Civil Obedience and Biblical Responses to Government

But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favour, answered Paul and said, "Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things?" So Paul said, "I stand at Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you very well know. For if I am an offender, or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying; but if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar." Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, "You have appealed to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go!"

(Acts 25:9-12)

We have seen in this section that the Lord expects His saints to submit to the ordinances of men for His sake. However, in this life, not all laws are just and not all prosecutions are justified. What should believers do when they are confronted with either unjust laws or wrongful prosecutions?

If the societies in which they live allow citizens to challenge unjust laws or wrongful prosecutions in court, then that is exactly what the saints should do. In the above quoted passage of Scripture, we see that exact principle being practiced by the apostle Paul. The Jews had falsely accused him and were attempting to have him wrongfully put to death. In response to the corrupt prosecution against him, Paul used the Roman legal system to appeal his case to the highest court in the Roman Empire, which was presided over by Caesar himself.

We know that this was the Lord's perfect will for His saint, for He was directing Paul's actions so that he could witness to Caesar (Acts 27:24). The outcome of Paul's case was that he eventually won his appeal and was released from prison, going on from there to minister the gospel in Spain (Romans 15:28).

As an aside, when the church becomes aware of believers who are being persecuted in this way and are unable to provide direct legal support, then where possible and if needed, they should provide financial support for their fellow saints (Titus 3:13-14). The church should also not keep silent when they see this form of government abuse taking place. Rather, they—especially the leadership of the church—should publicly speak out against such abuses (Philippians 1:14).

When Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city. He cried out with a loud and bitter cry. He went as far as the front of the king's gate, for no one might enter the king's gate clothed with sackcloth.

(Esther 4:1-2)

If governments implement laws designed to persecute Christians for their beliefs, then another avenue that may be available to believers is to publicly protest those laws. Obviously, Christians can only protest if the nations in which they live allow such activities. If public protests are deemed illegal in the societies in which they live, then believers would be transgressing a nation's laws if they were to protest. The banning of public protests is not a law that contradicts God's laws, so God would not condone His saints transgressing in this area.

The context of the above quoted passage of Scripture is that the Babylonian government had issued an edict that all Jews living in the empire were to be executed on a certain date. When Mordecai the Jew was made aware of the edict, he went into the city square in front of the king's palace to protest that law. Unlike modern-day protests where placards are used, Mordecai protested in sackcloth and ashes, thus combining his protest with his petition to the Lord for His intervention.

Mordecai wasn't the only Jew to publicly protest in this manner. The Scriptures tell us that in every province in the Babylonian Empire, many of the Jews lay in sackcloth and ashes. Although not all the Jews protested in this same manner, all of them did fast and pray to the Lord to intervene on their behalf (Esther 4:3).

We know that Mordecai acted within the law in the manner that he protested because he was allowed to protest in the city square for a number of days. Had Mordecai been acting contrary to the Babylonian laws for public protest, he would have been arrested the first day, and that would have brought his protest to an abrupt end. If you read the account in Scripture, you will see that his protest was effective in that it was widely reported in the city, and God used it as the catalyst for certain actions to be implemented that would not only change the law but also punish those who sought to destroy the Jews. The outcome of this event was that the law was repealed, the perpetrators of the law were themselves executed, and many Gentiles converted to Judaism as a result.

Very clearly, we see from this example that if Christians are going to succeed in any protest actions, they must combine it with prayer and fasting before the Lord, for it is really only the Lord who is able to reverse any unjust laws or wrongful prosecutions. A word of caution needs to be noted, however: although Christians can peacefully protest when a nation's laws permit them to do so, they should not participate in protests that could become violent and turn into riots, for God tells His saints not to follow a crowd to do evil (Exodus 23:2).

Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, o Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

(Mark 12:29-31)

What about unjust laws and laws of persecution against people within society who are not Christians? Should Christians take up their causes as well? If we follow the commandment of God, then we will, for as quoted by our Lord Jesus in the above passage of Scripture, God instructs us to love our neighbours as ourselves. In other words, if we see members of society being persecuted or discriminated against through unjust laws or wrongful prosecutions, then believers should respond in the same manner that they would if they themselves were experiencing such treatment.

Believers can do so through their support of legal challenges, peaceful protests, and where appropriate, financial support as well. Again, it must be mentioned that in circumstances like these, the church should not keep silent. Rather, they—especially the church leadership—should publicly speak out when governments perpetrate injustices on certain members of society. Two examples of the types of injustices that governments can perpetrate would include racial laws and laws against the unborn through legalized abortions.

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying, "Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man's blood on us!" But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men.

(Acts 5:27-29)

As revealed in the above passage of Scripture, there is a limit to the obedience that the saints are to walk in as far as governments are concerned. We see from this passage that when a government dictates that saints should obey statutes that are contrary to God's laws, then the saints are to refuse to do so by obeying God rather than men.

Obviously, the refusal to obey a government's laws that contradict God's laws can have adverse and even severe consequences for the saints, ranging from reprimands to fines being imposed, to imprisonment, and even martyrdom in some cases. In the above quoted passage of Scripture, we see the account of the Lord's apostles refusing to obey the government's order not to preach the gospel, because of which they were arrested and put in prison. If you read the rest of the account in Scripture, you will see that as a result of their civil disobedience, they came close to being executed. However, due to the intervention of the Lord and a Pharisee named Gamaliel, their punishment for disobeying the law was reduced to being physically beaten before being released from prison.

In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me; but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.

(2 Corinthians 11:32-33)

When a government's laws contradict God's laws, because of the adverse consequences, it is not always prudent for believers to stand their ground and simply disobey. Sometimes it is more expedient for the saints to leave the localities where the oppressive laws are being passed. You will recall that our Lord's counsel to His church was that if they persecute you in one city, then flee to another city (Matthew 10:23).

The context of the above quoted passage of Scripture was that an arrest warrant had been issued for the apostle Paul because the Jews in the city wanted to silence him and had conspired with the governor to have him executed. We see in this passage that rather than allow himself to be taken into custody and certain death, Paul chose to evade the authorities and he fled the city of Damascus.

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

(Matthew 5:38-39)

There are instances when the church has no recourse available to them, and in those instances they are forced to undergo whatever persecution is brought against them by the governing authorities. God has specifically instructed His church not to avenge themselves for the wrongs they may suffer in those instances, for vengeance belongs to God and He will repay (Romans 12:19).

In the above passage of Scripture, Jesus taught us that God applies different standards for the world to those that He applies in His church. The reason God does that is because He understands that those in the world have hardened hearts that prevent them from being able to live by His norms. God's justice for the world allows them to avenge an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, whereas His church is required to turn the other cheek.

An example of this concept can be found in the book of Revelation when our Lord informed the church in Smyrna that Satan was about to have some of them arrested and put in jail. Jesus went on to tell them that they would be tested in prison for ten days. Obviously, the saints who were arrested in Smyrna were tortured in prison, and if you read the account, you will see that they were ultimately executed. Nevertheless, even though our Lord had warned them about what was going to happen, He did not counsel them to flee or to resist, but rather to be faithful until death and He would reward them with the crown of life (Revelation 2:8-10).

Michael E.B. Maher

The Church and the State

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