God's Minimum Qualification
for Civil Authorities (Part 1)
Romans 13:4,6
Sunday, May 02, 2004
The Manila Times
March 6, 2003
Opinion Section
ANOTHER THING
By Syke Garcia
Qualifications for President
There are those who are laboring under the misconception that to qualify for President all you need to do is meet our Constitution's negative conditions that you cannot be elected president unless you are a natural-born citizen, a registered voter, able to read and write, at least 40 years of age on the day of the election and a resident of the Philippines at least 10 years immediately preceding the election.
No wonder we have all sorts of characters filing their candidacy for president. Hey, we better straighten this out quickly if we want to put a stop to jokers deluding themselves that they can run a country. Enough already. What do you think should be the minimum qualification for the presidency in our country?
Who should we elect as our civil authorities? What is the standard we should use in choosing our public officials? We are to use Romans 13:4,6.
1. Wrong Qualification
a. It is not necessary that civil authorities meet the standards for elders or deacons.
The term "God's servant" should not be regarded as implying that the standard for civil authorities should be as high as the standards for elders or deacons of the church (1 Timothy 3:1-13 and Titus 1:5-9). Where there are many things in those two passages that may be expected of public officials, there are some things there that don's such as upholding Bible doctrine (1Ti 3:2,9; Tit 1:9) and managing their families well (1Ti 3:4-5; Tit 1:6). David and Solomon failed in their familes but they were used by the Lord in leading the nation. If what happened to the family of David happened to the family of a pastor, he will be removed from the pastorate.
b. It is not necessary civil authorities are Christians.
Choosing a president is not the same as choosing a wife. According to 1Co 7:39 if the husband of a believer dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes but he must belong to the Lord. In other words, a believer can only marry a regenerated believer.
There is no command in Bible that says we are to vote for genuine Christians only. For Christians to take that position is to automatically disqualify all who are unbelievers, yet may be completely qualified to lead a nation. This is to disqualify.
Dr Mahathir bin Muhammad was prime minister of Malaysia from 1981-2003, Dr Mahathir bin Muhammad has become known as one of the most distinctive and commanding leaders of the rising new "tiger" economies of South East Asia. Himself a Malay, he has been credited with maintaining relative harmony between the Chinese, Indian, and Malay communities of Malaysia, despite the social changes caused by rapid economic growth. Though critics from opposition political groups have protested against what they term his forceful and sometimes authoritarian leadership style, his National Front political coalition has secured repeated election victories, and he is credited with personal responsibility for the rise of Malaysia to the leading ranks of the booming Pacific Rim economies.
Lee Kuan Yew was Singapore's first prime minister, from 1959 to 1990. In this position he exercised considerable power, transforming the young republic into one of the growing Asian "tiger" economies, turning Singapore into a commercial and financial centre, specializing in high technology industries.
Park Chung Hee - South Korean Brigadier General Park Chung Hee led a military coup that overthrew Korea's civilian government in 1961. He was elected President in 1963, and voted in five more times until his assassination in 1979. Under his harsh dictatorship, South Korea developed as one of the rising "tiger" economies of Asia.
John F. Kennedy (1961-1963), the 35th president of the U.S. was considered as one of America's greatest presidents. The only Catholic president of the U.S.
Ramon Magsaysay - one of the best (if not the best) president the Philippines has ever had. Yet he was a Catholic. I don't think he was a regenerated, Bible believing Christian.
c. It is not necessary that they meet the unique requirements for kings of Israel who have covenant relationship with God.
Among the unique requirements for the kings of Israel are the following:
1. Dt 17:14-15, 18-20 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, "Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us," 15 be sure to appoint over you the king the LORD your God chooses. He must be from among your own brothers. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not a brother Israelite. ... 18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees 20 and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left.
2. They had to keep the Sabbath as any other Israelite did.
3. They were forbidden to eat certain kinds of food just like any other Israelite was.
4. David was to be the model of the kings of Israel.
2Sa 8:15 says that "David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people." He did this because he loved God. And his love for God was manifested in this way (See below).
2Sa 6:14-15, 20-23 David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, 15 while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets...... 20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!" ...21 David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD's people Israel--I will celebrate before the LORD. 22 I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor." ....23 And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.
The standard used in the OT to see if a king did well in the sight of God was if he did as David had done (e.g., 2Ki 18:3; 2Ki 22:2)
The term "God's servant" needs to be clarified.
It is not talking about conscious personal relationship with God. Surely Nero, the king when Paul wrote Romans 13, was not conscious that he was a servant of God. In fact he considered himself "God."
The term "God's servant" should be taken in the same way as the terms "My servant" and "anointed" are used in the OT for ungodly kings. For example, Cyrus and Nebuchadnezzar were both called "My servant" and "anointed." But only in the sense that they were God's instruments to accomplish His will, whether they knew it or not.
God called Cyrus "His anointed."
Is.45:1 This is what the LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:.... 4 For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me. 5 I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me,
Although Cyrus was a non-Israelite emperor and did not acknowledge God (Cyrus worshiped the chief Babylonian deity, Marduk, whom he praised in his inscriptions.), he was used by God to serve His purposes. God used Cyrus (1) to release God's people from captivity; (2) to charge God's people with the task of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem; (3) to provide all the materials needed for the job.
Nebuchadnezzar is similarly called by God as "My servant"
Jer 25:9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon," declares the LORD, "and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin.
There are two reasons why Paul calls a civil authority "God's servant" in Romans 13.
(1) It is not because the civil authority (in this case Nero) was conscious of his special relationship with God but because he was God's instrument to serve His divine will although he did not realize it.
(2) Second, Paul calls civil authorities God's servants to make Christians realize that they are required by God to obey them whatever their spiritual standing may be.
If it is not necessary for civil authorities to be like elders or deacons, or to be Christians or to rule like David then what should his moral character be? What would be the minimum qualification for them?
2. Minimum Qualification: They should be conscientious.
The meaning I will use for this term is the second definition of "conscientious" taken from the Microsoft Encarta Dictionary. The first definition of conscientious is "thorough and diligent in performing a task." But the second definition, which I will use, is "in accordance with somebody's conscience: governed by or done according to somebody's sense of right and wrong."
Civil authorities should act and decide on the basis of what is universally accepted as right and wrong, good and evil.
It is good to have a regenerated Christian and a Bible believer for a president, but it is not necessary. It is not necessary to have a "Christian" government to look out for the poor and restrain the wickedness of those who steal, kill, or vandalize, nor to justice, peace and civil morality. All men have this moral law written in their hearts and conscience so that even though they are not saved by faith in Christ and have no awareness of the teaching of Scripture, they are able to do good that is acceptable to all men.
What Is the Conscience? In his book, The Vanishing Conscience, John MacArthur gives these descriptions:
Conscience is at the heart of what distinguishes the human creature. People, unlike animals, can contemplate their own actions and make moral self-evaluations. That is the very function of conscience.
The conscience is an innate ability to sense right and wrong. Everyone, even the most unspiritual heathen, has a conscience. (Rom. 2:14-15 - Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)
The conscience entreats us to do what we believe is right and restrains us from doing what we believe is wrong. The conscience is not to be equated with the voice of God or the law of God. It is a human faculty that judges our actions and thoughts by the light of the highest standard we perceive. When we violate our conscience, it condemns us, triggering feelings of shame, anguish, regret, consternation, anxiety, disgrace, and even fear. When we follow our conscience, it commends us, bringing joy, serenity, self-respect, well-being, and gladness.
Paul says God's wrath is revealed because people "suppress the truth in unrighteousness" (Rom. 1:18). He is referring to sinners who have successfully hushed their own consciences. "The truth" they suppress is innately-known truth about the character of God, a sense of good and bad, and a basic knowledge of right and wrong. These things are universally known to all, "evident within them, for God made it evident to them" (v. 19). In other words, God manifests Himself in the most basic sense within every human conscience.
Richard Sibbes [a Puritan preacher] pictured the conscience as a court in the council of the human heart. In Sibbes's imagery, the conscience itself assumes every role in the courtroom drama.
· It is a register to record what we have done in exact detail (Jer. 17:1-Judah's sin is engraved with an iron tool, inscribed with a flint point, on the tablets of their hearts and on the horns of their altars.
· It is the accuser that lodges a complaint against us when we are guilty, and a defender to side with us in our innocence (Rom. 2:15-- since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)
· It acts as a witness, giving testimony for or against us (2 Cor. 1:12-- Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God.
· It is the judge, condemning or vindicating us (1 Jn. 3:20-21--1Jn 3:20-21 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God
· And it is the executioner, smiting us with grief when our guilt is discovered (1 Sam. 24:5-- Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe.
And so on the basis of what is universally accepted right and wrong, or good and evil, what should all civil authorities be doing?
They should:
- Recognize and fear God (Ro 1:18-23) Some were punished by the Lord for not doing so and for pride. Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 4:19-37); Herod (Ac 12:19-23).
- According to Pro 31:1-9
Pr 31:1-2 The sayings of King Lemuel--an oracle his mother taught him: 2 O my son, O son of my womb, O son of my vows,
· Not sexually immoral (Pr 31:3--do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who ruin kings.
· Not drunkards (Pr 31:4-7--It is not for kings, O Lemuel-- not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, 5 lest they drink and forget what the law decrees, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights. 6 Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; 7 let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more.
· Maintain the cause of the poor and oppressed (Pr 31:8-9--Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. 9 Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy."
- Speak righteously (Pr 16:10 - "the lips of a king speak as an oracle, and his mouth should not betray justice.")
- Pr 16:12-"Kings detest wrongdoing"
- Pr 16:13-"Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value a man who speaks the truth. "
- Punish the wicked (Pr 20:8)
They are specially warned against:
1. Lying (Pr 17:7-"Arrogant lips are unsuited to a foo-how much worse lying lips to a ruler!"
2. Being tyrannical (Pr 28:16-a tyrannical ruler lacks judgment, but he who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a long life.)
3. Listening to lies (Pr 29:12-"If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials become wicked.")
4. Covetous (Dt 17:16-17 The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, "You are not to go back that way again." 17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.)
5. Seeking their own welfare at the expense of their subjects. (Jer 22:13 Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his countrymen work for nothing, not paying them for their labor.)
Conclusion
If you are going to choose a president or any civil authority, he or she doesn't have to be an elder, or a deacon, or a Christian, or a David in character. But he has to be a morally upright person according to the standard of what is universally accepted as right and wrong.
He doesn't have to know the essential doctrines we Christians hold dearly and consider as essential for our salvation such as the doctrines of the Trinity, the person of Christ, salvation by grace alone, by faith alone, through Christ alone, etc. Ignorance of these truths does not mean that one cannot lead a nation or that one is devoid of anything good. Man is made in the image and likeness of God therefore he has in his heart this innate knowledge regarding God's existence and character. He has a sense of good and bad and a basic knowledge of right and wrong (Ro 2:14-15). The minimum qualification, therefore that we must look for in any candidate is his ability to act and decide on the basis of what is universally accepted as right and wrong. The person who most closely meets this standard should be our choice.
