2024-06-02-Romans12b-13a

This is a Bible study on Romans 12, where Paul talks about using our gifts in the body of Christ. The gifts mentioned include service, exhortation, generosity, leadership, and mercy. It emphasizes the importance of using our gifts to serve others and to love genuinely. It also mentions the need to hate evil and hold onto what is good. Good morning. You're listening to Dwell on Truth. I'm your host, Brenton Powers. You're listening to Verse by Verse, a weekly Bible study teaching with Brenton Powers. Now let's open our Bibles to Romans, chapter 12, and let's begin our study. Brenton? Let's continue. Romans, chapter 12, beginning in verse 7. What Paul says next is that whatever gift we have, we should use it. He says, having gifts that differ, let us use them. So we should see a variety of gifts being used in the body of Christ. Well, what kind of gifts is he talking about? He lists a few. If prophecy, in proportion to our faith. If service, in our serving. The one who teaches, in his teaching. The one who exhorts, in his exhortation. The one who contributes, in generosity. The one who leads, with zeal. The one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil. Hold fast to what is good. Love one another, with brotherly affection. Outdo one another, in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, but fervent in spirit. Serve the Lord, verse 7, if service, in our serving. Service, or ministry, or helps, as it's put in some translations. This is the humble servant in the body of Christ, who's just gifted to do things that help the church work better. They don't need the attention. They may be in the back of the room, running sound. They may have swept the floors and straightened the chairs before the service. They may have brought food to widows. Whatever it is. Let the person who has the gift of service, use that gift by serving. It's pretty obvious. What should I do? Well, what gift do you have? Service? Well, then serve. That's the will of God for you. Go for it. You don't need any more permission than that. And if at your church, people refuse to give an opportunity for you to serve, and you have that gift, well, then you need to talk with them about that. Say, look, I think God has given me this gift of serving, and could you give me a chance to use it, as the Bible says? I'd love to do this or that. Normally, if you have the gift of service, you see needs that other people don't see. So rather than complaining to other people about, Why isn't there hot coffee this morning? Or why is there spiderwebs in the corner? Well, maybe God showed it to you, because He wants you to do something about that. And perhaps you may think you have the gift of service, but you never notice these kinds of things. You wouldn't be a good servant, because you don't have the gift of service. But I think all of us should strive to do some ministry, to have some service. Some people are very gifted musically, to play their instrument, or to speak, to share a word. And their role may be more upfront, during the church service times, the gatherings. But that shouldn't be the desire for everybody to be in that position. Paul says, it's a noble thing to desire to be a teacher. But let not many of you desire to be teachers. Those who desire the work of an overseer, desire a noble thing. But teachers shall encourage stricter judgment. You know, in my years as a senior pastor in Latvia, I felt the heavy burden of having to look over the church, and make sure that everything is running well. And I don't feel like I had the strongest gift of oversight, as an overseer perhaps needs. And so, it's a big relief to let go of certain ministry, if you're not gifted to do it. Don't be afraid to step down from a position that you don't belong in. But, if God's given you the gift of exhortation, Romans 12, 8, the one who exhorts in his exhortation. In other words, use that gift to encourage someone to do what they ought to do, according to the grace and the faith that God has given you. Do you believe God wants you to encourage someone today? Well, don't delay, go for it. Call them, write them, meet with them. Of course, pray about the right opportunity, but use your gift. That's the point. People will be built up by it. Because it's not you, it's the Holy Spirit working through you. It's his ability, not your natural ability. So, it will help people, as opposed to trying to do it yourself. That's frustrating. What's the next gift here? The one who contributes in generosity. Did you see that in Romans 12, 8? The gift of generosity. Giving. Contributing to, say, the needs of the poor, or the needs of someone in your church who just had a baby. Maybe you want to bring them some food. Maybe God's given you this generosity to share with missionaries, or to support a radio show, or to just give more than 10% to your home church. Whatever it is, it could be bringing flowers to the church, planting plants in front of it, painting it, buying resources for the church, or one of the ministries of the church to use. Well, do it. Go for it. With generosity. Again, you want to find out what the real needs are, so you're not wasting your money on things that nobody needs. But if you see a real need, and you want to give, the Bible says, Give generously, graciously, freely, abundantly. Another place, it says, He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly, but he who sows bountifully will reap abundantly. So there will be a reward for those who give. Don't worry about whether people give back to you or not. Just do it generously, cheerfully, without complaining or grumbling. That's what the Lord loves. And then on to the next gift in Romans 12, verse 8. The one who leads with zeal. You see, the gift of leadership, or of management, I guess you could say, but that's more of a business term. God wants to raise up leaders, and he needs... No, not he needs. He doesn't need anything. The body of Christ needs leaders who are gifted leaders, who will lead with zeal. You know, the body of Christ is filled with people who are looking for someone who's zealous about something. What should I be on fire for? I want to follow you. If you're zealous for Christ, look how Jesus was zealous for his Father's house, and disciples wanted to follow him. We need leaders who are not like, Oh, I guess I'll do this today. No, we need leaders who are like, Come on, guys. God is good. Let's serve him. Let's work together on this. Joe, can you give to this ministry? Betty, can you exhort that down-and-out girl? Johnny, could you teach someone who is able to lead others? They may bark out orders because they see what needs to go where. We need leaders like that, to be firm, to be zealous, not to be too soft. They're just one part of the body. We need those people who are softer in their touch. And the next gift mentioned here is mercy. Romans 12, 8, the last one. The one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness. Showing mercy to people. That could be translated compassion, but it also implies that there's a love and a tenderness and a desire to restore those who maybe have fallen into sin or some sort of addiction or abuse. Show mercy to that person. But at the same time, here's some balance. Do it with cheerfulness. You know, we want to weep with those who weep. That's appropriate. And rejoice with those who rejoice. But as we're seeking to lift people up from their pit that they're in, we need this gift of mercy. We need someone who can both associate with the lowly and lift their spirits, lift their chin, give them something to be cheerful about. Someone loves me. Sometimes the person who's down doesn't need a teacher or a leader to tell them what to do. They need someone with the gift of mercy to come alongside and help, just to show them, yes, you're loved. You matter to us. You're part of the body of Christ. So come on, join us. Let's see what God will do. Verse 9, let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil. Hold fast to what is good. There's three instructions in this one verse. First, let love be genuine. Now, that's a hard one, because you either have genuine love or you don't. But let's back up. What is love? You may be thinking of a romantic love that you see in movies, where you feel warm and fuzzy for someone. Well, that's emotion. In the Bible, it says love is patient. Love is kind. It's not self-seeking, does not boast, doesn't rejoice in evil, but rejoices in what's good. And there's a long description in 1 Corinthians 13 about what is love. What does it do? You see, because love is an action. Feelings will follow, but sometimes love is a choice to prefer someone else over ourselves, to put someone else first, to benefit them instead of ourselves, because we're to love others as Christ loved them. He laid down his life for them. And so we ought to also lay down our lives for the brothers. And surely that doesn't feel good emotionally or to our flesh, but we know it's right. So he says love must be genuine. You know, don't do kind things for somebody because you think you're going to get something back from them. That's not genuine love. Shallow. That is in accordance with the gospel. Based on God showing love and mercy to us, then we ought to show genuine love to others. The next instruction in Romans 12 9, abhor what is evil. That means to hate what is wicked and twisted and wrong. Yes, the Bible says we should abhor things because certain things are aberrant. God hates certain things. You say, what? I thought God was love. Doesn't he love everybody? Well, yes and no. There is a psalm that says God hates all workers of iniquity. But at the same time, there's another verse that says God loved us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. So to love people, we have to hate the things that are destroying them, whether it be sin or drugs or some oppressive government. It doesn't say how to abhor what is evil, but I'd say this is a feeling. We should have a reaction to evil. Not that we're attracted to it, but that we're repelled from it. And we want to do everything that we can to resist it. And if tonight you're struggling with an attraction toward evil, the Bible would just tell you straight out, based on God's mercy to save you out of that evil, you ought to hate that evil. That's the bottom line. Let God's mercy change you from the inside out. Finally, not to just avoid evil, we need to be active about something. So it says hold fast to what is good. So we need to let go of certain things, but then we don't just stand there with open hands. We need to hold on. To what? To what is good. So meditate on that. What is good? What are the good things that God has for you? Verse 15. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, but fervent in spirit. Serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. These are all Christian virtues in Romans 12, verse 10 through 12. And I don't think it takes a lot of explanation to know what those mean. If you struggle with the English, if you struggle with this English version, then read in another version that you're more comfortable with. These are just things to apply. Are you doing these things then? Are you loving one another with brotherly affection? How can you love other Christians if you don't spend time with them? So go to church. Be part of the church. Love the church. And then outdo one another in showing honor. This should be a competition. Who can honor the other person more? But imagine how happy we would be if we just treated each other that way all the time. Instead we're competing. Well, I love you more than you love me. You should love me more. And then we love less because it's just ridiculous. We should be able to boast. I've loved you more than you love me. Hallelujah for that. Because that's God's love. And here Paul exhorts us. Do not be slothful in zeal. Be fervent in spirit. Serve the Lord. You know, sometimes we just need to be told, hey, get up off your lazy bottom. Don't be a sloth. Be zealous. Don't just pretend you're spiritual. Be fervent. Burn with fire for God. And don't just talk about the Lord. Serve the Lord. Be all about the Lord. Just be busy for his kingdom. There are souls to be saved. There are new believers to be discipled. There are people in ministry that need encouragement. There are young Christians that need direction and to be equipped. Maybe you need to be equipped. So get serving. Get going. A lot of the ways that you learn how to serve is just by doing it. Going alongside someone who has more experience and saying, hey, can I go along with you and kind of watch in the beginning and see if God would like to use me in that area too? Serve the Lord. Go for it. You know, the Bible says, serve the Lord. God wants you to serve him. Did you know God wants you to serve him? Not because he needs your service, but because he enjoys working through you. And you'll enjoy it too. Because that's what we're created for, is to serve God. Why? For his glory. Because he's worthy. He's good. He's our Lord and he's our King. So why wouldn't we want to serve him? Well, maybe if we're the lords of our lives, so we think, if we're serving ourselves, our self-interests, then maybe we won't want to serve the Lord. But hey then, the Lord doesn't need your service. The question is, do you want to serve the Lord? If you don't want to serve him, what does that say about how you view him? Maybe it says that you're not viewing him rightly. Because the more I know the Lord, the more I want to serve him. Hallelujah. This stirs me up. I'm ready to go. If it's God's will, that's the best place for me to be. And it's exciting to see God work through me, to see him speak through me. I get to share his holy word with you in Latvia, or wherever you are in the world that's listening to this. Let me know. I'd love to hear from you. If you would like more information about Verse by Verse, you can go to versebyverse.podomatic.com. There you can download some past episodes. You can also find me on Facebook. I'm your host, Brenton Powers. Good morning. You're listening to Dwell on Truth, where we study through God's word, book by book, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse. So if you'll open your Bible with me, I'll begin reading Romans chapter 12, 12 through 21. Rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink, or by so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. That's Romans chapter 12, 12 through 21. Romans 12, 12. Rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Be constant in prayer. Three more instructions here, yeah? First, rejoice in hope. He's not saying, don't worry, be happy. Although he kind of is. Rejoice means be happy, and hope means don't worry. It's all going to be okay. But we don't say it in an empty way. We can say rejoice in hope, because we have been redeemed from God's wrath. We've experienced His mercies. And therefore, we have hope. He hasn't appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation. Hallelujah, that's something to rejoice about. That's our hope, to see Jesus and be with Him forever. Rejoice about that. Next, be patient in tribulation. So as we're looking forward to the joy set before us, we may have to go through the cross. We may go through some tribulation. And we're not talking about the great tribulation, where God pours out His wrath. We're just talking about troubles in life. Christians aren't exempt from them. You may get sick. You may lose your car, your job, a family member, these great trials and tragedies. They're tribulations. And Jesus said, in this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. And the instruction here in Romans 12, 12 is, be patient. Be patient. Long-suffering. It won't last forever, but you do need to wait through it. And then He says, be constant in prayer. What are we to do while we wait, while we look forward to the joy set before us? Just continue to pray. Just focus on the Lord. Take your concerns, your complaints to Him. Take your heart to Him. Start spending time with Him, pouring out your heart, and listening. With the open Bible in front of you, just pray. Seek to pray according to the Scriptures. Constantly. That doesn't mean you have to close your eyes. You know, you can pray while you drive, or walk. Just keep your eyes open. You can pray out loud, or silently in your heart. God knows what you're thinking. But do pray constantly. Don't quit. Don't run to other things for your comfort and joy. Go to the Lord. Romans 12, 13. Contribute to the needs of the saints, and seek to show hospitality. This connects with what he said earlier about those who have the gift of generosity, the gift of giving, who contributes. But here it's applied to all Christians. This should be part of a normal grace that Christians have to contribute where there's needs. If you are a person in need, you need to be part of a church that's participating and contributing to the needs of the saints. Although you may be a person who's able to work, and you should work, not expecting the church to support your lazy lifestyle. But at the same time, there are those who have real needs. And who is God calling to contribute to those needs? All of us. We can all do something. It doesn't mean that one person has to pay the entire amount for another. But you can make a contribution. And if many people contribute, then the entire amount could be there. God isn't desiring to put a burden on any one person. But the body of Christ can lift up the person in need. And it's not just anyone who is in need. The needs of the saints. Did you know that Christians are called saints in the Bible? And did you know that Christians sometimes have needs? There's a false doctrine out there called Prosperity Gospel. It says if you have faith, then you'll be rich. You'll never be in need. But here it says, contribute to the needs of the saints. Therefore, saints do have times of need. And it may not be taken away instantly. It may take some time to build up these contributions. So don't think that godliness is a means of financial gain. But it is great gain if you consider the contentment that we can have. Whether in need or with plenty. Finally, in verse 13, seek to show hospitality. Do you ever open up your home? Do you ever invite people out to eat and pay for the meal? Would you be interested in hosting a home Bible study group at your house? Is there a need for people to serve tea and cookies at your church? Afterwards. So the people will feel more comfortable staying around. And they may be a little bit hungry. And want to go out. And want to go home. You can make the church a more hospitable place. So I hope that these verses in Romans 12 has given you some idea of how God wants to use you. So I encourage you one more time. Based on God's mercy, offer your body to God. Use the gifts that he has given you to serve him and to serve the body of Christ. And do it with love, with faith, with humility, by the grace of God. So that in all things, God would be glorified. That's Romans chapter 12, verse 9 through 13. Our exhortations to serve God and one another with love. Verse 14 through 21 is how we serve even our enemies and seek to bless them. It says in verse 14, Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil. But give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, as far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Now that verse has helped me in many situations where I'm in conflict with somebody and it's both of our faults. I've done something to offend them and they've responded back to me negatively. There's division. Well, I need to humble myself in those situations and do what I can do to be at peace with them. But if they choose not to forgive me, though I've repented and said sorry and humbled myself and offered to restore the relationship, they still have a choice. They can choose not to live in peace with me, but let it not be my fault if I'm not in peace with anybody. In other words, all of us should do what we can. We should do our part to have peace with those who we have conflicts with. Now, there are going to be some people who persecute us, as it says in verse 14. But how should we respond? Bless them. Don't curse them. How should we respond to those who rejoice? Well, rejoice with them, he says. And how should we respond to those who weep? Weep with them. How do we live with one another? Verse 16. In harmony, not in competition, being haughty or thinking of ourselves as wiser and more holy and highly esteemed than others. No. It says, Be willing to associate with the lowly. We need to condescend. It means to come down with someone when they're down. And don't be wise in your own sight. Now, that's obnoxious. You can tell when someone is wise in their own sight. They're not very good listeners. They think everybody just needs to hear what they have to say, because they're always wise. Well, no. The wise will listen to instruction. A wise man can listen and become wiser still. Verse 17. How should we respond if people give us evil? Well, we shouldn't give evil back to them. That would be just as wrong. Instead, we need to think about what is the right thing to do, not what would feel good to me to get back at them, but what would everyone recognize as the right thing to do. Verse 17. Sorry. Verse 18. I already commented on. Verse 19. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. That's a good verse for when you're counseling two people that... for when you're counseling someone who really wants to get even. Look, I know that what they did to you is wrong. I know that justice demands they be punished. But it's not your place to punish them. It's God's. We should first seek to bless them, to turn them from their sin, that they can be restored to God and not have to face the punishment, because that's what happened to us. So leave it up to God. If there's someone who hasn't repented of their sin that they've done against you, then just commit it to God. Say, God, judgment belongs to you. I'm leaving room for your wrath. I'm not going to be the judge here. I'm not going to be the executioner. That's your role. I trust you to do it. And you'll be free from that burden. You don't want to carry that anyway. Now consider verse 20, which has been misunderstood by some. It is honestly hard to understand what he's trying to say. First he says, To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. Okay, that's clear. That's showing kindness to your enemy, which goes against the flow, goes against the grain, goes against culture. Why? Well, Jesus said, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. And one of the fastest ways to get rid of an enemy is to make him your friend. You don't understand why they are the way they are, besides that they're sinners. But if you show them love, like Jesus showed us love, then you may convert them. He goes on to say, If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. That's kind, you know. Don't just look for the needs of yourself or of your friends, but also your enemies. Why? This is the puzzling part. For by so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head. Some say that means, by treating him kindly as he doesn't deserve, that'll make him feel guilty and burn inside. That's how you get your revenge. No. We need to understand that in the first century, if someone had a fire going in their home that was going out, they would go to their neighbor for help, and they would be carrying a metal bin that they can carry hot coals on to go back to their own fire. So they come over, say, my fire is going out, and you will heap burning coals upon that thing on their head, not literally on their head, but you're supplying them warmth. So that if they come to you hungry, thirsty, and cold, you fill them, you quench their thirst, and you give them warmth. That could be what he means here. Finally, the last verse in Romans 12, verse 21. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. In the battle against evil, only good can win. Because if you try to fight evil with evil, you only become evil. And the lesser of two evils is still evil. So how do we overcome it? By good. Contribute something good to society. Don't just complain that you don't have good choices for candidates, for laws. Run for office. You might win. But do it, again, as Paul said in the beginning of the chapter, as a living sacrifice. Because God has shown you mercy, he became a man, humbled himself to the point of dying on the cross for our sins. And therefore God highly exalted him and gave him the name above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, let's offer our bodies to that Lord, that great name, Jesus. Maybe you want to do it right now. Say, Lord, here I am. I offer my body to you. I sacrifice my desires to serve you. Really, you are what I desire. I want to serve you. I want to be a blessing to the body of Christ and to the world. Lord, show me your spiritual gifts that you're giving me and help me to use them with faith so that I can help people and help me regarding those who are my enemies, to love them as you love them, to change the situation by my kindness. But Lord, I need you to work that impossible, amazing love through me. Thank you that you've poured out your love within our hearts by your Holy Spirit. I just trust you now to work through me to do what is your will, that which is good, acceptable, and perfect. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. That's Romans chapter 12, 12 through 21. So here's the information. If you would like to download more podcasts, go to versebyverse.podomatic.com If you'd like to email me and let me know that you're listening and you'd like me to continue this verse-by-verse study through Romans, email me at brentonpowersatgmail.com That's B-R-E-N-T-E-N-P-O-W-E-R-S at gmail.com And if you're interested in coming to the Bible College, perhaps you'd like to become a student at Calvary Chapel Bible College. You can apply. You can find an application at ccbce.com So, thank you for listening, and may God richly bless you. Good night. And so, I thank you, God, for teaching us through the book of Romans that the just shall live by faith. So thank you, God, for your word. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. God is good all the time. Thank you, Brenton. Now, if anyone would like to download more episodes, go to versebyverse.podomatic.com I'm your host, Brenton Powers. Good morning. You are listening to Dwell on Truth. Verse by Verse, a weekly Bible study teaching with Brenton Powers, where we study through God's word. Tonight, we're going to begin our verse-by-verse study in Romans chapter 13, verse 1 through verse 8, Chapters 12 through 16 of Romans is all about the Christian's duty, having already laid the foundation of the Christian's doctrine in Romans 1 through 11. What is our duty when it comes to relationship with the world? As we've already looked at our upward relationship with God and our inward relationships with one another in the church, now we look outward to see how we should relate to the world, to government, to those in authority. This specific paragraph in Romans 13 seeks to apply our life of faith to our relationships and our attitudes toward those in authority. How should we live under worldly authority if we live by faith? What about our attitudes and actions when it comes to relating to government authorities? What is a Christian's role toward government? What powers has God given to government? And what about the limitations of government? What about capital punishment? Should we be subject to the authorities? Why or why not? Are there limits to the power that we should let the authorities have over us? Are there exceptions to our duty to be subject to the authorities? Should we pay taxes? How much? What do we owe the governing authorities? What do we owe to our neighbor? We'll discuss those questions as we find the answers in God's Word. Romans 13, verse by verse. So let's begin by reading and observing what it says. Then we'll consider what it means and how to apply it to our lives. We want to be doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves. So I'll begin reading. Romans 13, verse 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. 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. Owe no one anything except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. That's Romans 13, verse 1 through 8. Now let's begin to study it verse by verse. Verse 1 says, Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. Every person means every person. Paul is writing to Christians who believe in Jesus. It's each of our individual responsibilities to do what? Be subject to the governing authorities, he says. Now this is not a very popular teaching, but it's in the Bible. Some people will argue, well, Paul didn't know what kind of government we're going to have these days and how we really ought to resist the authorities because they're evil. Should we be subject to evil people who are in authority? Well, he doesn't make that distinction here. But if you look at the time in which Paul lived, he lived under the time of the Caesars who were occupying Israel and had an empire over all the world. And the Roman Caesars wouldn't normally be characterized as righteous leaders. In fact, Caesar Nero was very wicked and evil and persecuted Christians. Romans was probably written before Nero and Paul met. But still, Paul had experienced false imprisonment in the Roman colonies and he's been beaten and treated unjustly by the authorities. However, he's the one here that says, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, let every person be subject to the governing authorities. And he says why. Verse 1, Part 2. He says, For there is no authority except from God and those that exist have been instituted by God. So the reason we should obey authorities is because these authorities have been put there by God. In other words, they are under God's authorities. It's like Jesus said to Pontius Pilate, You would have no authority over me unless it was given to you by God. And that's a sobering reminder to those who have authority that you're just a steward of that authority. God is entrusting to you a great responsibility and as a leader, you have to give an account to Him. That is your responsibility to govern well, to be diligent, to do what is right. As far as every Christian's responsibility who is under authority, we have to trust God, don't we? To put an authority over us, those who will be compassionate, and we also have to watch how we live so that we don't bring any unnecessary pain upon ourselves because of doing what is wrong. Because when we do what is wrong, we should expect the government and those in authority to bring punishment on those who do wrong. That's why God has established them as He says. In verse 4, I'll jump ahead here, it says, For He is God's servant for your good. That's the purpose of government, for the good of the people. So is Paul saying that we should just be subject to every government no matter how evil they are and if they ask us to do evil things, we should do them without asking questions? Well, I believe there are some exceptions and we can see this in the book of Acts. When those who had authority began to instruct the apostles not to speak any longer in the name of Jesus, the apostles responded, whether it's right to obey God or man, you be the judge, but we cannot help but speak of the things that we've seen and heard. And they also said, we should obey God rather than man. And that was when there was a conflict between what God had told them to do, what Jesus said to do, with His authority, go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, make disciples in every nation. That's what Jesus told us to do with all authority. And so when a governmental agency or so-called religious leaders try to tell you not to do that, they are in disobedience to God's word and you are put in a dilemma should you obey God or man, one or the other. When you cannot obey both, then is the exception when you can disobey authority in order to obey the clear command of God. But I believe that these cases are very few in our day when we have religious liberties to follow our faith and very rarely will a government say you cannot be a Christian and do what Christians believe they should do. Instead, we see many Christians who don't take God's command seriously and they don't take man's commands seriously. When God says go preach the gospel to every creature and make disciples in every nation, do they feel a great burden like that's what they need to do no matter who tries to get in the way? Or do they start to compromise then and say no, I think I'm just going to not share the gospel this time because someone might not like it. I think we as Christians usually err with the idea of obeying God's authority and that's why there's so many problems between Christians and the authorities that God has established over them. So we need to be reminded God gives us authorities over us for our good. And so verse 2 says therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed for those who resist will incur judgment. So the interpretation of these verses is that it's important to have a good relationship between the people of God and the authorities that God has placed over them. The authority could be the government agencies like the president, lawmakers, judges, law enforcement, state and local police, or the laws and ordinances themselves in any locality, county, city, village, country that we live in or drive in. The rules of the road and the laws of the land should be obeyed and observed. It could also mean that those who are your boss or managers at your workplace, principals or teachers at your school, overseers, pastors at your church, parents or guardians in your home are the authorities that God has established over you for your good. Even neighborhood rules that you and your neighbors have agreed upon where you live. Any kind of authority that God has placed in your life is there for a reason and has a God-given function in your life for your good, for your good, safety and security. For the good, safety and security of you and those around you. The way that you relate to authority ultimately is connected to how people see or don't see the glory of God in your life. It's an opportunity for you to reflect His light and demonstrate your faith in God before the world. Jesus said in Matthew 5.16, in the same way, let your light so shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. An application question. How is your relationship with authority? Do you find it challenging to have a good relationship with authority? If so, why? Is it your fault? Or is it completely caused by the abuse of authority on their part? Or is there a little bit of both? Your to blame, their to blame. Maybe there's a conflict between what you want and what your government wants. Maybe there's a conflict between what your government says and what God says. There can be many issues and problems between those in authority and those under authority. But the scripture is clear about our part. What we could do and should do is to have a good relationship with them. And it's important that we try our best, by God's grace, to have a healthy relationship with authority for God's glory and our joy. Now, if you or I do not do what we should do, then there will be negative consequences. Negative for you or me individually, but maybe it will negatively affect other Christians because of your negative actions as a Christian. It will reflect badly on the Christian community. As it happened in the Bible, when many people of God disobeyed God's authority, when a man or woman of God disobeyed God's authority, they caused the Gentiles or pagans or non-believers to blaspheme God's name. When David sinned, he caused the Gentiles to blaspheme God's holy name. When Christians disobey Christ, it gives non-Christians an impression that it's not important to us to obey Christ, that he doesn't have the authority over our lives that we claim that he does. It says that we're hypocrites. And it gives non-Christians an excuse to call us hypocrites and to think that Jesus is impotent, but he should and does have power over the lives of his people. And if we really believe and follow Jesus, then our lives should reflect that. We should be salt and light to the world, preserving and enlightening the world. That is how we can bring glory to God if we are different than non-believers in our relationships to one another and to the authorities over us. 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. Amen. God is good. Now, if anyone would like to download more episodes, go to www.dwellontruth.com You are listening to Verse by Verse, a weekly Bible study teaching with Brenton Powers. I'm your host, Brenton Powers. You are listening to Dwell on Truth. We're going to begin our Verse by Verse study in Romans chapter 13, verse 6 through verse 8. In verse 1 through 6, we began looking at a Christian's duty to those in government and those in authority. And today, we continue to look at a Christian's duty, in other words, what we should do in light of our faith. How do we live by faith and fulfill our responsibilities as Christians in relationship with the world? So with our text today, it begins in verse 6. For because of this, you also pay taxes. Because of what? Because we should submit to those in authority, the God-given rulers that are there for our good. And they're there to punish the wrongdoers. So we should do what is right, not only to avoid punishment, but to reward those who are giving their lives as public servants and as civil servants. For the Bible says a laborer, a worker, is worthy of his wages. Therefore, Paul says, because of this, you also pay taxes. Now, taxes are one of those painful topics in our lives that no one wants to do, but everyone has to do. Someone has once said, there are two things that are sure in life, death and taxes. And we all know of cases where people tried to avoid paying taxes, but they got caught and they went to jail or they paid huge fines. So the punishment for not paying taxes can be severe. In the Roman times, in which Paul wrote, the Roman soldiers were notorious for trying to take more taxes than was owed. So people resented paying taxes. So people asked Jesus, is it right to pay taxes or not? And some people were trying to trick Jesus with this question. Because if he said no, it's not right to pay taxes, then they could report him to the Roman authorities and he would be arrested and dealt with severely. But if he said yes, you should pay taxes, period, then people will get upset and may turn away from him. Now, I don't think Jesus was concerned about people getting upset with doing what is right. He wants you to do what is right even if it's difficult, emotionally, financially, and he'll enable you to do what is right. But the problem is, people didn't want to pay taxes and they didn't want to give to God. First of all, he said, show me the tax money. And he asked, whose face is on this coin? And they said, Caesar's. So he said, give to Caesar what is Caesar's and give to God what is God's. So with his wisdom, at the same time, he was answering, yes, you should pay taxes if it is owed, but don't neglect to give money to God. He's really dealing with the greed of mankind that we don't want to give to anybody anything. But we owe God what we owe God and we owe Caesar what we owe Caesar. So there needs to be repentance in our attitudes about money. We need to recognize that everything we have has been given to us as a gift from God and that it's really not ours, but we're just stewards of it. We're managers of it. And so, since it belongs to God, since we belong to God, since he's purchased us with his own blood, the Bible says, we're not our own. And so that's why we should do what God says to do with not only our finances, but also our time, our talents, and everything we have and everything we are. So that's why repentance is necessary. To be able to receive this teaching, we need to have a heart that is ready to receive from God. And so as people were being drawn to John the Baptist, they wanted to repent, but they didn't know what that means, what does that look like. In Luke chapter 3, verse 10, the crowds asked him, what then shall we do? And he answered them, whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none. And whoever has food is to do likewise. Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, teacher, what shall we do? And he said to them, collect no more taxes than you are authorized to do. Soldiers also asked him, and we, what shall we do? And he said to them, do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, but be content and repent with your wages. You see, repentance means a change of mind, and it affects our relationship with money. We should be willing to give, we should be willing to pay taxes, and we should be willing not to take more than we deserve from our employers, or if you're a tax collector, you shouldn't be asking for more than you're authorized to ask for. That's what John the Baptist said. And so Jesus, when he came, he preached the same message. He said, repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. And so in repentance, our minds are prepared to do what God asks us to do. And so that's where we find ourselves in the book of Romans. We've looked at chapters 1 through 12, which describes how we are saved by faith, and how we begin to live righteously by faith. And so we need to apply that same faith to our relationships with government, with tax collectors, and with whoever we owe money to. So, back to Romans chapter 13. Paul lays down some general principles. For because of this, you also pay taxes. For the authorities are ministers of God. That makes sense, right? Because they're serving God, God has put them there in government or positions of authority over you, they're working. They need money to put a roof over their heads and to feed their children. So it's right to pay taxes for that purpose, according to the Bible. However, one may argue that today, governments are doing way more than the Bible says that they should do. And what some taxes go to is the redistribution of wealth. In a short radio show, I don't have time to get into the politics of this. But my calling is just to teach the Word of God. And this is what the Bible says government has the authority to receive taxes for. Because they are attending to public service as ministers of God. And so we honor God by paying our taxes. Maybe you didn't think about it that way. When you pay taxes, it feels like they're bleeding you dry. It feels like they're just trying to suck the life out of your finances. But don't think about it that way. Think about it in terms of this is a sacrifice I'm giving to God. I'm thankful that He has established some authority over me for my good. Because I need it. And my neighbors need it. And my society needs it. So see it as an offering honoring God. And you'll have much more joy in paying taxes. Plus, it's just good to get it over with. You don't want to be living your life feeling like the taxman's going to catch up to me and I could be punished. So just for the sake of your conscience, as we already talked about last time, do what is right. Pay your taxes. And if you have opportunities to legally pay less taxes than initially it looks like is required, I would also encourage you to get to know the tax laws. Because there may be tax breaks for people in your situation. If you're low income or if you have children, there's ways of reducing your tax bill. So pay your taxes. But be wise to know what taxes are actually owed. Okay. Now Paul goes on in Romans 13. In verse 7, he says, Pay to all what is owed them. Now he's just applying this to all. This doesn't just mean to government. Do you owe anyone money? Well, Paul says here, pay them what you owe them. Maybe you're thinking of somebody and you owe them a dollar. Or maybe you realize you owe somebody $20,000. Or what about the bank and your mortgage? Think about those things. The Bible says, Pay to all what is owed them. Now it's easy to say and it's easy to believe that we should do that. But it's hard to do. So again, I would remind you, in this case, trust the Lord. Let your faith be what motivates you to pay off what is owed. Because if you don't, really you're breaking one of the commandments. You shall not steal. And we'll get to that later. He goes through the commandments. But I exhort you, pay to all what is owed them. And he gives a few examples of what you might owe people. Taxes to whom taxes are owed. So give those taxes to whomever it's owed. Whether it's your state or the government of your nation. Whether it's local taxes. Whether it's sales tax. When you buy things on the internet, they don't always include the sales tax. But you still owe that. When it comes tax time, there's a space for you to enter in how much money you owe them. And you can write a check to pay it off. It's not so hard physically. But it is hard emotionally. If your heart is in your money. Then he says, pay revenue to whom revenue is owed. So there is a distinction between taxes and revenue. I'll let you look that up in a dictionary. Next, pay respect to whom respect is owed. You know, this is a big deal for Christians. We need to show the world that we are respectful of authority. Now you may be paying your taxes, all right. You may be paying revenues. You may be paying all of your bills that you need to pay. But are you doing it in a respectful way? Say you're speeding in your car. A policeman pulls you over. He says, I clocked you going 100 into 70 zone. You're going to have to pay a fine for that. What is your response? Do you say, oh, whatever. I don't want to pay a fine. Or why did you pull me over? Or everyone's speeding. Are you showing disrespect to the policeman? But it's a big deal to show respect to police officers. If you show contempt for them and disregard of their direct orders, they may throw you down on the ground, put handcuffs on you, and throw you in the back of their police car. And if you have a Christian bumper sticker on the back of your car, how much more should your attitude toward them be respectful? Instead of complaining that you got caught, don't make excuses. Maybe you should be humble and admit your fault. Yeah, I was speeding. I know I deserve a ticket. Do what you need to do, officer. Yes, sir. You know, that's really hard in our day and age. We really want to prove that we have authority over our own lives. But that's a myth. We really are under authority. God has given us authorities over us. And it's hard for us, but it's good for us to show respect to those in authority. Whether it's your boss at work, or your parents, or your teachers at school, you owe them respect. Because they're serving you, hopefully not just for the money to provide for their needs, but they believe their job is important. And if you treat them in a way that makes them feel like their job isn't important to you, well, that's not showing respect to whom respect is owed. So maybe you need to repent in this area of your life. The Bible says, show respect to whom respect is owed. Now, that's not a financial thing. That's just an attitude thing. Do it if you believe in Jesus. Let it be seen in your actions. Finally, Paul says, pay honor to whom honor is owed. There is a difference between respect and honor. And finally, in verse 7, Paul says, give honor to whom honor is owed. Can you think of somebody who you owe honor to? Perhaps your father or your mother. After all, perhaps your father worked hard for you, from early in the morning till late at night to provide for you. And the Bible says, honor your father and mother. In a simple way, I explain this to my children by saying, if your mother made you dinner, don't complain about it. Be thankful that she made it. And try to eat it before just pushing it off. You might like it. Or, show me your honor by obeying the first time. Why does everything have to be a struggle? You can honor those in authority by simply doing what they ask of you, not making it more difficult on them to do their job, because that's not profitable for you. And the Bible says to show double honor to those who teach you the Word of God. So, after church, are you complaining about the pastor to your family? Are you just talking about what you didn't like about the Sunday service and the message? Or are you speaking honorably about the pastor to others? If you don't speak honorably about your pastor to others, you're going to discourage people from going to that church. You may not draw unbelievers to hear the gospel at that church if you dishonor your pastor. Or worse, you may divide the church by being nitpicky about the personality flaws in your pastor. Don't expect him to be perfect like Jesus. He's just one sinner trying to show other sinners where to find forgiveness. One sinner, like one beggar, trying to show other beggars where to find bread. He's pointing you to Jesus as a servant of Jesus. So, honor him. Don't make fun of him, mock him, gossip about him, slander him, because honor is owed. This is also why you pay tithes or give offerings in your church. Wives are commanded to honor their husbands. And so, as we conclude this message, let me encourage you to give honor to whomever honor is owed. And this will help you in your relationships with those in authority over you, whether it be in government, in the church, or in your home. Because the bottom line is, that's the right thing to do, and that's the loving thing to do. Because, as we'll talk about next time, is the fulfillment of the law. So, I'd just like to conclude by reminding you that God loves you. He first loved us, and that's why we love him in return. He calls us to do things if we believe in him. And since we believe in him, that's why we want to obey his word. So, go. Don't be a hearer of the word. Be a doer of it also. I pray that God will encourage you and help you and empower you to obey the scriptures that you're studying verse by verse. And so, I thank you, God, for teaching us through the book of Romans. So, thank you, God, for your word. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. God is good. All the time. Thank you, Brenton. Now, if anyone would like to download more episodes, go to www.versebyverse.automatic.com We thank you for listening. God bless you. I'd like to thank our sponsors, Top Grade Paving. Call Robert at 408-455-8723 for a free estimate. Call Robert at 408-455-8723 for a free estimate on your paving project. So, give me a call at 831-594-2633 for a free quote for your upcoming event. If you own a business and you'd like to become a sponsor of Dwell on Truth, you can call me, too. I'll help you to create a compelling ad on KSCO AM 1080 in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Salinas. And may God richly bless you.