Hiding in Romans

A group of three neighbors was standing on the sidewalk chatting when I parked. I walked over to greet them and they welcomed me into the conversation as they joked about maintaining the proper social distance. Well, maybe only one was joking.

As the only Christian in the crowd I was trying to think of what I should say but I realized as I listened that our concerns were not unique – everyone was feeling the same way. Do we really NEED to mask when we we’re out (no one was wearing one in the moment)? The only man in the group pointed out that if there was a surge in cases, then the masks weren’t working all that well.

We all agreed it is not fun to just “run out” for something we need for a recipe or on a whim under these conditions.  For some that was just about wearing a mask, for others it was the fear of the virus.

The oldest in the group (this time, that wasn’t me) said she is concerned but sick of it. She is already wondering if fearful members of her family will join her for Christmas this year and she said that that is scarier than the virus.

The discussion went to the seriousness of the illness. All recognize that it can be a serious illness. They acknowledged that there is a surge in positive tests   (generally expected as we moved indoors). But, all of them know that the death rate is very low now, less than 1%. One pointed out that we are more likely to die in a car accident than of Covid 19.

So, why are we all, especially Christians, following the mandates like sheep? One Christian told me it was to be a good witness for obeying the government as Romans 13 calls us to do. Many do not know the whole passage but say that we are to obey the government no matter what, after all, when Romans 13 was written Israel was under Roman rule and had to obey those evil people.

Is that what God wants, that we would obey people who are not considering our good but are working from evil motives and for wicked purposes of power over everyone?

Romans 13:1-4 says, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. (Italics mine.)

So, God has given us civil leaders for the purpose of being a terror to those who do evil and as servants of God, avengers carrying out the wrath of God on wrongdoers.  Does this sound like the governing body we live under in the U.S. today?

The list of the evils being done by our government is already lengthy and growing. Think about things like legalized abortion (by biblical definition this is the murder of innocent children, Exodus 21:22-23), homosexual marriage, an educational system that teaches hatred toward God and His Word and acceptance of socialism and Marxism (among other things).

Systemically, we are an evil producing nation. Many people talk about “when” the judgment of God comes. It appears that it is here – in all these evils that go largely uncontested by the people of our nation, sadly even from our pulpits many of these evils are not addressed.

It appears that our current state of affairs is that our government is not fighting evil but perpetuating it. Masks, the attack on the family (you can’t visit the elderly or enjoy holidays together, bring your kids home but let the government continue to educate them, etc.), the attack on the Church (don’t meet, don’t sing songs of worship, social distance all the time, etc.) are very clear attempts to control peoples’ lives more than is justifiable by the virus’ numbers. The elderly are dying from the emotional fall-out of these edicts from our “caring” governors. The general good of the people economically is collapsing, and the individual hardships are great for many (apparently not for those calling the shots!).

Christians, we cannot hide behind Romans 13 claiming it says something it does not say. We need to speak up and defy anyone who calls us to act in an ungodly manner, like not attending worship services (Hebrews 10:24-25). When Peter said, “We ought to obey God rather than man,” he was taking the Word of God to heart. He recognized evil based on the plumb line of God’s Word. We have that, too!

Even many of our unsaved neighbors know that our government is not currently working for good but they are practicing evil. We are seeing the ungodly results. Will we obey God or man?