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9-29-04
For an updated perspective on this subject reflecting 3 1/2 years of accelerated changes for the worse, after this article was written, see: The Truth of God is Jesus Christ, not a lie, delusion, fear, written 4-6-2008

Government Authority And Power In America: “Good ” Or “Evil?”

There is a biblical principle established in scripture, i.e., that of God working through and utilizing human legal processes and procedures that attempt to execute justice as best perceived by its participants. At the same time, God brings destruction to those human legal processes and procedures that continually perpetuate that which is unjust. This principle ranges from the early kings mentioned in the Bible, heathen nations, Moses and Joshua, through to elders, tribal leaders and judges, to Saul (who was really a national military leader rather than a true king), and David and Solomon in the Old Testament. Included also are the various kings of Israel and Judah, some classified as “good” and some as “evil” and on into the New Testament, which includes Herod and Agrippa and etc., and ultimately to God Himself.
In the true sense of the word “king” we are talking about a male leader whose ruling position is hereditary and lifetime, and who functions as a military leader, supreme judge and priest over his subjects. We can see from this description why God Himself, in the Person of Jesus Christ, will ultimately become King in the Kingdom of God.

        Romans 13:1-7:
        1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
        2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
        3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
        4 For 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.
        5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
        6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
        7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

        The way this text reads in the King James Version leaves us with a faulty impression of what Paul the apostle is saying.
        In verse 1, the word “subject” is hupotasso in the Greek. Strong’s Definition of hupotasso is: “to subordinate; reflexively, to obey.” It’s translated in the KJV as: “be under obedience (obedient), put under, subdue unto, (be, make) subject (to, unto), be (put) in subjection (to, under), submit self unto” The word “ordained,” is tasso in the Greek. Strong’s Definition of tasso is: “a prolonged form of a primary verb (which latter appears only in certain tenses); to arrange in an orderly manner, i.e. assign or dispose (to a certain position or lot).” It’s translated in the KJV as “addict, appoint, determine, ordain, set.” The word “power(s)” used three times in the verse is exousia, better translated as “authority.”
        It would be better translated as: “Every person must obey the governing authority, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authority that exists has been established by God.”
        The Ryrie Study Bible comments on this verse (NASB): “be in subjection. From the same Greek verb used by Paul in Titus 3:1 and by Peter in 1 Peter 2:13, where essentially the same view of the individual’s proper attitude to the state is set forth. there is no authority except from God. This does not say that only certain forms of government are ordained of God. God established and upholds the principle of government even though some governments do not fulfill His desires.”
        The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary says about this passage:
        1, 2. Let every soul—every man of you
        be subject unto the higher powers—or, “submit himself to the authorities that are above him.”
        For there is no power—“no authority”
        but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God—“have been ordained of God.”
        2. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power—“So that he that setteth himself against the authority.”
        resisteth the ordinance of God; and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation—or, “condemnation,” according to the old sense of that word; that is, not from the magistrate, but from God, whose authority in the magistrate’s is resisted.
        3, 4. For rulers are not a terror to good works—“to the good work,” as the true reading appears to be
        but to the evil.
        4. he beareth not the sword in vain—that is, the symbol of the magistrate’s authority to punish.
        5. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath—for fear of the magistrate’s vengeance.
        but also for conscience’ sake—from reverence for God’s authority. It is of Magistracy in general, considered as a divine ordinance, that this is spoken: and the statement applies equally to all forms of government, from an unchecked despotism—such as flourished when this was written, under the Emperor Nero—to a pure democracy. The inalienable right of all subjects to endeavor to alter or improve the form of government under which they live is left untouched here. But since Christians were constantly charged with turning the world upside down, and since there certainly were elements enough in Christianity of moral and social revolution to give plausibility to the charge, and tempt noble spirits, crushed under misgovernment, to take redress into their own hands, it was of special importance that the pacific, submissive, loyal spirit of those Christians who resided at the great seat of political power, should furnish a visible refutation of this charge.
        6, 7. For, for this cause pay ye—rather, “ye pay”
        tribute also—that is, “This is the reason why ye pay the contributions requisite for maintaining the civil government.”
        for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing—“to this very thing.”
        7. Render therefore to all their dues—From magistrates the apostle now comes to other officials, and from them to men related to us by whatever tie.
        tribute—land tax.
        custom—mercantile tax.
        fear—reverence for superiors.
        honour—the respect due to persons of distinction.
        Note the statement: “The inalienable right of all subjects to endeavor to alter or improve the form of government under which they live is left untouched here.”
        Those unjust governments that would enslave mankind are to be changed by those who are suffering under them.
        The Ryrie Study Bible comments on verse 4 (NASB): ““it does not bear the sword for nothing.” God has given the state the power of life and death over its subjects in order to maintain order. Therefore, one should hold government in healthy respect.”
        Unjust governments are not to be respected, however. It’s up to the citizens to change that government.
        To sum up the biblical viewpoint, God’s method of implementing order and justice in human society is to endorse the concept of governmental authority by a majority of its citizens. As stated earlier, God works through and utilizes human legal processes and procedures that attempt to execute justice as best perceived by its participants. At the same time, God brings destruction to those human legal processes and procedures that continually perpetuate that which is unjust.
        There has been a lot of discussion in attempts to place the United States of America into biblical prophecy. Those discussions (many thinly disguised as “prophecies”) range from categorizing America as a “good” government to being an “evil” government. On the hand we are blessed for being a good government, and on the other hand we are cursed because we are an evil government.
        How does this fit against the biblical matrix of good and evil nations?
        Does our government attempt to execute justice as best perceived by its participants (citizens)? Do we have a leader (or leaders) who function as a military leader, supreme judge (within constitutional limitations) and priest over his subjects?
        Granted that this nation has been one of constant crime and corruption at every level of its society. We think that things look much worse now than they did way back when (which is simply comparison with a carefully selected past period of time in our history which makes the originators point—whatever that point is).
        Knowing that nations, governments and citizens are comprised of human beings that should really not be a surprising fact, should it? That is, if you care to take the time to read and study your Bible.
        So, how do we determine how “evil” or how “good” we are as a nation?
        Let’s look at the rest of Romans, chapter 13:

        Romans 13:2-14 (NIV–chosen for ease of readability):
        2 Consequently, he who 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 he will commend you.
        4 For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent 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 because 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 everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
        8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.
        9 The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
        10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
        11 And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
        12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
        13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.
        14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

        Are we rebelling against proper constituted authority and in so doing rebelling against God Himself? Are we doing what is lawful and right and living free from fear of unjust authority in government? Do we rightfully fear punishment for wrongdoing? Is our collective conscience clear? Do we pay our taxes and revenue? Do we give respect and honor to those who have earned it? Do we love one another? Do we refrain from doing harm to our neighbors? Do we put aside the deeds of darkness? Do we walk in the armor of life? Do we behave decently, refraining from orgies, drunkenness and sexual immorality? Are we preoccupied with clothing ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ or are we focused on how to gratify our sinful nature?
        The honest Christian will admit that they are trying very hard to focus upon Jesus while admitting desires of a sinful flesh. Success and failure rates in attaining a Godly lifestyle will vary among those individuals. But the overriding desire of the honest Christian is to clothe oneself with Jesus Christ instead of gratifying a sinful nature.
        Among those who don’t name the name of Christ, there will be varying responses.
        However, God will continue to work within the principles that have been established in scripture. Can God work through and utilize America’s legal processes and procedures in attempting to execute justice as best perceived by its citizen participants? Or is God bringing destruction because we continually perpetuate that which is unjust?
        We cannot separate our individual lifestyles from our corporate identity as a nation. This is clear from scripture. We can only assess the quality of government that we have established as to how it meets biblical criteria to determine our “goodness” or “evilness.”
        As long as we have legal processes and procedures in place in our government that continue to attempt to execute justice (read: use authority and power to uphold that which is good), we will be “good” not “evil.” In addition to this we also need to have persons in places of governmental authority who are intelligent and aware of the need for a competent military force, and a system of judges who will judge righteously and according to biblical standards. We also need those in places of government who will continue to pray and intercede for its citizens and the citizens of all other countries.
        When these things are seriously degraded, or lost to us, then we will become “evil.” Throughout the history of America, there have been, and continue to be, many factors at work, some evident, some behind the scenes, that are working towards the objective of making America “evil.” As of this writing, my opinion is that we are not there yet.
        So would you false and wannabee prophets please stop trying to put America under God’s condemnation?

For an updated perspective on this subject see: The Truth of God is Jesus Christ, not a lie, delusion, fear 4-6-2008