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Civil Government: An Exposition Of Romans XIII, 1-7
Civil An Exposition Of Romans XIII, 1-7 by James Mcleod Willson. This volume presents lectures delivered on Romans 13:1-7 in a course of verse-by-verse exposition of the Epistle. The author argues that civil government is a divinely ordained institution whose powers are legitimate when they promote public order and righteousness. He distinguishes the general duty of citizens to obey from the error of universal obedience to tyrants, asserting that resistance to unjust rulers may be warranted, while submission is expected to be sincere and informed by conscience. The work traces a long history of controversy over the doctrine of passive obedience and non-resistance, surveys biblical examples such as Daniel and Shadrach, and lays out a framework in which rulers are "ministers of God" for good and a terror to evil. He also addresses current liberal political ideas and the dangers of infidelity using scripture. The text thereby provides a biblical model for the ends and limits of political power, the duties of subjects, and the role of Christian ministers in public life.
185 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1853
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 12, 2021
By far one of the best books I’ve read on civil government from a Christian perspective. We must seek to make Christ known all over the world so that His kingdom will flourish and all the nations rejoice in Him.
“Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.””
Revelation 11:15
“Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.””
Revelation 11:15
December 6, 2022
Finally found a good book on this topic! It's time Christians understand their duty in this area(government) so we can finally have Godly leaders.
October 25, 2016
Great book. Someone needs to modernize the language and make it even more widely accessible.
January 12, 2011
The arguments of this book are:
1. Civil government is not exempt from criticism
2. Romans 13 gives the basic criteria by which to judge civil gov'ts.
3. If it doesn't meet those criteria, we may not give our allegiance to that government. To accept its authority at all is ungodly.
4. Those criteria involve acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord explicitly.
5. America (in 1857!) does not meet these criteria due to the institution of slavery. This doesn't mean we stop working for good and peace, though.
There are some interesting interpretations in the book. We must submit to excellent authorities, not to the governing authorities (Rom 13:1). Juicy ones like that were a tip off to me that the author is overly biased against submission to civil authority, or that current events were skewing a natural interpretation of the text against such submission.
Willson makes some good points. I basically agree with 1, 2 and 5 above. Also, our government should acknowledge the Triune, Christian God, and does not. And God does not call us to submit to and follow evil governments like those described in Revelation 13.
But the author concludes that we only give allegiance and submit in conscience if a country's policies are obedient. He rejects the position that we submit wherever we can, to any and all laws that do not require us to sin. But when he raises the obvious objection of how Daniel could be faithful in Babylon, he says it is because he wasn't required to take an oath against the truth. This position is not consistent. When he mentions that Nero was emperor when Paul wrote this, he simply responds that God could not have meant for the Romans to submit to the beast of Rome. This begs the question.
He also leaves unclear what it means to withhold allegiance but continue working for good. No military service? Voting? What? I would agree with him that Christians in present America (1857 or 2011) should be less wildly enthusiastic about the greatness of their nation, given all the immorality we produce, consume and export. But I don't think I need to refrain from reciting the pledge of allegiance, so long as that allegiance is subordinate to our first loyalty to Christ, the ruler of every nation.
Willson argues against the extreme of blindly submitting to any existing government, no matter its policy, simply because it is there, to which I am also opposed. In doing so he falls to the other extreme of requiring too high a standard before submitting to a government's authority. This is inviting anarchy, which objection he mentions only to casually dismiss, as he does the travesty of the French Revolution.
We should submit to our government in every area we can, to any and all laws, even unjust ones by which God judges us. At the same time, we should work vociferously for justice in our laws. If we are so concerned to not be tainted with sin in our nation, we will not be engaged enough with people to really change them for the better.
Two stars.
1. Civil government is not exempt from criticism
2. Romans 13 gives the basic criteria by which to judge civil gov'ts.
3. If it doesn't meet those criteria, we may not give our allegiance to that government. To accept its authority at all is ungodly.
4. Those criteria involve acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord explicitly.
5. America (in 1857!) does not meet these criteria due to the institution of slavery. This doesn't mean we stop working for good and peace, though.
There are some interesting interpretations in the book. We must submit to excellent authorities, not to the governing authorities (Rom 13:1). Juicy ones like that were a tip off to me that the author is overly biased against submission to civil authority, or that current events were skewing a natural interpretation of the text against such submission.
Willson makes some good points. I basically agree with 1, 2 and 5 above. Also, our government should acknowledge the Triune, Christian God, and does not. And God does not call us to submit to and follow evil governments like those described in Revelation 13.
But the author concludes that we only give allegiance and submit in conscience if a country's policies are obedient. He rejects the position that we submit wherever we can, to any and all laws that do not require us to sin. But when he raises the obvious objection of how Daniel could be faithful in Babylon, he says it is because he wasn't required to take an oath against the truth. This position is not consistent. When he mentions that Nero was emperor when Paul wrote this, he simply responds that God could not have meant for the Romans to submit to the beast of Rome. This begs the question.
He also leaves unclear what it means to withhold allegiance but continue working for good. No military service? Voting? What? I would agree with him that Christians in present America (1857 or 2011) should be less wildly enthusiastic about the greatness of their nation, given all the immorality we produce, consume and export. But I don't think I need to refrain from reciting the pledge of allegiance, so long as that allegiance is subordinate to our first loyalty to Christ, the ruler of every nation.
Willson argues against the extreme of blindly submitting to any existing government, no matter its policy, simply because it is there, to which I am also opposed. In doing so he falls to the other extreme of requiring too high a standard before submitting to a government's authority. This is inviting anarchy, which objection he mentions only to casually dismiss, as he does the travesty of the French Revolution.
We should submit to our government in every area we can, to any and all laws, even unjust ones by which God judges us. At the same time, we should work vociferously for justice in our laws. If we are so concerned to not be tainted with sin in our nation, we will not be engaged enough with people to really change them for the better.
Two stars.
September 26, 2010
I'm sad to say that I bought this book with high hopes but they were dashed rather quickly. While Willson does raise some interesting points that I had not previously considered about the passage in Romans 13 regarding civil authority, my concerns are that he seems to blur the boundaries between church and state as well as failing to distinguish between crimes and sins. And as one additional point of contention, he seemed perfectly willing to cede authority for the education of children to the State (p. 70).
Abraham Kuyper's concept of "sphere sovereignty" would be worth digging into instead of reading this book...
Abraham Kuyper's concept of "sphere sovereignty" would be worth digging into instead of reading this book...
May 27, 2014
A great and timely exposition - even if uncomfortably so...
Read more on my blog
Read more on my blog
November 4, 2021
At least he pushes back against passive obedience. 3.5.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews