Whoever Becomes President Is Ordained Of God (Romans 13:1)

Rom 13:1  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 

The United States Presidential Election is on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.  I am not currently endorsing a presidential candidate at this time.

However, I can say this:  Whoever is elected President of the United States MUST be revered, PERIOD.  God through Paul (2 Timothy 3:16) teaches in Romans 13 that God has ordained government leaders.  Paul gives no exception even to wicked leaders.  To say that he does would be to sinfully add to the Word of God, violating Proverbs 30:6:

Pro 30:6  Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. 

Now, let's go through Romans 13:1-7, and see what more it says about government leaders:

Rom 13:1  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 

Rom 13:2  Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 

Rom 13:3  For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 

Rom 13:4  For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 

Rom 13:5  Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. 

Rom 13:6  For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. 

Rom 13:7  Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. 

Paul is saying that if you resist government authority (which the rioters on January 6, 2021 did), you will be damned, or judged as the ESV suggests.  Indeed, many participants in the Capitol Riots have been justly judged.  For that I thank God, not because I support or oppose Donald Trump, but that it is a great affront to God (and to me personally) to rebel against the government.  The only time a believer should rebel against the government is when the government orders you to sin against God.  In this case, follow this advice:

Act 5:29  Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. 

Before I continue, I wish to give my personal reaction to January 6, 2021.  On that day, at first, I was in "alert" mode, thinking that such rioting would spread across the nation.  The next day, after thinking about what just happened, I shed tears.  I shed tears, because, in my mind, it was an affront to everything I was personally fighting for, which was maturity, growing up, being a man (I was paying off debts at the time and still trying to prove to the world, despite living with my parents, I was grown up), etc.  In my mind, the rioters were grown men acting like CHILDREN, since they were POUTING because their guy, Donald Trump, lost the election.  It is my personal belief that Joe Biden won the 2020 election fair and square, even if due to the prevalence of mail-in ballots, the deck was stacked in Mr. Biden's favor, such an event is not unfair.

Now, back to Romans 13.

Verse 4 is an anchor verse for me.  This is one of the key verses I cite when I say I support the death penalty, or at the very least, do not resist its use as punishment for multiple crimes, including, yes, homosexuality.  It is no sin for the government to execute homosexuals.  The same goes for all capital sins listed in Scripture, including adultery (in which Jesus also includes the cardiac kind in Matthew 5:28).  So, it is also no sin for the government to execute lusting users of pornography.  Even if I myself am guilty of all sorts of sins worthy of capital punishment, I cannot deny that the government has the right to put me to death for such sins.  Let's just hope that if such government is put in place, we are given enough grace to stop such activities immediately before such expanded death penalties take effect.

So, whoever becomes President on January 20, 2025, whether it be Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Chase Oliver, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mike Johnson, Patty Murray, or anyone else, whoever it is, is God's ordained minister of justice in the United States of America.  Respect the office.  God demands it.

1Pe 2:17  Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.