Thoughts from Romans 13 (part 9)
“Yes, but I just want to know – in what circumstances can I disobey the government?”
Of course, in this day and age, that’s what a lot of people are asking. We know that sometimes it’s right, even our duty, to disobey. In fact, most governments of the world themselves will point to valiant men and women in history who have pushed back against the status quo, refused to obey unjust laws, and looked for a better way – most governments in the world would praise certain people in their country’s history who have done such things.
And as Christians, we all know that there are times in which a believer should do the same.
But we also know that our fallen nature has a natural bent against authority outside of ourselves. Jude speaks out against those who “reject authority” (Jude 7), and as we’ve seen, both Paul and Peter remind us to be subject to governing authorities. So we need to step carefully, being aware of our own rebellious tendencies. After all, do we always delight in obeying God from the heart?
And that brings up an important point. The government is not the only authority that we should submit ourselves to. Last time we talked about “spheres of authority” in the epistles. We learned that each of these “human institutions” (1 Peter 2:13) has its own responsibilities and limits, given by God.
And to go a little deeper, I think the Bible is clear that there may be times when we could disobey with a clear conscience, and yet maybe we still shouldn’t. For want of a better way to explain it in one sentence.
So I would say this – and don’t worry, we’ll go into this in more depth from God’s Word – when should we, or may we, disobey a human institution?
- When it asks us to do the wrong, or not to do the right.
- When it is operating outside of its God-given sphere of authority.
So regarding #2 – when the government takes authority that it should not, when it acts outside of the authority that God gives it, we may disobey – in some cases.
So let’s not rush – we’re not done with these issues yet. That’s only a simple summary.
We’ve already seen that in the Bible people like the priests or like the apostles have said “No!”. The apostles refused to obey when they were told not to preach in Jesus’ Name (a classic case of #1 from Acts 5:27-32). The priests even opposed their own king publicly when he tried to offer incense in the temple (a classic case of #2 from 1 Chronicles 26:16-18). And there are many more examples.
But let’s pause here again – even when we decide that we should not obey, we should still be subject – in the sense of treating the authority with respect wherever possible. And sometimes we even obey when the authority itself is disobeying God or simply being unwise (unless, of course, obeying means we are sinning ourselves).
Here’s an interesting example. The Romans – the pagan conquerors of Israel – would sometimes force a citizen to carry a message or some other item for them. They would have to carry it for a Roman mile, or about a kilometre and a half.
That’s just really not fair when you think about it. You may be in the middle of important business, or need of a doctor, and poof you now have to carry a message for your Gentile conquerors. But what did Jesus say? “…if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” (Matthew 5:41)
And so, out of generosity, or in love, or with a desire for peace, we may actually obey unjust laws. In fact, believe it or not, sometimes we actually should obey unjust laws!
Are there times to disobey? You bet. But that is not an excuse to have a rebellious attitude. That’s why Paul says,”be subject to the governing authorities”.
The next part of Romans 13 is very important in the context – yes, Lord willing, next time we will delve into the fascinating section about love!