Let me give you four facts that are all true. Fact #1: The Christian should submit to his or her governmental authorities. Fact #2: Not all governmental leaders are sanctioned by God. Fact #3: Some governmental leaders enact laws that are evil. Fact #4: There are times when God approves of civil disobedience against one’s government. Now let’s take these facts one a time and see them in scripture.

Fact #1: The Christian should submit to his or her governmental authorities. In support of this fact, consider the following passages (all from the N.K.J.V.):

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. (Romans 13:1-7)

Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding. (Daniel 2:20-21)

Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men — as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. (1 Peter 2:13-17)

For exaltation comes neither from the east
Nor from the west nor from the south.
But God is the Judge:
He puts down one,
And exalts another. (Psalm 75:6-7)

Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Why do you test Me? Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” They answered and said, “Caesar’s.” And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Luke 20:22-25)

They shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses. (Daniel 4:25)

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?” 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 19:10-11)

And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace. (Jeremiah 29:7)   (This was God’s command to the people of Judah who had been deported to Babylon and were now living in that city. The point is, God didn’t tell those Jews to overthrow that city and take over its government.)

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work… (Titus 3:1)

As you read these passages you would do well to consider the specific governments and rulers they involved. Jesus and Paul lived under the Roman government. Was that a godly, Christian government? No way. Likewise, Daniel and those other Jews who got carried off to Babylon lived under the Babylonian government. Was that a godly government? Not a chance. Nevertheless, there is no verse to be found where God ever encouraged His people to march in protest, lead a coup attempt, or organize an overthrow of either Rome or Babylon.

Someone might ask, “But didn’t God lead Moses and the Israelites to overthrow the government of Pharoah? No, even in that story, God doesn’t order the Israelites to rebel against Pharaoh in an attempt to topple his government. Instead, God works to break Pharaoh and cause him to make the voluntary decision to let the Israelites go.

Fact #2: Not all governmental leaders are sanctioned by God. In support of this fact, consider the following passage from Hosea:

“Israel will cry to Me, ‘My God, we know You!’ Israel has rejected the good;
The enemy will pursue him. They set up kings, but not by Me; They made princes, but I did not acknowledge them. From their silver and gold They made idols for themselves — That they might be cut off.” (Hosea 8:2-4, N.K.J.V.)

Notice here what God says about the kings of Israel (the northern kingdom). He says, “They set up kings, but not by Me. They made princes, but I did not acknowledge them.” While these words clearly mean that it is possible for a political ruler to hold office apart from God’s sanctioning, what they don’t do is specify when or why God makes such a distinction.

Therefore, we are left with a fact that is on the one hand Biblically accurate and on the other hand quite difficult (if not downright impossible) for us to apply to modern-day situations. Since God Himself has been known to sanction not only godly rulers but also ungodly ones — it was God who appointed the northern kingdom’s first king, Jeroboam, who turned out to be a wicked ruler (1 Kings 11:26-39) — how can us mortals possibly know when a ruler has been set up by men rather than God and is, thus, a ruler whose authority God doesn’t acknowledge? I’m not sure we can.

Fact #3: Some governmental leaders enact laws that are evil. In support of this fact, consider the following passages:

Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law, Have fellowship with You? They gather together against the life of the righteous, And condemn innocent blood. But the Lord has been my defense, And my God the rock of my refuge. He has brought on them their own iniquity, And shall cut them off in their own wickedness; The Lord our God shall cut them off. (Psalm 94:20-23, N.K.J.V.)

“Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees,
Who write misfortune,
Which they have prescribed
To rob the needy of justice,
And to take what is right from the poor of My people,
That widows may be their prey,
And that they may rob the fatherless.
What will you do in the day of punishment,
And in the desolation which will come from afar?
To whom will you flee for help?
And where will you leave your glory?” (Isaiah 10:1-3, N.K.J.V.)

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. (Proverbs 29:2, N.K.J.V.)

These passages leave no doubt that a governmental leader who sits upon a throne of iniquity will enact laws that are evil and will decree decrees that are unrighteous. Consequently, when such rulers are in power, God’s people will be groan.

Fact #4: There are times when God actually approves of civil disobedience against one’s government. In support of this fact, consider the following scriptural examples:

• The Hebrew midwives refused to obey the Pharaoh’s decree that all of the firstborn male Jewish babies were to be killed. (Exodus 1:15-21)
• Rahab refused to turn over the two Israelites spies to the king of Jericho. (Joshua 2:1-22)
• The Israelites refused to obey King Saul’s order to put Jonathan to death in the aftermath of Jonathan unknowingly violating a decree that Saul had made. (1 Samuel 14:24-46)
• Obadiah hid 100 of the Lord’s prophets from Israel’s King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. (1 Kings 18:3-4)
• Jehosheba hid Joash (Jehoash), an infant son of the royal bloodline of Judah, in her home for six years to keep the wicked Queen Athaliah from killing him and thus completely ending that bloodline. (2 Kings 11:1-21)
• Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego refused to eat Nebuchadnezzar’s food and drink his wine. (Daniel 1:1-20)
• Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego refused to bow down before the image of gold that Nebuchadnezzar had erected. (Daniel 3:1-30)
• Daniel defied King Darius’ decree by continuing to pray to God during the days when Darius had made it a law that prayers could only be offered to him. (Daniel 6:1-28)
• Christ’s apostles continued to preach the gospel even after the Jewish religious authorities commanded them to stop doing it. (Acts 4:1-22; 5:17-42)
• Tribulation-period believers will refuse to worship the Antichrist’s image or take his mark during the coming tribulation period. (Revelation 13:11-15)

Does it surprise you that there are so many scriptural examples of God-approved civil disobedience? It did me when I first learned it. And yet, there they are, plainly spelled out in the Bible for anyone who wants to read them. Needless to say, these examples add an entirely new layer of ground to the simple, foundational principle: The Christian should submit to his or her governmental authorities.

And so, in the end, where does all of this leave the Christian who wants to live a life that is pleasing to God? While the basic framework of such a life obviously requires submission to one’s governmental authorities and compliance with the laws those authorities enact, there are legitimate questions that can be raised. Those questions sound like this: “What if those authorities are obviously evil?” “And what if they were put into office by man-made schemes that were not of God and create doubt as to whether God even acknowledges the authority of those leaders?” “And what about all the authorities, installed by God or not, who enact evil laws that are in direct violation to the Bible?” Rest assured that these questions take us out into the deepest waters of scriptural application to 21st century life. Spiritual discernment is definitely required, and an exceedingly high level of it at that.

I, myself, don’t pretend to have all the answers to these questions, but I do feel confident in saying that we, as Christians, need to consider each situation on a case-by-case basis rather than try to employ a one-size-fits-all approach to this issue. For example, God doesn’t want us to stop paying our taxes or attempt to assassinate a leader who is blatantly ungodly, but neither does He want us to take part in the murdering of babies simply because abortion is legal in certain states or cave in to the unscriptural pro-homosexual agenda that many of our governmental leaders are now writing into law.

Again, each situation is unique and calls for much prayer, Bible study, and spiritual discernment. Sometimes submission is the path; other times it isn’t. I realize this answer might seem lacking to some, but I honestly believe it’s about the best we Christians can do as we try to live a godly life in this ungodly world. The good news is that God has a specific will for every situation and He will reveal that will to us if we keep Him front and center in the decision-making process. This holds true in every realm of life, even in the realm of government. But it’s up to us, as Christians, to put this truth into action anytime we are faced with the question: “Is this a time for me to show my obedience to God by showing my obedience to my government or is it a time for me to show my obedience to God by showing my disobedience to my government?”