As followers of Jesus, we are to support some form of a government that is chosen by the people who are being governed...

This week, we have been asking the question "What kind of government is the right government? Does Jesus promote socialism? Communism? A monarchy? Democracy? A republic?" So far this week, we have discovered that  humanity was divinely designed to live in relationship with God and one another and have been given responsibility over the earth as His representative here on earth.

We talked about the reality that while there is no single verse that we can point to that says “Thus saith the Lord, you shall be governed by X type of government”, there are biblical principles that support some form of a government that is chosen by the people who are being governed. Now a natural question or objection that could arise here is “Well Dave, didn’t the Jewish people have kings over them? Didn’t God give the Jewish people a procedure when it came to having a king? So how can you say that the Bible supports some form of a government that is chosen by the people who are being governed? ”

Today, to respond to this question or objection, let’s look at an event from history that is recorded for us in the Bible called the book of 1 Samuel, where the Jewish people asked for a king to rule them. At this time in history, a prophet named Samuel was leading the Jewish people, as the Lord’s spokesman and representative. However, as Samuel neared the end of his life, his children were not following in his faithful footsteps when it came to their relationship with God. It is in this context that we see the following event from history take place in 1 Samuel 8:4-20:

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; and they said to him, "Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations." But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the LORD. The LORD said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. "Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day-- in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods-- so they are doing to you also. "Now then, listen to their voice; however, you shall solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them." So Samuel spoke all the words of the LORD to the people who had asked of him a king. He said, "This will be the procedure of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and place them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen and they will run before his chariots. "He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and some to do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. "He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers. "He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants. "He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give to his officers and to his servants. "He will also take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys and use them for his work. "He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. "Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day." Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, "No, but there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles."

So here is a question to consider: was a monarchy God’s idea? Was a form of government where government ruled over people without their consent God’s idea? No a monarchy, a king, was what the people asked for out of their selfish rebellion against God. And as a result, God gave the selfish and rebellious Jewish people what they wanted. And how did a king work out for the Jewish people? How has a monarchy, a dictatorship, communism, or socialism worked out for humanity historically?

A Biblical worldview reveals that, because we live in a flawed and fallen world as a result of the selfishness and rebellion of humanity, governments should establish a strong and clear separation of powers. Because of the selfishness and rebellion of humanity, even Godly leaders can abuse power. In the letters that make up the Bible we see several examples of this reality.

For example, Saul repeatedly put his own interests first. King David misused his power in his sin with Bathsheba. Solomon wrongfully accumulated 700 wives and 300 concubines that turned his heart towards rebellion. As a matter of fact, most of the kings of the Jewish people abused their power and did evil.

And because of that reality, there should be some type of separation of powers within government. Even in the church, power and decisions were never given to just one person. You see, when you read the letters that make up the Bible, what we discover is that government seems to work best when people have consent when it comes to who governs them. By contrast, the letters of the Bible reveal for us the reality that governments work the worst for those who govern and rule without the people’s consent.

Now another question that could arise here is “Well Dave, if what you are saying is true; if the Bible supports some form of a government that is chosen by the people who are being governed, then what should the relationship be between the church and government? What does a Biblical worldview look like when it comes to how the government relates to the church and vice versa?

Wayne Grudem does a great job of addressing this question and in so doing reveals for us four principles for a right relationship between government and the church. First, as we discovered last week, the Church Should Not Govern "The Things That Are Caesar's” so to speak. In other words, the church should have no responsibility in local or national government. There is no indication in the New Testament that church leaders had any responsibility in local or empire wide government.  In addition, Jesus refused to assume any type of governmental role. This principle implies that the Popes in the Middle Ages were wrong to attempt to assert authority over kings, or claim a right to select civil leaders.

Second and similarly, the Civil Government Should Not Govern "The Things That Are God's”. In other words, the government should have no responsibility when it comes to church. Jesus and the early church were involved in evaluating and selecting leaders for the church, not the government. Third, civil government should support and encourage churches and legitimate religious groups in general. As long as the government is not supporting a single religion or denomination, it is appropriate to support religious institutions with things such as tax-exempt status, as it falls under the government promoting the general welfare of the nation, as we talked about in the first sermon in the series in Romans 13:4.

The fourth principle, however, is that the most difficult church/government questions arise when people disagree over whether something belongs to the realm of the church or the realm of the government. And for the rest of this series, we will find these principles at work as we begin to lay out the political platform that Jesus would have if He was running for political office in our culture today.

In the meantime, however, the timeless truth that we discover today is that, as followers of Jesus, we are to support some form of a government that is chosen by the people who are being governed. As followers of Jesus, we are to support a government that is chosen by the people who are governed because every human being is created in God’s relational image and bears the thumbprint of God as His representative here on earth. As followers of Jesus, we are to support a government that is chosen by the people who are governed because, because no human being has a special right to rule over others without their consent.

As followers of Jesus, we are to support a government that is chosen by the people who are governed because human beings have an inward bent towards selfishness and rebellion that can result in the abuse of power if not kept in check. And as followers of Jesus, we are to support a government that is chosen by the people who are governed because those who are governed are best suited to choose who should fulfill the purpose of government to promotes good for people and punishes the evil of people.