Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome:
“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. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake” (Romans 13:1 – 5, NKJV).
There is a parallel passage of Scripture written by Peter:
“Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men – as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king” (1 Peter 2:13 – 17).
Notice that both Paul and Peter were ministering the Gospel during the Roman Empire. Jesus, as well as both Paul and Peter were executed under the Roman Empire. Therefore whatever they said they had to live it out.
Out of the above passages, we may select three statements that are particularly significant:
1. There is no authority but by the act of God.
2. They are God’s agents working for your good.3. They are God’s agents for punishment.
The apostles addressed these words specifically to Christians. They stated that government is established by an act of God. How that government will affect Christians depends upon the attitude and conduct of the Christians.If Christians are walking in obedience to the will of God, then the government and its officers “are God’s agents working for their good”. But if Christians are disobedient and not walking in the path of God’s will, then the government and its officers become “God’s agents of punishment”. In other words, Christians get the kind of government they deserved.
All authority is in the Hand of Jesus
After the resurrection of Jesus He came and spoke to His disciples:
“All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18).
Concerning Jesus Paul said, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power” (Col. 2:9, 10, emphasis added).
Being the Head of all principality and power Jesus has all authority.
Government Authority and our prayer
Every earthly government has the authority to rule because God had appointed and given them the authority. We are not talking about the person (righteous or unrighteous) who occupies the seat of the office of certain government, but about the actual office itself. Both Paul and Peter said behind the office of the Government authority is God’s authority. Our relationship, as Christians, to the office ultimately depicts our relationship with God.
Because not all Governments are necessarily good Paul instructed Timothy to have the Local Church which he called God’s house (1 Tim. 3:14, 15) to pray for a good Government (1 Tim 2:1 – 4). We may sum up this passage of Scripture in a series of logical steps:
1. The first ministry of the Local Church in regular fellowship is prayer.
2. The first specific topic for prayer is the government.
3. We are to pray for good government.4. God desires all men to have the truth of the Gospel preached to them.
5. Good government facilitates the preaching of the Gospel, while bad government hinders it.6. Therefore, good government is the will of God.
The need to subject to bad Government authorityA question arises – What happens when an ungodly, wicked man or a persecutor is occupying a position of high authority in the Government? Let us consider two appropriate examples:
Jesus and Pilate
Jesus gave us a good pattern to follow, because He encountered the above problem!
Pilate confronted Jesus who claimed to be the King of the Jew. Jesus answered him:
“My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jew; but now My kingdom is not from here” (John 18:36).
Jesus revealed a very important basis spiritual principle – The Kingdom of God is never established by carnal weapons. It is not that we should not use carnal weapons. But, the Kingdom of God is not established by fighting.
All Christians are citizens of two Kingdoms – We are citizens of the Kingdom of God and also the citizens of our own country. As citizens of our own country it may be our responsibility to fight. But we are not establishing the Kingdom of God by our fighting.
The Lord said to Zerubbabel, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit” (Zech. 4:6).
In other words, there is only one power in the Kingdom of God – The Spirit of God.
Pilate told Jesus that he had the power to crucify Him. But Jesus answered him:
“You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin” (John 19:11).
Here is another remarkable statement made by Jesus. Jesus pointed out that Pilate had a lesser sin than the Jewish High Priest who delivered Jesus to him. The High Priest had no authority at all to do that. But, Pilate even though wicked, had the authority. Jesus showed that he had tremendous respect for secular authority – even for the authority used unjustly against Him! He did not resist Pilate.
Peter and other apostles and the High Priest
Peter and other apostles were put on trial by the Jewish High Priest. He said to them:
“Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name?” (Acts 5:28, emphasis added).
What a remarkable statement – The High Priest said “this name” instead of “Jesus’ Name”!
But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
The apostles had a specific mandate, a command of Jesus Christ to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). The apostles were merely obeying Jesus even thought the High Priest told them not to do. In a way, they were saying they could not stop preaching Jesus – “You can do what you like with us but we would not obey you”. Notice that they did not stage a revolution, stage marches nor hold protests, but just simply submitted to unjust treatment!
What did they do while submitting to the unjust authority? They sang, they preached, and they testified. By their submission they opened the way for God to help them – God vindicated them!
Christians and conscience
Let us refer back to Romans 13:5, “Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience sake”.
The question is, “What if the ruler (the one in authority) demands that I do something which I cannot do with a clear conscience"? The answer is, “I refuse to do it”. But, you submit by saying that “I would not do that, but you can do what you like with me”. You disobey the authority but you would not give up your submission.
Peter said, “And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed” (1 Peter 3:13, 14).
Concerning the faithful followers of Christ, John said:
“And they overcame him (the accuser of our brethren) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death” (Revelation 12:11, NKJV, emphasis added).
In other words, for them it is more important to do the will of God than to stay alive!
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