“Government of our Savior, by our Savior and for our Savior!”

“Government of our Savior, by our Savior and for our Savior!”

Romans 13:1-7

Grace, mercy and peace be unto you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Dearly Beloved in Christ Jesus,
In his Gettysburg address, Abraham Lincoln described our government as “of the people,
by the people and for the people.” Obviously, he was referring to the democratic ideal by which
each person can vote for the representatives who are to govern the country as a republic. But,
of course, Mr. Lincoln was also quite religious, and most likely a Christian (albeit an errant one).
So he began this brief address with reference to “the proposition that all men are created equal,”
and concluded it, “that this nation under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that
government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” It
is clear that he was fully aware of the greater and ultimate power behind this human form of
government – that is, God. Therefore, I do not doubt for a moment that Mr. Lincoln would have
heartily agreed to the proposition implied by our sermon title, namely, that all governments of all peoples and of all times are actually and ultimately the “Government of our Savior, by our Savior and for our Savior!”

I. All Government on Earth is Of our Savior!

A. Lincoln’s “Of the people” means government over the people.
1. He was apparently rephrasing a line out of a sermon by abolitionist minister
Theodore Parker, which read, “Democracy is direct self-government, over all
the people, for all the people, by all the people.” (Reported by Lincoln’s law
partner, William Herndon, who wrote a biography of Lincoln in 1888)
2. Therefore, Lincoln was not arguing that the every individual was to be selfgoverning.
This requires either a Republican form of government, or the
ability to hear every citizen’s opinion on every issue – ugh!

B. But God rules over all men, whether peasant or king, rich or poor, believer or
unbeliever!
1. In the Kingdom of the Right (hand), He rules by His Gospel, as preached by
His called servants.
2. In the Kingdom of the Left, He rules through various forms of governments,
as led by his appointed servants. (vs. 4 “For he (your ruler) is God’s servant
to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the
sword for nothing; for he is God’s servant, an avenger who brings wrath
upon the one who practices evil!”)
a. Payback is the name of the game – revenge through government, not
private citizens! (Rom 12:19 “Never take your own revenge, beloved,
but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is
Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord!!”
b. The ruler’s job is to reward good behavior and punish evil behavior
both among the citizens of the country, and over against other
governments, whether friendly and hostile. (vss. 3-4 “For rulers are
not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have
no fear of authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from
the same.”)
c. We Christians are therefore subject to whatever government God has
placed over us, just because it is He who has placed us under that
government! (vss. 1-2 “Let every person be in subjection to the
governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God,
and those which exist have been appointed by God. Therefore he
who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who
have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.”)

II. All Government on Earth is By our Savior!

A. If the government is good, this should be obvious to all, especially Christians.
1. But since both governors and those governed are sinners, there will always
be complaints about government, mostly from below, which is sin.
2. And no one can agree with their government all the time, because it is God’s
avenger for our sin!

B. If the government is evil, only Christians can understand that it is because the
citizens deserve evil!!
1. To many of his subjects, Cyrus the Great II (559-530 B.C.), king of the Medes
and Persians, was evil.
2. Yet he was especially chosen by God, and given divine protection as he
slaughtered tens of thousands of enemies to create his empire!
a. (Isaiah 45:1-3 “Thus says Yahweh to Cyrus His anointed, whom I have
taken by the right hand, to subdue nations before him, and to loose the
loins of kings; to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter
the doors of bronze, and cut through their iron bars. And I will give
you the treasures of darkness, and hidden wealth of secret places, in
order that you may know that it is I, Yahweh, the God of Israel, who
calls you by your name!”)
b. This was written by Isaiah at least 120 years before Cyrus was born!

III. All Government on Earth is For our Savior!

A. The only good governments are those that promote the only true God, Yahweh, who
is identified as Jesus Christ in the New Testament!!! (“Jesus” means “Yahweh
Salvation,” which in turn means “I Am Salvation!”)
1. The Persian government of Cyrus was “good” because God established it to
free His people!!!
a. He captured Babylon on Oct. 12, 539 B.C., and killed king Belshazzar
that very night. (Dan. 5:25-30 "Now this is the inscription that was
written by the hand that appeared and wrote on the palace wall
'MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.' "This is the interpretation of
the message: 'MENE' - God has numbered your kingdom and put an
end to it. "'TEKEL' - you have been weighed on the scales and found
deficient. "'PERES' - your kingdom has been divided and given over to
the Medes and Persians." That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean
king was slain!”)
b. 2,547 years ago today!!)
c. Then Cyrus sent the Jews home with the Temple vessels and money
to rebuild both it and the city!
2. Even Nebuchadnezzar, who had captured the Jews 70 years earlier, was
appointed by God to do so!
a. Dan. 1:1-2 “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah,
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.
And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with
some of the vessels of the house of God.”
b. Dan. 2:37-38 "You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of
heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory;
and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the
birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you
to rule over them all.”
c. Dan. 2:40 "Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron;
inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that
breaks thing in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces!” (The
Roman Empire, prophesied 400 years before it existed!!)
d. Dan. 2:44 "And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set
up a Kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that Kingdom will
not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these
kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever!” The Kingdom of Christ!!!
e. Dan. 4:17 "The Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and
bestows it on whom He wishes, and sets over it the lowliest of men."

B. But even evil governments must work for God our Savior, and accomplish His good
purpose!
1. The Roman government of Caesar was certainly evil toward Judah, but Jesus
created it to bring about His own birth, life, death and resurrection in a way
that would glorify Him and His Kingdom!
a. Its appointed census was used to bring Joseph & Mary to Bethlehem,
“too little to be counted among the clans of Israel From you One will go
forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from eternity!!!”
(Micah 5:2)
b. Its government over Judah was used to prevent the Jews from stoning
Jesus to death, and to provide that He might be cursed by “hanging on
a tree.” (Deut. 21:3; Gal. 3:13)
c. Thus the entire “Pax Romana” was designed and established by God
to provide the setting for the salvation of the world!!!
2. So can we pay taxes to an Emperor who claims to be a god? Jesus says, “Give
back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.” For these are the things of the
Kingdom of God’s Left hand!
3. But what about God? Jesus says, “Give back to God the things that are
God’s!” For these are the things of the Kingdom of His Right Hand , which
is to say, of Jesus, the Christ, the Savior of all the World!!!

Dear Fellow Redeemed in the Blood of Christ,
We Christians are indeed citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven – forever!!! But so long
as we live as sinners in a fallen world, we must also be citizens of whatever earthly kingdom God
has placed us in. There we are to be good citizens, obeying the laws of the land, until and unless
they conflict with God’s law (Acts 5:29). And there we are to glorify our Savior by hearing His
Word, partaking of His Sacraments, and spreading the fame of His Name throughout all the
world! This is your privilege as citizens of whatever “Government of our Savior, by our Savior and for our Savior” you find yourself members of. Thanks be to God for His everlasting mercy in
Christ. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts & minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.