
Romans 13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
1 . God has
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2 . The general principle is
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3 . God creates governments to reward
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4 . How does the government know what is good or evil?
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5 . When the government commands that which God
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6 . Are you prepared to
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Discussion Questions:
- Have you had any funny interactions with police officers? How did it go?
- What was your biggest takeaway from this teaching?
- What challenges do we face as Christians when we think about government?
- How can we be good citizens of both God’s kingdom and America?
- What stood out to you from the biblical examples of people of faith who choose to obey God rather than man? Any stories of this in your own life?
- Take time to pray for the authorities in your life (government and non-government).
Resources for Further Study:
-Matthew 17:24-27 (Oct. 16, 2010 Sermon)
-Matthew 22:17-21 (Nov. 20, 2010 Sermon)
-1 Timothy 2:1-2 (Sep. 22, 2018 Sermon)
-Titus 3:1-2
-1 Peter 2:13-17 (Feb. 14, 2021 Sermon)
-“Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy” by Eric Metaxas