SERMON: “Christians and Government” (Titus 3:1–2)

“Christians and Government” (Titus 3:1–2)

Series:               “Titus: Godly People, Godly Church,” #14      Text:                 Titus 3:1–2

By:                    Shaun Marksbury                                     Date:                August 18, 2024

Venue:              Living Water Baptist Church                        Occasion:             PM Service

 

I.              Introduction

We have a tense election year upon us with many unprecedented factors.  Setting those particulars aside, it’s a reminder that we must always navigate a unique position as Christians, for we are citizens of two kingdoms.  Philippians 3:20 says, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”  Yet, while our ultimate allegiance is to Christ, Christians don’t simply stop being citizens of their natural homeland.  We must live faithfully within the civil structures where God has placed us.

Moreover, we must see this in-between moment as ordained by God.  The biblical view of government is that it’s a divinely instituted authority, deriving its authority from God (Romans 13:1–7).  As such, government serves a divine purpose in maintaining order — whether it acknowledges God or not.  

However, it is not without limits.  God clearly identifies the role of government in Romans 13 as one of punishing evil and promoting good.  Psalm 2 records the vain attempt of kings and rulers to buck their authority under God and King Jesus.  When governing authorities come into conflicts with God's law, we agree with the apostles that we must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29).  While living under imperfect governments comes with difficulty, the Lord has called us to such a time as this.

This is true of all Christians, whenever and wherever God has placed them.  Those on the island of Crete, for instance, had a reputation for independence.  As one commentator noted, “From about 1200 bc on, ‘Crete was only known for its mercenary soldiers and traders until the Roman annexation.’”^[1]  Even at the time of Paul’s writing to Titus here, he said that “there are many rebellious men” (Titus 1:10).  The young believers in the churches of Crete needed to demonstrate a better way for the lost world around them.

So, Paul tells Timothy to remind the Cretans how they are to engage in their civic responsibilities.  As believers, we must all consider the commands they would be receiving by way of reminder.  So, we see that we are to submit to governing authorities (v. 1a), to consider good under governing authorities (v. 1b), to speak well about governing authorities (v. 2a), and to show grace toward governing authorities (v. 2b).  Let’s consider the first of those:

II.           Christians, Submit to Governing Authorities (v. 1a)

Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient,

There is authority both inside and outside the church, so let’s back up for a moment to consider this.  In the final verse of the previous chapter, we considered the authority of the elder of church.  Paul says to those who lead the church, “These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority.  Let no one disregard you.”  As Scripture also says in Hebrews 13:7, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account.  Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”  So, there is authority and submission within the local church.

We also see that God has established authority outside of the church which governs the members of the church.  Thus, Paul uses the same word in Romans 13:1 as he does here, “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”  In both instances, he uses the word ὑποτάσσω (hupotassō, “to obey”). 

Who are we to be subject to, just to be clear?  The KJV says, “to principalities and powers.”  Just because “principalities and powers” is used elsewhere of angels, that doesn’t mean that it can only mean angels.  A word fallacy assumes terms always have the same meaning throughout Scripture, but just like in any other piece of literature, the context determines the meaning of words.  Besides, Paul wouldn’t command subjection to angels, especially since an angel might deliver a false gospel (Gal. 1:8) or be a servant of darkness in disguise (2 Cor. 11:14–15).  The context here is speaking of rightful human ruling authorities, and Christians are to submit to them.

This goes back to the fifth commandment.  We’re called to honor our fathers and our mothers.  That’s the first introduction we have to authority and submission.  Not all parents are good, of course, and Scripture calls them to wield their authority over children to the glory of God (cf. Eph. 6:4).  Outside of the sphere of familial authority is the sphere of church authority, and beyond that is the sphere of civil authority.  All of these spheres can overlap and have separation, and all are under the authority of God.  (This is preferable to a view of the state determining what rights we have, what the church can and can’t do, and what should happen within families!)  So, under the Lord, we are called to be in subjection and to obey. 

Now, this doesn’t mean blind obedience.  There are examples in Scripture of those who resisted in righteous ways.  For instance, the most famous example is in Acts 5.  The chief priests and the council tell the disciples that they cannot teach in the name of Jesus anymore.  In v. 39, we read, “But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’ ”  Magistrates don’t have the right to tell the church or Christians what we can and cannot do when God has clearly commanded us — a lesson many churches forgot during the COVID lockdowns.

Another example is when the Philippian magistrates mistreated Paul and Silas in Acts 16, beating and imprisoning them.  They eventually send word for them to be released in v. 36, but Paul responds in v. 37, “They have beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they sending us away secretly?  No indeed!  But let them come themselves and bring us out.”  They held the magistrates to account for their illegal mistreatment, and then they left after the magistrates begged them to leave.  Godly resistance isn’t limited to religious matters, but also to personal rights and violations of established law.

However, even when dealing with unrighteous rulers and decisions, we must still speak with respect, which we’ll see in a moment.  As one commentary notes, “Paul’s concern for the Christian’s attitude toward the state may reflect the possibility that some Christians wrongly interpreted their allegiance to Christ as being contrary to any allegiance to the state.”^[2]  This is something we must hear, as well, as there are Christians who believe we don’t have to obey man’s laws.

In fact, our obedience to government reflects our trust in the God who has established all authority.  Even when government is flawed, our submission and respect demonstrate our faith in God's ultimate control over all rulers and nations.  This is a good work, bringing us to the next point:

III.        Christians, Consider Good under Governing Authorities (v. 1b)

to be ready for every good deed,

We must seek to glorify God first through our obedient behavior.  We understand that our obedient behavior comes as a result of being transformed by the gospel.  For instance, Ephesians 2:2 describes us in our fallen state as children of disobedience, but 1 Peter 1:14 describes us as obedient children who can now live differently.  This also involves personal sanctification by the grace of God; “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared [same word, ἕτοιμος (etoimos)] for every good work” (2 Tim. 2:21).  So, good works of obedience starts with salvation and sanctification through Christ in the Holy Spirit, and prayerfully pondering this is the first step to being ready to express every good deed.

Now, in our pondering, we can think of reasons why we want to express good works toward our neighbors.  The first of this is a gospel witness.  Paul noted that, because of the hypocrisy of the unbelieving Jews, “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you” (Rom. 2:24).  Christians should instead live such lives that we “will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect” (Titus 2:10).  In the midst of Paul and Silas’s mistreatment by the Philippians, their good testimony led the Philippian jailer to Christ (Acts 16:27–30).  This is in context of a passage where Paul would resist the unlawful application of authority, but also while enduring and singing hymns, such a manner that he brought glory to the gospel.

Now, our neighbors are not just government officials.  Our heart should also be for prayer and peace for our brethren: “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity” (1 Tim. 2:1–2).  Our prayerful attitude of obedience is not just for our own sake, but all the brethren.

Some Christians live as though they are an island, never considering how their actions might impact the church at large.  False teachers and wolves come in, engaging in abuse of children, never thinking that all churches become maligned as a haven for molesters as a result.  It’s a further act of injustice when some churches respond by concealing such criminal activities for the sake of their own reputation.  We expose such activities to the light of day, calling the authorities when we suspect it, to demonstrate that we take such egregious sins seriously. 

We prepare ourselves for every good work.  Now, this also gives us an important qualifier for obedience, for not every act of obedience is a good deed.  In 1 Samuel 22, the priests responded to King Saul’s summons, but they had intentionally refused to give David into his hand.  When the matter was confirmed and Saul then ordered their execution, his guards “were not willing to put forth their hands to attack the priests of the Lord” (v. 17).  Unfortunately, Doeg was willing to murder the men consecrated for the Lord’s service, but the context makes it clear that the rest were righteous for resisting the sinful orders of the king, knowing it was a wicked work.

This is something that Christian law enforcement and governors must consider — the principle of interposition.  Superiors may command them to engage in unrighteous works, but as lesser magistrates, they have the right to resist and even oppose unlawful orders.  Another example of that is in Jeremiah 38:7–13; Jeremiah was thrown into a cistern by the princes of Judah because of his prophecies and left to die in the muddy pit.  However, Ebed-Melech, a servant in the palace, saved him by boldly approaching King Zedekiah and speaking against the unjust actions of the princes.

So, this isn’t Christless moralism that simply says, “Do what you’re told.”  This is an active expression of our faith for the love of our neighbors.  This is, as Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, letting “your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”  This is considering what an actual good work looks like, and it may even be resisting an attempt at tyranny.  We must prayerfully ponder what God would have us do.

Even in the event that we must stand up to sinful actions, however, God would have us practice restraint.  That brings us to the next point:

IV.        Christians, Speak Well about Governing Authorities (v. 2a)

to malign no one,

Now, of course, understand me: when I say we must “speak well,” I don’t mean we must lie about them being good; I mean we mustn’t lie at all.  The word “malign” here literally means to “blaspheme.”  It’s translated “slander” (LSB, NIV).  There some Christians willing to make up slanderous lies about politicians they don’t like, and that is what the apostle forbids here.

He practiced this.  When Paul speaks in anger of Ananias’s blatant violation of the Law, he says, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall!” (Acts 23:3).  However, when one of the bystanders asks why he would revile the high priest (v. 4), Paul responds that he was unaware that this was Ananias the High Priest, adding, “You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people’ ” (v. 5).

He does not forbid speaking truthfully about a candidate and his or her positions.  There are other Christians who think the Bible says, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”  Being a follower of the God of truth means that we must be like John the Baptist at times and call out Herods for their adultery (knowing that we may face a grim fate as a result).  We might have to pray something imprecatory, asking God to stop a specific evil action.  We may not, however, cross the line into name-calling and all manner of mud-slinging, just because that person has it coming.

We must understand that, just because someone sets himself up as an enemy of the Lord and His ways, that does not give us the right to speak in just any manner.  We avoid untrue and destructive speech, even in the political realm (James 1:26).  In fact, even when we must call out injustice or unrighteous policies, we must consider how we can speak truth in love (Eph. 4:15). 

Remember that the way in which we speak about government and political matters reflects upon our Christian character.  When we speaking with grace, truth, and love is a powerful testimony in a divided world (Col. 4:6).  That brings me to the final point:

V.           Christians, Show Grace toward Governing Authorities (v. 2b)

to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.

There are three phrases I’m including under this point, but it seems like they display the same attitude.  The first is a phrase that we can translate, “avoid quarreling” (ESV).  This is the same word used in the qualification of elders in 1 Timothy 3:3 — Christians should not be pugnacious or contentious people in general.  Unfortunately, social media provides a powerful temptation to be constantly in a war of words, but as we just noted, our truth-telling must be tempered with love.

This comes from a gentle spirit.  We should show gentleness and meekness in our interactions.  We don’t always have to prove our point or win a fight.  Sometimes, we understand that not everyone is where we are, and we don’t have to nitpick every point of disagreement.

This also comes from having consideration for others.  We should take into account what may be happening in their lives behind the scenes.  While that doesn’t excuse blatantly wicked behavior, it may give some context to minor offenses.  Having a graceful consideration may also help us to see that there might be a bigger picture; a certain policy which may have seemed to benefit others on the surface may have had evil legislation attached to it, so a politician may have needed to vote it down.

Now, we have no problem showing grace toward other Christians (or, at least, we shouldn’t).  However, not that we are “to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.”  This would include both subordinates toward their superiors and vice versa.  It would also include our behavior toward those who don’t believe (2 Tim. 2:25–26).  This would include those who sometimes set themselves up against godly policy.

VI.        Conclusion

Again, I hope you’re not hearing tonight that we engage in passive obedience with the state.  Yet, neither should we have a general attitude of contentiousness, rebellion, or anarchy.  God has placed government over us for a reason, and we should consider what will most glorify Him.

If we are being submissive, we demonstrate a trust in God’s sovereignty over the affairs of our lives.  We also serve to be good witnesses as we engage in good works, even if those works call us to resist some evil action.  We must have our speech seasoned with salt, which isn’t always nice, but it is always good.  And we should have demonstrate grace and humility when dealing with people in government, especially if they are unbelievers.

Remember that we are not ultimately home.  While we demonstrate love toward our neighbors and children by engaging in the civic process, we are still looking for that far better country.  Our main goal, then, is to see people come to Christ and become citizens of that kingdom, so pray for the salvation of your leaders.

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^[1] W. Harold Mare, New Testament Background Commentary: A New Dictionary of Words, Phrases and Situations in Bible Order, (Ross-shire, UK: Mentor, 2004), 364.

^[2] Thomas D. Lea and Hayne P. Griffin, 1, 2 Timothy, Titus, The New American Commentary, (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 34:318.