Christian Priorities: Souls and Eternity Or

Dennis Newkirk, Elder/Lead Pastor ...... August 20/21, 2016

O Part I Christian Priorities: Souls and Eternity or N

Politics and the Present

Romans 13:1–7 (ESV) Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no O authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and T those who resist will incur judgment. 3For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? E Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4for he is God’s

servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the S sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

I. Applied under all kinds of governments.

II. Endured all types of political environments.

III. Christians reacted.

IV. The need to recover our God-given priorities. Our focus is soul change, not social change, except when soul change causes social change.

V. Well-defined responsibilities of citizens (vv. 1, 7).

Matthew 22:15–22 (ESV) Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. 16And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.

Application:

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright © 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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