WEBVTT 00:00.800 --> 00:02.500 Grace to you and peace from God 00:02.500 --> 00:05.300 our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:05.400 --> 00:05.900 Amen. 00:07.100 --> 00:15.700 Our text is the first half of Romans 13. Once upon a time in the old 00:15.700 --> 00:23.300 world of long ago, there was a nation of frogs. The frogs lived in a 00:23.300 --> 00:29.900 marsh, a swamp and they coexisted in peace, harmony and mutual 00:30.500 --> 00:36.000 contentment. They were free to live with one another as they pleased. 00:37.300 --> 00:43.100 And so it went until one day, they looked beyond their marshy habitat 00:43.700 --> 00:49.000 and saw that the other creatures in the world had something different. 00:49.800 --> 00:56.300 The other creatures had Kings to govern them rulers to oversee and 00:56.300 --> 00:57.900 regulate their lives. 00:58.900 --> 01:05.300 The frogs considered this, they discussed it amongst themselves and 01:05.300 --> 01:09.000 they grew discontented with their situation. 01:09.700 --> 01:15.000 Finally, they decided that they to desired a king to rule over them. 01:16.500 --> 01:21.000 And so they called upon Zeus to send them a king. 01:22.100 --> 01:27.700 Well, Zeus heard the frogs and their request, he considered the matter 01:28.500 --> 01:34.700 and decided to throw down a large log, Zeus was a God who like to 01:34.700 --> 01:35.800 throw things. 01:36.700 --> 01:40.400 He threw down a log, making a huge splash 01:40.700 --> 01:41.600 in the marsh. 01:41.800 --> 01:45.600 That would give the frogs something else to think about for a while. 01:45.700 --> 01:51.800 Well, after their fear had subsided, the frogs made fun of the log. 01:51.900 --> 01:55.400 It just laid there in the marsh and did nothing. 01:56.000 --> 02:00.400 They climbed on top of it and sunned themselves for a while. 02:01.500 --> 02:07.200 But soon, they wanted a king again and cried out to Zeus demanding 02:07.500 --> 02:10.699 that he send one to rule over them. 02:12.100 --> 02:17.900 Zeus heard the frogs, he considered the matter and this time he 02:17.900 --> 02:21.300 decided to send them a stork. 02:22.500 --> 02:28.400 The stork came down to the marsh and picked off the frogs and devoured 02:28.400 --> 02:30.300 them one by one. 02:31.800 --> 02:37.400 And So it goes, is there a moral to the story? 02:38.700 --> 02:44.100 Well, that story which may or may not bear any resemblance to our own 02:44.100 --> 02:50.700 social political context is one of Aesop's Fables. Martin Luther 02:50.700 --> 02:54.900 referred to it in a number of his writings, perhaps most memorably, in 02:54.900 --> 02:59.800 his 1523 Treatise on Secular Authority. Luther there 03:00.000 --> 03:04.300 explains that because the world is a dangerous place filled with sin 03:04.300 --> 03:08.300 and evil God, established his kingdom of the world. 03:08.400 --> 03:16.100 His left hand, rule to curb wickedness, to protect life and punish 03:16.200 --> 03:22.300 lawlessness. Luther's punchline, frogs need storks. 03:24.100 --> 03:26.100 But what about the storks? 03:26.700 --> 03:31.000 What do you do when you are ruled by storks? 03:31.700 --> 03:33.000 How do you respond? 03:33.800 --> 03:39.500 This is a problem not merely of Aesop's time or of Luther's but of our 03:39.500 --> 03:44.100 own time. In our reading from Romans 13 03:44.100 --> 03:47.400 Paul's message is simple and clear. 03:47.600 --> 03:52.200 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities for there is 03:52.200 --> 03:53.700 no Authority except from 03:53.900 --> 03:54.300 God 03:54.300 --> 03:58.300 and those that exist have been instituted by God. 03:58.900 --> 04:00.700 Those resisting, the authorities 04:00.700 --> 04:03.200 God has appointed will incurred judgment. 04:03.800 --> 04:05.900 They are God's servants for our good. 04:05.900 --> 04:10.700 They do not bear the sword in vain, they carry out God's wrath on the 04:10.700 --> 04:11.600 wrongdoer. 04:12.800 --> 04:19.200 It is, the will of God his law that we be subject to the governing 04:19.200 --> 04:21.200 authorities in this world. 04:22.200 --> 04:28.600 The world is a dangerous place filled with sin and evil, hatred 04:28.700 --> 04:30.900 and violence are everywhere. 04:31.100 --> 04:37.700 Murder and Mayhem, gross corruptions of the created order of things 04:37.700 --> 04:42.200 things that shock and dismay and frighten us 04:42.700 --> 04:43.500 every day. 04:45.100 --> 04:49.100 What about the storks? Some storks govern 04:49.100 --> 04:55.500 well. Some are honest and just and uphold the laws. Some protect the 04:55.500 --> 05:02.200 innocent and punish the wicked. Some oppose evil forces in the world 05:02.200 --> 05:08.100 and try to preserve peace and order. Some risk 05:08.100 --> 05:11.900 their lives every day, some lay down their lives 05:12.700 --> 05:14.000 to protect others. 05:15.400 --> 05:17.500 What about storks? 05:18.300 --> 05:24.600 Some are dishonest and unjust, and defy the law of the land and the 05:24.600 --> 05:25.600 law of God. 05:25.800 --> 05:33.100 Some storks are tyrants serving only themselves. Some lie and cheat 05:33.200 --> 05:38.600 and steal every single day holding a press conference to deliver a 05:38.600 --> 05:41.000 daily dose of deceit. 05:41.800 --> 05:49.600 Some punish the innocent. Some slaughter the innocent and protect, 05:49.600 --> 05:54.400 and reward the wicked. They mock, and threaten, threaten, those 05:54.400 --> 05:56.200 who do what is right 05:56.700 --> 05:59.800 and just. They pervert justice 06:00.600 --> 06:07.600 encourage destruction. Some storks are advocates for sin and Evil. 06:09.500 --> 06:14.400 But what do we expect of storks? For his part Luther 06:14.400 --> 06:20.500 didn't think much of them. He wrote this about them in, 1523 refers to 06:20.500 --> 06:21.000 them here 06:21.000 --> 06:26.400 as princes. You must know that from the beginning of the world, a wise 06:26.400 --> 06:30.300 prince is a rare bird, indeed, still more 06:30.300 --> 06:36.800 so a pious prince. They are usually the greatest fools or the worst 06:36.800 --> 06:38.300 knaves on Earth. 06:39.200 --> 06:44.300 Therefore one must constantly expect the worst from them and look for 06:44.300 --> 06:48.700 little good from them, especially in divine matters, which concern the 06:48.700 --> 06:50.100 salvation of souls. 06:50.200 --> 06:53.700 They are God's jailers and hangman and his divine 06:53.700 --> 06:57.200 wrath needs them to punish the wicked and preserve outward 06:57.200 --> 06:57.700 peace. 06:58.500 --> 07:03.800 If a prince becomes wise, pious, or a Christian, it is one of the great 07:03.800 --> 07:04.500 wonders. 07:04.900 --> 07:09.100 One of the most precious tokens of divine grace upon that land. 07:10.300 --> 07:16.100 The world is too wicked and does not deserve to have many wise and 07:16.100 --> 07:17.600 pious princes. 07:18.700 --> 07:21.700 Frogs need storks. 07:24.100 --> 07:27.700 And so it goes with the world and life in it. 07:29.100 --> 07:33.300 And this is where the Apostle Paul has something to say to us today 07:33.900 --> 07:37.500 about how we are to regard these leaders. 07:39.100 --> 07:44.200 God has established governing authorities to protect life against 07:44.200 --> 07:45.800 destructive forces. 07:47.300 --> 07:50.100 This power is God's servant. 07:50.900 --> 07:55.400 And when the authorities, do this, protective service being subject to 07:55.400 --> 07:57.400 them is relatively easy. 07:58.800 --> 08:01.900 But what do we do when the governing authorities do not serve the 08:01.900 --> 08:04.300 purposes for which God intended? 08:04.300 --> 08:08.500 What is our response when the governing authorities become the 08:08.500 --> 08:13.300 destructive force from which they are supposed to protect us? 08:15.000 --> 08:19.900 When we look at our nation, when we look at the nations of the world, 08:20.600 --> 08:21.600 what do we see? 08:22.900 --> 08:27.500 Well, there are at times honest and just rulers and we can see them. 08:29.000 --> 08:34.700 But we also see rulers that are not protecting life as they should. 08:35.600 --> 08:40.299 Some rulers are destroying agents if not forces of evil. 08:40.299 --> 08:46.000 And we see wars and threats of war, nation against nation, leading to 08:46.000 --> 08:50.600 devastation, we see Injustice and crime and persecution. 08:50.800 --> 08:52.700 And yet Paul tells us, 08:53.800 --> 08:58.200 that we are to be subject to the governing authorities appointed over 08:58.200 --> 08:58.600 us. More 09:00.000 --> 09:03.200 than that, he tells us that we are to respect them. 09:04.400 --> 09:06.200 And to honor them. 09:08.000 --> 09:11.500 In this section of Romans, especially as we look back to the previous 09:11.500 --> 09:18.300 chapter, Paul is teaching us how to be people of God in this world. 09:18.900 --> 09:25.700 He describes for us, what it means to live a life, renewed, a life 09:25.700 --> 09:27.800 renewed in Christ. 09:28.400 --> 09:30.900 It is a life of faith. 09:31.500 --> 09:37.600 It is a life of love. It is a life of rejoicing in hope, even in 09:37.800 --> 09:41.100 midst of tribulation and suffering. 09:42.500 --> 09:46.400 And in Chapter 13, Paul explains what it means to live, within the 09:46.400 --> 09:51.500 orders of this world and under its authorities. 09:53.300 --> 09:59.700 As Christians, we live in the new world, the new kingdom of God. 09:59.700 --> 10:06.300 Even while we still carry on in the old world. We are in Christ and 10:06.300 --> 10:08.800 are reckoned righteous by the gospel. 10:09.200 --> 10:12.900 We are free from the condemnation of the law. 10:13.800 --> 10:17.800 And yet, we are still subject to the civil law and its authorities in 10:17.800 --> 10:18.800 this world. 10:20.000 --> 10:23.800 But as Christians, we are not to conform to the ways 10:24.400 --> 10:28.600 and the mindset of this old world.Wwe are to live 10:28.600 --> 10:34.000 according to God's will in subjection to the authorities of this 10:34.000 --> 10:37.700 world, even while it may be difficult. 10:39.000 --> 10:45.700 Sometimes it seems outrageous that we Christians should be subject to 10:45.700 --> 10:50.200 respect and honor the authority that governs us. 10:51.700 --> 10:54.300 And then we can remember our own sin. 10:55.800 --> 10:58.000 Our own lawlessness. 10:58.900 --> 11:03.600 And we realize the need for this authority, even for ourselves. 11:04.300 --> 11:08.200 Paul reminds us that this authority is from God. 11:08.200 --> 11:14.200 God has appointed the authorities that exist, and for this reason, he 11:14.200 --> 11:16.300 will have us be subject to them. 11:16.900 --> 11:22.300 We are to pay our taxes and revenue render, our revenue, and respect, 11:22.400 --> 11:23.200 and honor. 11:24.200 --> 11:28.500 This governing Authority is God's authority. 11:29.500 --> 11:31.100 This should comfort us. 11:31.100 --> 11:35.400 It should be a comfort because we know that God is looking out for us. 11:35.400 --> 11:38.000 Our hope and trust is in him. 11:39.100 --> 11:43.000 And we can see the work of God in this. 11:44.400 --> 11:48.300 When Paul wrote the book of Romans, he was contending with Emperor 11:48.300 --> 11:50.800 Nero. Roman emperors 11:50.800 --> 11:52.900 during this time were conniving and corrupt 11:52.900 --> 11:57.700 hardly legitimate authorities. Paul could see with his own eyes that 11:57.700 --> 11:59.800 the Roman Authority was an evil perversion 12:00.000 --> 12:05.300 of the government of God. Paul himself, a Roman citizen suffered 12:05.300 --> 12:07.300 greatly under Roman rule. 12:07.400 --> 12:12.000 He was persecuted arrested beaten in prison and he knew the 12:12.000 --> 12:16.500 possibility for himself and for other Christians of being put to death 12:16.700 --> 12:18.200 by Roman order. 12:18.800 --> 12:25.000 Christ himself was subject to and crucified by Roman governing 12:25.400 --> 12:26.100 Authority. 12:27.300 --> 12:33.100 And yet, Paul understands that these rulers are authorities only for 12:33.700 --> 12:34.500 this world. 12:35.600 --> 12:40.200 As he tells the Christians in Corinth, the rulers of this age are 12:40.200 --> 12:42.400 doomed to pass away. 12:43.900 --> 12:51.300 While this is true, we are still living in this age and they are still 12:51.300 --> 13:01.600 here and still in power. To see the work of God in these rulers to see 13:01.600 --> 13:05.500 God blessing and protecting us through them. 13:07.000 --> 13:11.400 Requires wisdom from God himself. 13:13.100 --> 13:19.600 We need God's revealing word, to open our eyes to see that 13:19.600 --> 13:22.700 God is governing all things. 13:24.000 --> 13:30.100 He is preserving humankind for the sake of those who love Him and for 13:30.100 --> 13:30.800 our good. 13:31.800 --> 13:37.300 This wisdom, this Faith was revealed to Paul by the Holy Spirit and 13:37.300 --> 13:47.400 now to us. And now in this life, we see with eyes of faith, we see and 13:47.400 --> 13:52.500 believe God at work in this old world even while our life in the new 13:52.500 --> 14:00.400 world is secured. In His enduring, faithful love, God, protects and 14:00.400 --> 14:01.500 preserves us in this 14:01.700 --> 14:09.000 life, this side of the Cross, this side of Easter. And for this new 14:09.000 --> 14:12.700 life, and for his gifts, in this world, which is passing away 14:13.900 --> 14:20.500 we give God our thanks. And we go forward each day, walking by faith 14:20.600 --> 14:26.900 living in Christ acting as people of God, according to our vocations. 14:27.600 --> 14:34.800 Trusting in Him until the day when Christ returns in, glory raining, 14:35.200 --> 14:40.300 as our Lord, Our Savior and our faithful King. 14:41.500 --> 14:42.000 Amen. 14:44.000 --> 14:44.900 The peace of God 14:44.900 --> 14:46.700 which passes all understanding 14:46.700 --> 14:50.000 preserve your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 14:50.700 --> 14:51.100 Amen.