when they do not administer righteousness, and when they want me to follow orders that are opposed by God in his Word. So, that’s why—
Tom:
And then you have to take the consequences, right? You’re not trying to overthrow the government, or whatever.
Dave:
No, that’s why in those days—I have, I don’t know if I would even call it smuggling, I didn’t hide things, well, some. I’ve taken Bibles and other things—
Tom:
Against the Soviet Union —
Dave:
The Soviet Union , Romania , other countries, because we were told by our Master, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel.” We want to get the gospel out there, we want to get Bibles out there, and tapes, and I had a few adventures, you know, but the Lord brought us through, He blinded their eyes, and so forth. I believe that we shouldn’t just start a revolution, unlike the government when those, we’re going to get a revolution going. We’ve seen some revolutions, you know, like the classic is the French Revolution.
Tom:
Oh brother! Carnage, chaos.
Dave:
Well, it started out idealistically, and what was the lady’s name? Madam, I forget, but anyway, she’s being led to the guillotine, and there is—I don’t remember whether it was a painting or a statue of liberty that we took the Statue of Liberty from, and she turns to that statue, or painting, or whatever it is, and she says, “ Liberty , what crimes have been committed in your name!” Classic statement, and Tom, liberty—well, I often say—I’ll just take a couple of minutes here, I often say, because this is a very important point here. Hitchins, he will nail you, “Well, that’s not right, I mean, that’s not even moral that God is going to cause his Son to die—He’s innocent, he’s going to cause the innocent to die for the guilty, and how is that going to work, and so forth and so on. It’s a tough question, Tom, even to think about it, but I used the illustration of Barabbas, remember? I often don’t let people know what I’m talking about, but this man was sentenced to death. The day of his execution arrives, the jailer’s footsteps come down the corridor, the key turns in the lock, the door opens, he knows he’s going to be taken out to his death, and the jailer says: I’ve got great news for you, you’re being set free, another man is dying in your place. Well, Barabbas could give a testimony like nobody else could. He could go to the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Committees and Baptist churches and say, Jesus died for me! Nobody could give a testimony like Barabbas, but what did it do for him? It set that scoundrel free to live his own life, it didn’t change him. But Paul said, “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me.” Now there is a transformation that takes place, the Bible calls it being born again, born of the Spirit, and I know that when I received Christ Tom, something happened, a drastic change. This is what God promises. Well, you can say that’s not just. No, no, because I accept Christ’s death as my death.
Tom:
Dave, chapter 13, of Romans, it’s tough to get a handle on it, especially today when we look at candidates, or we look at people in office, and so on, and it just troubles us. But as I’ve thought about it, and tried to, you know, really think this through, I mean, of course I want to understand the Scriptures, as you said at the beginning, so what have we got? Either we have a government or we have anarchy.
Dave:
Right.
Tom:
So obviously, that’s a concern, or having somebody in even though you don’t like them, is that a better situation? A God-ordained, or appointed situation, as opposed to savagery and anarchy, and all of that? I think it is. But here’s an interesting—I don’t know that I came up with this, but as I was really putting some time in this somebody said, well, when Paul wrote this, guess who was over him?
Dave:
Right.
Tom:
Nero, so if he could write these words, this is how we know this is the Word of God, Dave, look at the circumstance and you say, oh no, no, this can’t be right. But its God’s Word, the things that convict us and make us, they don’t make us, but they exhort us to do what is right.
Dave:
Tom, if I could just—I’ll put something out there. I don’t usually say this publicly—wow, this is over the radio—I do believe John the Baptist overstepped himself. He rebuked Herod, an ungodly man. You’re not going to straighten this man out. I don’t think that Christians are supposed to be interfering in the government apropos to what we are talking about, and trying to get a new government going, or try to get a movement. And Jesus didn’t….
Tom:
But you’re not denying they should vote?
Dave:
O, no, no, no.
Tom:
I want to make that clear.
Dave:
Right, but all I’m saying is, we have Christians who, I think get side-tracked, and they spend more time trying to oppose abortion—I’m opposed to abortion, trying to oppose homosexuality, whatever, and trying to get the government to change to do this. I don’t think you can get a godless government to change. So….
Tom:
I don’t know, Dave, Wilberforce, he did see the Parliament to change with regard to slavery.
Dave:
Well, Tom, it has happened, and there have been men in history; Daniel, but I don’t think that’s our primary goal. In other words, Jesus didn’t say get a movement going here and see if you can change the world. He said, Preach the gospel. We’re not trying to change this world, we’re trying to call people out of this world, and this world is headed for destruction.
