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Christians Obey Caesar to Obey God
1 Peter 2:9-17, Romans 13:1-7, BC 36
As we come to the end of our study on the Belgic Confession, we touch on a point of doctrine that many Christians have disagreed over. And the disagreement isn’t just contemporary - it’s as old as time. The disagree over questions such as - what’s the role of the civil government, how much should Christians obey them, is there room for civil disobedience, etc? The fact that the Confession refers to the Anabaptists shows that. The Amish today still have a low view of civil government. But even among Reformed Christians there’s disagreement. Should there be a national church working with the state government? Does the government have a say in religious matters? Or since Christ is king alone, is a state that denies that a rogue state to resist? So it’s not without trepidation that we examine this topic. But we’re grateful that we have the Confession to guide us. As a confessing church, we believe that it accurately summarizes the teachings of Scripture on this topic. From article 36, we see that God ordains government to restrain evil. Its role is to punish wrongdoers and protect the church. And the citizen’s role is to obey them in all things that agree with the Word of God and to pray for them so we might lead an unmolested life. Now, what’s interesting is that these words were written at a time when Reformed Christians were being persecuted by the state for their faith and civil disobedience. Guido de Brès, the author of the Confession, was himself executed for his conscionable opposition to the state.
And we see it in the early church. The apostles taught believers to obey and they did, until they couldn’t. We’ll examine this topic from 1 Peter 2 primarily in 2 points. Firstly, let the church obey Caesar for God’s sake and her good. Secondly, let the church obey Caesar for her witness and conscience.
Firstly, let the church obey Caesar for God’s sake and her good. Verses 13-14 say, “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.” Clearly here, Peter was telling believers to obey the king and his governors. It’s for the Lord’s sake. Now, these instructions here from Peter are part of a larger group of instructions. He’s not merely giving commandments. There’s a context, there’s a reason. In verses 9-10, Peter reminded these Christians that they were God’s special people - they were a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and holy nation. Their job was to show forth God’s goodness - that they were transformed - called out of darkness into his marvelous light. They were God’s people, when they once weren’t. They had received mercy, when they once didn’t. Now, what was Peter’s purpose in saying this? It was to remind them of their high and exalted status as God’s people as well as their duty.
Remember, these were the same words God gave Israel at Sinai. After he redeemed them from Egypt, he said in Exodus 19 they were a special people, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. Then he gave them the 10 commandments to obey. They had officers like Moses and Aaron over them. But we know what happened - they disobeyed God by fulfilling their desires and went against God’s leaders. And this wouldn’t be the last time. God sent Hosea to rebuke Israel for rejecting God’s laws and fulfilling their sinful desires. Even their kings were corrupt. So God warned them of judgment. Hosea’s children were named Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah, and Lo-Ammi to teach these rebellious people they’d no longer receive mercy but judgment because they were no longer God’s people. They rejected the covenant. But God promised to redeem a remnant. They’d be his people and he’d pour his Spirit into them to obey. So this was Peter’s messaging to his readers. They were God’s remnant! They were his people, they received mercy - and therefore, they’d obey him. How? By doing 2 things. In verses 11-12, he beseeched them as strangers and pilgrims to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. By so doing, they’d be good witnesses. And here in verses 13-17, he told them to submit themselves to every ordinance of man - to government. Meaning, believers obey Caesar, because they’re obedient to God.
Verse 13 says believers submit to every ordinance for the Lord’s sake. When we obey civil government, we do it unto the Lord. God’s pleased with our obedience to civil government. The Israelites in the wilderness rebelled against Moses and Aaron - this greatly displeased God - because he appointed these men. So when we submit, it’s pleasing to God. And the word “submit” in Greek literally means to be under orders. We take orders. From whom? Every institution ordained for people - meaning government. And Peter clarifies what he means by every ordinance. We’re to submit to kings. Kings are the heads of state - they’re supreme - there’s no one higher than they. But we’re also to submit to the king’s officials - the governors, who’ve been appointed by the king. So not only the head of state, but the arms of government. In other words, all who govern. As our Confession states - “our gracious God has ordained kings, princes, and civil officers.” And Romans 13:2 adds a strong warning - “Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.” Why? Because the king has sent them, yea, God has sent them to punish those who do evil. Our Confession reminds us that because of man’s depravity, God has ordained government, to rule mankind with laws so that lawlessness will be restrained. And God placed the sword into their hands to punish. That’s why Paul says in Romans 13:3 - “For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil.” He also says in verse 4 that those who do evil should be afraid because the government bears the sword not in vain - he’s God’s servant - “…a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” So government is for God’s sake - to accomplish his will to punish evildoers.
But government is also for our good. Peter says that they’re sent “for the praise of them that do well.” Government doesn’t only restrain evil, it also honors those who do right. Romans 13:3 says that rulers are not a terror to those who do good - “…do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same.” So the role of government is not just to punish, it’s also to reward. That’s God’s intention - he ordained civil government to reward those who do good. In fact God intends for government to do good to the church. Romans 13:4 says, “for he is the minister of God to thee for good.” But more than that, our Confession interprets this verse as telling us that God ordained them for the protection of the church and her ministry for the expansion of Christ’s kingdom. It’s for our good. And we’ve seen this in biblical history. Many of the governments in the ancient world were wicked - ruled by tyrants - or kings supreme. But yet, God used them to advance the cause of Christ’s kingdom. Joseph was raised to Prime Minister by Pharaoh - and that led to the preservation and growth of Israel in Egypt for centuries. While Nebuchadnezzar was used by God to judge the wicked in Israel, God used Cyrus to return the remnant home. Artaxerxes was used to rebuild the temple and the walls - footing the whole bill. Ahasuerus was also used by God to help the Jews. He reward Mordecai with highest honors for his service to the king. And the strange customs of Persian law influenced his decrees to advance the Jewish cause - not only to preserve their lives, but to enrich them, and to repel their enemies. Even during the time of Paul, Roman roads facilitated the spread of the gospel. And Roman law allowed him to appeal to Caesar, to claim trial. And while he waited trial in prison, he continued to write the epistles to build up the church, and preach the gospel in bonds leading to the conversion of many in Caesar’s own family. Christ uses government for the good of his church. That’s why we ought to pray for them. As the Confession says in quoting 1 Timothy 2 - so that God may direct them in all their ways and that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. The church grows during persecution, but it also grows in times of peace - because of the government, which God has ordained. As a church, we are able to preach the gospel, tract, explore renovating this building, and even dream of planting another church. That’s why he calls us to submit.
And remember, both Peter and Paul gave their instructions to the church when it was under persecution - some even say - from Nero. His persecutions of Christians was amongst the worst - he fed them to beasts, he had them beaten and crucified, and he also wrapped in oil soaked cloths and lit up as human torches to light the streets of Rome. It’s in this context that Peter and Paul gave these instructions - Caesar was placed there by God - and believers were to obey for God’s sake and their good. And our Confession was written during a time of great persecution. When Charles V became ruler of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, he invaded the Low Countries - which comprised of Belgium and the Netherlands. He saw how the Reformation was a threat to his power. He started the Inquisition to hunt down Protestants. When caught, they’d be imprisoned and tortured. He hoped it would break the will of the people. He passed a law to put to death anyone who insulted images, the virgin Mary, or the saints. This meant that Guido de Brès, who wrote this Confession, had a death sentence on him. But he drafted Article 36 because obedience to Caesar is the default position of every church that loves Christ.
Secondly, let the church obey Caesar for her witness and conscience. It’s not just for God’s sake and our good, but for our witness and conscience. Verse 15 says, “For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.” We obey for our witness. God’s people are not perfect - we’re still be sanctified. We still commit crime. After all, Peter had to instruct his readers to abstain from fleshly lusts - to be good witnesses. We are restrained from sin and thereby sanctified. At the same time, Christians were wrongly accused of crime. In those days, Christians were viewed with much suspicion, according to Tacitus, for their “degraded and shameful practices” and “antisocial tendencies.” The Lord’s Supper was seen as a cannibalistic act - to feast on the body and blood of their God. They bestowed the holy kiss across different social classes. And they practiced incest - because husband and wife were brother and sister. Now, we look at this and see it as the ignorance of foolish men. But that’s exactly what Peter meant - considering what people think, it’s therefore important for believers to maintain their witness by well-doing - by obedience to the civil government. Rumors are quashed when unbelievers see the lives of believers - that they are law-abiding, meek, honoring authority. Which is why 1 Peter 2:17 says, “Honor all men - respect everyone. Love your brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the king.” So how are we to be a good witness? How do we obey? Romans 13:6-7 tell us to pay our taxes - the government is God’s servant. We’re to “render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.” And how we do these things, affects other Christians. The way we keep laws, respect authority - not mocking them - affects the way unbelievers view other believers. We’re to love the brotherhood - how we obey affects how other believers are treated. There are believers who speak about their freedom and celebrate their edginess or trendiness, yea, greater faithfulness to God because they’re more enlightened or spiritual not to submit to the government. And they often spoil it for the rest of the believers. They behave as what verse 16 says warns against - using their liberty as a cloak of maliciousness. I’m free in Christ, he’s my king alone, that I will resist every other authority. And this is why the Confession warned against the Anabaptists of its day. In certain cities, they overthrew the government and formed communities against the government. They introduced and established a wild sort of communism. But this put the peaceful Anabaptist in a bad light. The others were not loving the brotherhood at all.
But the Confession also has this to say - everyone must obey them in all things which do not disagree with the Word of God. While the default is to obey governors for God’s sake, our good, our witness, and love for fellow believers; we can only obey them in all things which don’t disagree with the Word of God. Civil disobedience is not the default - but must be exercised in obedience to God when governors require us to sin against God. For our consciences, we obey all we can, but for our consciences, we must also disobey. Our reality is that we belong to God’s kingdom - it will always be a remnant, always persecuted, always oppressed by the Beast, always misunderstood. And the AntiChrist will always require us to worship the Beast. And we must be prepared to stand up against it. Daniel refused to stop praying. His friends refused to bow to the image. The early Christians couldn’t buy or sell because they refused to worship Caesar. There are times that believers must disobey Caesar - for the Lord’s sake, for our good, for our witness, and for our conscience. In 1959, the government of Singapore had a project called Operation Pantai Chantek - it even called upon churches to come and clean up the beach on a Sunday. All the churches in the mainline denominations complied. The Bible Presbyterian Synod at that time appealed, saying they could not dishonor the Lord’s Day - it was after all the Lord’s Day. But they offered instead to send their members of other days to help with this operation. What happened is that those believers who dared to obey Christ were excused. They were a witness to both government and Christians. They appealed like Queen Esther did. All other liberal, mainline denominations failed the Lord Jesus. In the book of Acts, the apostles were commanded not to preach the gospel. They responded to this commandment and threat in Acts 4:19-20 - “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. Or we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” When they were questioned again why they didn’t obey, they answered in Acts 5:29 - “We ought to obey God rather than men.” Christ’s church’s default position is obedience to government. It’s true that sometimes the state may intrude into things that we may feel is not within their purview. They may not be sinful things, but perhaps things that we feel are outside the bounds of their responsibility. Submission is the default position, as much as possible. But when the government calls us to do what is sinful, we obey God rather than man. And the reality is this - we’ll be persecuted - but the Lord will deliver us if he’s willing.
What happened to Guido de Brès? When he wrote the Confession, he added a preface addressed to King Philip II, the son of Charles. He pleaded with the king that he had no right to persecute faithful, Bible- believing Christians. Their faith was based on biblical teaching. In that letter he wrote that they would obey the authorities, but never deny the faith. He said - “before God and His angels, we desire nothing higher than to live according to the purity of our consciences in obedience under the authorities, to serve God and to reform ourselves according to His Word and holy commandments…However, since we had the fear of God before our eyes and thus dreading the threat of Jesus Christ, who says that He will deny us before God His Father, should we deny Him before men: we offer our backs to the whip’s lash, our tongues to the knives, the mouth to the muzzle, and the whole body to the flames.”
And this what happened to Guido de Brès, who wrote the Confession, confessing the belief that we are to obey Caesar to obey God? He was caught and thrown into prison. The Inquisitors repeatedly tried to force him to accept Roman Catholicism and admit his error, but he refused. He was hanged on May 30, 1567. His body was burned, and the ashes were thrown into a river. Why? Because he couldn’t obey Caesar to obey God. May the Lord help us to be faithful to him. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords - the Prince of Peace; he has ordained rulers over us to restrain evil, even ours; and to protect and prosper the church; we obey for our own witness, love for other believers, to have a good conscience. Let us obey them. And let us disobey them because the Lord Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords - the Prince of Peace.
- Let the Church Obey Caesar for Her Witness and Conscience
- Let the Church Obey Caesar for Her Witness and Conscience
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