When I first delivered this message to my congregation here in Jerusalem, King of Kings Assembly, Israel was going to the polls.

Many of us might question the importance of party platforms, elections, and even governments to the believer. Some might say that earthly kingdoms have no significance whatever, and quote Yeshua, who said in John 18:36, “…‘My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the [leaders of the] Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.’” Or some might quote Paul, who said in Philippians 3:20, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

I believe the Bible teaches that although our ultimate citizenship is in heaven, right now we must live and work as responsible citizens of earthly kingdoms. One of several passages of Scripture supporting this view is 1 Peter 2:12-17:

¹² Having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

¹³ Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, ¹⁴ or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. ¹⁵ For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—¹⁶ as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. ¹⁷ Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”

To the first readers of 1 Peter, this passage must have been a shocking statement. Perhaps they said, “You mean to say, Peter, that the Roman empire is really a ‘holy’ Roman empire ordained of God?”

Keep in mind that the early Church was a Jewish Church. Not only was it made up primarily of Jews, but also its Jewish members were still holding on to their Jewish roots. As the Romans learned, sometimes the hard way, the Jews were hardly compliant with the empire.

Many of the Jews, especially in the Galilee, were committed to insurrection. The most radical Jews were the Zealots; they were convinced that there was no king for the Jews but God, and that no taxes or duty must be paid to anyone except to God. Their resistance was not passive. They believed that God would not help them unless they took violent action to help themselves.

The Zealots were known as the dagger-bearers. They were fanatical nationalists, and today they would be called terrorists. Not only did they use terrorism toward the Roman government; they also wrecked the houses and burned the crops and assassinated the families of their own fellow Jews who paid taxes to Rome.

Peter was a Jew and probably had at one time sympathized with his brothers in their opposition to Rome. Yet he had made an about-face since his encounter with Messiah. Peter’s words are shocking when one realizes that Rome vigorously opposed any religion that tended to run counter to that of the state, especially Christianity, for Christianity was regarded as a Jewish sect. History tells us that at the time of this letter Christianity had in fact been outlawed by Rome. Yet now Peter teaches that earthly governments are not only sanctioned by God but in fact are sent by Him to rule. Here Peter agrees with another Jew, the apostle Paul, who said in Romans 13:1 that “there is no authority except from God.”

Now going back to our text in 1 Peter, these verses answer two important questions: Why do we need governments? What is the believer’s responsibility to governments?

1. Why do we need governments?

We need governments to maintain law and order.

The main reason why we need governments is to maintain law and order, as we read in verses 13 and 14:
¹³ “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, ¹⁴ “or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.”

Somebody wrote: “Fear built the cities and…men huddled behind a wall in order to be safe. People joined themselves together and agreed to live under certain laws, so that the good person may have peace to do his work and go about his business and the evil man may be restrained and kept from his evil.”

But governmental and social order is actually God’s idea. The phrase translated in verse 13 as “every ordinance of man” is derived from the Greek phrase, anthropine ktisis. These words can refer to all common social institutions of an ordered society, such as the state, the household, the family, and various other groupings.

God is not an anarchist. He believes in organization. Without order there is chaos and ultimately destruction. You only need to look at His creation to see how God loves order. And so when man tampers with the ecological system, the whole chain of command of creation breaks down. The air becomes polluted, trees contract disease, lakes and streams stagnate, and fish die.

On a much higher level, human beings—the pinnacle of God’s creation—need order too. Without it, chaotic forces lead to violence and death. So we need governments to ensure order. And the most important tool at a government’s disposal to maintain order is a system of justice. Peter indicates in verse 14 that it is God’s will that the government should “[punish]…evildoers” and “praise…those who do good.”

Augustine once said, “Without justice, what are kingdoms but great gangs of robbers?”

Paul says concerning earthly rulers in Romans 13:3,4:
³ “For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil….⁴ For [the authority] is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.” So civil rulers and judges are explicitly commissioned to represent God as judges. And therefore, like God, they should love righteousness and hate wickedness.

According to Peter, we need governments because they are God’s agents of law and order. Yet, let’s face it, we have a hard enough time submitting one to another and to spiritual leaders, let alone submitting to civic and governmental authority. Someone might say: “Governments are often corrupt and unfair. They overspend and yet they want to increase our taxes to pay for their excesses. I don’t see why I need to submit to the government.”

Well, there is a second reason why we need governments.

We need governments to measure our willingness to submit to God Himself.

It is clear from our text that our willingness to submit to the governments God has raised up indicates our willingness to submit to God Himself. In verse 13 Peter writes, “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance [or authority] of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme.”

Do these words concerning submitting ourselves to “every ordinance [or authority]”appear in your Bible or just in mine? Well, it’s in the Greek, so we can’t do much about that.

We as believers have a responsibility to submit to governments—even secular governments. Why? Well, actually God doesn’t owe us any explanation. Peter simply says that we should submit ourselves “for the Lord’s sake.” In other words, when God tells us to submit to every authority it’s not first of all for our sake, but for His sake.

When we’re told to do something, we tend to be self-centered. We ask, “What’s in it for me?” Many times we’re like my children, who, in their earlier years, often challenged my instructions and asked, “But why?” And sometimes I would simply say, “Just because.” So when our heavenly Father tells us to “do this” or to “do that,” we had better do this or do that—just because. As someone has commented, if God tells us to jump, then our only question should be: “How high?”

There are lots of examples in the Bible where God tells people to do things and then gives them little or no explanation. Even when God commanded the Jews not to eat nonkosher meat, He said little about why. The rabbis have tried all kinds of explanations: nonkosher food is bad for your health, pork is the tastiest of meats and so God disciplines His people by forbidding pork, etc.

God’s ways are not our ways and His ways are higher than our ways (see Isaiah 55:8,9). And sometimes His explanations will not satisfy us anyway. So the bottom line is: If God says we should submit to the government, we better do it because He says so. And when we obey, we please Him, for we have submitted ourselves “for the Lord’s sake.” And according to verses 16 and 17 respectively, we also demonstrate that we are “bondservants of God” and that we “fear God.”

2. What are our responsibilities to governments?

Now I want to answer the question concerning what is the believer’s responsibility to governments.

Our first responsibility to governments is to make a contribution to political and social life.

Peter writes in verse 15, “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.”

If there has been what Peter calls the “ignorance of foolish men” regarding Christians in our day, it’s the criticism that Bible-believing Christians have no political or social consciousness. Fundamentalists are known for having their heads in the clouds and being more interested in the signs of the times than in helping to cure the ills that contribute to these signs. Too many Christians are unconcerned about improving the earthly environment, believing it’s hardly worth the effort since “heaven is just around the bend” anyway.

But I’m encouraged by a new wave of concerned believers, who are banding together to help make our governments and social institutions better expressions of God’s original purpose for them. More and more Christians are running for elected office. More Christians are speaking out on moral and ethical issues that God has a lot to say about. More Christians desire to feed the hungry and fight social injustice. More believers are interested in Israel, not just because they are aware that this country represents a fulfillment of last-days prophecy, but because they want tangibly to express their love to a maligned people. And some are actually living here in Israel for this very reason and are making sacrifices—they could earn a lot more money somewhere else, and life could be much easier in another land.

We need to be “doing good.” And one important way to do good is to make real contributions to our governments and society.

Our second responsibility to governments is to pay taxes.

Becoming politically and socially active is a very positive way of making a contribution to our world and is something we should begin to take seriously. But I am concerned that even the very basic duties of believers to society are not being carried out by some.

Part of “doing good” is simply paying for the services that the government provides. This is called paying taxes.

Alisa Bonaparte, Napoleon’s sister, was on her deathbed and someone in the room commented that “nothing is as certain in life as death.” “Except taxes,” added Alisa, and those were her last words, some of the most famous last words quoted today. Taxes are not liked by anyone, but almost everyone is asked to pay them (except in Kuwait, which provides free health and medical care and free education to all).

Lately I’ve been disturbed about an increasing disdain of born-again Christians for the “tax man.” It’s not that we are supposed to like him, but we are supposed at least to respect him. I’ve heard Christians—without any hesitation or hint of guilt—boast of how they were able to bring goods in or out of their country without paying duty because of their ingenuity in packing them in their luggage. Arguments for such behavior have ranged anywhere from the comment that taxes are “unreasonable” to the suggestion that it is the customs officials’ “problem” if they are “too stupid to catch me.”

The apostle Paul warns us in Romans13:6,7: ⁶ “For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. ⁷ Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs….” And in Matthew 22:21 Yeshua Himself said of taxes owed to the Roman government, “…‘ Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ ”

Someone wrote to the office of Internal Revenue, stating: “I can’t sleep; my conscience is bothering me. Enclosed please find a check for $50. If I still can’t sleep, I’ll send you the balance.” Our consciences need to be aroused, but more so than this man’s. We need to realize that what we owe to our government is really what we owe to God, for that government is His servant.

Our third responsibility to governments is to pray.

Probably the greatest responsibility we have to our government is to pray for it. Paul said in 1 Timothy 2:1-4: ¹ “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, ² for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. ³ For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴ who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Even foreign governments need our prayers. The Lord, through the prophet Jeremiah, told the people of Israel about their responsibility to their foreign captors and government. In Jeremiah 29:4, He addresses “all who were carried away captive.” Then in verse 7 He says, “And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace.”

Toward the end of the first century, Clement, a leader in the Roman Church, who could remember the outrageous persecution of the Church by Nero 30 years before, prayed this prayer: “Give concord and peace to us and to all who dwell on earth, as Thou didst to our fathers, when they called on thee in faith and truth with holiness, while we render obedience to Thine almighty and most excellent name, and to our earthly rulers and governors. Thou, O Lord and Master, hast given them the power of sovereignty through Thine excellent and unspeakable might, that we, knowing the glory and honour which thou hast given them, may submit ourselves to them, in nothing resisting Thy will. Grant them therefore, O Lord, health, peace, concord and stability, that they may without failure administer the government which thou hast committed to them.”

The question must be asked at this point: What if my government demands that I do something that is morally or ethically against what God has demanded in His Word? We might point out instances of believers in Iron Curtain countries who were told by their governments that they could not read their Bibles or meet with other believers for worship. Or what if a law says that our church must not be discriminatory in the hiring of a secretary or custodian, and that if a homosexual has qualifications for the job that are superior to those of other applicants, we must hire him? Do we comply with the will of the state? Or if, as a doctor, I’m told that I’m required to do abortions on demand, must I comply?

To find out what to do in such a scenario we must turn to another portion of Scripture. When Peter and some of the other apostles were arrested for teaching in the name of Yeshua, they were brought before the Sanhedrin and questioned. We read in Acts 5:29, “But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men.’ ”

Peter understood that there may be times when the Christian will fulfill his highest duty to the state by refusing to obey it and by insisting on obeying God. By doing so, he will witness to the truth, and may even lead the state to follow the way of God.

But Peter also understood the great temptation to use this freedom of following the way of God above the state as an excuse for lawlessness. This is why Peter warns us in verse 16 of our text that we should live “as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.” These words echo those of Paul in Galatians 5:13, “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

I’m sure Peter in his day would have said that Christians should be willing to die, if necessary, rather than obey a governor’s order to offer a sacrifice to the emperor; but he would have argued that the divine citizenship and responsibility enjoyed by believers should not be used as a cloak for wickedness. Opposition to the government must be based on conscience and not simply a desire to be lawless.

Well-known speaker and pastor Stuart Briscoe makes a good point. He says that when the Christian has a duty to disobey the government and the case is clear-cut, his disobedience will be seen as a striking act of conscience only if in every other instance his attitude is complete compliance, cooperation, and support. The habitual troublemaker is recognizable even when he may have a valid point to make. Briscoe says, “The consistent Christian whose regular law-abiding stance is suddenly shattered by a conscience-inspired action is bound to cause a stir and to get his message across.” And Briscoe cites the example of the early Church, “The refusal of the early Christians to worship Caesar was striking not only because of its inherent bravery but also because of its remarkable contrast to their regular position of ‘rendering to Caesar what is Caesar’s’ ”

In conclusion, we need to recognize that government is an important institution even for the citizen of heaven who has alien status here on earth. Each of us needs to gain a renewed respect for our government and to see its authority as God-given. Submission to its commands—if those commands are consistent with what God allows—must be followed. But in following them, we must remember that we are really following higher commands, and a greater Master, God Himself.

Yet let us go beyond the call of duty as a citizen. Let’s contribute something to the political and social system and bring glory to God. Let’s render unto our governments what they are due. Let’s do good, and may our lives live up to our witness. Let’s pray for our nations, that God’s divine plan will be carried out and that His name will be lifted up.