We know from the Bible that Christians are to obey God. But does God expect us to obey our human rulers? Also, if there’s a conflict between obeying God and our government’s laws, what should we do?
Way back in the days of Noah, God prescribed courts of law (Ge.9:5-6). Law courts are a function of government (govt). The right of vengeance, revenge or retaliation, belongs to the Lord. “Vengeance is Mine” (De.32:35). Personal vengeance isn’t to be taken by the individual. (Ro.12:19 “Avenge not yourselves.”) Judges or the state or ruler should exercise God’s vengeance & justice on His behalf. For God’s vengeance and true justice to be carried out, God’s principles of right and wrong must be used. Using principles from the forbidden tree of good and evil (Ge.2–3) results in uneven, unfair, ‘justice’.
Christ established His theocracy in ancient Israel. (see “Jesus Was The Old Testament God”.) He made known His laws and true moral principles to Moses/Israel. They’re based upon love to God and love to neighbor…De.6:5 and Le.19:18. Law courts were among Christ’s guidelines, De.17:8-11. The tribe of Levi served as the religious leaders (the clan of Aaron) and as govt judges & administrators. Israel’s was the only govt then with detailed knowledge of God’s moral principles and sense of justice.
Other peoples & nations had rulers whose laws and policies were a mixture of good and evil. Yet God isn’t an anarchist. He’d authorized govt to regulate societies and bring order from chaos.
Early-on when Adam defected from God, man’s dominion on earth was given or delivered to satan by default, Lk.4:5-7 & Mt.12:26. Satan is the unseen influence upon rulers and govt. (also see “Kingdom of God”.) Da.2:20-21, 37 yet God “removes kings and sets up kings”. God gave sovereignty to King Nebuchadnézzar of Babylon. Previously, the Lord selected Hazaél to be king of Syria (1Ki.19:15).
The Most High is Ruler over all of mankind (and satan); and God bestows govt on who He wills. Da.4:17 God may allow an evil ruler (“the lowliest of men”) as a form of judgment or chastisement for wrongs a nation committed. Pr.28:15-16 “Like a roaring lion or a hungry bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people. A leader who lacks judgment is a great oppressor.” Jesus said to Pilate the governor in Jn.19:11, “You would have no authority against Me, unless it were given you from above”. The Roman state possessed delegated authority from God.
Yet not all rulers are God-appointed! Ho.8:3-4 “Israel has rejected the good. They have set up kings, but not by Me; they have appointed rulers.” (All kings of the northern kingdom of Israel were bad.)
Although ancient Israel knew of the Lord’s principles, they didn’t obey them. Most Israelites didn’t have God’s Holy Spirit (HS). The HS writes God’s laws on the hearts & minds of Christians (He.8:10). We internalize His moral principles, and obedience to God is possible. We must want to obey God.
Christians with the HS are sons of God. Paul wrote in Ro.8:14, “All who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God”. According to Peter, obedience to God is a requirement to have the HS. Peter said in Ac.5:32, “The Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him”. Here the Greek term for obey is peitharchéo Strongs g3980. It occurs four times (Ac.5:29, 32, 27:21; Ti.3:1) in the New Testament (NT), and means ‘to obey a superior’. To be persuaded the superior should be obeyed. In Ac.5:32, the Superior is God Himself. 1Esdras 8:94 (Septúagint/LXX and KJV 1611 edition) “As many as do obey [g3980] the law of the Lord.” God’s principles are to be obeyed.
Not only God and His principles are to be obeyed. Ti.3:1 “Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey [g3980] them.” Paul said for Titus to remind those on Crete to obey human rulers. So both God and (right) human rulers/government laws in general are to be obeyed.
But should a Christian’s citizenship duty have precedence over his duty to obey God? Peter said in Ac.5:27-29, “We must obey [g3980] God rather than men”. When there’s a conflict between obeying God’s principles/instructions, and those of the human govt or ruler…Peter was persuaded that God the Higher Authority must be obeyed! Peter & John told the rulers in Ac.4:19-21, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge”. The authorities threatened them and let them go. (But later in Ac.12:1-3 they killed John’s brother James, and arrested Peter.)
So Peter said obedience to God has priority over obedience to men. Peter also said to submit to rulers. 1Pe.2:13-18 “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every institution of man, whether to the king, or to governors….Honor all men; honor the king. Servants submit to your masters.” Here the Greek verb for submit is hupotásso g5293. It occurs 40 times in the NT. But submit (g5293) to authority doesn’t always mean obey! Greek Bible scholar Spiros Zódiates “Originally it showed one’s relation to superiors. The verb doesn’t immediately carry with it the thought of obedience.” e.g. Paul told the church in Ep.5:21, “Submit [g5293] to one another in the fear of God”. Not always ‘obey’ each other. And 1Pe.5:5 “You younger, submit [g5293] yourselves to the elder.”
Paul wrote in Ro.13:1-5, “Let every soul submit [g5293] to the governing authority….But if you do what is evil, be afraid, for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a servant of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who does evil.” Subjection to rulers is a general principle. Capital crimes can result in capital punishment from govt officials (some officials may even be Christians).
A ruler should be just, acting as God’s servant to rightfully maintain law & order. The ruler shouldn’t be corrupt nor terrorizing good works nor promoting evil or criminality. In Ro.13, ca 57 AD, Paul isn’t discussing evil rulers like Nero. Jesus wouldn’t approve for a Christian to serve as a (military) hit man for an evil regime, e.g. (see the topic “War & Killing and the Bible Christian”.) If a govt wants us to perpetrate evil on its behalf, we’re to obey God’s right principles instead (Ac.5:29). Yet in return, we may have to submit to punishment the govt could administer to us.
In Ro.13:6-8, Paul addressed paying taxes. Jesus said in Mt.22:21, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s”. The tithe system in God’s theocracy of ancient Israel went to both church and state. (see “Tithe to Church and State”.) Human govts and policies aren’t all good. What if an oppressive tax results in one’s family suffering hunger? We’re to love one another (Ro.13:8). Ought unjust taxes be paid to anyone? That’s a personal decision in each situation. Nations’ tax rates vary. The Boston Tea Party of 1773 protested British taxation. But there can be consequences for the delinquent taxpayer.
In Ro.13:1-ff, perhaps Paul is somewhat protective or defensive, not wanting Christians to risk being expelled from Rome, as Jews were in 19 AD & 49 AD (Ac.18:2 under Emperor Claudius). Paul wrote general guidelines in Ro.13. Surely Jesus wouldn’t have given blanket approval to evil Nero’s current rule (54–68 AD)! Submit doesn’t always mean obey. Disobeying God to obey a government’s evil is ungodly.
Jesus submitted to His captors (e.g. Is.53:7, 1Pe.2:23), though He’d committed no crime. Jesus said in Mt.5:38-39, “You have heard, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’. But I say to you, don’t resist an evildoer.” The “eye for an eye” is the lex taliónis principle (e.g. Le.24:19-20), retribution or retaliation via the courts commensurate with the crime. Don’t take personal vengeance, even when the Roman justice system was unjust vis-à-vis the principles of justice which Christ gave to ancient Israel.
{Sidelight: Mt.5:40-42 “If anyone will sue you and wants to take your shirt, let him have your cloak also. Whoever shall force you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and don’t deny him who wants to borrow from you.” That, even though Christ had told Israel to return before sunset a cloak which was taken as a pledge/collateral (Ex.22:26-27). Roman military law allowed a soldier to compel a civilian to carry his 65–85 lb pack (only) one mile. In De.15:7-9, Christ instructed Israelites to give or lend to one’s poorer neighbor. De.23:19 the lender wasn’t to charge interest. Lk.6:34-35 “Do good and lend, expecting nothing in return.” Not usury. Mt.6:12 as we forgive our debtors (a debt was suspended during the 7th year of release, De.15:1-2, 9.) Unlike Rome…God is generous, just and fair!}
Ro.12:18-19 “If possible, live at peace. Don’t avenge yourselves, beloved, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” Again, judges or the state should exercise God’s right justice & vengeance for Him. In Ex.22:8-9, judges are even termed “elohím” (“God” h430, Hebrew), since they’re to render God’s verdict. Ps.82:1-4 courts (judges/elohim h430) should be backed by God’s just principles. The individual or family isn’t authorized to take the law into their own hands.
God’s morality and justice system differs from that of Roman emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero. But Jesus, Peter, Paul weren’t anarchists. Is.33:22 “The Lord is our judge, The Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; He will save us.” God performs all three functions of govt: judicial, legislative, executive. He is for right law & order. Christ had given just laws to ancient Israel.
Jesus said in Mt.23:23, justice and mercy are weightier provisions of the law! Not ceremonial matters (which were performed at or brought to the temple). Yet an oft-repeated topic of TV evangelists is donating money or tithing! And there are Hebrew roots groups which emphasize (or argue) ceremonial temple feasts and the calendar, more than God’s justice! Mic.6:8 “What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God?” Justice and mercy are priorities.
God’s principles are the true standard. Ja.4:12a Weymouth “The only real Lawgiver and Judge is He who is able to save and to destroy.” Philo wrote in the 1st century AD, On the Life of Moses 2, p.495 “The same Being was the Father and Creator of the world, and likewise the Lawgiver of truth.” Only God is completely just. Human govt laws are just to the extent they are based, at least in principle, upon God’s moral laws.
The Body of Liberties, dated 1641, was the first legal code in America. In colonial Massachusetts, that code enacted as law some of Christ’s law which He’d given to Moses/Israel. Before the American Revolution, Jonathan Mayhew (1720–1766) in When Is Resistance a Duty? preached there is a higher law than any government’s law! Loyalty to God has priority.
What options might Christians or a people who are being oppressed by an unjust ruler or govt have? It may be too difficult or impossible to defect, leave the country. (The American Revolution succeeded.)
There’s civil disobedience or resistance to unjust rule/laws. Ex.1:15-20 “The midwives feared God and didn’t do what the king of Egypt commanded them. So God did good to the midwives.” Prior to ancient Israel’s exodus, those midwives were rewarded by God for their civil disobedience to Pharaoh.
1Ki.18:17-ff Elijah openly challenged Aháb, the king of Israel in the north. Da.1:8, 15-20 young Daniel was at the court of Babylon. He refused to disobey Christ’s dietary laws or drink wine to idol gods; yet ten days later King Nebuchadnezzar elevated him to a position. But resistance may be punished.
Da.3:14-19 Daniel’s three friends refused to obey Nebuchadnezzar; they wouldn’t commit idolatry. As a consequence, the king had them thrown into a furnace of fire. (God protected them.) As was already noted, Peter was willing to go to jail, rather than quit teaching in Jesus’ name (Ac.5:27-29).
The medieval law of jus prímae nóctis gave the noble or feudal lord the right to sleep with peasant brides of the manor the first night. Roman chieftains had also practiced this adultery. Should Christian newlyweds have obeyed that decree…or resisted? The hero of the movie Braveheart supposedly engaged in an illegal secret marriage (having no document), attempting to circumvent that evil decree.
The person who resists or (civilly) disobeys an unjust law/decree of men, or who obeys an opposing just principle of God, may have to remain and submit to consequences for his or her action…punishment.
Ac.22:24-29 Paul, a Roman citizen, appealed to Roman law for his own defense. Paul wasn’t violent then, yet he resisted illegal mistreatment. Ac.16:36-39 Paul knew and asserted his rights under Roman law, and in so doing he was submitting to the govt system (ref Ro.13:1).
Yet Paul wrote to the church in 1Co.6:1, “Does any of you who has a case against another dare to go to court before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?” v.4-8 Paul admonished brethren to utilize church(/synagogue) courts or tribunals first, instead of secular courts. (But later, beware the Catholic Inquisition!)
Whose laws are just? Those of…Mr. Obama, Israel’s Netanyahu, Germany’s Angela Merkel, Russia’s Putin, Cuba’s Castro, Iran’s Ayatóllah Khaménei, the IRS? Since God is the Lawgiver…the only truly just laws are laws based, at least in principle, on His! Today USA law is based on: God’s morality, Greco-Roman law, historical Roman Catholic Church dogma, the Constitution, party politics, etc. By comparing the laws of one’s govt to God’s principles, citizens may determine the justness of the govt.
Patriotism towards an unjust or tyrannical govt or some of its actions…can be a form of idolatry!
Christians or peoples may seek to become free from an unjust tyrant. Ex.6:6-7 “I AM the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the oppressions of the Egyptians.” Rather than ancient Israel continuing to submit to bondage, God freed them from Egypt by means of divine plagues! Peoples have revolted.
Paul addressed slavery in 1Co.7:21-23. “Were you called while a slave? Don’t worry about it; but if you are able to become free, do that. You were bought with a price; don’t become slaves of men.” Slaves comprised approximately 33% of the Roman Empire populace. Paul exhorted Christian slaves to seek freedom. We should let God guide our life; we shouldn’t be controlled by, or in bondage to, men. Some slaves attempted to flee to the countryside. The slave revolt led by Spartacus the gladiator occurred in 73 BC.
Slavery in ancient Israel was more often bond servitude. The fugitive law is De.23:15-16. “You shall not hand over to his master a servant who has escaped to you.” (Unlike our 1850 Fugitive Slave Act. cf. 1852 Uncle Tom’s Cabin.) e.g. 1Sa.30:13-15 the Egyptian who was servant to an Amalekite didn’t want David to return him to his master. In the NT letter to Philémon, Paul gave shelter to Onésimus (v.13). Even under Roman rule, Paul needn’t return him as a fugitive.
David was a man after God’s own heart (Ac.13:22). He said God’s law was upright/complete (Ps.19:7). Ps.18:17-24 David had valued God’s injunctions…the Lord delivered him from King Saul.
God is for individual freedom, within govt structure. Christ’s theocracy in ancient Israel is a prototype. Kingdom of God govt is based upon love to God and love to neighbor. Our individual ability to love & serve others depends on our response to the HS within, and our personal health and energy level.
Again, God’s laws have precedence over contradictory laws of man. Php.3:20 “Our citizenship is in heaven.” Christians have dual citizenship, a heavenly and an earthly. Our loyalty is first to God.
Also there’s a place for civil disobedience, and even obtaining total freedom from tyranny/unjust rule. Citizens who disobey ungodly govt principles, but don’t defect…may have to submit to punishment.
John wrote in 1Jn.5:19, “The whole world lies in the power of the evil one”. Satan impacts kingdoms of man. Mankind has eaten from the wrong tree, a mixture of good & evil. Some of man’s statutes are good, others are bad. Blind patriotism and chronyism exists. The HS knows true principles & justice.
It was a blessing to grow up in this country, compared to conditions in some other nations. Yet the saints of God seek a “better country” (He.11:14-16). Re.11:15 “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord; and He shall reign forever.” Worldly kingdoms of man are delivered to Jesus. He’s the completely just King of kings (Re.19:16)! In the meantime, humanity will experience decadent govts to varying degrees. Lord Jesus…Thy Kingdom come!
Bible Topic Exposition 