God's Authority on Earth

It’s really no secret that our most recent elections here in America have stirred up quite a bit of emotion on both sides of every debate in our country, just as they always do.  There are people weighing in from every corner of the world and people are being affected inside and outside of our borders.  This is nothing new for our democracy, though.  These same tensions and divides and problems have been around since the very beginning of our country and will not go away no matter who is elected or what decisions they make in office.  It’s just the nature of human imperfection and there will never be a perfect president, governor, congressman, policeman, teacher, preacher, or parent. But we have a perfect King.

There are Christians on either side of every debate and most use some sort of scriptural basis for whatever it is that they might believe and, sometimes, it’s a good, meaningful verse.  A lot of times though, people on both sides of the struggle pull verses out of context to try and prove whatever their point is and bring people to their side.  Others don’t use any kind of scriptural basis, but rather think that arguing and fighting will somehow make a difference for their beliefs.  There are people on both sides of the isle, some who claim to be Christians and some who claim to follow other beliefs and others who don’t claim to follow any belief pattern at all, who think that hurting people will help them get their way.  With all of the confused, angry, and hurting people, it’s often difficult to know what is right, what is wrong, and how to react to the things that are happening around us everyday.  Thankfully, as Christians, we have somewhere to turn.

Believe it or not, the Bible has a lot to say about our earthly authorities and governments. Thank God it doesn’t say anywhere that our governments or the people in them will ever be perfect, but there are several insights and commandments given throughout that will help us understand how God desires for us to react to each situation we might encounter in the broken, sinful world we live in.

I call attention first to the second chapter of First Peter.  Here, we find that the recipients of Peter’s letter were having similar difficulties with an imperfect governing body.  1 Peter 2:13-15 reads “Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.”  In simple terms, God doesn’t care if we agree with every decision someone in authority over us makes. He doesn’t care if we did or didn’t vote for them or if we wanted someone else to win the primaries. These verses don’t say “Be subject for justice’s sake to the human institutions that make decisions you agree with”, they don’t say “Be subject for your ego’s sake to the human institutions when your candidate won”; they say “Be subject for the LORD’S SAKE to EVERY human institution”. This doesn’t leave much up for interpretation.

At the time that many of these verses were written, Christians were being severely oppressed and persecuted by the Roman empire - the governing body that many were living under.  Despite the terrible treatment and the laws being made in attempt to eradicate Christ’s followers, we are commanded to respect the governing authorities.  Just look at Romans 13:1-5 which says “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.”  This was written to a people who were being terrorized and murdered by their government officials.  Any human authority placed over us is set in place by the God who has all authority (see Matthew 28:18) and we know that this is true as all scripture comes from God Himself (2 Timothy 3:16).

Jesus Christ Himself commanded His followers to obey and respect the governing authorities in Matthew 22:20-21.  Here we see Him teaching the people that they should obey the law by paying their taxes to the oppressive Roman empire while still obeying God’s commands, and that is what is asked of us as well.  I know that many people have felt under every administration that they have been oppressed or wronged in some way.  People feel that way now under President Trump, they felt that way under President Obama, under President Bush, under President Clinton, and even under the greats like Presidents Lincoln and Washington.  Each and every president has made decisions that angered people of this country and have even been considered by some to be an enemy.  Christ spoke on our interactions with our enemies in a precise way that cannot be questioned: “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

When we feel wronged by those in power over us, there are several scriptures that teach us a godly reaction to these instances: Romans 12:17 which says “Do not repay evil for evil, but do what is right in the eyes of all”, 1 Peter 2:18 tells us, as servants of our country, to “be subject to (our) masters with all respect, not only the good and gentle but also to the unjust”, Romans 12:18-19 commands “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.”

We’re not asked to agree with everything the governing authorities decide or say, but we are asked to respect them and pray for them.  It’s not enough to pray for the country and turn around and trash talk the authorities in private or in social media.  It doesn’t matter if the authorities we dislike are Republican, Democrat, or otherwise, God has asked us to respect them and obey them even if we don’t agree with every little thing they do.  It sickens me to see role models and people in places of Christian leadership belittling, trash talking, and even at times idly threatening the people that God has placed in authority over us.  It disgusted me when it was Obama and it disgusts me now with Trump.

I don’t say these things out of judgement or spite, but simply as a loving reminder to my brothers and sisters in Christ what is expected of us as Christ followers.  Acts 5:29 “But Peter answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’”