How Far Should Christians Go in
Obeying the Government?
Posted
by Clark Bates April 28, 2016
In
Romans 13 we read this, “Let every person be subject to the
governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God,
and those that exist have been instituted by God.”1
Often this passage accompanies a message of submission to the
government, and rightly so; but how far is this command meant to
extend? Are believers to be expected to submit to Sharia law in the
Middle East? Were they meant to kneel before the Nazi regime's
command to reveal all Jews hiding among them? Did not even the
Hebrew midwives violate this command under Pharaoh in Exodus?
To
ask this question closer to home, are believers being called to cease
from protesting the increased laws denying them religious freedom for
the sake of homosexual civil rights? For Christians, standing before
God with a right conscience is paramount, and we should all seek to
live in accordance to His will. Given the tumultuous political and
legal climate of the day, I'd like to seek a solution to this text
regarding “subjection to ruling authorities.” While there may
not exist a clear command for each instance, what follows is an
attempt to see the Word of God and the writings of the apostle Paul
in a clear fashion, so that Christians might understand what is
expected of them.
Romans 13:1-7
While
it has been argued that the “authorities” that Paul speaks of in
chapter 13 are spiritual powers, similar to those mentioned by the
apostle in Ephesians 6:12, the use of the Greek word exousia
(authority) in verses 1 and 2 synonymously with archontes
(ruler) in verse 3 clearly demonstrates that Paul is speaking of
earthly, human rulers.2
3
This being the case, the next word in need of definition in 13:1 is
“submit” or to “be in subject to” as the ESV translates it.
As is commonly the case, the use of hypotassso
(be in subjection to) in the New Testament indicates a position of
hierarchical status in which one is to be “under” another.4
In
the context, Paul is commanding Christians to recognize that they
stand under the authority of human rulers, be it, Caesar, King,
Pharaoh, or President. Paul's reasoning for this command is found in
verses 1, 2 and 4. No authority has been put in place outside of
that which God has placed there. Because of this, to disobey the
government is to disobey God. Romans 13:1-7 serves a twofold
purpose: to remind believers that the Christ-like character being
produced within them should be manifestly evident, preventing them
from needing to fear the government and producing the benefit of a
clear conscience (v.3-5); and to provide instruction regarding the
paying of taxes to the authorities, amplifying the words of Jesus
(Matthew 22:15-22) and likely a contentious subject matter for the
Roman congregation.
What
About....
How
can Paul make such a statement given the numerous wicked kingdoms and
rulers that have arisen throughout history? Even the history of the
apostles' own people, the Jews, is replete with wicked rulers and the
devastation they had caused. Worse still, Paul is commanding
subjection to the Roman church under Nero Caesar, the man who would
have them burned and eventually execute Paul himself! Such an order
seems ridiculous even to the ears of Westerners who serve under
relatively mild governmental restrictions, let alone to those who
serve under murderous despots.
The
very offense we may feel at the concept of Paul's command, in light
of evil and corrupt regimes throughout the world and the apostle's
own personal experience, should serve as an indicator that Romans 13
cannot stand without exception. Historically, this passage has never
been accepted to mean so causing scholars like Thomas Schreiner to
write, “This text is misunderstood if it is taken out of context
and used as an absolute word so that Christians uncritically comply
with the state no matter what is being demanded,” rather, “What
we have here is a general exhortation that delineates what is usually
the case: people should normally obey ruling authorities .”5
6
The
apostle, knowing his own people's history, was in no way so naive as
to think that there would be no Adolf Hitler's or Joseph Stalin's in
the world. The teaching he affirms in Romans 13 is merely a
reinforcement of that under which he was raised, that God raises up
and casts down human rulers for His own purposes.7
What's more, as stated above, the apostle is expounding upon the
teachings of his lord and master. However, in Romans 13 and all
other writings of Paul regarding subjection, the One who all must be
subject to is God. According to Douglas Moo, “What that means is
that we must always submit to those over us in light of our ultimate
submission to God.”8
This teaching is evidenced both in the actions of the other
apostles, Paul himself and those that followed after.9
Having
the context of both the writings of Paul and the actions of the
apostles, believers might legitimately infer that it is lawful in
God's sight to disobey ruling powers when they fail to carry out the
divine mandate toward good and evil. If a government is seeking to
force actions upon a populace that directly or overtly opposes the
clear teaching of God's Word, Christians would be right before the
Lord in resisting such regulations. That being said, how does that
appear in reality? Extreme examples are obvious in the modern age.
For example, Christians should not be expected, on the basis of
Romans 13, to submit to Islamic laws that might require them to
proclaim Allah as the one true God and Mohamed as his prophet.
Another example may be found in the case of a communist regimes
forced abortion policy, or the actions of those like Anne Frank or
Corrie Ten Boom in hiding Jews marked for extermination.
Conclusion
In
America, we do not have quite the black or white circumstances as are
seen in other parts of the globe. Because of this, the application
of biblical example becomes, shall we say, “muddy”. In the past,
biblical convictions led to the civil disobedience of Martin Luther
King Jr. and Andrew Young. It was biblical conviction that motivated
William Wilberforce to seek the end of slavery in England and
Dietrich Bonhoeffer to seek Hitler's destruction. Currently, the
West has experienced such disobedience in light of laws governing
religious freedoms and homosexuality. Tension is mounting regarding
similar transgender laws, and even farther back Christians of various
denominations have felt it their Christian conviction to oppose legal
matters such as the death penalty, immigration laws, and the
legalization of various forms of narcotics. In these matters there
are very few clear answers as to which form of disobedience is
God-honoring and which is self-righteous.
The
culture will always stand in opposition to the ways and teachings of
Christ. At no time should a believer expect to be accepted on the
basis of their beliefs. What must remain in the forefront of
Christians in light of civil engagement and possible disobedience is
the manner in which engagement is made and the reason for which it is
applied. While it may not be received as such, above all else a
Christian is called to love their enemy and honor God. If this has
been achieved, they may be able to stand, in the words of Paul, in
good conscience before God.
1Romans
13:1 (ESV)
2Ephesians
6:12 - “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against
the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over
this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the
heavenly places.” (ESV)
3Karl
Barth argued in his Epistle to the Romans
that these rulers were spiritual beings controlling earthly
governments. This argument was later picked up by Oscar Cullmann in
his The State in the New Testament
(Harper & Row, 1956) in which he argued that, according to Paul
in Romans, believers should only obey human governments insofar as
they are obeying their spiritual counterparts in following Christ.
Such an interpretation has been all but wholly rejected in modern
scholarship, however.
4i.e.
wives to husbands (Eph. 5:24; Col. 3:18); slaves to masters (Ti.
2:9, Eph. 6:%); prophets to other prophets (1 Cor. 14:32);
Christians to spiritual leaders (1 Cor. 6:16); and Christians to one
another (Eph. 5:21)/
5Thomas
R. Schreiner, Baker Exegetical Commentary of the New Testament:
Romans, (Grand Rapids: Baker
Academic, 1998), 687.
6For
a summary of the historical interpretation see, Wilckens, Der
Brief an die Romer, teilband 3: Rom 12-16,
(1982).
7Dn.
4:17, 25, 32; 2 Sm. 12:8; Jer. 27:5-6; Prv. 8:15-16; Is. 41:2-4;
45:1-7.
8Douglas
J. Moo, Encountering the Book of Romans,
(Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002), 186.
9In
the case of Peter and the others, Acts 5:20-29; in the case of Paul,
Acts 16:35-37; in the case of those who came after, most notably is
The Martyrdom of Polycarp
10.1-2.
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