Greetings, this is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church with a moment of truth where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and faith. And today I want to challenge you to think through the issue of the relationship between the church and the state. Should we be in submission to the state at all times? And towards this end, I want to bring you a contrast. First, I'm calling today's message two thirteens, two thirteens.

There are indeed in the Bible, in the New Testament, two chapter thirteens that address the nature of our relationship with the state. One is very well-known, very famous, and that is Romans 13. Let me read you that text and remind you of what the Apostle Paul says about the believer's submission to the state. This is Romans 13, verses 1 through 7. 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. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 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, 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. Therefore, one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath, but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this, you also pay taxes. For the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 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.

Unquote. That is Romans chapter 13, verses 1 through 7, and speaks very directly to our relationship, the believer's relationship to the state, to the authorities of the state, to the magistrate, as our standards call him. But there's another chapter, I submit to you, that is symbolic, that is representative of our relationship to the state. And it might be kind of a surprise to you, but it is indeed Revelation chapter 13. Let me read that for you, to provide some context.

Revelation chapter 13. And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns, and blasphemous names on its head. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed.

Then the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast, and they worshipped the dragon. For he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it? And the beast was given a mouth, uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. Also, it was allowed to make war on the saints, and to conquer them.

And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it. Everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes. If anyone is to be slain with a sword, with a sword must he be slain.

Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast whose mortal wound was healed. It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people.

And by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast, it deceives those who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak, and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. Also, it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark. That is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.

This calls for wisdom. Let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666. 666, right, that famous passage that everybody loves to play with and toy with, right, and speculate upon. Well, I wish to bring out the nature of the relationship of the state to the believer from both of these texts, Revelation 13 and Romans 13. There are two 13s that speak to our relationship.

One of my favorite New Testament scholars has written a relatively unknown book that should be widely known, and it is called The State in the New Testament. And it was published in 1956, The State in the New Testament. And it was written by Dr. Coleman, by Dr. Oscar Coleman. And it bothered Dr. Coleman, knowing that most people, when they even thought about it, automatically assumed that Romans 13 was the chief and exclusive Bible text that spoke about the Christian's relationship with the government. That was the first text I read, right?

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that have, and those that exist, excuse me, have been instituted by God. And a superficial reading of that verse gives carte blanche to tyrants to do whatever they want, and the church must sanction it. It also gives carte blanche to lazy Christians to not have to think about what they must do the next day when government closes their churches, and what kind of sacrifices they might have to make for defying the government. People don't want to think about that. Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, period.

That settles it. No more needs to be said. This text becomes a kind of written excuse from mommy to skip government class. It makes for a neat, cozy relationship between church and state that nobody has to think about anymore, because that's what the Bible says. But as Dr. Kuhlman says, and I agree with him wholeheartedly, he says in his book here, that is in Romans 13, here things have come to such a pass that men are willing to classify Paul as an almost servile, uncritical servant of any state.

As if he would say, yea and amen to every claim of the state, be it ever so totalitarian. Few sayings in the New Testament, he says. Few sayings in the New Testament, and he has here Romans 13. Few sayings in the New Testament have suffered as much misuse as this one. And I agree with him wholeheartedly.

Because, indeed, such an attitude towards Romans 13 leads to the kind of evil compliance to which the churches of Nazi Germany fell prey in the 1930s. Oh, so many of the pastors in Germany said to their congregations things like, just go to the trains. It will be all right. It will be easier in the camps. You'll be taken care of.

And, indeed, they were taken care of. After all, let every person be subject to the governing authorities. This text was on those pastors' lips. Just go to the showers, they would say. Cleanliness is next to godliness, right?

After all, let every person be subject to the governing authorities. Even those showers were actually pumping out Cyclone B, which then killed those under the shower heads. Pastors across the United States are doing much the same kind of thing. Again, I submit to you, by exhorting compliance to an evil, corrupt, deep state. As Dr. Coleman says, once again, he says, and I agree with him wholeheartedly, he says, The fountainhead of all false biblical interpretation and of all heresy is invariably the isolation and the absolutizing of one single passage.

This applies most especially in the interpretation of Romans 13, 1 through 7. Oh, unquote. I couldn't agree with him more. And unlike the modern contemporary American church, the New Testament of the Bible speaks far more extensively to the issue of church and state. The thing that Dr. Coleman brought out that really galvanized all of this for me was his observation that the New Testament not only has Romans 13, that speaks of our relationship to the state, but also includes Revelation 13, that does the same thing.

There are at least two thirteens. Dear listener, not one. That's my title today, two thirteens. And first of all, I want to treat of Romans 13, and about it, I want to say, understanding Romans 13 in its context will go a long way towards responding to the state and its authority over our lives. Have your Bibles open because I will be referring to a number of passages that surround Romans chapter 13 here.

So, when seen as intended, and that must always be kept in mind, when seen in its context, we can indeed be subject to the governing authorities, as Romans 13 exhorts us. Paul was not speaking in a vacuum here. There was a context. He was not making an isolated declaration and an absolute rule for all time and in every situation. He was not making that kind of statement.

No, he was extrapolating to government what he had just said about individuals in Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12 does indeed provide us with part of the context for Romans 13. After all, in Romans chapter 12, if you have your Bibles open, you see that Paul says, repay no one evil for evil. That is, leave it to the magistrate to punish evil. So, that's what he'll say in Romans 13 because, as Paul says in Romans 13, they, that is, the magistrate, is a terror to those who do bad.

So, you need not, individual believer, repay anyone evil for evil. Leave that to the magistrate. That's part of the context. And Paul also says in Romans chapter 12, do not avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God. That is, leave it to the wrath of God in the office of magistrate because he says in verse 4 of 13, the magistrate is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.

And so, you are at liberty then in chapter 12 to leave a vengeance to the wrath of God, leave vengeance to the wrath of God. And then, also in chapter 12, part of the context in Romans 12 is you overcome evil with good. Do good even as the magistrate does good as your servant. That is picked up in chapter 13, isn't it? In verse 4, he says, he, that is, the magistrate, is God's servant for your good, and so you, as well, overcome evil with good.

This is part of the context, indeed, for Romans chapter 13. And that which is neglected in most teaching on this passage is the presupposition of good and bad, of right and wrong. And that presupposition is the law of God. And when Paul enjoins obedience and subjection to the magistrate, that is, the governing authorities on pain of judgment from God himself, and the threat is, whoever resists the authorities, resists what God has appointed. And those who resist will incur judgment in verse 2, very solemn warning.

Well, the rule, what is presupposed is the rule and standard to measure good conduct and bad conduct. There must be a, if indeed, if there's going to be good and bad conduct, we must be able to distinguish between the two according to a measure. And the standard measure is presupposed to be God's measure of good and bad conduct. That is his law. What else must be in mind, dear listener?

What else does he have in mind? Something arbitrary? The Code of Hammurabi, for instance. We studied this in college, which, when you read it, you find has two classes of justice. One for just us, that is, the royalty, and one for the rest, that is, the proletariat.

And the Code of Hammurabi is completely capricious and arbitrary, unlike God's law. What are we to have in mind as God's measure of good and bad conduct? Was it the law of the jungle, where might makes right? That's virtually the notion of power in Marxism. How about Sharia law, the Sharia law of Islam, which, if indeed enforced, will extinguish the light of the gospel and inaugurate a thousand years of darkness, if it indeed comes to us?

Oh, no, none of these. The presupposed standard of good and bad, of right and wrong, is indeed the law of God in chapter 13 of Romans. It says, when the magistrate bears the sword in accordance with God's law, he is to be submitted unto. He is indeed God's servant for your good. And the subsequent context of Romans 13 bears this out for us, too.

If you have your Bible open, cast your eyes from verses 8 and following, the subsequent context. And there, Paul says, oh, no one anything except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The law is the context. He goes on to say, for the commandments, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet. That's all from the law, isn't it?

Paul goes on to say, and any other commandment are summed up in this word, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. And then finally, in the subsequent context, Paul says, love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. The fulfilling of the law. Indeed, this is the context for Romans 13.

The law of God frames this entire discussion of our relationship to the state. Paul presupposes that the standard by which a magistrate will approve a citizen in verse 3 or avenge on the wrongdoer of God's wrath in verse 4, this is indeed God's law. It is by this standard, as one author has put it, entitled this book, Greg Bonson did, by this standard, an excellent book. I commend it to you. Well, in fact, this was Paul's experience, too, with the Roman magistrate throughout the book of Acts.

This is part of our context, too. Paul's experience with the Roman magistrate, who he's talking about here in Romans 13. His experience is chronicled in the book of Acts, and it's why Paul could write so confidently here concerning the Christian's submission to that authority. The Roman magistrate throughout the book of Acts. His entire encounter with the Roman justice system was one of fairness and justice in stark contrast with the evil intent of the Jews.

I just give you three quick examples here. First of all, in Acts 23, the Roman tribune protects Paul from the plot of the Jews, and he gives him safe passage to Caesarea and then on to Rome. And then the Roman proconsul, Sergius Paulus, in Acts chapter 13, that Luke says is a man of intelligence, Sergius Paulus discerned between the authenticity of Paul and Barnabas and the deceit of Elimus the sorcerer. And in fact, Sergius Paulus became a believer, the Roman proconsul himself.

And then significantly, the Roman proconsul of Achaia, Gallio, refused to entertain accusations against Paul by the Jews, since it was about the obscurities of the religious rules and not about, as Luke says, wrongdoing or vicious crime. That would have fallen within the purview of Roman law. And that's chronicled in Acts chapter 18. So, again and again, throughout Acts, whenever Paul faced injustice or indignities at the hands of the Jews, it was the panoply of Roman magistrates who acquitted him at the bar of Roman justice, which coincided with biblical justice. That's the point.

Roman justice at this time in the hinterland in Asia Minor, the bar of Roman justice coincided with biblical justice. And we know this not only because of the book of Acts, but because we have extant with us a record of Roman jurisprudence and philosophical reflection, excuse me, on law and justice from men like Cicero or Seneca. We have the writings and we know that at this time, at its best, Roman jurisprudence coincided with biblical jurisprudence. In fact, the entire development in the West of natural law is based in part upon the coherence of Roman jurisprudence with that of jurisprudence found in the Bible.

And consequently, Paul is able to counsel submission to Roman authority because at the time of the composition of Romans, the understanding of good versus evil was substantially the same. This is utterly necessary to understanding Romans chapter 13. Obedience and submission are not owed when the magistrate deviates from the standard of God's law. The believer will ipso facto come into conflict with that jurisprudence, with that law, with that system when it does. When the magistrate deviates from the standard of God's law, there will be conflict.

Proverbs 28, which does a lot of reflection on the nature of the relationship of government to the believer. Proverbs 28, verse 4 says, They that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them. Law keepers contend with law breakers. That's just the nature of the case, and that will happen under jurisprudence. That does indeed conflict with God's law.

And Proverbs 21, 15 says, When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous, but terror to evildoers. Indeed, Paul had this in mind when he was talking about the magistrate being a terror to those who do wrong. But when government turns these things on their head, it is not to be obeyed. That law, the magistrate, is not to be obeyed, but contended with, as the Proverbs say. When government rewards the wicked and punishes the righteous, that government has transgressed its implicit contract with the people.

Well, there is indeed a contract with the people that government has, right? And John Locke reflected on this in his treatises on government as well. For example, George Soros has funded the campaigns of hundreds of local attorneys general in strategic states and municipalities throughout the country, precisely in order to praise the wicked and punish the righteous. A recent example is that of Mark and Patricia McCloskey in St. Louis. Perhaps you've read about this story.

They defended their home with drawn weapons against an Antifa mob, which threatened the couple and the entire complex in which they lived. And yet, it is they who are threatened with prosecution in our politically correct atmosphere. And if you follow the case of Roger Stone, you know that he too was wrongfully prosecuted in a kangaroo court established precisely for this purpose. And General Flynn, too, another example, recently exonerated in a series of stunning revelations of miscarriage of justice. He's another example of the righteous being punished while the wicked are being praised.

We could cite many other examples. And the metaphor in our parlance for this precise state of affairs is that of the deep state. Huh, yes, a good, succinct term for it, kind of amorphous. We know some of the names and figures and people and so forth and faces, do we not? But not all of them.

The deep state is real. It is pernicious and it is evil. It is nothing like the Roman system of jurisprudence and law that existed in the provinces of the empire in Paul's day. Paul could confidently exhort the church in his day, let every person be subject to the governing authorities because the standard for good and evil in the empire coincided with the standard for good and evil in the Bible. And thus, the authorities were not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.

By definition, Paul's whole construct for Romans 13, even being intelligible, is based upon a shared foundation for law and order between Roman jurisprudence and biblical jurisprudence. This is undeniable. We cannot just willy-nilly submit to every governing authority blindly just because it is legitimate and just because it's there. Men like John MacArthur do this and they do it wrongly. John MacArthur said in his sermon on Romans 13, he says this, and listen to how absurd it is.

MacArthur says, now listen to this. It doesn't matter whether your ruler is Caesar, Herod, Pilate, Felix, Festus, Agrippa, Stalin, Hitler, Winston Churchill, Bill Clinton. It doesn't matter who it is. Paul says, be subject. You teach them to be subject, unquote.

Oh, dear listener, I love John MacArthur in many, many ways, but he's wrong in this. Because just what I've quoted you from him is a prescription for Holocaust. A prescription for Holocaust. The same kind of Holocaust we saw in Germany under the Nazis. Just go to the trains.

Be subject to their governing authorities. Just go to the showers, believers. Dear church, just go to the showers. Cleanliness is next to godliness after all. And we must be subject to the governing authorities, right?

It's a prescription for Holocaust. Now, Dr. Oscar Kuhlman lived through that period of time. He saw, he was German. He saw up close what Hitler did and what the subjugation of the church, what the submission of the church to the Nazi state produced. And he says this in his book, The State in the New Testament, published in 1956, just 11 years after the end of World War II.

And what he says here about the German state is, and I quote, Even a legitimate state is always in danger of becoming satanic in one way or another. We do too great honor to the German national socialistic state when we put it on the same level with the Roman state. So far as legality is concerned, the national socialistic state had also fallen away from the order in which every state is placed. For here, the ethical distinction between good and evil, right and wrong, no longer prevail. On the contrary, right was whatever the state required, unquote.

Oh, Dr. Kuhlman is so precise on this. He's so good on this, isn't he? Indeed, even a legitimate state, as he says, is always in danger of becoming satanic in one way or another. Reflecting on Revelation chapter 13, even as the Roman state quickly did become satanic by the time of John's day. And I would submit to you that the legitimate state of the United States of America has already become satanic and in the morphing into the shape of the deep state that we now have.

And we do too great of an honor to the American national socialistic state. We do too great of an honor to the American deep state when we put it on the same level as the Roman state. No, it indeed has become evil and satanic. And I've covered this in multiple broadcasts in the past. So have this in mind as these days roll on.

Well, we will take up part two. That is the contrast between Romans 13 with that of Revelation chapter 13 in our next broadcast. But suffice it to say that for now, indeed, Romans 13 is not always what it appears once we have put it in its context. And I urge you then to join us at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church, where I am preaching through the book of Revelation even now. And these issues come up constantly, time and time again.

And they're not done being dealt with here in our day and time in our culture, because these are front burner issues, which is one reason I'm treating them. So come and join us for worship at New Geneva. We meet for holy worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. Perhaps you've been intending to cross our threshold. Now is the time to do it.

101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard, Sunday at 10 a.m. You can call me for feedback or more information at area code 208-523-0196. 208-523-0196.