27/09/2017
No.49. All “authorities … established by God”?
Romans 13:1. Please read verses 1-7. 1st September 2017.
Giving proper respect to God-given government, while at the same time speaking
a prophetic word against some of their present practices, is a tricky balance to
hold in tension. Like the way a refugee tent is kept in useful shape by strong
ropes pulling in different directions, so Christians have to be spiritually wise in
relation to our political expression.
It is of course right for Christian believers to be involved in politics and in
government, both nationally and locally. Our Lord Jesus told His disciples to be
influential “salt and light” everywhere, Matthew 5:13-16. He did not exclude the
sometimes ‘dirty world’ of politics. During my early visits to Sudan from 1979, I
was shocked in discussion groups to discover many Evangelical Christians taught
believers must not get involved! Not surprising, perhaps, that adverse tighter
religious control has crept in since events like 1983/1989/1993/2011?
The Bible also tells us to be involved as we regularly pray for those who “rule
in authority over us”, 1 Timothy 2:2. Again notice there are no exceptions made.
When this instruction was written, the world conquering Roman Empire ruled
many lands not originally their own. They badly oppressed local populations.
In the Church of England here in UK, and the Episcopal Churches of Sudan/South
Sudan, the ‘Prayer Book’ services include words like:
“O God, in love you provide for your people by your power and rule over them: be pleased to bless your
servant Elizabeth our Queen so that under her this nation may be wisely governed and your church be
free to serve you in godly quietness”.
“Most gracious God, we pray for the Prime Minister, members of Cabinet and Government and all
elected to the Parliament and councils of this realm. Direct and prosper all their consultations to the
advancement of your glory, the good of your church, and the safety, honour and welfare of all the
peoples of this land; so that peace and happiness, truth and justice, faith and godliness, may be
established among us for all generations; through Jesus Christ our Lord”. Amen.1
These are good prayers to pray for all national/state leaders, whoever and wherever:
Minister: God save the Queen/the President; People: and mercifully hear us when we pray to you.
Minister: Endow all in government with righteousness; People: and make your chosen people joyful.
“Here, in South Sudan, we use the prayer book too, but pray for the 'government' - and somebody
leading the prayer can mention the president, ministers, and those in authority, instead of the
Queen”. Elisama Daniel.2
“In our Bari Prayer book, done when we were one country, we have a ‘Prayer for leaders of
Sudan’. It prays for our leaders who govern Sudan, that the people would obey their rulers so that
we may live in peace and love as per God’s will. It mentions all leaders of the country and refers
1 http://www.churchsociety.org/publications/englishprayerbook/EPB_Prayers.asp
2 From private correspondence with me, 16-31st August 2017. All three quotations.
2
to District Commissioners and all leaders at different levels. A recent revision in Bari refers to the
leaders of South Sudan”. Rt. Rev. Anthony Poggo. 3
We now pray, “Minister: O Lord, save our Rulers;
People: and teach their counsellors wisdom”. Archbishop Ezekiel Kondo.
Do we seriously pray for our national leaders in their work? Here are some
steps. Do we believe that God the Holy Spirit can:
1. Make them aware of Who He is? At present “there is no fear of God before
their eyes”, Romans 3:18.
2. Convince them of their own personal sinfulness? “there is no one
righteous, not even one”, Romans 3:10.
3. Bring someone to them and speak of our Lord Jesus? “righteousness is
given through faith in Christ Jesus to all who believe. There is no
difference between (anybody)”, Romans 3:22.
4. Draw them to Himself for personal salvation? “God presented Christ as a
sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of His blood – to be received
by faith”, Romans 3:25.
5. Change our country into what He wants,4 one person after another? “to
the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their
faith is credited as righteousness”, Romans 4:5.
“It is God who has ordained the church and the state and their separate divisions
of labour. It is not the function of the state to preach the gospel, to do evangelism,
or to administer the sacraments; it is not the function of the church to wage war
or to have the sword. They are different institutions with different
responsibilities, but both have been ordained by God, and both are answerable to
God.”
“The minute a culture or a government claims independence from God, it
becomes godless. It is the responsibilty of the church to have a prophetic
voice in the culture, to call sin “sin” whenever it arises in government or
anywhere else in the public arena”.5 (emphasis mine).
Explore in your Bible: Ahab, Naboth and Elijah, 1 Kings 21:1-29, especially vs17-19.
At least four kings were challenged, sometimes face to face, by Isaiah: Isaiah 1:1;
7:1-20; 20:1-6; 39:3-8 etc.. Tradition records that Isaiah died as a martyr by
being sawed in two at the hands of Manasseh, perhaps Hebrews 11:37?
Herod was confronted by John the Baptist, Mark 6:14-29, who died as a result.
Our Lord Jesus spoke of His own kingdom to Jewish religious and civic or
military leaders, Matthew 21:1-17 & 23-27; 27:11-26; 8:5-13.
Christians, (1) play your part in politics. (2) Pray for all God’s appointed civic
and other leaders. (3) Preach prophetically to big groups and to individuals, as
God opens the ways. Always be ready to (4) pay the price asked by our Lord
Jesus.
3 Kitap Kwakwaset, (SPCK: London) c.1953. http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/Bari/index.html
Bari is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken by about 500,000 people along the Nile River, primarily in extreme Southern
Sudan but also in Uganda. It is a major language used by Anglicans in Episcopal Church of Sudan, and the diaspora.
4 Not necessarily what we want! Almighty God always knows best.
5 R.C.Sproul Acts Expositional Commentary (Crossway: Wheaton, Illinois, USA) p.259, 2010
[1] The Monarch O Lord our heavenly Father, high and mighty, King of kings, Lord of lords, the only ruler of princes, you look down from your throne on all who dwell on earth: we ask you most earnestly to look favourably on our sovereign lady, Queen Elizabeth. Fill her with your Holy Spirit so that…
