Peter's words reflect a delicate balance: Submission to government is an act of obedience to Almighty God, but ultimate loyalty remains with Christ, not Caesar (Acts 5:29: We must obey God rather than men.) Historians claim that this teaching helped protect the early Christian community from unnecessary persecution, giving them a moral reputation that even pagan observers (like Pliny the Younger, in the early second century) later acknowledged.
What are we supposed to do when man's laws conflict with God's laws? Peter and the other apostles in Acts 5:29 declare, We must obey God rather than man.
All of us are familiar with the accounts in Daniel 3, where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego obeyed God even when they believed it would cost them their lives. Likewise, Daniel was thrown into the lion's den, which he assumed would be his imminent death. God's people must live responsibly by paying taxes, obeying civil laws, and honoring leaders (Romans 13:7), but we should never compromise our faith when man's law contradicts God's laws.
