Catechism The Table of Duties:
RULERS & Civil society is ordered. Order is what makes civilization
civil. The opposite is anarchy. Without government and the “sword,” there would be lawlessness, chaos, and anarchy. Imagine what it would be like if all the police officers in a city were to announce on Sunday evening that they were not coming to work on Monday morning. Or, simply notice what happens when the traffic lights fail at an intersection. Chaos ensues.
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Order is God’s gift and blessing. The Word is a creatively ordering Word that sets things in place, including our civil life together. Civil life begins with our parents, who are also our first rulers, but it doesn’t end there. When we step out of our homes onto the streets of our communities, there are still rulers over us and rules to curb us and keep us in line. God knows we are sinners even as Christians and, left to our own devices, we would destroy ourselves and each other. So God places us into a civil order. Scripture calls the governing authority “God’s minister” or “servant” (Romans 13:1-4). All governing authority is God’s authority, regardless of the form that government takes. It matters not whether the governing authority is a king or an elected president. Jesus reminded the Roman governor Pontius Pilate that he would have no authority had it not been given him from above (John 19:11). Pilate’s authority to sentence Jesus to death was an authority that came from God! Civil authority is the authority of the “sword” to use the rule of law to reward the good and punish the wicked. This, of course, presumes that those who govern know the difference between goodness and wickedness, right and wrong. That’s why Luther says that those who know the Ten Commandments well
are in a good position to govern. If you’re going to wield a sword, you need to know how to swing it accurately and correctly. Does this mean that the ruler should be a Christian? Not necessarily. The gift of civil authority belongs to God’s gifts of creation and applies to everyone in the same way. The laws of society are not based on the Bible but on work of the law hardwired into our hearts and the conscience that monitors our thoughts, words, and actions (Romans 2:13-14). Our civil laws are based on reason, conscience, and our innate sense of what is right and wrong. We don’t need the Bible to tell us to stop at a red light and to drive in the correct lane. Common sense alone will tell us that. What do rulers owe their people? Temporal justice. Punish those who do wrong; reward those who do good. Maintain temporal peace and order. Defend life, liberty, and property. Protect those who are defenseless and most vulnerable, including the poor, the frail, children, and the unborn. Keep us from infringing on one another’s liberties and from hurting each other, much like a referee in a football or basketball game. The old Adam, our sinful nature, is a natural-born anarchist who wants his own way at the expense of others. God’s gift of government is to curb
