Romans 13: Part 2, Meaning of ‘Minister’

Romans 13:1-7 

1. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers: for there is no power but of God: and the powers that be, are ordained of God. 2. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist, shall receive to themselves condemnation. 3. For Magistrates are not to be feared for good works, but for evil. Wilt thou then be without fear of the power? Do well: so shalt thou have praise of the same. 4. For he is the minister of God for thy wealth: but if thou do evil, fear: for he beareth not the sword for naught: for he is the minister of God to take vengeance on him that doeth evil. 5. Wherefore ye must be subject, not because of wrath only, but also for conscience sake. 6. For, for this cause pay also tribute: for they are God’s ministers, applying themselves for the same thing. 7. Give to all men therefore their duty: tribute, to whom ye owe tribute: custom, to whom ye owe custom: fear, to whom fear: honor, to whom ye owe honor.        1599 Geneva Bible

There are several ways to approach this whole topic of God and government as relates to Romans 13. I suppose it would be most logical to continue laying the groundwork with more observations about the broader context and then narrow the focus to specific phrases or words. However, due to the immediacy of the current political situations upon us I am going to comment on a specific point made in Romans 13.

The point I am considering today is from verse four which states that the agent of government is, ‘the minister of God…’. Herein lies an undeniably awkward teaching for Americans educated in the belief that the state is to be free of all ‘religious’ bias or commitment. Enemies of our religion will run to the Second Amendment to club us with words about the state not establishing religion. There are good and sound reasons why their arguments are specious but I am not going to go into those here. Rather, I want to concentrate on the more important meaning and application of the Biblical command. Constitutionalists may fight this out as they please. The church’s commitment should be to promote Biblical law and ideals. This is the ‘Constitution’ so to speak for Christ’s kingdom, for whom we are ambassadors.

When I started thinking about the meaning of the word minister and its relation to civil government I quickly realized I had to go first to the Old Testament. This is not unusual since the Old Testament lays most of the foundations for any thought relating to the operations of civil government. It is not too much to assert that Old Testament Israel is the model God has established for the lawful operations for all civil governments. It is our example by which we can learn lessons for both good and evil.

So, believing this, I have gone to the qualifications for judges in Israel as a guide to begin my considerations. Here are those qualifications as adopted by Moses, (Exodus 18:21) ‘…you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them, as leaders…’. Here we have these same men, soon after, called ‘elders’ (Exodus 24:14), a church leadership term, who are to rule over the civil affairs of the nation. These men are to be primarily qualified by their moral character, not their experience, education, nor their popularity. These are wonderful qualities for any leader and are in fact what God demands.

Lest we somehow think that God’s standards have ever changed we may look at the qualifications for elders (an Old Testament title carried forward into the New Covenant) in 1 Timothy 3 which informs us he must, ‘be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, …free from the love of money…etc.’ If there is any change here it is only toward a stricter moral standard not a lesser. However, the main point is that the civil leader and the church leader always were subject to Biblical law and morals. The standards for a minister in the church are the same as the standards for a minister in the civil government. Both are ministers and both are subject to the same standards. Neither gets a pass for any reason.

Having discerned these simple truths, I believe they must inform our actions as relates to civil government. It is certainly important for us to respect the office of any minister either ecclesiastical or civil. We ought to obey them as widely as we can. However, it is also true that we need to disobey them when their demands force us to compromise Biblical moral or other demands. Many commentators teach that we only may disobey if the ‘minister’ asks us to sin grievously and directly, such as murder, being an outright thief etc. I believe this construction is unBiblical and wickedly narrow. Commands from any minister may have secondary causes that virtually guarantee our future temptation and sin. Some will lead us into paths so unrighteous that obedience will well neigh become impossible. For instance, if the government minister refuses to issue one sort of permit or another due to his not receiving a bribe from me (this is a real example), my ability to provide for my family may be stopped (business cannot operate and such). I am not going to bribe the ‘minister’ and consequently in my judgment, I may rightly not obtain that permit if I so choose, without violating God’s law.

The fact that civil authorities are ‘ministers’ affords them the honor of the office. However, they are also subject to the demands and morals of their God given position. The authority of an ecclesiastical minister is not unlimited and unaccountable. Their word is not infallible nor is it always to be obeyed without question. They have power but not unlimited power. Civil ministers are under those same strictures. They are to be ministers not tyrants. Righteous demands of ministers we must obey, but tyrants…

For Christian Culture,

Don Schanzenbach

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