The Romance of Romans-Part 90
Michael
Because civil authority is an instrument of God for our good, we must
give to it what we owe it. Pay all your taxes and tariffs, show proper
respect to officers and officials, and honor all those in authority.
Don't accrue any "debt to society" by breaking your contracts and
commitments, but stay free to focus on giving to others what you truly
"owe" them- love. If you learn to love, you will fulfill the essence
and intent of God's moral law. Whatever specific commandment of God's
you can name- "You shall not commit adultery", "You shall not murder",
"You shall not steal", "You shall not give false testimony", "You
shall not covet", or any of the others; they all are rooted in the
concept of- "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." It is
impossible for genuine love to perpetrate an injustice toward others.
That's why it fulfills God’s moral law.
Comments:
Paul sets forth a basic conviction that God is sovereign over the
civil governments and works through them to bring order and justice to
a society. In most cases, civil laws can be obeyed as disciples of
Jesus navigate within our cultures by simply allowing "what does the
love of Christ look like" to inform our attitudes and actions. This
will lead to the conversion of some, or even many, and will also
introduce a necessary spiritual tension into the cultures in which we
live.
Of course, the matter of "civil disobedience" always come into view
when we take seriously Paul's teaching in Romans 13 and Peter's in 1
Pet 2:13-17--"Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority
instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority,
or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and
to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good
you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men,
but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants
of God. 17Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of
believers, fear God, honor the king."
What are, if there are any, the biblical limits to the biblical
submission to civil authorities? Following is a link to an excellent
article for further reading and some random quotes from some highly
regarded teachers that will help set some parameters for civil
disobedience from Scripture.
The Bible gives us numerous examples of civil disobedience in which
God's people sought to do what is right in obedience to God in spite
of violating a civil law or decree. The Hebrew midwives defy an order
by Pharaoh to kill all Hebrew males at birth, covering their action
with a half-truth to Pharaoh (Exodus 1:1 5ff). Rahab hides the
Israelite spies and refuses to surrender them to the messenger from
the king of Jericho (Josh. 2:1ff.) During several years of David's
life he and his band of followers are fugitives from Saul, the civil
authority of Israel (e.g. 1 Samuel 22). Daniel and his companions seek
and gain permission from an official under King Nebuchadnezzar to set
aside an assignment of the king to eat his delicacies and test their
health with a simpler diet (Daniel 1). Later Shadrach, Meschach, and
Abednego refuse to bow and worship King Nebuchadnezzar's image of gold
(Daniel 3). Then under King Darius, Daniel refuses to obey the decree
which prohibits prayer for 30 days to anyone except the king (Daniel
6). Likewise in the book of Esther, Mordecai refuses to kneel and pay
honor to Haman, disobeying the command of King Xerxes (Esther 3). In
all of these instances a supreme loyalty to God which includes his
plan for his people prompts them to set aside obedience to a civil law
in order to be obedient to the will of God.
http://www.epc.org/about-the-epc/pastoral-letters/civil-disobedience/
(This paper goes on to recount some examples from the New Testament
and puts forth some practical applications for followers of Christ.)
"So we believe that civil disobedience is justified only when
government compels us to sin, or when there is no legal recourse for
fighting injustice. The reason we draw the line there is simply
because all the scriptural examples of civil disobedience fall
squarely into those two situations. Any other kind of activism has no
precedent in the Word of God and violates the spirit of Romans 13 and
1 Peter 2." John MacArthur
[re. civil disobedience] "This can be for two main sorts of reasons:
when the state commands us to do that which the Bible forbids; or when
the state prohibits us from doing that which the Bible commands." D.
A. Carson
"...here is 'laid down the principle of civil and ecclesiastical
disobedience'. He continues, if the 'authority concerned misuses its
God-given power to command what he forbids or forbid what he commands,
then the Christian’s duty is to disobey the human authority in order
to obey God’s'"....John Stott
"It is rarely good for a Christian to disobey even a bad law. That is
why the Scripture so frequently urges Christians to obey even evil
governments and laws that create trouble for them. Still, there are
times when a Christian becomes thoroughly convinced that the total
welfare of others would be significantly better if he disobeyed rather
than obeyed a particular law. When that moment arrives he must obey
God rather than man. God has commanded him to be concerned for the
well-being of all human beings, and the well-being of human beings
demands disobedience to that particular law at that particular time.
The Christian in such a case must humbly, yet boldly, and with a
prayer to God for forgiveness if he has judged wrongly, disobey the
law and be willing to suffer the consequences of his disobedience."
Kenneth Kantzer