The Apostle Paul tells us:

There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God…. If you do wrong, be afraid, for [the ruler] does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer (from Romans 13:1, 4).

The government, the state, thus has authority to work for the good of its citizens.

One aspect of that authority is the authorization to use violence against citizens of the state. But this authority is not to be used haphazardly – randomly harming some and supporting others. That’s terror. Nor is it to be used racially – systematically harming those of one ethnicity and supporting those of another. That’s genocide or its precursors. Nor is it to be used politically – harming one’s political antagonists and helping one’s political supporters. That’s tyranny.

Rather, God grants the state authority to use violence against wrongdoers as agents of God’s wrath. The state should give a foreshadowing of the justice to be implemented on the Last Day, when God sees to it that every sin is paid for – either by the blood of Christ or by the punishment of the perpetrator of the sin. So the state should only use violence when that is either necessary to halt a crime, or when that violence is just retribution for a crime already committed.

The authors of the Declaration of Independence argue that King George III had systematically misused such powers of the state, and thus the American colonies were justified in rebelling against him, and in setting up their own government.

But the government they set up was not another monarchy, substituting one king for another. Rather, “we the people … do ordain and establish this Constitution.” As Abraham Lincoln so marvelously described this political experiment four score and seven years later, it was “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” That is:

• “Of the people:” The governing authorities are not foreigners nor aristocrats nor a dominant ethnicity, but come from the citizenry, from among the governed.
• “By the people:” The rulers receive their authority neither from ancestry nor by the decision of a select group, but by the choice of the governed.
• “For the people:” In line with Romans 13 and the Constitution’s preamble, the purpose of this government is to benefit its citizens as a whole – not to enrich its rulers or to extend the power of one faction or party over another.

When the state or agents of the state violate these principles – when they use law enforcement powers and violence to advance causes other than justice, other than the general welfare – they call into question the legitimacy of the government and thereby undermine their own authority. Most importantly, they misuse the authority God has granted, dishonoring Him, and making themselves liable to His perfect judgment.

The murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis policeman is a particularly egregious example of the misuse of power. Surely as time goes on we will learn what happened prior to this man being handcuffed, whether or not the officers were justified in so doing. But there is no possible justification for standing on a subdued, cuffed man’s neck for more than eight minutes until he dies from asphyxiation.

Why did this happen? What led a policeman – who should see himself as a servant of the public – to abrogate to himself the authority to take a life?

I would suggest it’s the same mindset that led to the misuse of the intelligence agencies in an attempt to take out political opponents in 2016/17; the same mindset that during this pandemic led a governor to open beaches in areas where his supporters predominate, but to close them in an area where his political rival is mayor; the same mindset that led a president to spread horrible rumors about a former congressman being a murderer.

This mindset is not, “I’m a servant of all these citizens.” It is rather: “I’m in charge. I’m here to advance my purposes, and the purposes of those like me. If someone annoys me, if someone gets in my way or in the way of our movement, he doesn’t deserve justice – he deserves to be taken out. I don’t bear the sword in vain.”

This mindset – often clothed in self-righteous justification of one’s actions – is antithetical to biblical teaching as well as to the founding principles of this country. May we, Christ’s church, call to account those who display this mindset – whether we agree or disagree with their political positions. And by God’s grace, may our governing authorities live out Romans 13 as well as the Constitution’s Preamble and the Gettysburg Address.

But it is not only policemen and politicians who are susceptible to the virus of this mindset. Many pastors are infected. Millions of church members have caught the disease. None of us is immune. And there is no vaccination available to prevent it.

So check your social media presence. Consider how you’ve interacted this week with those who are in some sense under you – those in your family, those in your workplace, those serving you in stores. Search your heart via God’s Word. Pray with David, “See if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:24).

Our Lord came “not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). May those who wield the sword see themselves as servants of the people – and may we exercise our authority as those who serve.