Submission to authorities
For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4 For he is God’s servant to do you good.
We live in an age when there is considerable fear and distrust of government. Some of that, to be sure, is traceable to the fact that God’s representatives are weak and sinful human beings who at times may not represent God properly. But by far the greater basis for fear and anxiety in the presence of authority figures is the guilt factor. People who know they are not in compliance with the law recognize that they properly should be punished for their disobedience. Hence they fear those to whom they are answerable, whether that be their workplace supervisor or a traffic officer or the Internal Revenue Service.
“Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority?” Paul asks. “Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good.” Government and civil authority are gifts from a good and gracious God. Through them he wishes to bless us, and surely he has done so! In spite of flaws and defects in our leaders at the local, state, and national levels, we have been tremendously blessed. We are allowed to live our Christian lives without harassment and to proclaim our faith without hindrance. These are priceless blessings—ones for which we need to credit God’s representatives and for which we daily ought to thank our gracious God.
God’s overriding concern in providing government rule is to bless us with an orderly and peaceful existence. Hence it is the duty of God’s representatives to encourage and commend those who do right. But when the peace is jeopardized by lawbreakers, God’s representatives need to step in to restore order and punish evildoers. And when they do so, they do it not merely with God’s permission but also in accordance with his command. Government is God’s servant.