Flipbooks

Explore Luther's catechism teachings with an in-depth study with study questions, a summary of Christian doctrine, and the entirety of Luther's Large Catechism. Find this title and others from this magazine at cph.org/llresources. LUTHER'S LARGE CATECHISM WITH STUDY QUESTIONS 6 Lutheran Life "Let every person be subject to the gov- erning authorities. For there is no au- thority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God" (Ro- mans 13:1). Throughout the New Testament, St. Paul makes clear that Christians are to respect and submit to their civic rulers—and in case you think Paul didn't know how terrible government and political leaders can be, keep in mind that he wrote these words when Nero, arguably the cruelest Roman ruler, was Paul's governing author- ity. Despite the person in the seat of political power, Paul urges us to respect the office of government officials as part of the order and structure God has established in creation. This isn't just Paul's radical idea but God's. God cares so much about our right relationship with the government that He included it in the Ten Com- mandments. First, God makes it clear that we should have no other gods before Him. No leader—political or otherwise— should be feared, honored, or trusted above God, the one true King. Question 24 of Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation says that to have a god is "to trust in and rely on something or someone wholeheartedly to help us in times of need and to give us all good things." This means we take it seriously that God is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He rules and directs all of cre- ation, which includes entrusting power and authority to our leaders. With this in mind, let us consider what God's gift of government is tasked to do as we look at the Fourth Commandment: "Honor your father and your mother." Luther explains that this commandment is about fearing and loving not only our parents but also other authorities. This includes pastors, teachers, employ- ers, and government officials. All earthly authority is derived from the same pattern of order found in the familial unit of parents and children. As parents oversee their household and children are submissive to their parents, so governmental leaders are responsible for parenting their country and citizens responsible for submitting to their authority. Luther explains, "Through them [civil rulers], as through our parents, God gives to us food, house and home, protection, and security" (Large Catechism I 150). As God works through parents to care for chil- dren, so, too, has God established governing authori- ties to be responsible for the care of the people in their land. As those people, we fear and love God when we recognize and honor the authorities in our lives. Even when we disagree with the policies and decisions of governmental leaders, we are still to respect them because of the vocation they hold as being responsible to God for our protection and safety. Because civil au- thorities are linked to the line and vocational responsi- bilities of parents, Luther goes so far as to say "it is our duty to honor them and to value them [civil authority] greatly as the dearest treasure and the most precious jewel upon earth" (LC I 150). These are the people and structures intended to provide us safe and orderly lives through which we live out our vocations of love and service to others. When we trust God to be God, follow His commands, and submit to the systems He has established to pro- vide us an orderly life, we will experience the joy and happiness that comes from following the Lord (see LC I 151). Let us join with King David, who penned this psalm of praise to the King even greater than he. While we recognize the authority of our earthly leaders, we give all thanks and praise to our King, Jesus, whose kingdom lasts forever. w The Fourth Commandment and Leaders

• Cover