“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. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval,” -Romans 13:1–3
The reason Paul exhorts the believers to obey authority is because God has ordained it, and ordained it toward a particular end—justice. Authority is ordained by God for judging bad conduct. And, assuming, as Paul does here, the authority is fulfilling its purpose, it is in the best interest of the believer to obey. Obeying the authority will earn the approval of the magistrate.
To put this exhortation in a contemporary context, it is good and right for the believer to obey the traffic laws, pay their taxes, and support civil policies that are designed to serve the greater good, even if the believer is not fully in support of a particular program. As a matter of fact, Christians should be the best examples of this as far as they are able.
But here is the rub. Sometimes the magistrate legislates and/or attempts to execute unjust laws. Laws that promote evil instead of good. When the lower authority contradicts the higher authority, we have an obligation to obey, and thus receive the approval of, the higher authority (God)—even at the expense of the disapproval and punishment of the lower authority.
Examples of such cases abound throughout history: when the apostles were commanded to stop preaching in the name of Jesus, they did so anyway, and were beaten and jailed for it (Acts 5:29); when the early Christians were told to offer incense to Caesar (an act of total submission) or be thrown in the arena, many died untimely, cruel deaths in the jaws and claws of wild animals.
May we always be found seeking the approval of the highest authority.
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