Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Submitting to Authority
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Deuteronomy 17:12-13
As Americans, we find this hard to take. It is not hard to imagine that a high percentage of the verdicts given in this country are appealed almost automatically. No one, it seems, is willing to submit to the judgment! But God says here in the law that whatever is judged—by those who are in authority to do so—should be taken. If one fight its (if he will not accept it), then he is acting presumptuously—because he is defying the authority that was put in place by God Himself! God is the Authority over all. He governs everything. Sometimes, He puts the basest of men in positions of authority; but He "passed on" them. Or, He might have even put them there, personally. If such people should make a judgment that goes against what we think is right, we have to take it. This is likely where Peter derived what he writes in I Peter 2. He says that if we are suffering (or we are being persecuted) for righteousness sake, and we take it patiently, then we get high marks from God—because that is exactly what He wants us to do. No matter what the decision that a judge should make, if that is the one he makes, then we are to submit to it. That is righteousness. That is the proper attitude. Israel did not have an appeals court. The plaintiff could not take his case to a higher court. It was the judge himself who had to say, "This is too hard for me. I'm going to pass this up to a higher court." It is a little bit different from our own system, but it is the principle that we need to get out of this. If the priest or the judge should make a decision—then the godly thing to do is to submit to it. God says, "If you don't (if you rebel against it), then you are presumptuous."
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Presumptuousness
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Proverbs 29:2
What if a ruler, the one to whom we are to submit, is an oppressive person? What if he is just incompetent or stupid, and we know better how to do the job he should be doing? What if the person is sexually immoral or financially greedy? Does God still want us to submit? What protection do we have in these kinds of circumstances? Abomination that it is, those in authority often do evil. They might have serious character flaws that catch their victims in the effects of their flaws. What is so maddening is that they justify their ways—seeing them as good—and they will turn around and blame the innocent for the evils that occur. For example, the proverb says that "all the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes." The incompetent man does not think to himself, "I'm really dumb, stupid, idiotic, and shouldn't even have this job." The sexually immoral person does not see himself as perverse. Many prostitutes will say, "Yes, I'm doing wrong according to the law, but I am providing a needed and wanted service. If it weren't, I would have no customers." They justify themselves; they are pure in their own eyes. Consider the enemies of Jesus. They felt justified in taking His life because He was stirring up the people. No one on earth has ever been more innocent, yet they justified what they were doing because the people were being stirred up by Him. They accused Him of being a revolutionary, a threat to community stability. If we are in a position like this—under an oppressive ruler who justifies the way he is doing things, and we are suffering the effects of his actions—we feel like powerless pawns being taken advantage of. We feel he is denying us the liberty to do what we want. Should we submit or rebel? To know what to do, we must look at what Jesus did in a similar circumstance. This is not an occasion in which the authority figure demands submission, and in submitting, we must break the law of God. The situation does not involve being forced to sin but simply submitting to one who is unreasonable and oppressive. John 19:10 is part of Jesus' trial for His life before Pilate, and occurs after Pilate had ordered Him to be scourged: "Then Pilate said to Him, 'Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?'" He could choose to do either. Pilate was a corrupt official. His record, according to secular history, was not at all good. The Jews despised him for his harsh ways. "Jesus answered, 'You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin'" (John 19:11). His response is very meaningful. It reveals His attitude, His approach, to every circumstance of His life. To be in the same frame of mind, we must ask ourselves, "Do we see God?" Is He really a part of our lives? Is He really running this creation? Is He really sitting at the controls of things? Is He really aware of us as individuals? Does He have every hair on our heads numbered? Are we really the apple of His eye? Are our lives really in His hands? Have we really given them to Him, or are we holding part of ourselves in reserve? "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above." Jesus saw life clearly and simply: God was in complete control of everything going on in the universe. Not that everything was being directed by Him in the sense that He was causing it to occur, but that Jesus believed with every fiber of His being that God was with Him all the time, everywhere, and at every moment. He knew His life was in His Father's hands, and Pilate could do nothing against Him unless God allowed it. Would God have us submit to somebody who was cruel, hard-hearted, incompetent, sexually unbalanced, perverted, stupid, or financially greedy? Would He have us live and work under such a person? He put His own Son in that position! Everything at Jesus' trial and crucifixion looked totally stacked against Him. Carnally, it seems as if He had every right to rebel. He could have replied, "Do you not know to whom you are doing this?" Instead, He says, in paraphrase, "You would not have the power to do anything except that My Father passed on this. And He is now looking at Me to see how I am going to respond. Will I submit to the authority that He has permitted to be over Me right now?" Do we see God in our lives like this? We have to look at ourselves differently than the way people in the world look at themselves. We must decide whether or not we are in God's hand. Do we have the faith to trust that we are in His hand and that the constituted authorities are also in His hand? Do we believe He is aware of what is happening and that He deeply cares about what we will do in each situation? As He did with Abraham, He must know what kind of witness we will make (see Genesis 22).
John W. Ritenbaugh
Submitting (Part 1)
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Romans 13:1
In Romans 13, Paul speaks primarily of our response to civil government, and the subject is submission. But the principle holds true for other authorities as well. The principle is given in the first verse: All authority derives from God, and He appoints the existing authorities. A Christian must recognize and live by this principle. All power is from God! If we say it is not, we deny His sovereignty and involvement in His creation. God rules! Do we see God? The ungodly do not. Psalm 10:4 says of the wicked, "God is in none of his thoughts." Conversely, the Christian sees God ruling over everything. Paul insists we are to be subject to authority because of God. Our submissiveness to authority has nothing to do with equality or weakness. Rather, it is an act of faith in God's governance of His creation. Our submission is an act of trust in our God, in His authority, and in the wisdom of His appointments. The Christian consciously chooses to suffer evil rather than to do evil. Why? He does this, not because he is a masochist, but because he is taking a step in faith to establish peace and prevent conflict by recognizing that two wrongs do not make a right. Evil is not overcome by evil. Echoing Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5:44-48, Paul counsels us to "overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). We all agree that abuse of authority is evil—whether that authority is a governor, a king or president, a police officer, or a husband in a family. God has set the husband in authority in the family (I Corinthians 11:1-3). Under the principle taught in Romans 13:1, if the husband is unjust, it is also sinful for the person under that authority to rebel against it. The husband's injustice does not excuse sin on the part of his wife or children. Keeping oneself from rebelling or striking back is not an easy thing to do! Of course, Scripture says that we ought to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). If an unjust husband tries to force us to sin, to break God's law, then we have the right not to submit to him. Instead, what do we do? We submit in faith to God, who says we do not have to submit to the unjust husband who is trying to force us to sin. But if he is not causing us to break the law of God, we have to submit. However, just because God requires that we submit in no way prohibits us from appealing to the unjust husband and, above all, to God for relief or protection. Moreover, Jesus says that if we are persecuted, we are to flee (Matthew 10:23; 24:15-20; John 10:39; etc.). In terms of our relationship with God and growth in His character, it is better to flee and appear weak than to rebelliously sin against an unjust authority. By doing so, we are following God's instruction through Jesus Christ.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Submitting (Part 2)
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Romans 13:1-7
The subject of government in the Bible is indeed extensive. As we begin, notice that Paul writes that "there is no authority except from God" (verse 1). Though this statement appears in relation to civil authority, God's oversight is broad and deep. Even Satan's authority, as ruler of this world (John 14:30), is assigned by God. Jesus tells Pilate in John 19:11, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above." Those in the church with a position of authority also receive it from God (I Corinthians 12:18, 28). These are important statements on God's overall sovereignty. In verse 2, Paul mentions "the ordinance of God." God's ordinance states His will, and He clearly establishes civil government. Therefore, we are responsible for obeying civil authority also, for in doing so we are obeying God. These verses do not imply that we must always obey civil government. Other verses show that we must obey it as long as the civil authority does not contradict God's laws. In verses 3-4, Paul comes close to stating that the civil authority somewhat parallels the Old Testament "avenger of blood." In verses 5-7, God extends our responsibilities to submit to government as a means to keep our consciences clear, as well as to pay taxes, not only so the state can afford to employ these civil servants of God, but also to submit to community customs regarding them and even to give them honor. These seven verses show three general reasons why humans must be governed. First, law-abiding citizens must be protected. Paul's life was saved in Acts 21:30-32 when Roman soldiers stepped in to save him from the murderous intent of angry Jews. Second, evildoers must be restrained. Third, the general welfare is promoted by helping to establish peace. In I Timothy 2:1-3, Paul commands us to pray that this function is carried out.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Fully Accepting God's Sovereignty (Part Four)
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1 Peter 2:14-15
"Do not render evil for evil, but overcome evil by good." Peter and Paul agree perfectly about our responsibility to government and authority. "Ignorance," incidentally, is a bit more revealing than it appears. It does not indicate ignorance simply because a person does not know, but an ignorance due to obstinacy or a refusal to know. This refers to someone who has set his mind against the truth of God. It suggests that the truth of God was preached in Rome, and the authorities consciously rejected it. They reacted by persecuting Christians.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Submitting (Part 2)
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