Tomorrow is Singapore’s National Day and we as Christians also celebrate and are happy for this occasion. Let us reflect and think about what kind of Christians we are in front of our authorities. Have we fulfilled our duties as citizens before our authorities?

About 100AD, there was a Roman governor named Pliny. When he was serving as a governor, there was a group of Christians under his care. He wrote a letter to Caesar instructing how they should treat the Christians. This letter was to talk about the sins of Christians. He wrote this, “They have a habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before there was light. They sang in hymns to praise their God which is Christ and to treat him as God. They also swore that they would not transgress or violate the laws. They would not steal, commit adultery or swear falsely. After their services end, they will leave.” This was the accusation of the governor towards the Christians.

At that time, their sin was to worship the Lord Jesus as their God. In living their daily lives and activities, they were transgressing against the Roman law. The Roman emperor replied to Pliny, “As long as you have a Christian brought before you, you just have to ask if he is a Christian. Ask him thrice and if he says yes, you can convict him with sin. If he denies being a Christian, then he has to on the spot deny that Jesus is his God.”

When the authorities look at us Christians, what is their impression of us? If one day we were to be convicted of a sin, what would that sin be? Will our sin be to transgress the law because we worship Jesus as our God? Read Romans 13:1-2;

1 ‘Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. ‘

Here, when Paul wrote the letter to the Romans, he said that they should be subject to the governing authorities. The reason is because there is no authority besides God. Therefore, if you are not subject to the governing authorities, you are not subject to God who gives them the authority and will be punished by authorities. As Christians, we should be subject to the governing authorities. Here Paul says that we do not resist not because we are afraid of punishment. As Christians, when we keep the law of God, we do not have to be afraid that we will violate the law of the countries. When we keep the law of the country, it is not because we are afraid but because of our conscience. When God created men, He breathed into his nostrils. The spirit of man becomes light in him because it is his conscience. Even if we do not have the law of the country to govern us, we also know what is right and wrong because of our conscience.

Sometimes we are afraid of being punished and hence do not do a certain thing but if no one sees, we may dare to do the wrong. We should not let men be the reason to stop us from doing wrong but the God in heaven who looks at what we do and thinks. Paul speaks of a few points of how we can keep the law of the country.

1. Pay taxes when it is due

Read Romans 13:6-7;

6 ‘For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. 7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.’

As a citizen of the country, we have to pay our taxes. The Lord Jesus spoke a consistent message to the believers then in Luke 20:22-25;

22 ‘Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 23 But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Why do you test Me? 24 Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” They answered and said, “Caesar’s.” 25 And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”’

The people sent by the pharisees sought a loophole from the Lord Jesus. If the Lord Jesus said that the money should be given to God, they would accuse Jesus of not submitting to the Roman government. If Jesus said that they should pay Caesar, the ones who love the country would accuse Jesus of betraying Israel. But Jesus’ answer did not allow any room for accusation because He said render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s. The Lord does not think that there is any conflict in giving things to Caesar. There are duties to God but we also have our responsibilities as citizens of a country and in this case is to pay taxes.

In the time of Jesus during the Roman Empire, they had a problem of corruption. Though the Roman emperor did not impose heavy taxes on them, the tax collectors were very corrupted and would take more than they should have. This is a reason why the people hated the tax collectors. The people may want to avoid taxes because once they pay taxes, they’d have to give a big portion to the tax collectors. If that’s the case, why did Paul and Jesus tell us that we have to perform our duties to pay taxes? Some citizens may question if they should pay taxes because the government did not make good use of the money to prosper the country. But our responsibility is not in overseeing what the government does with the tax money but to pay taxes because this is our duty. In our country, the taxes we pay is for the government to do the things they need to do for the society and financial growth of the country. As Christians, our duties are to pay taxes that the country requires us to pay.

2. Males serving National Service at 18 years old

This is a law of the country and has to be performed whether you like it or not. Some Christian denominations say that they cannot do NS; they have biblical justifications as to why they cannot and one of which is Isaiah 2:4;

‘He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.’

Another verse is when Peter used a sword to cut off the ear of the High Priest when the people came to apprehend Jesus. The Lord Jesus asked Peter to keep his sword because those who draw the sword will die under the sword. Therefore, some of the pacifists say that Christians should not raise our swords and spears. Is this a correct saying? If we look at the front portion of Isaiah 2, it is talking about the latter days when the mountain of the Lord will be established on the top mountains and all nations will flow to it. In the Old Testament, the Israelites used spears and swords to chase out Canaanites when they wanted to obtain Canaan land. In the end times, we are not going to establish the kingdom of God with swords and spears. If we use such verses to justify not serving NS, it is taking the verses out of context because serving NS is not to establish the Lord’s kingdom.

Some Christians also say that the people in the early church rejected serving NS. We’d have to then look at more objective historical records. In the first century when the church started, the Jews and a few gentiles came to believe. These Christians were not a large number and not only so, the Christians and Romans empire had some enmity because they were under the Roman emperor and the Romans crucified Jesus. In the early church, there would not have been the problem of enlisting in the army because (1) they were a minority and (2) did not have a good relationship with the Roman Empire. Because there were little people, there were not many records of Christians enlisting in the army. Only in the second and third century when Constantine was the emperor, there were many Christians that enlisted in the army. Therefore, we should not assume that the lack of records equates to Christians not serving in the army. Also, at that time, those in the Roman army had to worship the Roman emperor. With such a big problem, the Christians wouldn’t want to serve in the army because they’d have to worship the emperor. Though, we do see some recordings of previous soldiers repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus. For example, Cornelius was a centurion in the Italian regiment. When he first came to believe in the Lord Jesus, he was not instructed to leave the army.

When John the Baptist started his ministry, there were also a few soldiers who came to him for baptism. In Luke 3:14;

‘Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?” So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”’

The message of John the Baptist to the soldiers was not to treat people with violence. Perhaps the soldiers because of their status and power may intimidate people. But we do not see John telling them to leave the army because they have become Christians. We see that the time now is different and our country requires our citizens to serve NS. The mission of the ministry of defence and arm-forces is to defend Singapore’s peace and security. Through deterrence and diplomacy, it is in hopes that Singapore may have peace. If we are forced to go into war, our country’s stand would be to quickly defeat our enemies. The reason for us going into the army is to protect our country’s sovereignty and our families. Such a fight for justice is not against the teachings of the Bible and as citizens of the country, we have to be glad to serve and protect our countries. This is something a good citizen should do.

What should we not do?
We began by saying that we should not abide by the law just because we are afraid but rather not violate the laws because of our conscience. If one day we are persecuted because in abiding the law of the country we go against the law of God (for instance, in the example of Pliny, calling God as our Lord is against the law then), we must remember that the law of God is higher than the law of the countries. In the Bible, we read the example of Daniel and his 3 friends who did not worship and bow down to the golden image. When Peter was preaching, he also said to listen to God and not to men. If under such circumstances, we should know how to discern. Other than that, we should strive to not transgress against the law of the country.

1. Do not slander authorities

Read Jude 8;

‘Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. ‘

10-11;

10 ‘But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.’

Here, Jude warned the people to not speak evil or reject the authorities. He raised a few examples. For example, Korah rejected the authority given to Moses. Today, we can use these principles on our authorities. Our government has been given authority by God and we should also not speak evil of them. To slander is to speak evil of somebody by saying something that he has not done; when we do not submit to our authorities, we are not submissive to authority.

Here, Jude says that Michael the archangel was contending with the devil.
When Moses passed on, God buried him so that the Israelites would not know where he was. From this passage, it seems that the devil wanted to know where the body was, perhaps so that the Israelites would worship idols or Moses. When Michael the archangel contended with the devil, Michael dared not accuse him of something he did not do. We see that Michael was one submissive to authority because he was an angel and hence dared not bring against the devil a reviling accusation. The devil did not want to remain in his current situation and wanted to be as high as God. This reminds us that we should not slander our authorities because they have been given authority by God.

The current social media is very affluent and the opinion of others can be accessed easily. Some even scold the government while those who are wiser talks about what the government has done right apart from raising their opinions. Some who do not respect authorities even scold vulgarities. We have to be mindful that the authority has been given by God and when we revile our authorities, we are not respecting God.

2. Rebel against our authorities

Read Proverbs 24:21-22;

21 ‘My son, fear the Lord and the king; Do not associate with those given to change; 22 For their calamity will rise suddenly, And who knows the ruin those two can bring?’

Here it says to fear the Lord that is the one in authority. In the second part of this verse it says to not associate with those given to change, or in other translations, to not rebel against authority. V22;

For their calamity will rise suddenly, And who knows the ruin those two can bring?’

Those given to change and rebel are those who do not submit to authorities. Every country has his own system. If you are in a democratic society, you should use the correct means, such as voting, for instance, to demonstrate your opinion. Even if the government you voted for does not become the ruling party, you should still submit to the authority. We have to be submissive Christians in the order and system which the Lord has created.

Here also doesn’t say to go against but to not associate yourself with them. We know that if we go too closely to those who are given to change, we will also be influenced by them. Read 2 Samuel 15:11-12;

11 ‘And with Absalom went two hundred men invited from Jerusalem, and they went along innocently and did not know anything. 12 Then Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city—from Giloh—while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy grew strong, for the people with Absalom continually increased in number.’

Absalom used many years to gain the hearts of Israelites before he started the rebellion. He bought with him 200 men and invited them from Jerusalem to Hebron. Over there, he wanted to be the king of Israel. He also brought the counsellor of David, Ahithophel, there. Here, the Bible says that they went along innocently for they did nor know what would happen. Later on, Absalom became the subject and many died including Ahithophel. Here tells us to be vigilant and not to be a friend of those given to change.

We may wonder about the application because we may not go out with the intention to overthrow the government. Sometimes, we are unhappy with the government and hence have our own opinions. We do not dare to overthrow the government but harbour bitterness and resentment in our hearts. However, the Bible teaches us an important example. Read Daniel 2:21;

‘And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.’

Through Daniel, God tells us that the ones with authority in the country all come from God. Whatever authority comes up and steps down is under the control of God. When one government comes after another is all under the authority of God. We have to submit to the authority of God no matter who our government is because God has His plan and greater wisdom that we are unable to understand.

In conclusion, we read 1 Timothy 2:1-4;

1 ‘Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ‘

We have to pray and intercede for those who are in authority. In our present situation, the pandemic is not only a problem to our country but to the whole world; no one can really avoid this situation of the pandemic and economic crisis. We have to pray that the Lord gives the wisdom to our government in dealing with these matters. We also need to thank the Lord if we have a good government. Not only should we pray for the government, we should also thank God when we are able to lead a quiet and peaceable life. When the authority respects the law of God, we can serve and worship God properly. May we all be able to be a good citizen to abide by the laws of a country.