Scripture: Romans 13:1-7, 1 Timothy 2:1

Government is not a very popular word in our vocabulary today. Six out of ten Americans have a negative view of the government. The only industry in America that has a lower rating than the government is the oil and gas industry. There is one thing you can count on being in the news every day and that is some news about the government. It may be an economic report, something to do with foreign affairs, something to do with the national debt, something to do with a Supreme Court decision, congressional legislation or a Presidential news conference, but every day government is in the news. To put it mildly, government is taking a beating. In this message, Dr. Merritt explores God's instructions for our relationship and role with and in government.

"God has appointed the authorities who have governmental power. That is true of every government everywhere. It is true of democracies and dictatorships. It is true of capitalistic governments and communistic governments. It is true where the bells of freedom ring loudly and clearly and it is true where the bells of freedom are not allowed to ring at all. Sometimes God puts good people in power to be a blessing. Sometimes God puts evil people in power to be a curse. Paul is not saying that the Hitlers, the Stalins, the Saddam Husseins and the Kim Jong-Ils of our times have been personally appointed by God and that God is responsible for their behavior and that their authority is never to be resisted. All Paul is simply saying is that no ruler has authority in and of himself." --Dr. Merritt

Keywords: government, leader, President, Congress, corruption, authority, Paul, Corinth, command, obey, civil disobedience, responsibility, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, King Darius, Prime Minister, servant, people, Constitution, preamble, penalty, rule, law, Roman, Rome, Supreme Court Justice, Senator, Congressman, Abraham Lincoln, James Madison, taxes, obligations