Encounters With Civil Authorities

Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said,
“We ought to obey God rather than men.” - Acts 5:29

Peter and the apostles are in jail again being reprimanded by the Sanhedrin: “We gave you strict orders not to teach in Jesus name, didn’t we? Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to bring this man’s blood on us!” And of course, the apostles respond with civil disobedience by very straightforwardly announcing that they would obey God – not man!

The Sanhedrin neither liked nor did they welcome the apostles in Jerusalem because the reception of the Gospel by the multitudes was toppling their spiritual leadership. If the people had ignored the apostles’ preaching, the Sanhedrin would not have cared what the apostles did. But clearly the people were excited over the miracles and receptive to the message of Life in Jesus. Peter had become so popular among the people that the arresting officers were actually afraid to touch him. Now put yourself in Peter’s sandals and try to imagine a similar scenario today. Would civil disobedience be the “right thing to do?” What would you do?

Those who call themselves Christians today can harm the testimony of true Christianity by the way they behave toward civil authorities. Believers are to set their affections and priorities on Christ, and His Word, but they are also to be godly and obedient citizens in society. Sometimes it’s a fine line. Peter tells us (in I Peter 2:13) “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution.” He was commanding believers to respect civil authority. And in I Timothy 2:1-3, Paul instructs us to pray “for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life.” Quite a contrast from Peter’s defiance toward the Sanhedrin. Where do you draw the line?

First, we need to acknowledge that God is in control of all situations and that He has ordained civil authority. (Romans13:1-7) So when a Christian submits to civil authority, he/she is obeying God. When civil authorities say, (for example) “We’re raising the Minnesota sale tax to 21.5% to fund highway maintenance,” and this does not violate the teaching of God’s Word, we should obey with meekness and without speaking evil of anyone. (Titus 3:1-3) It is sad when those who name Christ defy the very government He ordained. His Kingdom just does not benefit from disobedience. Even if we disagree!

The one exception is if civil authorities tell us to do something that would violate God’s Word. In Acts 4:18 the Sanhedrin commanded Peter and John “not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.” We know that Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19-20 that we have authority to teach and make disciples of all men.” And we know what happened to Peter. As Christians we must stand for Christ and His Word and be willing to suffer the consequences. But we must be careful not to go beyond the teaching of God’s Word. The early church did submit itself to the extremely pagan Roman government, realizing that God had ordained it. What about you? Are you willingly submitting to our God ordained government?

– Pastor Mark

(21.5% sales tax?! See Romans 13:6-7.)