So in your opinion, God put Trump in a place of governmental authority, yet he is not the servant of God for our good? How do reconcile the two?
He is a part of the US government which is the minister of Good for His good, but he is not THE ruler or THE minister of God. In the US government, the president is not "the ruler" but rather part of overall governmental system that acts as a ruler. Anything Trump says can be as a part of that ruling system with authority or without authority.
So, for example, if Trump signs an executive order as he is authorized to do within the government then he is acting in his role as part of the minister of God and I absolutely subject myself to that order. But when he says something outside of his role within the government, especially something that directly defies God's law, like to walk over to the Capitol and fight, I will absolutely not obey that order.
I think it's odd that you would think a ruler should be 100% listened to in anything he says; the Bible clearly talks about the ruler's authority in terms of justice, not as a god to be obeyed in all things.
I think it's odd that you are saying that I "would think a ruler should be 100% listened to in anything he says" since i never said any such thing. Here, you're arguing against words you are putting in my mouth instead of what I have actually said. Maybe it's not so odd after all - I'm sure it's much easier than arguing against what I have actually said.
I also find it odd that you think the President of the US is THE minister of God and that the rest of the US government all falls under him or is separate from him. The US Government is designed as an organization made up of 3 co-equal branches of government. The president isn't the supreme ruler (although one of the most powerful) and the president can be overruled by the Congress or Supreme Court. So why would I obey everything a president, including Trump, says? We are subject to the US government, not to one person who is in it. We don't have one person who is "the ruler", we have a system. Why do I have to explain this to you?
If that is the case, going back to something you said earlier, Fauci might not be a servant of God for our good either (to be clear, I don't believe Fauci has any governmental authority at all). But you seem to think he does, and we should listen to him because God put him in place. Yet you wouldn't listen to Trump, though God put him in place as well. Do you think we only listen those that align with our personal beliefs?
So then let me clarify myself. Fauci, like Trump, is one person in the government. The government is our ruler. When Fauci's recommendations are put into enforceable law then we are to obey that law. What many who want to rebel against the law iike to do is point to Fauci, as he is an advisor and NOT someone wh makes laws, and then use this as a reason to disobey and rebel against what he has said. But whatever Fauci has said that the government ultimately turns into enforceable regulation or law is to be obeyed, not simply because Fauci said it, but because the government has made it enforceable.
You seem to want to tie the US government down to one person or another. You want me to accept Trump as the ruler and reject Fauci as the ruler when all along I never saw either as the ruler. I see them as two people who are part of the larger system which is the government, which is our ruler.
If the government is overstepping the authority given them by God, He does not require us to obey them. They are going outside the authority of God, therefore they are in disobedience to God. When they are not obeying Gods laws, we are not required to obey them, because we obey God before man.
The government only oversteps their authority when they demand something that will directly go against God. Yes, in those cases we are to obey God over the government.
What does that have to do with vaccine passports being necessary to get a beer in a bar? Nothing.
You are correct that the government was wrong to jail Paul, and that he could have escaped. But why didn't he? It wasn't because he was required to obey the government where they had disobeyed God. It was because of what God had called him to do, and really any of us who are Christians. Should I ever be in the same situation as Paul, I would choose to not escape, not because I was bound to obey the government in the matter, but because as Christians, persecution is not something to be afraid of; in fact, it is painted in an honorable light. Paul was able to convert the jailer and his family because he stayed, because of the testimony he was able to give and show.
What was the testimony of Paul's actions in not escaping? What was so impressive about that to the jailer? The testimony of the Gospel was exemplified in Paul and Silas' obedience to the Lord in that they remained obedient to the governmental authority. What if they stayed to witness to the jailer while telling the jailer, "hey, look, before we run away we have to share the Gospel with you, in obedience to God - but understand that we're only sticking around for that and after that we're gonna run! HAHA, We're FREEEE!!!!"
Their obedience to the Lord in subjecting to governmental authority was the testimony of the Gospel exemplified in their behavior and was part of their ability to lead that jailer to Christ. Had they simply preached the Gospel while escacping from the jail in defiance of governmental authority it's hard to believe the jailer would have still converted. As St. Francis of Assisi said, "Preach the Gospel at all times; if necessary, use words."
