“Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God” (Rom. 13:1). Many men in positions of power have had a special love for those words, and some of them have tried to use them as a proof text for their own unfettered political control, no matter how evil their regimes. A surface reading of this verse, without reasoning through its context, may seem to grant an unconditional blank check to rulers, signed by God. They are, after all, in authority, so they must be ordained by God!
First, let us observe that many rulers described in the Bible did not do God’s will and were overthrown by His power. Pharaoh in Ex. 3 through 14, Nebuchadnezzar in Dan. 4:31, Belshazzar in Dan. 5:30-31, and Herod in Acts 12:23 are just a few examples. King Saul is a particularly good illustration because many years passed between God’s rejection of his kingship (I Sam. 15:26) and his death (I Sam. 31:4). During that violent interlude his reign stumbled on without God’s authorization. Later, I Kings 12 records a rebellion in Israel resulting in a civil war and God-defying actions by two men both claiming to be king. At least one of the two would have to be regarded as being outside God’s authority and purpose from the very start of his reign.
These examples show that rulers must be obedient to God before they can fully claim the authority Paul attributes to them in Rom. 13. (See Backgrounder #1, Government: A Creation of God.) Certainly God can get His work accomplished even by unwitting rulers who think they are thwarting His will or who don’t care one way or the other. But it is immeasurably better when rulers willingly submit to the King of Kings.
David writes often in the Psalms about the obligation of kings to praise and serve God. Disobedient kings are warned in Ps. 2:10-12, 105:13-14, 135:10, and 149:7-8. Kings are reminded that their reigns are secured by trusting God in Ps. 21:7, 61:6-7, and 63:9-11. Psalm 72:10-11, 76:12, 102:15, 138:4 and 148:11-13 show that these principles apply not only Israel’s king, but to the kings of all nations.
Romans 13, then, gives the description of an ideal government, just as Prov. 21:1 describes the heart of an ideal king, “like channels of water in the Lord’s hand,” which He turns “whichever way He wishes.” God has ordained the concept of civil government, and can bless it in proportion to the obedience it gives Him.
Notice the statements that follow Rom. 13:1 which we know for certain are not always true of all governments:
- In 13:2, resisting civil authorities is the same as opposing the ordinance of God, but consider Acts 5:27-29, “We must obey God rather than men.”
- In 13:3-4, evil behavior, not good behavior, brings fear of the rulers, but consider I Peter 4:15-16 which recognizes a difference between legitimately suffering for crimes and unjustly suffering for Christian conduct. (This is after Peter has clearly agreed with Rom. 13 in I Pet. 2:13-14.)
- In 13:5-6, rulers are servants of God, but consider Matt. 10:24, “a servant is not above his master,” and Matt. 24:45-51, a parable in which a servant abuses his authority and is severely terminated.
All of this leaves Christians where they often find themselves on doctrinal issues, without cut-and-dried answers for each situation, but rather needing to find the godly balance among several possible conclusions. Do we obey our civil government? Always? If not, by what principle do we decide when to obey and when not to obey? Perhaps most difficult, do we ever go beyond “civil disobedience” of the Acts 5:29 variety and actually seek to replace our government with another? Could German Christians have done anything differently during the rise and rule of Adolph Hitler? Should they have? Were the American colonists, as subjects of the “rightful king of England,” justified in declaring and defending independence from that king and his nation? (See Backgrounders #33, The Declaration of Independence, and #54, Unalienable Divine Rights.) Are the privileges and obligations of Christians toward civil government in a participatory republic like America different from those of Christians in New Testament times under Roman rule?
First-generation Americans were determined that in an ideal Christian-based republic, citizens would never be required to choose between obeying God and obeying man. They were careful to base their laws on biblical principles and to require godly character and convictions in their leaders. (See Backgrounder #18, Is America a Christian Nation?) Other nations have rarely, if ever, been quite so blessed, and even the United States has fallen a long way from its original practice (cf. Rev. 2:5). Thus, most Christians who have ever lived have experienced the inconsistency between the godly servanthood model of government in Rom. 13 and the often-harsh realities of fallen civil government.
It is crucially important for Christians to pray the prayer of I Tim. 2:1-4, a prayer for the kind of government God wants, for our own benefit and the benefit of those who have not yet heard the gospel due to ungodly government. (See Backgrounder #17, I Tim. 2: Prayer, Politics and Evangelism.) And consistent with those prayers, American Christians have the extraordinary opportunity and responsibility of taking direct political action to bring about the evangelism-friendly civil government that God clearly desires. (See Backgrounder #34, Voting Like a Christian.)
For further study:
Gary DeMar,
God and Government: A Biblical and Historical Study, vol. 1,
(chapter 4),
1989, American Vision Inc., PO Box 220, Powder Springs, GA
30127
www.americanvision.org
Verna M.
Hall, The Christian History of the
American Revolution, chapter 5, “Arm of
Flesh or Arm of the Lord,” 1976, The
Foundation for American Christian Education,
Box 27035, San Francisco, CA
94127
www.face.net
John W.
Whitehead, The Separation Illusion,
chapters 1 and 8, 1977, Mott Media, Box
236, Milford, MI
48042
(out of print, but try www.buybackbooks.com/books/bookmap/109488.cfm
)
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