Understand Your Government, This Life Is Lived In It (Acts 25)
As Christians, we don’t give a lot of thought to how the affairs of government affect our lives and why we should care about them. In some ways, our society’s attempt to put Christianity in a corner has made us think that we need to think of Christianity as something completely other worldly without any effect on today. And Christians have basically decided that this is the case.
To be honest, I wouldn’t talk about it if it weren’t in our text today. I am much more comfortable speaking on the Great Doctrine of Justification. I enjoy speaking on the Incarnation of Christ, the Doctrine of the Trinity, or how God makes us holier in this life through Sanctification. But when you preach through a Book of the Bible, you preach the next thing. And the next thing is Paul understanding the government that he lives in and using it to save his life and move toward Rome.
Christians don’t think about this much. But it has not always been so.
King Charles IX of France ordered the death of Coligny. Charles was a Roman Catholic and Coligny was a Protestant rival to the throne. As the story goes, there was a bit of a mix up with the messaging that caused a disaster.
Apparently, the message to kill Coligny was taken to mean kill all the Protestants in the city. This event became known as the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. Anywhere between 5,000 and 30,000 Protestants were killed in the affair.
Protestants did not just look at this situation and say, “Oh, well, the government’s going to do what the government is going to do.” And then attempt to go on with their lives. They didn’t say, “The Scriptures have nothing to say here. So, I guess we will just ignore it and go on.”
Out of this event came one of the most important writings of a Protestant concerning the role of government and the citizens role within the government. But, for fear of death, he didn’t put his name on the book. He wrote under the pseudonym Junius Brutus. The name of the book is “Vidiciae Contra Tyrannos”. The title means “A Defense of Liberty Against Tyrants”. And the book was so influential that some of its main ideas made it into the American Constitution.
In it we read,
“The King is established by the Lord God, the King of kings, to the end he should administer justice to his people and defend them against all their enemies.”—Junius Brutus
God establishes the king in a nation for the purpose of just and defending them from their enemies. Other events were similar to this one that solidified these thoughts. Samuel Rutherford’s book Lex Rex is similar in content but about three times the size. It was a response to a book written by John Maxwell called “Sacro-Sanctum Regus Majestas”, which means “The Sacred and Royal Prerogative of Christian Kings”. Lex Rex, which was Rutherford’s response simply means, “A Rule by Law”. Or, the Law is above the king.
These principles made their way into the American Constitution. America’s founders understood the importance of the Protestant Christian works. And, I have benefitted from reading both of them and thinking through what they had to say. But these very same principles made their way into the American way of living. I read both of these influential books during the Covid shutdowns to attempt to understand my relationship to the government. It was time well spent.
I am speaking about this today because in our text today the Apostle Paul revealed to us that he understood Roman and Jewish Law very well. He understood his rights as a Roman citizen and called upon them when the time came. He had been educated, or educated himself as to what it meant to be a citizen of Rome, and he called upon these rights when the time came.
As a pastor that has lived over the course of the last few years, I believe we have not given enough thought to this. I have said before that government action in 2020 caught churches off guard. I think that we simply had not thought about it ahead of time because we had not believed we’d need to.
But over the course of the last few years, our country has seen a person that investigated Planned Parenthood be charged with crimes that no one else had been charged with. People that protested an abortion clinic were thrown in prison, and the President recently gave them a pardon. They’ve been in jail for years at this point.
And some states shut down churches during Covid in a shocking move. A few of these churches filed lawsuits and won against their localities. But they were not prepared, nor was anyone else, for that sort of thing to happen.
Christians in America were not ready for these sorts of things to take place. We believed that everything was going to be good always and didn’t give a thought to how we should think about our government.
I also don’t think that Christians have thought about this regarding their personal lives. Every day the governing authorities matter. It impacts how we live our life every day. It impacts the prices on our goods, the taxes we are forced to pay, whether people will be prosecuted for ripping people off, and whether the place we live in will be safe.
I would never argue that the country we live in has ultimate importance. But it would be insane of me to argue that it is of no importance. And it is important enough that we should understand our government. Paul did.
This story is given to us in the Book of Acts for a few reasons. It depicts to us just how Paul made it to Rome. And this event helps us to see how Paul eventually made it there. But it also reveals to us Paul’s attitude toward governing authorities and his own government’s Civil Law. And this passage proves to us that it matters.
In Rome, every citizen had the right to appeal to Caesar. Non-citizens of Rome that were in the empire did not. But Paul was, as he has stated on a few occasions. He has repeatedly been willing to appeal to his Roman citizenship when the occasion arises in the Book of Acts, and he does so here. And here, when he saw that he needed to appeal to Caesar, he did so.
Paul had been in prison for two years before Felix was removed. Felix was, from all accounts, not a good governor. But Festus was much different from Felix. Festus was reasonable. And even from his early actions it seems that he was making an honest attempt at good leadership. But Festus was not a convictional leader. He was willing to be controlled by the Sanhedrin if that is what it took to keep the peace.
Succumbing to a weak group of people in your organization, state, or family will lead to difficulties and that is the case here. Some Roman governors were completely willing to just throw the High Priest out of his courtroom if they were being a pest. We have those situations documented for us in history. But Festus was not that way, at least on this occasion.
And, as you will see, Paul has not been charged with any crime by Felix. And it will be the same with Festus. But on both counts, they wanted to keep the people happy and appease the Sanhedrin rather than carry out the justice that should be carried out.
Both men had every opportunity to clear Paul and let him go. But neither man would. Both bowed to the mob. And Festus, as you will see, even suggests having the trial in Jerusalem. This would have likely meant the death of Paul and a terrible miscarriage of justice. This seems to leave Paul in a terrible situation, left to the whims of cowardly leaders. But because Paul knew and understood the law of Rome, he did what he needed to do to avoid this miscarriage of justice. He appealed to Caesar.
In Acts 25, we see what Paul teaches about governing authorities in action. In other words, how are we to understand the role of government in our lives? And how are we to act with that being the case?
He plainly teaches about Civil Government in Romans 13:1-7. And when he appeals to Caesar, he is working with the law of the land.
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.” (Romans 13:1-7 ESV)
As Christians, we are to make disciples here. This life is lived here. We are to be faithful here. And if we are to operate here, then we should figure out how here works. And that is really what Paul shows us in our text today and in Romans 13.
Government Authority is from God
The first thing to note is that God appointed authorities. We start here, even if we don’t know God’s reason for it.
The reason for the appointment is not something that we are privy to. Some appointments are for the uplifting of a country. Others are for the destruction of a country. But the point here is that God is doing the appointing.
As a Democratic Republic, we tend to think government authority comes from us. But this is simply not the case. We do have a role to play. And it is a role that we should take seriously. But, ultimately it is God that appoints authorities.
Governing authorities are not accidental. It is not as if God does not control this detail of the world.
“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will…” (Ephesians 1:11 ESV)
God is in control. And His control extends to governing authorities.
I believe this to be where we should start our discussion. We should understand that God is in control.
This means that the leadership of a given country, the rise and fall of nations is all part of God
“Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.” (Daniel 2:20-22 ESV)
Throughout your whole life, you need to understand that God is in control.
No matter who wins elections, and who is in office, God is in control.
In hindsight, I am glad that this is a discussion that I am having now instead of on an election day. It is better to be thinking about this now than when the time comes.
This matters. And it matters greatly. The things happening right now and at every other time are not accidental. They are part of God’s plan. And as Christians, we understand that this is the case. You are not here , in Conway, Arkansas, by accident. The leadership in Conway is not an accident.
You were put here to be faithful in this time and place, not lament the fact that you’re here in this time and place. We should be subject to God-given authorities, and know what this means. But ultimately, we trust in the Lord.
Governing Authorities Are Ministers Of Justice
Governing authorities have a very important role to play in our lives. It is a role that is not always pretty. But it is a role that, if left undone, will lead to chaos.
Governing authorities are ministers of justice. Simply put, your government is supposed to punish evil doers, reward good behavior, and protect its people. It might do more than that, but it at least needs to do that.
I don’t think a lot of people understand what government is supposed to do. They don’t seem to understand the role of government today. I think this may be, in part, because it’s not something that Christians talk about. And we are just carried about wherever governing authorities and news agencies decide to take us.
But we should understand the role of governing authorities in our lives. And we should also understand that they are ministers of God’s justice.
I am a pastor. And so, I am called a Minister of the Gospel. Ruling authorities deal with justice, therefore they’re called Ministers of Justice. There is a massive difference in how I, as a Christian, am to behave and the government is supposed to behave. Our jobs are not the same.
I am to deal with matters of Scripture and the gospel. I am to deal with people in matters of mercy. But this is not really the role of the government. And we should understand the difference.
I don’t think a lot of Christians out there understand the difference.
Police officers that round up criminals, judges that give offenses, and many other people are not workers of mercy out in the world. But their work is a mercy from God to us. If they were to stop upholding justice, then the world would plunge into chaos.
Governing authorities are to deal with matters of justice in this world. And they are to be just.
One of the hard things about our text today is that the governing authorities were not upholding justice for years. And Paul was in unjustified confinement for years before his appeal to Caesar. We are supposed to read our text today and see that Paul is being treated very unjustly. And because of this, the Sanhedrin is able to run matters in a wicked way.
Be In Subjection To Governing Authority
As we have seen already, Paul taught that we were to be subject to governing authorities. He taught this in Romans 13. And we see it in action here in Acts 25. Paul had friends. Paul was not being heavily guarded. And Paul stayed put. And he was incredibly respectful to them.
Because these authorities are appointed by God for the purpose of justice, we should be in subjection to them.
Now, this subjection is not ultimate. If they call upon us to break God’s Law then we should reject that and disobey them. We see this throughout the Scriptures. The Book of Daniel has a few examples of this. And even in the Book of Acts governing authorities told the Apostles not to preach the gospel and the preached anyway in defiance of the State. Sometimes to be faithful to the Lord, we must defy authority. And this is just understanding where ultimate authority lies.
And we see this with Paul in our text today. He had a deference toward the governing authorities.
Know the Law, Know the Rights You Have as a Citizen
We act as if there is nothing to be gained by thinking about our government. But that was not Paul’s attitude. He knew his rights as a Roman citizen. And he was willing to use them.
When Paul understood that he was going to be stuck in prison, tried in Jerusalem, or possibly murdered he knew it was time to think about his most drastic option. But here’s the thing. He knew his most drastic option.
Agrippa did not understand the situation that Paul was in. Had Agrippa been in charge of the case, a man willing to go against the Sanhedrin, then Paul would have been set free. But that was not the case. Had Paul not caused Festus to be confused by what to say to Caesar by appealing to Caesar, Paul would’ve been tried in Jerusalem or murdered on the way. That seems to be the way things were headed.
But everyone knew Paul was innocent. As Agrippa said to Festus,
“And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”” (Acts 26:32 ESV)
He quickly understand that Paul was innocent. And so did Festus. But knowing what we know, that both Felix and Festus equivocated to the Sanhedrin. And things were not moving in the direction of justice for Paul, so he knew that he needed to act. And he knew what to do.
Civics is an important class for many of the reasons described today.
Here in Arkansas, the State requirements are one required semester of civics. Arkansans are expecting to teach the State’s children what it means to be a good citizen of Conway, of Arkansas, and of the United States in one semester.
That’s not enough. It’s really not even close.
As parents, I would encourage you to speak with your children about what it means to be a citizen in our country. But it is even more important to talk with them about how the city, county, and state governments work. And, how they work together.
These are things that we should know as citizens, for our own personal freedom. These things may become useful someday. You may need to know them.
But this does not just apply to what to do if a police officer knocks at your door. This also applies to your job, how your child is treated at school.
My wife and I were on the Board of Directors for a small non-profit group that raised funds for special needs families to participate in activities. It funded horseback riding, bowling, musical activities, and other events that they did in the area. We also oversaw these events and got to speak with parents about this often.
Those parents, because they had to face it so often, knew the laws concerning their children and their education. Those parents wanted the best education their children could get so they carried around binders with their child’s condition and the accommodations that their school was required to make for them by law.
They knew the law and could call upon it anytime the need arose.
I think that is a good rule for us. And one we see from Paul.
He knew his rights. And he called upon them when he needed. But that is not something that you just do. You can only do that if you have educated yourself as to what the law is and what your rights are.
Your Trust is in the Lord
Governments will fail you. But Jesus will not. We need to understand that when thinking about the government and our trust in it.
Felix put off the case to appease the Sanhedrin. Festus saw that Paul was innocent, but also feared the Sanhedrin. And Festus was willing to endanger Paul to keep the Sanhedrin happy. The governing authorities failed Paul. And there will come a time when your government fails you.
Here is what I want to end on. We trust the Lord. And Jesus will not fail you.
Jesus, who lived a perfect life on your behalf. Jesus, who died on the cross and paid your punishment for sin. Jesus, who rose from the grave and accomplished your justification. He will not fail you. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is Your salvation and Your Redeemer. He will never fail you.
Your trust is to be in Him.
As James Madison said in Federalist Paper #51.
“But what is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controuls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: You must first enable the government to controul the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to controul itself. A dependence on the people is no doubt the primary controul on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.”
Humanity is not pure and righteous, therefore we need to be governed. But then there is a second problem. The governors themselves are also sinful. And one of the challenges of governances is keeping control of the sinful governors.
When that is the best we can hope for in our governors, there will be failures. We will be massively let down. And maybe you already have. But Jesus will not fail you.
It oftentimes seems to me that people in America trust too much in their governing authorities. As a democratic republic, we pick our representatives and then root for them. The 24-hour news cycle makes that an easy possibility. And if they wear your colors, then you root for them, sometimes even when they do awful things.
They will let you down. But as God’s people, we must always understand that Jesus is King. He has saved us. And He is bringing an era where the governance will be perfect. He is ushering in a time when every tear will be wiped away. He is bringing in a day in which there will be no more sin and no more shame. And my hope is in Him, not in the people who can so easily let me down.
Conclusion
I want to conclude right here, with this thought. Our civil government matters because God put it there. And my trust in Him makes me work to be a good citizen of this country.
It’s not the other way around. At all times, my trust is in the Lord.
R. Dwain Minor