“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, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.” (Romans 13:1-7 ESV)
Let’s compare this passage of Scripture to a few others so that we have the correct biblical context and balance on this subject.
“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.’” (Matthew 23:1-3 ESV)
We are to obey the authorities over us with the exception that we are not to follow their examples in doing what is evil and against God. So, if any authority commands that we must obey them and not God, we are to obey God rather than the human authorities.
“And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, ‘We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.’ But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.’” (Acts 5:27-32 ESV)
Here is yet another example showing that we are not to obey the authorities over us if they are commanding that we go against God and against the authority of the Scriptures and that we not preach the true gospel of Christ.
“And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads… One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast… Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them… Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed… This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.” (Revelation 13 select verses ESV)
We who believe in Jesus Christ need to have the discernment of God in recognizing these “beasts” so that we do not follow them in undivided loyalties and devotion to our deaths. We are not to take the “mark of the beast,” which may end up being some kind of physical mark or a chip or whatever, but more importantly we are not to take its mark (influence, characteristic, attribute, dishonor, contamination) on our minds, hearts, beliefs, emotions, and practices. We must follow Jesus’ example.
For, if Jesus Christ was in complete compliance with the authorities over him on this earth, they would not have hated him. They would not have plotted evil against him. And they would not have put him to death. But Jesus always submitted in obedience to God the Father first and foremost, even if it meant doing what the authorities told him he was not to do, such as healing people on the Sabbath, which was his regular practice. And Jesus had some strong words of accusation against those authorities, too.
And then we have the example of Daniel who refused the edict that said he could not pray to his God. He prayed anyway, just as he had always done. And he was thrown into a den of lions. But God rescued him. And then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were commanded to bow down to a golden statue, but they refused, so they were put in a fiery furnace. But God saved them out of that fiery furnace. And we must follow their example, even if it means our deaths or false accusations or whatever.
Basically, if the governing authorities over our heads require that we do anything contrary to the commandments of our Lord, we must refuse to obey them, regardless of the cost to us. And this is why we must be students of the Scriptures who study them in their full context, so that we know what the Scriptures teach us so that we will then obey the Lord over and above obedience or loyalty to any human authority. And we must pray much for discernment so we don’t end up following “the beast.”
[Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 24:11-14; Luke 6:26; John 10:1-15; Romans 16:17-19; 2 Corinthians 11:3,13-15; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 3:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 John 4:1-6; Jude 1:1-25]
But let me add here that we are not required of God to submit to any man (or woman) who calls himself a “pastor” if he is not following the Scriptures and if he is teaching what is false, for he is not anointed of God, and therefore he has no biblical authority over us. But if we find ourselves in a position to where we cannot submit to any “pastor” over any “church” congregation, then we should depart from there. For the Scriptures teach us that we are not to be in partnership and fellowship with the ungodly who are those who are going against God and his Word.
[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
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His grace and peace to all who dwell there.
