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As a minister, I officiate at numerous weddings and funerals every year. I wear the same thing for both: dark suit, white shirt, subdued tie, and black shoes. My sartorial intention is not to stand out, to keep everyone’s focus on who’s getting married or buried. But lately, I’ve stood out nonetheless. With more and more people dressing casually for milestone events—including wearing shorts, T-shirts, and flip-flops to funerals—I’m often the only suit in the room. Doesn’t anyone dress appropriately for the occasion anymore? 

In Romans 13.11-14, Paul uses the image of dressing appropriately for the occasion to describe our ethical life in Christ: 

And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 

What occasion is Paul talking about? And how do we dress appropriately? Let’s answer each question in turn. First, the occasion. Notice Paul’s time markers: “the present time,” “the hour,” “the night,” and “the day.” All these markers remind us of the second coming of Jesus Christ. The first coming happened 2000 years ago when Christ entered human history to die for our sins and rise again for our eternal life. His advent made possible an era of grace in God’s relationship to sinful humanity.

And yet, in addition to being loving, God is holy. He will not tolerate human sin and its evil effects forever. In the words of the Apostles Creed, Christ will return “to judge the living and the dead.” Every day that comes and goes, “our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” Consequently, now—right now!—is the time to make a decision about where we stand with God. Have we received his grace? Have we repented of our sins? Are we replacing sin with holiness? 

Those questions bring us to the issue of dressing appropriately. Paul commands us to “put on the armor of light” and to “clothe [ourselves] with the Lord Jesus Christ.” These are powerful metaphors of the kind of ethics we ought to practice. First, our ethics should be visible. People should see how we are dressed. They should note the change in our lives. Second, our ethics should be discerning. Paul speaks of “armor.” There is a spiritual war going on between good and evil, and we should arm ourselves for the battle to do good. Finally, our ethics should be imitative. We should wear Jesus Christ. His thoughts, feelings, character, speech, and actions should become our own.

What would Jesus do? That’s an appropriate question for any occasion.

Today, in Worldview, I lectured about the New Age.

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Recently, while shopping in Target for our nieces, my wife and I came across a child’s T-shirt emblazoned with “The Toddler Laws of Property”:

1. If I like it, it's mine.
2. If it's in my hand, it's mine.
3. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
4. If it looks just like mine, it's mine.
5. If I think it's mine, it's mine.

Isn’t it sad that we all know adults who still operate by these childish rules? 

Romans 13.8-10 outlines a more mature mentality: 

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself."  Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 

Begin with that first statement: “Let no debt remain outstanding.” I am a recovering debt-a-holic. For many years, I used credit cards to purchase things I did not need and could not pay cash for. When my debt load grew so large that I could barely pay for room, board, and necessities, I got help. Why would a reasonably smart guy like me act so foolishly? Because of a toddler mentality: Whatever I wanted had to be mine, right then, and regardless of whether I could afford it.  

My debt also negatively affected my generosity. Because I was constantly behind financially, I increasingly failed to tithe to the Lord’s work. During this period, I always found enough money to buy what I wanted, but I never seemed to have enough to help my church or world missions or local charities. When I got help for my debt, I also began tithing again. I changed my money mentality from “mine” to “Thine.” 

The “mine” mentality doesn’t just show up in how we use money, however. It also shows up in how we treat people. We commit adultery because we want a sexual high. We murder because we want our way and someone else is in it. We steal because we want what we cannot pay for. We covet because we want what we do not need. All of these actions affect our relationships. In each of them, we put ourselves before others, before their marriage vows, their lives, and their property.  

Love, however, operates from a capital-T “Thine” mentality. We treat others as God has commanded us to.  But it also operates from a lower-case-t “thine” mentality. We treat people as if they matter. “Love your neighbor as yourself” is the basic rule of Christian ethics. Such a love does no harm to others. Rather, loving Christians treat others at least as well as they wish to be treated themselves. 

So, mine or thine? That’s a basic ethical question, and how you answer reveals how grown up your thinking is.

In today's Open Bible Class, I spoke on Psalm 22, which I titled, "The Psalm of Christus Victim."

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Recently, my wife and I were on vacation in Stockholm, Sweden. Our tour guide was extolling the virtues of Sweden’s welfare state: free schooling, free healthcare, free assistance to parents of newborns, etc. Finally, my wife—who has an MBA from Pepperdine—could take it no longer. She asked what Sweden’s tax rates were, and, when told, pointed out that none of those services were free. They were bought and paid for by taxpayers. 

Taxes are a tricky subject. Some American Christians think we ought to raise taxes in order to provide more services for citizens, as they do in Sweden. Others think the government should pull its sticky paws out of American pockets so that citizens can spend their money as they wish. As a pastor, I don’t have any special wisdom about how to solve that debate (although I do have a strong personal opinion). Christians who share the same faith and live the same moral life can have an honest disagreement about such issues. 

What we cannot disagree about is our biblical responsibility to pay taxes, whether we like them or not. Romans 13.6-7 makes that quite clear: 

This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. 

Notice how what Paul says here about taxes flows directly from what he says in verses 1-5 about government. Government is the divinely instituted authority to make and enforce laws. Making and enforcing laws requires a lot of work. Workers should be paid. Payment is made in the form of taxes. So, if you want the government to do its job, pay up. 

But notice that taxes aren’t the only thing we Christians owe government. Paul also speaks of “respect” and “honor.” A good friend of mine is an officer in the Los Angeles Police Department. He faces danger daily in order to keep the city’s residents safe. He earns what he’s paid. He also deserves a little courtesy. Keep that in mind whenever a traffic cop pulls you over for a moving violation! You may just be talking to my friend. So be nice! 

It has always bugged me that Paul doesn’t spend more time in Romans 13 outlining a Christian view of the boundaries of government power. For example, wouldn’t you like a divinely inspired apostle to reveal what God thinks a fair tax rate is? I certainly would. But Paul isn’t concerned with those kinds of things. Why? For a very simple reason. 

Paul didn’t live in a democratic empire. He couldn’t vote on political issues, like we can. So, instead of talking about what he couldn’t control (tax rates), he talked about what he could (our personal attitude toward government). Even in a democratic country like America, we can’t always control what our government does, but we can always control ourselves.

Today, in New Testament Survey, I began to lecture on the Acts of the Apostles. This will be a multi-part lecture.

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Yesterday, I argued that submission—which I defined as deference to authority and obedience to law—should be the Christian’s fundamental attitude toward government. I also noted that Acts 5.29 qualifies the extent of that submission when the state makes and enforces fundamentally unjust laws. But submission describes only the responsibility of the Christian citizen. What is the responsibility of the state? What is government for? 

Once again, let’s read Romans 13.1-5: 

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 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. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 

Paul makes four statements about government in these verses: 

First, in relationship to God, government is a servant. God “established” and “instituted” it to serve certain purposes. When it acts within the boundaries of those purposes, it is a good servant. But when it oversteps the boundaries of those purposes, it becomes a bad master. The totalitarian governments of the Twentieth Century—both Nazi and Communist—are excellent illustrations of governments that overstepped their boundaries. 

Second, in relationship to us, government is an authority. God delegates government both the authority and the power to make and enforce laws. Obviously, that authority can be abused. But try to imagine a world in which there are neither laws nor law enforcement. Such a world is a hell on earth in which only the law of the jungle prevails. Governmental authority, properly exercised, creates peace. 

Third, the most obvious characteristic of government is the sword. Government exercises its authority and power by means of force. When a crime is committed, the police force swings into action against the criminal. When another country commits an atrocity against our nation, the armed forces retaliate with self-defensive moves. Again, the sword can be misused and abused. (Always remember, after all, that Pontius Pilate used his God-given power of the sword to kill God’s Beloved Son.) But sometimes, criminal force must be matched by legal counterforce. 

Finally, the purpose of government is justice. Government exists to commend what is right and punish what is wrong. Many in our day and age say that we should not legislate morality. And I agree to a certain extent. Not every sin is or should be a crime. But at the end of the day, what else is there to legislate but morality? Government exists to make and enforce laws that protect the weak from the strong, the innocent from the guilty, the gullible from the shrewd, and the victim from the victimizer. That is its fundamental responsibility, what it’s for.

Today, in Worldview, I lectured on pantheistic monism straight out of James W. Sire, The Universe Next Door (4th ed.). That's what happens when you forget to bring your laptop and notes to class. Not one of my better lectures, unfortunately. And Eastern worldviews in general are hard for Westerners to wrap their minds around. That comes across in the lecture.

Download lecture MP3.

Listen to The Daily Word online. 

In even-numbered years, we Americans turn our attention to government as we cast our votes in national elections. With those elections just a month away, I’d like to take this opportunity to share a few biblical insights about government.  

Now, don’t worry! I’m not going to tell you how to vote in this fall’s elections. That’s not my job as a pastor. My job is to teach biblical principles. Your job is to apply them as best as you know how in real-world situations. 

Listen to what Paul writes about government in Romans 13.1-5: 

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 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. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 

In this passage, Paul teaches two important principles: First, submission should be the Christian’s attitude toward government. And second, the government should enforce justice. In an ideal world, there is no conflict between our attitude and the government’s actions. Submission to government is easy when it does the right thing. But we don’t live in an ideal world. Is submission a good idea in an imperfect world? 

To answer that question, we need to talk about what submission is and why it’s necessary. Submission is first of all deference to authority and then obedience to law. To borrow an example from everyday life, submission to government means obeying traffic laws and, when you don’t, being polite to the officer who writes you a ticket.  

Why is submission necessary? Paul mentions two reason: conscience and consequences. God created the authority of government. He delegated law-making and law-enforcing responsibilities to it. So, as a matter of conscience, submitting to government is submitting to God. But submitting to government is also a good idea from the standpoint of consequences. The state, as Paul puts it, bears “the sword.” It rewards good deeds and punishes bad ones. Submitting to government is, all things being equal, good for you. Imagine how awful the world would be if everyone disobeyed traffic laws. 

Must we submit to unjust governments? Yes and no. Yes, we ought to defer to authority. (Even Paul deferred to the governing authorities who imprisoned him.) But we do not necessarily owe government obedience when it legislates and enforces fundamentally unjust laws. In such cases, Acts 5.29 applies: “We must obey God rather than men!”

We’ll talk more about the government’s responsibility to do justice tomorrow.

Today is a test day in my New Testament Survey class, so I won't be posting a lecture MP3. Check back on Thursday as I begin to talk about Acts.