“So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

What should be the relationship of followers of Jesus to the government? That is not such an easy question to answer. The answer seems like it should depend at least in part on who is running it. On the other hand, though, our basic attitude and approach should be consistent regardless of who exactly is in charge. The answer to the question will also be affected by the form of government we are talking about. Some invite more participation and input than others. The biggest impact on the question, though, comes from our understanding of what government even is in the first place. All of this needs to be in mind as we work through what Paul says next here. Join me as we do that today.

Paul starts here with a “so then,” which is equivalent to a “therefore,” which means that we have to process this passage in light of what came before it. And what came before it is what we talked about last Thursday in v. 1. Paul opened this whole section by declaring that God is the only source of authority there is. There is no authority in this world that doesn’t ultimately come from Him. If there is, then He is less than totally sovereign over the world He created. So, either He is not what the rest of the Scriptures describe Him as being, He is less than fully God, or all the authority in the world comes from Him. It’s one or the other, but not both.

That’s not an easy truth to grapple with because there have been some leaders over the course of human history who have made a pretty big mess out of the authority Paul insists He granted them. There have been leaders who were downright demonic in their aims and achievements. If God gave them the authority that Paul insists He did, what are we supposed to do with that?

Paul’s declaration forces us to reconcile with the knowledge and wisdom of God as well as His sovereignty. If He is the one who gave authority to people in positions of authority who turned around and used that gift to accomplish terrible, evil ends, doesn’t that make God complicit in their wicked deeds? Doesn’t it at least make Him extraordinarily unwise? Perhaps He doesn’t really know what the future holds?

You can perhaps see why this passage is just so challenging. This is more than just a reflection about our role with respect to the government as followers of Jesus. This is about the very nature and character of God. Fortunately, there are stories in the Scriptures themselves that help us work through all of this like the story of King Saul. The people wanted a certain kind of leader, so God allowed the people to have that leader. He told them through Samuel what having that kind of leader was going to be like, but they insisted they wanted it anyway, and so God gave it to them in order to teach them a lesson. Sometimes the most effective way to help a child learn a lesson is to let them do something you know isn’t going to be good for them, and to then experience the consequences that come with it.

We are children who have proven ourselves remarkably slow learners over the course of human history. God has given us the gift of making choices and exercising a measure of His authority over this world. He did that in the beginning when He created the world, created us, and then made us its stewards. As Paul said back in chapter 11, the gifts and callings of God are irrevocable. He doesn’t take them away simply because we misuse them. All authority comes from God. Period. He has given us a measure of that authority to exercise, and we occasionally (and by “occasionally,” I mean on far more occasions than we should) invest that authority in people who are unworthy and unfit to bear it. That’s on us, not God. God simply doesn’t save us from the consequences of our choices.

The real issue here, then, is not God’s wisdom or goodness or knowledge, but instead our wisdom and goodness and knowledge. If we would just stick more closely to the path He called us to walk, we wouldn’t create nearly as many problems for ourselves as we do.

I say all of that by way of introduction. The fact on which this next part rests is that God is the source of all the authority in the world. Submitting to governing authorities, then, is an act of submission to God. If that is the case, then “the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves.”

The connection between these two parts makes sense, right? And, to clarify, making sense and being something we like aren’t the same thing. If God is the one who has ultimately given the authority to the government authorities under which we operate in a given national context, then if we resist that authority, we are resisting the authority of God Himself which will naturally bring judgment. And, because God has granted a measure of His authority to the relevant governing authorities, they will be the ones to exercise that judgment. In other words, if you break the laws of the land you are living in, you are going to bear the consequences of that lawbreaking.

Okay, but what about laws that are unjust? What about when the government commands us to do something that expressly violates one of God’s commands? Isn’t that the obvious question here? Well, for starters, we have to carefully parse out when a particular law is a violation of God’s command and when it is merely a violation of our political preferences. That is, we have to clarify when God doesn’t like it and when it’s just us who doesn’t like it.

If the latter is really the issue (and it takes a lot of honesty for us to concede that point), then we need to get over it and obey the law. If we choose otherwise, we will bring judgment on ourselves. Now, if the particular governing system in which we are living allows us the ability to advocate for a change in laws, or even a change in the leadership itself, we are free to do that such that things fall more in line with our personal political preferences. But that still doesn’t give us moral cover for violating the laws that do exist until we see them legally and justly overturned.

If the former is truly the case, though, then we can in good conscience refuse to submit to it. Yet even if and as we do this, Paul’s words here are still in force. There will be consequences. There will be judgment. It may only be the justice and judgment of man and not God, but God is not likely to rescue us from it in the moment. He may shield us from the worst of it somehow, but there’s no guarantee of that.

Martin Luther King, Jr. did this with respect to the laws mandating unjust racial segregation in the South in the 1950s and 1960s. That he did what he did matters, of course, but how he did it matters a great deal more. He made clear that he was doing what he did because of his greater and prior commitment to Christ. Then, he went about resisting the illegitimate exercise of legitimately instituted authority with the character of Christ as His guide. He was peaceful. He was nonviolent. He was respectful. He was kind and patient and gentle and gracious. He thundered against unjust laws, but He called for intentional submission to those who sought to enforce them even when their efforts to enforce them were vile and unjust themselves.

He knew there would be a price to pay for resisting the authorities. He knew he would face judgment for his efforts. But he also knew that the laws he was opposing were unjust, and so he submitted himself to the ultimate justice of God even where the justice of man was going to be against him, trusting that he would come out alright in the end. Given his legacy, I would say he did. In doing so, he provided a great model for us to follow today. Unfortunately, not many do. Too many of our protests today from both the political right, but especially the political left, which has pretty thoroughly shed any sort of religious framework to uphold its moral structure, are not pursued from out of a submission to God’s righteousness, but rather little more than personal political preference.

When advancing our interests is the only real aim of our efforts, achieving God’s ends in God’s ways is not going to be the result. Disorder, chaos, and destruction will typically be the primary outcome. Nobody wins in that contest.

If you are a follower of Jesus, practice godly submission to the authorities under which you operate. Be a good and conscientious citizen. The fact is that most of the laws that govern your life are not unjust or illegitimate. Because that is the case, your best bet is to submit to them even if you don’t like them or the people who enacted them. Work freely to change them if you so desire, demonstrating your fidelity to the character of Christ as you do, but submit to them in the meantime as a function of your larger and prior submission to God’s authority. This will bring glory to God and make your own life a fair bit easier too. That’s a win all around.