God Establishes All Authorities

(0:00 - 0:24) Real Life presents the Jack Hibbs Podcast, with intention and boldness to proclaim truth, equip the saints, and impact our culture. Any culture in the world that fears retribution from the law, it doesn't matter what their belief system is. If there's a system of laws that puts fear in the mind of the citizen to keep them from doing evil, that's a good thing. (0:26 - 0:54) You can get the outlines of this podcast by going to Jackhibbs.com slash podcast. Today, if this podcast lifts you up and encourages you to live a more fulfilled life in Christ, then make sure you leave us one of those five-star ratings. To us, that's like saying amen or yes. Then that rating will encourage others to listen. Now open your hearts to what God's Word has to say to you. Here is Jack Hibbs. (0:55 - 1:13) So let's dive in. Verse 2, it says, therefore, whoever resists the authority, resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. Boom. Period. Just a tremendous statement. If you resist God-given authority, you are going to bring judgment upon yourself, and it's not going to go well with you. (1:14 - 1:40) God has established this absolute truth, and we want to learn from this. We must be governed by laws, every single one of us. You do know this. We all know this. From the youngest of our children to the oldest of our saints, we all have to operate under rules to some degree. Before our pilgrim fathers stepped off the Mayflower, they had to come to an agreement. (1:41 - 2:01) By the way, I don't want to bore you with this, although I think it's fascinating. Did you know half the attendants, half of those on board the Mayflower, half of them were non-believers. Did you know that? Out of the 102 people, there's 102 people, but there were two dogs, so people say there's 104, only 51 of them were believers. (2:01 - 2:12) The rest were called strangers. That's what the pilgrims called unbelievers, strangers. And when the storm blew them off course, they were supposed to land in Virginia. (2:12 - 2:39) That's what they had to permit from the king, was to land the Mayflower in Virginia. But God, in that great storm, blew them way to the north into what was known as no man's land, where there was no charter, no permit needed, that if you landed there, it's yours. And the believers decided we are not getting off of this boat until we have a governing document. (2:40 - 3:00) And the unbelievers finally accepted. They said, okay, that's all right, we'll do it. And by the way, none of the unbelievers cared about government. They cared about going and getting rich. It was only the believers who cared about a governing document, which you're going to appreciate in a second. Let's take a peek at it, and I'll read it to you. (3:01 - 3:55) In the name of God, that's how it starts. Amen. We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, king defender of the faith, having undertaken for the glory of God, the advancement of the Christian faith, and the honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presence, solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one another, covenant, and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic. How many times has God referenced here? Think about it. Now, remember, they thought they were going to be landing in Virginia. It turned out to be Massachusetts. (3:56 - 5:45) But the whole thing was this. We're not stepping up this vote until we have governance. And for those of you, I know we had a president not too long ago who said, America has never been a Christian nation. Did you know that? He was very happy to say that. By the way, he said it in two locations, once in Cairo, Egypt, and then the other one was at Harvard University. And what was funny about him saying that at Harvard, look, if he says it in Cairo, a Muslim nation, who cares? But if he says it at Harvard, this was hilarious because behind him, the backdrop was a black cloth. You know why there's a black cloth? Because behind the cloth was an incredible wood carved wall of the cross and scripture Bible at Harvard University. And if you know your stuff, Harvard University was started by John Harvard, Pastor John Harvard. It was created to make pastors and missionaries to go out into America. But no, we were never a Christian nation. Listen, forget Cairo and forget Harvard. Go way back. Go way back to our founding fathers who declared, we've come here to establish this continent for the glory of the gospel of Jesus. I'm not asking you to like it. I'm asking you to learn it. It's part of our history. You may not like it, but it's too bad. That's why people want to rewrite history. Let's get God out of it. Well, that would not be good. And so there's a question that's before us when it says, for example, in verse three, for rulers are not a terror to good works. Those are going to do good things. Rulers don't terrify them, but evil people are terrified by rulers. We all know this is true. (5:45 - 6:00) But so do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Translation. So whenever there's a cop around, do you want to not be nervous? Just do the right thing. Just do the right thing. (6:02 - 6:13) And what would the right thing be? Do the law. That officer is there to enforce the law. And God would say to us, do the law and you won't be looking over your shoulder. (6:14 - 10:09) Do what is good and you will have praise from the same. So here's a question. To what extent did the Roman Empire have authority over its citizens and the world it ruled? It's going to listen. Be careful. To what extent did the Roman Empire have authority over its citizens and the world that it ruled? The answer is all authority. Whose authority was it? Roman Empire. It's under that empire that the church was born. Think of that. Jesus was born under the Roman Empire. So as a Roman citizen, what authority does the empire have over your life? All authority. But I'm not done. For the non-Christian, for Rome, absolute authority. But for the Christian, Rome had limited authority, which is why believers were viewed as enemies of the state. Why? Did you know that in our nation's history, in fact, the one who broke the rule, anybody remember JFK? John F. Kennedy? Do you want to know why it was very controversial for him to become a president? Very good. Because he was a Catholic. We had never had a Catholic president. Did you know that our founding fathers refused to allow a Catholic to be not only in Congress, but to be a president? Because they wrote it. They said the person may be very moral and very, very knowledgeable, but the problem is for a Constitution to work, if he's loyal to the Catholic Church, it will mean that he's loyal to the Pope. And we can't have the Pope interfering in the operation of the Constitution. They didn't want to have that distraction. Think of that for a moment. Man, you mentioned that today and it's like, you can't say that. But what a remarkable thing that it was to be all of God, but to understand this, is it Rome or is it the Constitution or is it the Bible or is it Rome? And so listen, it is Rome, everybody, it is Rome, so to speak, right? It's the law of the land. It's America until America or Rome disobeys the will and the word of God. And this is where I believe our nation is at and that it's heading into more of those deeper waters. And you and I will all be called out as believers to eventually take a stand when our nation goes rogue and goes anti-God, what will the believer do? And so this is a very important thing. And remember, we touched on the example last time by Paul the Apostle. It's Acts chapter 25, verse 10, when Paul was being challenged. Remember this, everybody. Paul was being interviewed and examined and he was held, being held prison for being a Christian. And it wasn't just for being a Christian. He was, he got arrested for preaching the resurrection of Jesus. And so Paul said in verse 10, I stand at Caesar's judgment seat, this was in Caesarea, where I ought to be judged. I appeal to Caesar. And then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, you have appealed to Caesar and to Caesar, you shall go. Paul used his politic as a believer to advance the gospel. Nobody should be more adept at that than I believe as the American citizen should be, because we've got more rights and freedoms than anybody else on the planet. And regarding our Christian faith, we should exercise those freedoms to advance them. And that is lawful. Well, what happens if it becomes unlawful to mention Jesus? What will you do? I think I already know. I think I know what you'll do, but I think it's pretty clear to us over the last five years, we know what pastors will do if the government says, don't speak in Jesus's name. The bulk of pastors in America stopped speaking in Jesus's name. (10:14 - 10:53) No, we're not to do that. Verse four says, for he, that is the officer of the laws, God's minister to you for good. And I need all of you to circle those two words. Please understand this. The authority, the establishment, the government, and the officer of the law has been put in place by God to do good. Everybody get that? Not to do evil. But if you do evil, be afraid for he does not bear the sword in vain. Now in our day, it's not that he has a sword. He has something worse. (10:54 - 12:09) He has a ticket book. He has a pen. He doesn't bear that pen in vain. Why? Because when he writes that ticket, he's got the authority of the state behind him. Very powerful. But the Bible here is saying, this individual that's been given to us by God is to enforce what's good. So you need to ask yourself, please, you don't need to answer out loud. Be asking yourself, if God established government and the politics that I live under, including the apparatus that comes from it, fire, police, taxes, whatever, what do we do as believers when these things go bad or against God? Now, let me make myself clear. There are many bad laws that we don't even talk about. There are many bad and inappropriate taxes that I'll never bring up. It's just part of being in a fallen world. But when somebody says, for example, no, no, the church will pay tax in this area to the state of California to pay for elective abortions for any woman in the state of California, worship dollars will be used for that purpose. The state said that. And we refused to do that. We wouldn't do that. (12:09 - 12:14) So we stood up against the state. And so, oh, you can't do that. No, no, you don't understand. (12:14 - 15:30) I must do that. But when the state says, we're going to take this money from you and we're going to have, we're going to pave, we're going to pave I-5 blue with blue asphalt. You're not going to hear a peep out of my mouth. I'm a pastor. I'm not a politician. If I was running for office, I would say not blue, let's paint it green. That's a joke. I'm not going to get involved in that stuff. But when they say, oh, now this area, we are going to attack families. We are going to attack the unborn. We are going to attack worship. And that's where you don't expect politics. I don't expect politicians to stand up for the church. That's where that church comes in and pastors come in to stand up for what is good and what is right. Because the officer does not bear his sword in vain for good. And so we have to live in a way of judgment with the word of God ever before us. And so Kings and prime ministers and presidents and elected officials, they are allowed power to advance what's good, but who decides what's good? Who decides what's bad? And let's be honest, humans have tried, but we fail. God has written upon every human heart, the moral law. We don't need to belabor that. Romans chapter one, verse 18 will add enough for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unGodliness and unrighteousness of men. That's mankind who suppress the truth in unrighteousness because what may be known of God is manifest in them. There's your answer inside. They know no matter what they say, it doesn't matter inside their head and heart. They know for God has showed it to them for since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and God head. That's an amazing statement. According to the Bible, God has revealed inside every human being the Trinity. That's what the word Godhead is. Isn't that wild? You don't have to be a Christian. You don't have to be a theologian. God has revealed to you that the Holy Spirit is convicting you of sin and that every time you use the name of Jesus, you have an extra sense of dread in your heart and your life because you're thinking, I don't know. Why am I using that name in vain like that? Why am I doing that? Interesting. God's put that within us so that they are without excuse because although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were they thankful but became futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools. A tremendous statement indeed for sure. This does apply, you know, to all of us and to all elected officials as well. No one's exempt from the truth of God on this. By the way, when it says professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. Look at the Greek word for fool. You might have some fun with this. (15:30 - 16:31) This one, more rainy to be empty. The word means to be empty headed, void, a willful ignorance, choosing to be as a, and there's the word, moron. That's where the word moron comes from. You thought somebody made that up? It's in the Bible. If you deny the existence of God, the Bible says you're a moron. How do you like that? I don't think the Bible speaks to our age. Oh yeah? If you don't believe in God, the Bible says you're a moron. In fact, you know what? The most difficult verse in the entire Bible. You don't have to mess around with the Bible. You don't have to mess around with the Bible. Just go to Genesis chapter one, verse one. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. If you can get past verse one, the whole thing's downhill. Notice how God introduces himself. He doesn't say, hi, I'd love for you to consider thinking about me being God. (16:32 - 17:13) No, he just walks up, mic drop, boom. In the beginning, I created the heavens and the earth. And he's just like saying, deal with it. Psalm 19, verse one. Psalm 19, verse one says the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament, the starry heavens show his handiwork. When you look in the sky at night, God's fingerprints are everywhere. So I don't believe that. Okay, then I have another Psalm for you. Psalm 14, verse one. The moron has said in his heart, there is no God. How's that? Let's give God a hand. I mean, that is just amazing. (17:15 - 19:52) The heavens declare the glory of God. The natural response is wow. But then there's the moron saying, I'm not going to look up and I'm not going to believe in God. God does not exist. So we're going to be distributing cone-shaped hats on the way out for all of the morons who say there is no God. No, listen, the reason why in your world there is no God is because there's no room for another God in your world. You're the one. Now, I hope you get as much fun out of this next part as I did studying for this. Jesus taught us a profound insight to what we're speaking about. And you know it very well. In Mark's gospel, chapter 12, verse 13, there the Bible tells us, then they sent to Jesus some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to catch him, to trick or trip up Jesus in his words. And when they had come, they said to him, teacher, we know that you are true, liars, and care about no one. For you do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Shall we pay or shall we not pay? But Jesus, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, why do you test me? I wonder if they thought at that moment, oh, we got him. But he wasn't done talking. He said, bring me a denarius that I may see it. And so they brought it, and he said to them, whose image and inscription is this? And they said to him, Caesar's. And Jesus answered and said to them, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. And they marveled at him. They were blown away. Like, what do we do with this one? Listen, this is very, very cool. Number one, why did Jesus pivot to this incredible answer? Give me a coin. He knew what was going to happen. They hand him a coin. Jesus knew, everybody knew that on one side of the coin was Caesar's face. Caesar had coins minted with his on it. All the Caesars did. So Jesus asked them a question, whose image is on this? He already knew the answer. They did too. Caesar, that belongs to Caesar. (19:53 - 21:43) What's interesting about this is, last time I checked, coins have two sides. And I find it fantastic to discover that Caesar, this Caesar, guess what his God was? It's going to make, the light bulb will come on in a moment. His God was the God of wealth, prosperity, and riches. And so Caesar had that minted. But I thank God, listen to this. God says, I have inscribed you upon the palms of my hands. Jesus said to the Church of Philadelphia, he who overcomes, I will make him a pillar. That's important. You should circle the word pillar. A pillar in the temple of my God. This is interesting. Why do you say this? He shall go out no more. There's a reason why Jesus said that. I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God. I will write on him my new name. And if you turn us the coin around, when we dig up your life, when we turn you around and look at the other side of you, do we find not Mammon, but do we find Yahweh? Do we find the God of the Bible? And if you spin the coin fast enough, have you noticed if you spin a coin fast enough, with its speed, the image changes its identification from one to the other, but it's the same coin. I'm Jack. My life is displayed by Christ being the one that I am ascribing to. And when you flip that coin around, he's my God. He's Yahweh, the Lord Almighty. He's the Lord who saves. (21:48 - 22:02) This Jack Hibbs podcast, as well as all the broadcast outreach opportunities, are listener supported. Will you consider partnering with us through a special gift? Go to Jackhibbs.com to learn more and stay connected.