By J.D. Walt

Prayer of Consecration

Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.

Jesus, I belong to you.

I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body as a holy and living sacrifice to you.

Jesus, We belong to you.

Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Scripture

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.

Romans 13:4–5 (NIV)

Consider This

Today’s text should convince us that while Nero may have been the emperor of the day, he had not yet delved into the insanity he would come to be known for. How do we know? Because Paul would likely not have written the following about that Nero. To get a load of those days see Revelation 13 (and see this video for possible interpretations of that text).

For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good.

Now that we have that settled, let’s also be clear that Rome was not a friendly government. Rome was an equal opportunity oppressor, especially to Christians. The declaration, “Jesus is Lord,” would have been heard as a decisively political statement and interpreted as insurrectionist at best. While I indicated, Paul has not set out to give us a treatise on church and government/state relations, he does give us some clear theological thinking on the matter here. 

To say “Jesus is Lord,” does not mean Jesus is in the state and government business. It does mean he is in authority over the business of government and state. Take a look at how Paul puts it in his circular to the Ephesians:

That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. (Eph. 1:19–23)

Notice the precise wording. It does not say that God appointed the church to be head over everything for Jesus. No, it says something quite different, even opposite:

God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church. 

Jesus is Lord. It means he is the head of the church and he is the authority over the government. The great mistake repeatedly made through the centuries is to make the ill-fated leap to installing the church as the authority over the government and to do it in Jesus’s name.¹ The effect of this is to create a national church. It is a very short step from there to the effort to nationalize the Christian faith through the mechanisms of the government. While this is an ever-present seduction both for Christian politicians and despotic demagogues, it always results in a disaster both for the church and the government and especially the people. 

Now, it is a long way from ancient Rome to modern America, but there is a fascinating connective subtext as relates to the matters at hand. One of the truly brilliant strokes of genius of the founders of America was what is known as the establishment clause in the Constitution. It is in the first amendment of what we know as the Bill of Rights. 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; 

These are the first words of the first amendment (before free speech, free press, peaceable assembly, and petitioning the government with grievances). I believe they reveal something of the theological mind of the founders—at least those who were Christians. They were not setting out to create a Christian nation as much as they were attempting to create a nation where people could freely be Christians—unhindered by the government. I have some experience and some learning on these matters but I am not an expert. Based on my limited experience and understanding (and at the risk of gross oversimplification), here is what I believe the Bible points to concerning the relationship between church and state, and hence, what I surmise was in the minds of the founders of this country as they charted our course on the matter.  

Again, this is insanely complex and well beyond my pay grade to even comment, but as a pastor who happens to be a citizen living in this particularly troubled American context, I consider it my duty to speak from the limited wisdom I possess—exercising both courage and restraint and yes, to prepare for a beating. ;0)²

   

Prayer

Abba Father! It gives us great pleasure and is our deepest privilege to declare, Jesus is Lord! Forgive us for trying to keep Jesus in a private religious compartment in our lives and in the world around us. Forgive us also for trying to impose Jesus on the world around us through the structures and strictures of the government. Holy Spirit, teach us and train us on our humble yet sacred place and role as your church in this world. Grant us wisdom . . . grant us courage . . . for the facing of this hour. Praying in Jesus’s name, amen.