Read Romans 13:1-7
1. How have you typically thought about the posture Christians ought to have toward the government?
2. What model of church/state relations do you like best: aristinianism (state controls church), theocracy, constantinianism (state accommodates church), partnership, antagonism? Which most reflects the situation in our country?
3. According to this passage and the sermon, what is the role of the Christian citizen with respect to the government? How far does our obedience to the state go?
4. How can we tell when to obey the state and when we need to disobey the state for he sake of the gospel?
5. What are the two tasks given to the state in this passage?
6. How are these two tasks part of God’s good plan for his creation?
7. What would the world look like without civil authority?
8. As we work for the good of our cities, where must our political allegiances lie?
9. How important is the form of government for the success of the Kingdom of God?
10. How ought we as the church to respond to trends in our culture with regard to how our country ought to be run?
11. Richard mentioned the illustration of a thermometer and a thermostat. Which of these best describes how the church is to relate to culture? What does this illustrate about the church’s relationship to social trends?