Podcast Introduction

Our reading today is Romans 13-14, and I’m calling the episode “Facts and Opinions”. 

Comments on Romans 13

I recently received a question from a Lifespring Family member, and he asked about obeying government authorities in light of current events.

I’ll tackle it, even though not everyone may not agree with what I’m going to say. I’ll give you some Biblical background on what I’ll be saying, and where appropriate, I’ll give my opinion…and label it as such. 

One thing we have to establish up front is that much of, if not *all* of these arguments are what I consider to be peripheral issues. In other words, they are not central to our salvation. The bedrock, the things that make or break whether we are born again are believing that Jesus is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, that he lived a sinless life,  he died for our sins, was resurrected on the third day and sits at the right hand of the Father, and is coming back. We must admit that we are sinners, in need of a Savior, and we must repent, or change direction. In other words, we must submit our life to the Lordship of Jesus. Just knowing about Jesus is not enough. We must believe in our heart that Jesus is Lord. 

I think that covers it.

Everything else is peripheral. What day of the week we worship. Whether it’s ok to drink alcohol. Whether women should be allowed to be priests or pastors. Whether music should be allowed in church. Whether speaking in tongues is for today, and on and on. All of these, while important, are not central to salvation.

Now, as for submitting to governmental authority. Or put another way, is it ever ok to not submit? Is civil disobedience ever permitted by God? I’m framing the question this way because if different governmental bodies are in conflict, if you obey one, you must disobey the other.

So let me try to answer the question: Is civil disobedience ever permitted?

When Paul wrote the book of Romans, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Nero was the emperor of Rome. Nero was probably the most immoral emperor Rome had ever had. I won’t go into his deeds here, but if you don’t know about him, look him up.

You heard what Paul wrote in Romans 13 today. The first three verses are: 1All of you must yield to the government rulers. No one rules unless God has given him the power to rule, and no one rules now without that power from God. 2So those who are against the government are really against what God has commanded. And they will bring punishment on themselves. 

And Peter says pretty much the same in 1 Peter 2:13-17: “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.”

Seems cut and dry, right? Christians have to do what governmental authorities say.

But is it?

There are three views on civil disobedience.

1. Anarchist

A person can disobey the government whenever he wants to and whenever he feels justified in doing so. There is no biblical support for this view. 

2) Extreme Patriot

A person should always obey his government, no matter what. This position also has no biblical support. In addition, history does not support this view. For example, in the Nuremberg trials, the Nazi war criminals tried to defend their actions by saying that they were just following orders. But one of the judges swatted that argument aside by asking, “But gentlemen, is there not a law above our laws?”

3) Biblical Submission

A Christian is allowed to disobey if the government commands evil, or requires a Christian to disobey the clear teaching of Scripture.

How about some biblical examples of civil disobedience:

1. In Exodus 1, two Hebrew midwives were commanded by the Pharaoh to exterminate all male Jewish babies. An extreme patriot would have carried out the order. But Exodus 1:17 tells us that they “feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.” Not only did they not kill the children, they lied to the Pharaoh. And in verses 20-21 we read, “God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty. Because the midwives feared God, He established households for them.” 
2. We recently completed reading the book of Joshua. Remember in chapter 2 when Rahab disobeyed a command from the king of Jericho to turn over the Israelite spies? What did she do? She let them escape. And she was allowed to live when Joshua and the Israelite army destroyed it.
3. How about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? In Daniel 3 King Nebuchadnezzar commanded that everyone should bow down to the golden idol. They refused and so were thrown into an oven, but they were miraculously kept from harm.
4. In Acts 4 we read of Peter and John’s disobedience. Peter had healed a man who was born lame, and both he and John were thrown in jail for preaching about Jesus. The religious leaders told them to stop. But Peter said, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” After they were released, they went right back to preaching. When the religious leaders again confronted them, Peter said, “We must obey God rather than men.” 

There are other examples in Scripture, but these show us that we do not have to blindly follow what government bodies decree. So how do we decide when civil disobedience is allowable?

1. Christians should disobey when the government commands or compels acts of evil. 
2. Christians should disobey when the governmental laws are in direct violation of God’s laws and commands.
3. If a Christian does disobey an evil government and is unable to flee, he should be prepared to accept that government’s punishment.
4. Christians are permitted to, and should work to get new leaders installed.

In 1 Timothy 2:1-2, we are commanded to pray for our leaders. “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.”

Now, all of the foregoing was, I believe, teaching directly from Scripture.

Let me give some of my opinions as they relate to what is happening today. If you disagree with my opinions, I hope that we can agree to disagree. 

Let me first say that I am not anti-science. As a matter of fact, I do have a degree in Biology. I am not scientifically ignorant. 

Mask mandates are evil. Why do I say that? Because they are scientifically proven to be ineffective in stopping the spread of the virus. In addition, they greatly reduce the amount of oxygen a person can breathe in, raising the levels of carbon dioxide in the blood. This can be extremely detrimental to a person’s health. 

There are many more reasons, but these are the most obvious.

Vaccine mandates are evil. I am not against some vaccines, but I do not believe the government has the moral authority to tell anyone what they must put into the body that God gave them. I am absolutely against the current covid-19 vaccines. Statistics show that they are ineffective in preventing a person from contracting the disease or from spreading it. As a matter of fact, studies are showing that the Delta variant is flourishing because of the effect on vaccinated people. Also, the number of deaths and injuries is unacceptably high. In some areas, vaccine deaths are higher than covid deaths. 

I could go on, but this podcast is not about discussing current events at length. The reason I brought up Covid is because I think Kyle’s question, though he didn’t say it in his email, related to laws/mandates regarding the disease.

Also, I need to say that I am not recommending that you should or should not do any specific action. What I just said about mandates for masks or vaccines is my opinion. What you do in your life is between you and God. If you disagree with me, that’s fine. If you agree with me, that’s fine. I have family members who I love that disagree with me, and some who agree. We agree to disagree agreeably…for the most part. 🙂

Last point. This one will be quick. Kyle asked about what we should do when government agencies disagree. I am not a lawyer, first off. So take this for what it’s worth. 

1. If one agency’s laws or decrees is allowable in light of Scriptures and the other’s is not, do that which aligns with Scripture.
2. If both agencies align with Scripture, but they disagree with each other, then I would follow the most local agency. This is sort of a state’s rights issue.
3. If neither agency’s laws stand the light of Scripture, then obey neither.

Again, these are my opinions and not recommendations for any particular action by any particular person. Are we clear on that? These are my opinions, and as of the recording of this episode, the First Amendment still allows me to say what I want.

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 13-14 NCV

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