God’s Expectations for Government Part 2

1.    Government The Purpose

To protect and praise those who do well

To punish those who do evil (1Peter 2:14; Romans 13:1-4

1.       Civil government is to be limited

2.       Civil government is to rule as a servant and as a ministry of justice

3.       Civil Government is a theological issue

4.       The form of civil government is not specified in the Bible

5.       The requirements for those who serve in government can be found in Deuteronomy 17:15-20 and Exodus 18:21)

a.       Had to someone God chose since rulers are to represent God and rule under God

b.       Had to be one from among the brethren.  The ruler that represents God must be a believer in God.  This is why in the early years of our nation, their was a requirement that all those who ran for public office must be a person who professes salvation. 

c.       The person in authority could not be a stranger to the land. That is the person must be a naturalized citizen.

d.       The person in government is not to multiply defenses; the confidence of the ruler was to be in God for protection. Proverbs 21:31

e.       He ruler was not to have multiple wives.  The ruler was to be unquestionably moral and also fearful of idolatry

f.         The ruler was forbidden to multiply for himself gold and silver

g.       The ruler was to be God’s deacon focusing on ministering, serving and obeying

h.       The ruler is to be free from greed corruption and fraud

i.         The ruler must also posses his own personal copy of The Law of God.  This means not just owning but reading the law and applying the law as well.  The ruler was to “fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of the law and these statutes to do them.

6.       The prescribed duties of those who serve in civil government.

a.       They are to be “nursing fathers and mothers” to the people of God, Isaiah 49:23

b.       They are to be “ministers’ or “deacons” of God, Romans 13:4

c.       They are counted as “public shepherds” who are to feed and guide the people of God, Psalms 78:71-71

d.       They are designated by God as the “captain of His people”, 1 Samuel 10:1; 2 Kings 20:5

e.       They are to act as “shields of the earth” and to act as protection for God’s people, Psalms 47:9

f.         They are to be the “avengers of God”, Romans 13:4