The command to obey state authorities is sometimes taken to mean complete obedience to a ruler on the part of a Christian. Peter and other apostles had no hesitation disobeying the Sanhedrin by teaching in Jerusalem and saying, “We must obey the laws of God, not men,” (Acts 5:29). The apostles boldly defied the Sanhedrin’s command to stop proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ and were flogged or killed for it. Daniel continued to pray to God even after King Darius decreed that anyone who prays to any God or man other than the king shall be thrown into the lions’ den. Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den and was delivered by God out of the ordeal unharmed. Obedience to God was a higher priority to the apostles and Daniel than obedience to the state. 

How then do Christians relate to state authorities? When the Sanhedrin handed Jesus over to Pontius Pilate, Jesus answered Pontius Pilate’s claim to power, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above,” (John 19:11). It may seem Jesus handed power to state authorities solely for the purpose of his mission of crucifixion, but the power given to state authorities does not end with Jesus as Paul later wrote, “The authorities that exist have been established by God,” (Romans 13:1). The Roman government threatened Jesus and Paul’s life more than anything else — eventually killing both of them — yet Jesus and Paul still respected the physical, but not moral, existance of state institutions. How can we reconcile Jesus and Paul prioritizing obedience to God, yet openly sacrificing themselves before state power?

Submission to state authorities can be viewed in two ways. The first way is the main argument the Jews used to crucify Jesus by stating, “Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar,” (John 19:12). The Jewish community defied God and used the state as a vehicle for performing their disobedience. The Jews corrupted Jesus’ teaching of giving onto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s to justify the killing of an innocent person. The second way is a spiritual struggle or ‘holy tension,’ which Paul explains, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms,” (Ephesians 6:12). Christians are called to put the spiritual and ethical above the physical and temporal. State authorities can only be obeyed if their requirements are in accord with the ethical teachings fulfilled in Christ. If authorities ask for disobedience to God’s teachings, it is commanded to put God first, and notably, not allow a spiritual battle with the government to become a physical battle. Jewish zealots were waiting for a physical battle lead by a Messiah who would drive the Roman occupiers into the sea, and rejected the inward spiritual transformation Jesus preached. Moreover, it is necessary to equally honor authorities established in our country as in all other countries since all authorities are established by God. By submitting to all authorities, Christians are not allowed to take part in overturning their own government with a revolution or another countries’ government with a war. Whereas the first way of submitting to authorities honors neither God nor man, the second way honors a Christian’s servant role to everyone and allows our means to be as pure as our ends.

Submission to State Authorities

This entry was originally published at Interconnectedness by Mikhail (Misha) Lomize