Is Justice Possible? A 7-Day Devotional Sýnishorn

The Government is God’s Servant

Today God expects justice to be served through our government, leaders, and judges. Here are three points Paul makes about this in today’s passage.

The authority to judge comes from God, not from man (v. 1).

Judges gain a right to the bench in different ways. Some, such as the justices of the US Supreme Court, are appointed to their position. Others are elected, such as those on the local level. But however a judge assumes his or her role, we cannot mistakenly assume that the citizens are bestowing the authority. All authority ultimately comes from God, who rules sovereignly over his creation (Ps. 103:19). He has simply delegated it to rulers and judges, making them accountable to Him whether they acknowledge it or not.

Judges are to apply God’s justice to the people (v. 3).

Remembering that justice begins with God and not with man, the role of man in justice is to rightly apply God’s righteousness to man. Paul says that judges “are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.” Good behavior conforms with God and His holiness; bad behavior deviates from it. No other measuring stick can be allowed. Once a human judge determines if conduct was good or bad, justice is to follow. “If you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain,” and as God’s servant he is “an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer” (v. 4). Don’t miss the mention of God’s wrath. Wrath is God’s holy response against sin and unrighteousness (Rom. 1). God must judge sin. When He does, the Bible calls it His wrath.

Judges are servants of God (v. 4).

Paul tells us that a ruler—and a judge—is “God’s servant for your good.” In the Bible the word servant often referred to civic leaders. God called Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, His servant in Jeremiah 25:9. The same is true of King Cyrus, the great Persian king (Isaiah 45:1). The New Testament term servant flowed into the church and designated both general servants of the assembly as well as an office of servants (deacons). In the same way, judges—and by extension all those involved in law enforcement—are servants of God. They derive their authority from Him and are to serve Him through the execution of their functions. Some, like Hitler or Sadaam Hussein, fail to rightly discharge their roles, but that doesn’t negate the divine power behind their appointment.

Discussion Question: How does this passage and reflection shape your perspective on our current administration? What is a Christian posture toward government?