Submission to Civil Authority

Reading – Romans 13:1-10; 1 Tim.2:1-8
This text is God’s answer to the anti-authority spirit of this age. These verses give us a framework for understanding how Christians should relate to the various authority structures. Wherever you find a human institution, there you will find people in authority and people under authority.
Those to whom Peter wrote lived with a government and society that was not favourable toward the Christian faith. It was not until the fourth century, under Constantine, that Christianity was afforded official legitimacy.
Peter has just stated the general principle that Christians are not permanent residents here, but are pilgrims journeying toward heaven. It would have been easy for his readers to conclude that we therefore have no civic responsibility here on earth. Perhaps they would have concluded that they could disobey human government, since they were citizens of heaven, not of this earth.
So Peter anticipates this wrong conclusion by showing how Christian citizens live.
[I] THE PRINCIPLE—SUBMIT TO ALL HUMAN AUTHORITY13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him.
Submission means obedience. It is a military term that means to “get in line.” Even if we don’t like it, we are to “get in line” anyway. There is an inborn dislike for authority in all humans. We are rebels by nature.
A minister, pressed for time and not finding a parking space, parked in a no parking zone and put a note on his windscreen: “I have circled the block 10 times. I have an appointment to keep. Forgive us our trespasses.” When he returned, he found a ticket along with this note: “I’ve circled this block for 10 years. If I don’t give you a ticket, I lose my job. Lead us not into temptation.”
The fact is, we all live under multiple layers of authority, and it’s very likely that we won’t care for some of those people and for the laws they pass and the rules they make. There will always be …Leaders we don’t trust, laws we don’t like, and taxes we don’t want to pay.
When Israel were in exile in Babylon, their situation was like that of Christians today - exiles looking to their promised land. God told Jeremiah to tell the exiles to build houses there, plant gardens, take wives and raise children. Then He added, 29:7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." That’s good counsel for Christians in this world: seek and pray for the welfare of the places where we live and to be good citizens.
Before Peter wrote this letter, Paul had already taught submission to government: Rom. 13:1–4 Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.
One objection that might be raised to this teaching relates to unjust rulers. Submission can be hard enough when you have a good government, a fair employer. But what if your boss is unfair and the authorities won’t listen?
Peter’s words still apply? He and Paul both lived in the openly decadent Roman Empire—a society infamous for government corruption, abuse, immorality, and violence, neither apostle encouraged believers to defy civil authority.
Peter knew Pilate washed his hands of Jesus' murder. He knew Herod Antipas executed John the Baptist as a dancing prize. He was a boy when he heard that Herod the Great had killed all the children in Bethlehem.
So Peter was not naïve about the vicious world of government corruption and wickedness. If Peter could command the Christian community of his time to honour their rulers, then how much more must we honour our rulers who are not in that category—even though they may endorse acts which we regard as wrong.
We cannot make exceptions to the biblical principle of obedience to government authority based on how bad the ruler or laws may be.
Throughout history there have been various acts of civil disobedience and different subversive attempts to overthrow governments in which Christians have been a party. Scripture nowhere condones such actions. On the contrary, the biblical command is simple; submit to civil authority, regardless of its nature.
Georgy Vins the Unregistered Baptist leader in the days of communism was asked, what do the Russian Christians do to protest when the government, does things that they don't believe are right? He replied we have a basic unwritten law that everyone lives by in the church in Russia and that is, that if any Christian is ever arrested, he will be arrested for proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, nothing less. Not for protesting or something else.
Yun a famous Chinese Christian was converted during the Cultural Revolution – and later came to the West to find us praying for downfall of Communism. This was his response ‘we never pray against our government, instead we have learned that God is control of both our lives and the government we live under. God has used China’s government for His own purposes, instead of focusing our prayers against any political system we pray that regardless of what happens to us we will be pleasing to God. Don’t pray for the persecution to stop , pray that we may have a stronger back to carry the load, then the world will see God is with us, empowering us in a way that reflects his love and power. ‘Heavenly Man’ p287 That’s what I call biblical wisdom and godly grace!
Civil authority is from God, though the individual rulers may be godless. All forms of government, from dictatorships to democracies, are led by fallen sinners, so we must not expect believers to have special protection.
[2] THE PRACTICAL REASON – RULERS RESTRAIN EVIL & PROMOTE JUSTICE AND PEACE governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.
God's Design for Government is to dam up the river of evil that flows from the heart of man so that it does not flood the world with anarchy.
Even unreasonable, evil, harsh rulers and oppressive systems are far better than anarchy. Look at places like the Congo, Somalia, Lebanon not so long ago, parts of Iraq, its gang warfare, the law of the jungle.
Governments promote justice and peace by upholding law and order and by maintaining reasonable national defence. Paul writes in Romans 12: For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. The state is to restrain evil, use punishments, to bring about justice for all and promote the public good.
The real debate is, which morality should we legislate? In a democratic, pluralistic society, if a law would only be accepted by those who believe the bible, we need to be careful not to push it, even if it is biblical. But we can work to legislate many biblical standards which have broad social value and can be argued for apart from an appeal to the Bible. Many right laws can be argued for on the grounds of basic human rights, apart from Christianity.
Most unbelievers recognize the inherent “fairness” of the Golden Rule. We can use this standard as the basis for law.
Government should uphold laws supporting morality. Laws against murder and theft are moral and biblical. Laws against racial discrimination reflect the biblical teaching that God is no respecter of persons. Laws should protect citizens from being harmed by the sins of others. The fact that something is illegal will restrain many who otherwise may be tempted to engage in the particular activity.
A result of promoting justice will be peace and order in society. 1 Timothy 2: 1 ¶ I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
We should pray that the government will maintain national defence, so that we are not overrun by powers that would rob us of our peace and liberty. And that the government will not interfere with our religious liberty.
[3] THE INTERNAL REASON—FOR THE LORD’S SAKE for the Lord’s sake
The motive for submission is that there is a direct connection between the people in authority over us, and God who is the ultimate authority. Authorities exist as they are and where they are by God’s permission. They could not rule apart from God. This means that submission to authority is really an aspect of our submission to Christ. Jesus himself said, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” Luke 6:46. Christians obey because they desire to honor God’s sovereign authority.Obedience “for the Lord’s sake” is because we know that He is watching over us even when we think the command we are obeying is needless.
Robert Culver wrote in A Biblical View of Civil Government: ‘God alone has sovereign rights.… by whatever means men come to positions of ruling—by descent, family connection, wealth, or by democratic election, “there is no power but of God” Rom. 13:1. Furthermore, civil government is an instrument, not an end.
Believers also submit in order to imitate Christ’s example of obedient submission to His Father. Christ lived under the unjust rule of the Jewish and Roman authorities, yet He never opposed their right to rule. He denounced their sins, but never sought to overturn their authority.
Jesus never led demonstrations against injustice or engaged in any act of civil disobedience. Instead of being preoccupied with political and social reform, Christ always focused on matters relating to His kingdom.
There were all kinds of abuses in the time of John Wesley. Wesley's protest against that was always a spiritual one, using the Word of God and prayer. What a tremendous impact that that had.
God is pleased when people associate Christians with spiritual graces rather than protests against human institutions. When the Lord said, “My kingdom is not of this world” John 18:36, He defined the sphere of believers’ calling and duty—to focus ministry efforts on matters related to His spiritual and eternal rule.
[4] THE EXTERNAL REASON—TO SILENCE FOOLISH PEOPLE 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.
When we disobey the law, all the excuses in the world don’t matter.The reason Christians ought to submit to every authority is quite clear—such conduct muzzles the mouths of the gospel’s critics. It is making it impossible for that person to criticise. The people who need to be silenced are those who are hostile to the truth. Integrity and purity of life are all effective character tools to silence the enemies of Christ. Paul commanded Titus to tell believers on Crete this: Titus 3:1–3 Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. When Christians live like that in the middle of a godless culture, it is a powerful testimony. On the other hand, when professing Christians disrespect authority, when they disobey the law, it gives opportunity for those who are prone to criticize Christianity.
Such upright conduct and good citizenship is especially necessary for church leaders. The man “must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach” 1 Tim. 3:7; Titus 1:6. That unimpeachable testimony before those who reject the gospel enables the grace of Christ to be seen.
An American pastor found a man doing business on a cash only and told him he was a thief, a lawbreaker, a violator of the Scriptures. He got very angry and said, "You're a lawbreaker, too!" "Maybe said the pastor, "but I don't sit around planning how I'm going to break the law."
Packer wrote, “It is a paradox of the Christian life that the more profoundly one is concerned about heaven, the more deeply one cares about God’s will being done on Earth”. Sir Frederick Catherwood, MEP put it: “To try to improve society is not worldliness, but love. To wash your hands of society is not love but worldliness”. Christian citizens should be good citizens.
God uses civil government to accomplish His purposes, so it is not wrong for Christians to be involved in the politics, but evangelism is His primary means of dealing with world problems and bringing lasting change. If we get sidetracked into winning political victories for our cause, but do not win men and women to Christ, we ultimately fail.
[5] THE MOTIVATAL REASON—SUBMISSION BRINGS FREEDOM 16 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.
Living under authority is the greatest freedom of all. It provides protection, direction and security. Peter cautions those who are free in Christ to not use that spiritual freedom as a covering for the evil of not submitting to rulers.
Submission for most of us involves a struggle to do something we don’t want to do, or something we don’t think is necessary, or to follow instructions from a person we don’t respect. At that point, there are two dangers we face:
A] We will say too much. Proverbs 10:8, “The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin.” How many times have children got into trouble for answering back. I did when I was young and once had the gym shoe applied to my hindquarters for my trouble.
B] We will begin to make excuses. We’ll say things like, “I don’t agree so I don’t have to submit,” or “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,”.
Jesus said, in Matt.5:41 If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. In order that the royal commands might be delivered with safety to different parts of the empire, the Romans stationed people or horsemen at intervals on all the great public highways. One of those delivered the message to another, and so messages were passed on. These heralds were permitted to compel anyone, or commandeer any animal or boat that they might need. It was to this custom that our Saviour refers. Rather, says he, than resist a public authority, requiring your attendance, go peaceably another mile." Why? To show you are free. You are not compelled to do it, but do it willingly - for your state, and for those who represent your state.
Submission is not blind obedience. Because it is an attitude of the heart, sometimes we will disagree and will make our disagreement known forcefully. Sometimes we must speak out against those things that we know are wrong.
Stephen, the first Christian martyr, is a compelling role model of submission to earthly authority. Acts 6: describes his confrontation with the authorities and his amazing reaction to those unjust accusations: Stephen’s convicting words infuriated them, but his reaction to their violent rejection of him and his preaching was one of submission and humble, unwavering faith:
The way Stephen humbly submitted to injustice and persecution undoubtedly made some contribution to Saul of Tarsus’s bring transformed from hateful persecutor to faithful apostle of Jesus Christ.
[6] THE APPLICATION—ALL PEOPLE DESERVE RESPECT 17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honour the king.
Political satire is accepted fare, some of the things politicians do invite it! Even Jesus called Herod a fox, so there may be some basis for criticising certain political leaders. But we need to be careful to promote respect for government.
Titus 3:1-2, “Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be uncontentious, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.” Note how specific he is, there are no exceptions. Whether that is the government at Westminster, or Medway Borough Council, or the Inland Revenue, or the Department of Transport, or copyright laws, the police or the principal at the school you attend. Jesus Himself commands Matt. 22:21 Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.
You do not accomplish in society anything for God when you violate what God has designed for the good of society.
We ministers talked about Evolution and students recently and were reminded that we should encourage our young people to debate it, but with respect to the teacher, otherwise the gospel will be discredited.
Robert Haldane wrote that the people of God ought to consider resistance to the government as a very awful crime because it shows Christians in hostility and rebellion. That's not honouring to God. To see us in peace and graciousness, in kindness obedience, submissiveness, humility, that honours our Lord.
Peter summarises his citizenship theology—into four practical dimensions of life.
Believers are to honor all people, they are to love the brotherhood, they are to fear God, and honor the king, which brings the issue full circle.
[7] THE EXCEPTION - Is it right for Christians to participate in a revolution to overthrow a government? Is it ever right to be involved civil disobedience?
There are times when as a last resort, human laws may have to be broken. There is a fine balance that Christians must maintain. Submission to lawful authority is not an excuse for violating God’s commandments.
There may come times when certain laws passed by the government will conflict with the law of God. If the government tries to force us to disobey God, we are responsible to speak out against evil and appeal to the authorities.
If all that fails, we disobey the government and may suffer the physical, emotional and legal consequences. Accepting punishment is part of the attitude of humble submission to authority. Calvin InstitutesIV:XX:31the only command given to Christians is obey & suffer. Daniel prayed to God, not the king, in open defiance of a law to pray only to the King. He was thrown in the lions den for breaking this law, but was delivered by God. He was willing to lose his life rather than obey that law of the land.
In Acts 4, where the disciples were forbidden to mention the name of Jesus again, Peter's response was, "We must obey God rather than man." When the asked to do the opposite of what God commands, you have no choice but to disobey and bear your punishment.