Devotion #4: Citizen Of Heaven
I used to work for the county clerk’s office. When I worked there, I was in charge of opening and distributing mail. Every now and then, we would get a letter from a “sovereign citizen” who felt the government was oppressive and they did not need to follow the law. They would use a lot of legal language and pull content from historical legal documents to show how they were exempt from the law. Most of the people at the office would roll their eyes, talk about what a bunch of crazy people these were, and then go on with their day.
Many of these sovereign citizens claimed that the Christian faith was the reason they were above the law. One of these letters was from a person who refused to show up to court because it was not the government’s place to tell them how much child support they were supposed to pay and on what regularity they should pay it. Some of these letters had some valid points, and some were completely checked out of reality. Were these people right, or were they wrong? To discern truth, we should always rely on the Word of God.
As believers in Christ, our citizenship is in Heaven; however, for the time being, we are also citizens of this world. While we may not like our government leaders, God has appointed government as our authority. Romans 13:6 states, “You also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.” Granted, we have a lot of crooked politicians in office, but so did Paul. Paul was subjected to the rule of the evil Nero. Paul even appealed his case before Nero, and despite the conditions Paul experienced, he still said we should obey our government authority. According to Romans 13:5, we do this “not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.”
Even though Satan is the ruler of this world, and many political leaders lean away from the teachings of Jesus, God still has control. He puts rulers in place and takes them down. He does not forget about our world or struggle to figure out whom to put in place. He is never worried about what is going on in government. God has not abdicated His authority. He is in complete control.
Our walk with Christ is not God’s plan to improve government on this Earth. Our job, according to the Bible, is to share the Gospel with others. According to Romans 1:16, “Is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”
Governments are put in place by God to protect people and keep law and order, and when they do not do that, they fail. According to Romans 13:5-7, we are to respect the rulers who enforce laws. We are to obey laws. We are to pay taxes, and not only when we agree on how the money is being allocated.
In the United States, we are fortunate because we can vote for leaders who align with our beliefs or vote against those who stand against the Bible. We can protest laws and rules that go against Scripture, but many Christians around the world cannot. Even so, according to Paul in Romans, we should obey the government and submit to that authority. As Christians, our citizenship is in Heaven; however, we should still be Christ-like citizens in this world.