The True Application of Romans 13 - In Defense of Christian Patriots

The Christian Response to Earthly Government

Contrary to popular belief, God has a political plan for how we engage in government here on the earth.  And most Americans and Christians don’t really understand our Christian responsibility and authority.  So let me point out a few things from the Word of God.  Romans 13:1-4. says  ”Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:  For he is the minister of God to thee for good.  But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.”

This scripture embodies God’s plan for government – ALL government.  And it applies the government in Christ’s day as well as the government we have today.  But HOW it applies is very different depending on the government that God has given us.  For example when Israel clamored for Saul to be King instead of the Judges, Samuel spoke to them and said 1Samuel 12:13-14  “Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and, behold, the LORD hath set a king over you.  If ye will fear the LORD, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the LORD your God:”   In other words, it doesn’t matter what kind of government we have, it will be good only as long as everyone involved is obedient to God.  But by the same token, reguardless of the form of government, once the people or governing body rebels against the Word of God it is always doomed to fail.  So first, we need to understand that it’s not the FORM of government that matters, what’s important is that it operates under the authority of God.  And Paul tells us in the book of Romans how all governments should operate.

Romans 13:1  “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers (governments). For there is no power (government) but of God: the powers (governments) that be are ordained of God”. So if we want to know God’s will for us concerning the powers that be, we first need to identify what kind of government we’re dealing with.  Monarchy?  Dictatorship?  Parliamentary?  Democracy?  Democratic Republic?

In the United States we have a democratic (constitutional) republic.  We select (by vote – or appointment) representatives who administrate the law based on the constitution and the will of THE PEOPL

Q -  What is the highest power in the United States?  WE THE PEOPLE 

Q -  Who is the highest authority in the United States?  WE THE PEOPLE

Q -  Who does God hold responsible for its governance?  WE THE PEOPLE

You need only look as far as the preamble to the Constitution
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

The constitution is all about the PEOPLE.  And it is designed to protect the people from abuses of the government.  Appointed or elected officials were never meant to be in control, or in authority over the American people.    By the strictest definition, our government officials and civil authorities are literally “public servants”.  They SERVE us.  They OBEY us.  They ANSWER to us.  And if we don’t like what the constitution says there is a mechanism to change it that requires two thirds majority in the House and Senate.  It’s a stringent requirement that is purposeful so that there is no easy way for a simple majority to rule.  In other words it takes a super-majority to change the law of the land.  The constitution and the Bill of Rights enumerate the God give rights of the people and LIMIT the authority of our elected leaders.  But neither document gives our representatives special rights or privileges. 

Now of course this isn’t true for every form of Government.  If we had a Monarchy the King would be the authority.  If we had a dictator HE would be in authority.  If we had a parliament THEY would be in authority.  That’s why Jesus and his disciples didn’t come against the AUTHORITY of His day.  They were obedient to God’s plan in Romans 13.  Caesar was the authority NOT the people.  Caesar was responsible to God to bring law and justice – not the people.  So they obediently allowed Caesar to make the decisions and suffer the consequences for either his good works – or his evil works.

But in our case, God has blessed us so that He has established in these last days a form of government where We The People, are responsible to GOD for law and order and justice.  And we have establish constitutional laws to do just that.  The constitution and the Bill of Rights are not intended to limit the power of the people, they were written to limit the power of our elected representatives.  It’s not a  document that tells our representatives what they CAN do – it’s to tell them what they CAN’T do.  So, until someone comes up with a new constitution God still holds US (His people) responsible for whatever happens in this nation.  And wars have been fought to ensure that the constitution remains intact. 

A government of the people, by the people and for the people has been the ideal that hundreds of thousands of men and women have died to preserve.  It’s a righteous ideal that was ordained by God.  Listen to what Paul says next Romans 13:2  “Whosoever therefore resisteth the power (government), resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation”.  Who’s the government?  We are.  Who’s got the power?  We The People Do.  This principle clearly tells us that in a Constitutional Republic, such as we enjoy today, when our public servants resist the PEOPLES authority – it’s the same as if they were resisting the authority of God.  That when We The People are subjegated by our appointed officials or when our civil SERVANTS begin to dictate the rights of the people – Then our public servants are actually rebelling against GOD Himself.

Our elected officials want us to believe that THEY are in control.  That THEY call the shots.  That we’re supposed to obey THEM.  When the exact opposite is true.  And God says that THEY will receive the damnation.  The reason we’re so timid to speak out or take authority over our elected and appointed officials is because we’ve been brainwashed into believing that THEY are the Government – THEY’RE NOT – WE are.  They’ve brainwashed us into believing THEY are the rulers – THE’RE NOT – WE are.  And they have told us that they have the AUTHORITY – THEY DON’T – WE do.

Remember this scripture in Romans is generic and applies to every form of government.  So let’s apply it specifically to our Constitutional Republic.  Romans 13:3-4  “For (we the people) are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of (the peoples) power? do that which is good, and you shalt have praise of the same: For (the people) the ministers of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for (we the people) beareth not the sword in vain: for (we the people) are the ministers of God, revengers to execute wrath upon anyone that does evil.”

Who bears the sword?  WE DO!  Who’s supposed to execute judgment?  WE ARE.  This isn’t Old Testament theology that was done away with – This is New Testament teaching.  As God has ordained authority in this nation, WE not only have have the right, but we have the responsibility to bear the sword (or to take up arms) in defense of our liberties.  And that’s exactly what our elected officials are afraid of and exactly what they want to change.  Are you beginning to see why our public servants want to take away our ability to “bear the sword”?  They know they are worthy of judgment and the only way they can prevent it is to pull our teeth, and take away our means of defense and authority.  Our elected officials should fear and honor us, but instead, they demand that we fear and honor them. 

In OUR form of government, WE THE PEOPLE are responsible to keep our servants under control.  And the truth is – they’re completely OUT of control.  They rule us instead of us ruling them.  They believe they have to right to do what THEY think is good for us – regardless of how WE feel about it.  There’s no due process.  Laws that should require two thirds majority are enacted in the guise of administrative regulations, executive orders and judicial fraud.  In addition, with the electoral college, lax voting laws, fraud and corruption – We The People have been completely LOCKED OUT of the electoral system.

But if we freely relinquish our responsibility as guardians of our own liberty – then we literally reject THE best governmental gift that God has given to mankind.  And if that happens, we willl have no choice but to be subject to evil men who have usurped the authority delegated by God in order to subjugate and rule us.  1Samuel 12:15 says “But if ye will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be against you, as it was against your fathers”.

We’ve been bamboozled into believing the lie that our elected officials are the authority.  And we’ve bought the deception that God doesn’t want us to come against them because He put THEM in control.  We’ve been brainwashed to think that it’s wrong for us to bear the sword in order to administrate our God given duty.  GOD HAS PUT US IN AUTHORITY.  And He gave US the responsibility to maintain the government according to HIS Word.   And if we abrogate that responsibility to our public SERVANTS – then it’s WE who have rebelled against God’s good plan for our government.