Welcome to our three part “Christianity and Government” Series. Let’s start the Series by talking about Godly respect for and willing submission to those in the government.
Romans 13
1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
I think we tend to read this Scripture and think something like “Paul would not have said this if he had to contend with our government”. It is true that the first century Roman government was different than our government. It was much, much worse than ours is. Paul would have probably been very happy to have to deal with our government. Paul was called to spread the good news of Jesus Christ under a government which was very hostile to Christianity. We fear that it will one day be illegal to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord in the United States. Paul didn’t have to fear that happening one day. That was already his reality and he was imprisoned multiple times and ultimately executed for preaching the Lordship of Christ. And yet, he still wrote the above verses.
But It is better to obey God than man, right? What about that? That comes from Acts 5:29. Let’s look at it and let’s make sure to look at it in context. In order to do that, let’s back up to verse 27.
Acts 5
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them,
28 saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!”
29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.
Often, this Scripture is taken out of context, with only a portion of Verse 29 roughly quoted, saying something like “It is better to obey God than man”. Taking it out of context that way, it is easy to use this Scripture to justify Christians proudly engaging in civil disobedience. However, God only calls for civil disobedience in specific circumstances. Outside of those narrow circumstances, civil disobedience is nothing to be proud of and is in fact a sin.
When this verse is taken in context, we see that Peter and the other apostles, when commanded by the government not to preach in Jesus Name, chose to disobey the government. Clearly, Paul did the same as this is what he was imprisoned and executed for, and yet, he still wrote what he did in Romans 13:1-2. Acts 5:29 does not nullify Romans 13:1-2. It compliments it.
Both Paul and Peter were willing to disobey the government, even though it meant their deaths, and they were right to do so, but this is because the government had told them to do something that directly contradicted God’s Word. Paul tells us that those who are in authority over us are there because God put them there and we are to respect and obey them. We must take Acts 5:29, in context, and also take Romans 13:1-2, reconcile the two, and live according to the sentiment conveyed there. Unless what government tells us to do very clearly and directly contradicts God’s Word, then we are to obey government. We are not to disobey and disrespect government just because we don’t like the people in government and we don’t like what they tell us to do, no matter how justified we may feel in doing so. When we do that, we are ourselves contradicting God’s Word.
Let’s take a concrete example, abortion. I am very pro life. President Biden is pro choice, as are many others in government. This directly contradicts the Word of God. As a Christian, you should not follow them on this issue. You should, respectfully and peacefully, do what you can to oppose pro choice legislation. You should, respectfully and peacefully, try to change the opinion of those who are pro choice. If you are a doctor and you find yourself in a position where you are required to perform abortions, even though it is legal according to the laws of man, you should refuse to do so and do absolutely whatever you have to do not to do that even once, even if it means resigning from your job and even if it ultimately means finding another profession. On the other hand, you should not say that, because he is pro choice, President Biden is not your president (Romans 13:1). You should not say or imply that those who are pro choice are fools (Matthew 5:22). By all means, do speak God’s truth but do so in love (Ephesians 4:15). As you seek to uphold God’s Word, you must seek to uphold all of it.
You may feel that the COVID related restrictions and mandates, as well as some other things currently being done by the government, are, at least to some extent, being used as an excuse by the government to tighten their overall control. You may feel that this may be helping to lay the groundwork for the eventual government of the antichrist. I agree with these things. However, when it comes to the question of overall obedience, these things don’t matter. I’m sure that Paul wasn’t too comfortable with the governmental situation he was living under. He had already been persecuted a great deal by the government and he knew that the government would eventually execute him. And yet, he did not say that we are to be subject to the powers of the governing authorities if we like them and if we agree with them. He simply said that we are to be subject to them and he further said that when we resist them we resist God and will be judged accordingly.
None of us like being told what to do. But they are “governing authorities”, and so, their function is to “govern” and they are given the authority to do that by God. Truly living as a Christian requires submitting to Him and part of our truly submitting to Him is submitting to them.
