Resistance or Respect

Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. (Romans 13:2)

The more I consider this the more I question that Paul was even talking about an idealistic version of authority as I previously mentioned. Certainly many of the authorities in his day were very corrupt and abusive and that was the context in which he was writing. The underlying principle that he is revealing here is the same one that Jesus referred to in the Sermon on the Mount.

"You have heard that it was said, 'AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.' "But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. "If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. "Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. "Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. (Matthew 5:38-42)

If these two passages are paralleled then it would appear that very possibly the authorities portrayed here are indeed evil in some ways themselves. Do not resist an evil person (in authority). If this is in doubt look on a phrase or two further. If someone is suing you they are appealing to authority to take something away from you while manipulating the law against you. Even more clearly, for someone to be able to force you to go with them a mile brought clearly to mind the actions of Roman soldiers who were given the right to force anyone under Rome's domination to carry their packs for one mile, but one mile only.

Both Paul and Jesus are here saying that even though others, even those in authority, may be evil and unfair does not give us excuse to be disrespectful, bitter or hateful. Those reactions internally are actually the deeper intent of those who misuse their positions of dominance against us, for indulging in those feelings is a way of disempowering us. Satan has set up the world's systems to induce fear, anger and hatred in the heart of everyone so that he can destroy their capacity to receive and give real love as God designed they should. It is Satan's highest goal to erase the image of God in our hearts that is our original design and steal all the characteristics of God from our souls. But it is God's purpose to undo the works of the enemy and restore in us, particularly at the heart level, the likeness of Jesus who never resisted evil while never compromising with it.

One of the greatest fears of “religious resistors” is that if we do not resist evil people in our lives that somehow we will become accomplices with them and will be condoning what they are doing. I can clearly remember that line of reasoning being used frequently by my own father and now am beginning to realize that it may have been a major contributor to much of my spirit of rebellion and my strong reactions that often put me in conflict with authorities. What is at issue here is really the problem of respect, not endorsement. But another problem with respect that now emerges is that most people believe that respect must be earned before we are required to give it.

But according to what we have been learning from the series, Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson and Sarah Eggerichs, the Bible teaches that respect is something that is unconditional just as love is to be unconditional. This is a shocking and almost untenable idea to many people, but it is what the Bible teaches. Because of this misunderstanding and my own lack of internal training in the area of respect, my own life has been very rocky at times and I still need a lot of remedial repair work done inside that definitely affects many of my relationships. God still has a great deal of reeducation to finish in my mind and heart.

I am still also pondering this contrast that I noticed yesterday between fear and no fear found in verses three and four. Tied in with what I am seeing today it is starting to look like that maybe evil is at least partially defined as a lack of respect in the face of injustice.

The kind of resistance described here is not the resistance referred to in James.

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:7-8)

According to what I see in comparing these passages, it is wrong to resist an evil person but it is important to resist the devil. Evidently the devil is not an evil person but is linked more to the internal spirit war going on inside of our minds and hearts. So the conclusion that might be drawn here is that our resistance needs to be against the internal temptation to absorb and reflect the spirit of evil, while at the same time not resisting the external forces of evil imposed on us.

We are to treat with respect, and even on-going, instant forgiveness those who may be abusing us while at the same time resisting the internal force of evil that is tempting our hearts to be angry, bitter, resentful, hateful and desiring revenge against them. We are to treat with respect those who have not earned our respect. This ties very closely back into the previous chapter that talks about respecting what is right and never paying back evil for evil (12:17). What is right is respect and love, and even then not because people have earned them from us. Evidently, if we fail to respond with respect (and love) due to internal spirit contamination by our flesh, we are still double-minded.

These descriptions of how to live in our relationships to others and to authority appears to me to be quite impossible to accomplish without a great deal of healing, transformation and much grace. That is why the verse just previous to those quoted from James says, But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6 NRSV) I certainly fit into the category of someone who needs all the more grace.

But if I do not choose to follow through with this challenge to treat others with respect no matter what they deserve, they I will unavoidably find myself in the other position of being afraid because I am doing what is evil (v. 4). According to this passage in Romans, doing what is good must mean doing the very thing that does not come natural to me – respecting an abusive authority figure. That certainly does not mean that I value or agree with the spirit that they are displaying or endorse their actions, but it does require that I seek to observe them through the eyes of heaven and see a human being with a heart that has been hijacked by the enemy and is acting out Satan's character in their life and not their redeemed image of God.

But if I do not respond from my flesh or display that my heart is also hijacked by retaliating or being disrespectful; if instead, I have a heart that is transformed by all the more grace; if I am willing to die to the clamorings of my flesh and allow the sweetness of Jesus' Spirit to emanate from my life through my words, my demeanor, my actions and my complete inner freedom and peace, then God can use me as a truthful witness to appeal to the hearts of the very ones who themselves are deluded and confused inside and long for a similar peace and freedom for themselves.

This is the secret strategy of God to subvert the works of Satan and steal away from his vicious clutch those who have been held captive and hostage by him all of their lives. By apparently losing, we allow God to win. By dying we become more fully alive. By not resisting we end up having the most power. The ways of God often seem so backwards to the typical way we are used to thinking.

This is just beginning to dawn on my understanding but it will take a transformational miracle of even more grace to make it a settled reality for me at the heart level. With men – and me – this is impossible but with God all things are possible.

God, please cause these insights and principles to become more than just something I am beginning to perceive with my brain. I want to see them appearing in my gut-level reactions – from my deepest heart – whenever I am facing abusive people in my life that have authority over me. While I do not have to endorse or participate in their evils and injustice, I need to see them through Your eyes and have Your heart to love and respect them unconditionally.

You know me better than I know myself and You know my history of problems in this arena. But I need to perceive and believe in the true identity that You have placed in my heart that is radically different than the exhibitions of resentment and resistance that I have acted out so many times in the past. Those demonstrations are not my true identity no matter how I may feel or what anyone else says about me. My true identity that is already inside of my heart is still largely hidden but You are bringing it more into the open to display Your glory and character in me before an astonished world. It is all by Your grace, Your love, Your power and Your faithfulness that this is all taking place.

God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I am Yours – save me! Finish the work You are doing in me. Continue to transform me, my spirit, my triggers, my bitterness and fears. Heal me at the deepest levels of my heart so that my true reflection of You can glow unsullied by the damage that Satan has worked in my heart. Continue Your experiment of grace in my life as a means of attracting others into a similar relationship with You. I ask this for Your reputation's sake and in the name and authority of Jesus Christ entrusted to me after His resurrection.

(next in series)

Authority and Bitterness

For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. (Romans 13:3-4)

I am still seeing even more clearly the pattern of shifting the focus from evaluation of the morality or condition of outside authorities toward in internal analysis of what is going on in my own heart and spirit. In the way Paul is couching his instructions here there is no mention of the potential corruptness of authorities, except for the fact that they are engaging in the activity of acting as avengers who bring wrath which I am warned against doing just a few verses previously.

But what is focused on here is the direct link between doing good and the ability to become free of fear and visa versa. If freedom of fear is dependent on the integrity of the authorities that would make this passage somewhat absurd or even out of touch with reality. That is highlighted in the example of the depravity of most of the authorities involved in the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. But Jesus' peace and complete freedom from the debilitation of fear during all that abuse was completely connected to the goodness that He not only performed externally but the goodness that filled His heart and that came from a complete dependence on His Father.

When these two verses are placed side by side it is more clearly seen the very close linkage between peace and goodness in contrast to evil and fear. In addition, these links are the primary issue in these verses with little to no reference as to whether the authorities involved are praising or persecuting. It is almost like Paul is using the background context of an idealism for earthly authorities to get the point across that it is my own choices about my own spirit and actions that are the deciding factor, not the spirit or actions of the authorities.

This is a very important truth that I want my heart to take hold of and deeply internalize. I am all too aware of my great weakness in this area of my life and my great need for healing and wholeness. The diversion has always been to become obsessed with focusing on the injustice, unfairness, abusive actions and illegitimacy of those claiming authority in my life. Those things may all possibly be very true, but if my own peace is made contingent on waiting for those evils to be corrected before I can enjoy peace myself, then I will never find the peace that I so desperately need in my heart. I cannot allow myself to be held hostage to the spirit or actions of others even if they are in positions of legitimate authority in my life.

When I choose to have my peace linked to the treatment received from someone else, then the inevitable result will be bitterness springing up inside of me. Bitterness is very clearly a poison that slowly eats away at the goodness and peace inside of me like an acid. It blinds me to the good in others, it infects my spirit in ways that are unseen to myself and it poisons many around me in more ways than I care to know about. Bitterness causes cynicism and sarcasm and highlights hypocrisy in the lives of others but also creates hypocrisy in my own life. Bitterness quickly grows roots deep into my psyche like a fast-growing tumor intertwining itself into the vital organs of my soul.

God has been alerting me to the diabolical effects and presence of the bitterness that has plagued my own heart for most of my life. I recently spent a month or more immersing myself in Hebrews 12 where this infection is explained rather clearly, because I realized my great need to face this sickness head-on. That was a very helpful time of education, not only for my mind but for my heart as well. It has helped me be more aware of my condition and has allowed me to listen more clearly and respond more quickly whenever the Spirit points out in real time to me whenever I am experiencing symptoms of this internal bitterness.

I have chosen to cooperate with the restoration and healing protocol that my Doctor, Jesus desires to administer to me to cleanse me of not only the tumor but to completely flush out of my system this deadly poison. I have been sensing a great deal more freedom as He is removing some of the more obvious and painful areas of this cancer, but I also realize I am still infected with this dangerous and malignant poison that can still cause more tumors if not completely eradicated from my spirit. I need daily injections of antidotes and strong drugs from the pharmacy of heaven to keep me in my healing process. I need to learn new ways of thinking and have old paradigms challenged and rejected while I learn to see others through the eyes of heaven instead of the suspicion of bitterness. This all has to be under the close supervision of the Holy Spirit.

I have been more aware of this process of healing and shifting of paradigms recently. I am grateful that Jesus is responsible for arranging the treatment protocol and for accomplishing His purposes in me. Whenever I begin to think that I must somehow figure out how to be good enough to become free of this cancer I very quickly get discouraged. But then I realize that this is actually part of the delusional effects of this internal poison and I need to throw myself on the mercy and grace of my Savior and ingest even stronger doses of divine, healing “drugs” in order to counteract these lies of self-dependence. And I need to submit myself to the only Surgeon who has complete expertise in removing cancer and in accomplishing total and permanent remission.

I listened last night as a friend of mine related how that much of his past had been lived with deep bitterness and negativity. But at the same time he had been very proud of the fact that he was a person that could get things accomplished and done well. Whenever he started a job he made sure that he finished it; and whenever he set his mind to do something he knew it would be done right. He was outwardly very performance oriented and was quite proud of it. But inwardly he was very bitter and was so much so that he earned the nick-name from his friends, “the bitter boy”. He told us that he was even proud of that name until God changed his life and his spirit.

Now he is seeking to know his true identity in his relationship with God and following God's will for his life. He is presently a teacher in a public school and is a worship leader at his church. He also helps lead out in the small group that is ministering to a good number of young adults and is passionate to share the goodness of God with others. I was very surprised to hear this testimony from him last night but was also very encouraged because I could identity so much with what he was talking about.

What I am impressed with in these verses is that the goodness that I need in order to be free of fear of authorities must be the kind of goodness that comes from an intimate relationship with the Source of any and all goodness. It is not a performance-based goodness that I must generate so that I can stay out of the cross-hairs of authorities looking for targets to unload vengeance on. I must have a transformation of heart and have the Spirit of Jesus dwelling in my soul in such an intense and real way that no matter how I am treated, whether with praise or with abuse, I will be able to demonstrate the inner peace and a spirit of forgiveness that passes all understanding and that is free of all fear.

Father, thank-you so much for beginning to open up my awareness to these truths and principles from this passage. I know You desire to accomplish a healing in me that has long been needed and I give you full permission to continue to be my doctor. Do whatever it takes to cleanse me from all of this poison that causes me to link my identity to my performance. Thank-you for revealing the real truth about You and Your feelings and desires for my heart through Your Son Jesus. Dwell in my own heart today and cleanse me of all resistance to You. Make me a safe and empty light bulb so that Your passion and power can make me a source of illumination that will not burn out quickly. Glorify Your name in my life today.

(next in series)

Authorities and Judgment

For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; (Romans 13:3)

Here is a very interesting new thought to me. It also highlights the hunch that has been growing on me that the emphasis in this passage is on the choices and condition of my spirit in relationship to authorities much more than determining the legitimacy or judging the actions or decisions of authorities.

What I am starting to see described here is a situation involving judgment. Now, it is very important to understand the true meaning of judgment or I will be immediately misunderstood here, and to explain what I am referring to by true judgment would take far more clarification than I have time for right now. I have been writing a series on judgment that I intend to share whenever I get them organized enough, but for now I will simply have to trust the Spirit to help make sense to others what He has been revealing to me.

The link that came to me just now is that if I apply the scenario described here to the trial of Jesus it would not fit very well at all on the face of it. Few would argue that Jesus ever did anything less than good. In fact, one of the things that made Him so unique in history was His continuance in maintaining an attitude and stance of perfect goodness and forgiveness all through the intense abuse and injustice he received from earthly authorities of the world. But it could hardly be said that in response those authorities gave Him praise as Paul seems to suggest in these verses should happen.

Were the rulers who set up Jesus, framed Him, lied about Him, tortured Him and participated in killing Him – could those rulers fit the description given in this verse, rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil? I just cannot twist my mind around to believing that the corrupt system of authority that heaped all the abuse possible physically and emotionally on the most perfect example of goodness ever to walk the face of this earth could be likened to that described in this passage. And yet the authorities that I face on a regular basis are often closer to that which vented their wrath on the perfect Son of God rather than the noble kind of God-ordained, evil suppressing authorities envisioned by Paul in this passage. I am not saying all authorities are as morally bankrupt as those in Jesus' day, but many of the ones I am seeing in operation today are getting closer to that condition every day.

So how do I relate to this seeming discrepancy? Something tells me there is still much more here than what I am yet perceiving. I am definitely not satisfied with stock explanations of this passage, for the most common applications in the past have been, more often than not, endorsements of blind submission to the corruptness and maneuverings of authorities trying to solicit the allegiance of their Christian subjects.

But one thing that did become clear to me this morning in this verse is that the issue of judgment is being described here. Judgment is when the spirit and true intentions of hearts are revealed by exposure to real goodness. The reason that so much evil was displayed in the final hours of Jesus' life on earth was precisely because corrupt authorities were being exposed up close to the intense goodness of Jesus and the result was not praise from them but outraged condemnation. But this very experience is the most accurate demonstration of the real meaning of judgment.

The biggest issue that has been haunting me in this passage is in a way being addressed from a different angle here. And maybe that is the real lesson that God is trying to get through to me, at least one of them. I suspect that my internal sense of justice that causes bitterness in my heart whenever there is abuse of power going on is out of alignment with the concept of justice from heaven's point of view. And the right way to expose corruption in authorities is radically different than the typical way I usually feel it should be done.

I, like most people I know, have this innate sense that injustice should be exposed by direct confrontation or direct exposure to the public. My flesh wants to explore and uncover the conspiracy's, the graft and corruption, the selfishness and crookedness of people misusing their positions of responsibility and expose them for all to see. In reality I want to shame them by such exposure in vain attempts to somehow get them to repent and either be thrown out of their positions or change their ways. This way of reasoning is constantly being reinforced and practiced by most of the news media organizations around us today.

Given the failure of shame to cause reformation, the next step is to look for ways to employ force of any means to make authorities accountable for their actions and corrupt motives. This may involve not only public humiliation but tactical activation of legal means or policies or seeking to involve higher authorities (that hopefully are less corrupt) in an attempt to force change or removal of corrupt people in power. If I look at what is going on all around me, both in the church and the world, this is the typical approach to resolving all problems of corruption in positions of authority. But it is also in direct conflict with the instructions that I find in these verses.

What is thought by many is that these verses are instructing us to blindly submit to authorities with no regard to their integrity or level of corruption. The unspoken implication also involves embracing or at least tacit endorsement of their corrupt ways so that there is no accountability required. Like in the early heydays of Hitler when this passage was widely used to pressure all Christians in Germany to go along with the very popular political movement of the day, it is often the case that this passage is thought to be teaching us to simply turn a blind eye to corruption in government or in leadership within whatever authority structure we find ourselves. It has too often been the case that this passage has been used as an excuse for suppression of all questioning of authority by good Christians.

What I am now starting to see emerging from these verses is a revelation of a completely different method of exposing the truth about authorities. Instead of employing intense investigations, shame, condemnation or political force to expose and humiliate those in power, the example of Jesus shows me that there is a far more effective and even potentially redemptive way to bring about judgment. But it feels like something not at all appealing to my nature of flesh, and of course it never will appeal to my flesh because my flesh is hopelessly antagonistic to the ways of the Spirit and the methods of heaven. What really needs to be confronted and annihilated is not earthly corrupt authorities as much as the corruptness of my own deceptive, conniving, unrepairable heart of flesh that will sell my soul into hell if given a chance to mature.

That brings me to another disturbing insight. The more angry I become when confronted with corruption in the lives of those in authority the more I am really being triggered by the reflection in a mirror of a very similar kind of corruption in my own evil heart of flesh. When corruption causes a strong reaction in me, it is always indicative of a trigger in my own mind that is not yet healed. So when I react to some revelation by focusing on the corruption of those in authority without first facing, confronting and seeking healing and resolution for the trigger within my own heart, I am really trying to shift the focus away from my own internal issues by becoming obsessed with correcting other's faults. I am trying to remove the speck from my brother's eye before removing the log from my own.

In the teachings and demonstrations of what constitutes true judgment given by Jesus, particularly in Luke during the Last Supper and the following events, I am beginning to see that these two subjects are very much intertwined and shed a great deal of light onto my own problems in this area. I am sensing that God is showing me some important principles that I need to have incorporated into my own life in relationship to authorities. I need to begin living and focusing far more on being filled with the real goodness of God, to receive healing for the triggers that obscure that goodness in times of stress and antagonism, and live more consistently in total submission to the influence of the Spirit of God.

It will never work to live in submission to human authorities as instructed in these verses if I am not even more so living in complete submission to the sweet Spirit of One who is never corrupt, One who is completely just and the One who is the example of perfect goodness and kindness. Only as I focus more attention on living in proper relationship with the real Source of goodness will I ever be able to do what is good while living in right relationship to God's delegated authorities in my life on earth.

What will happen if I do this right is that if I allow the real goodness of God to be revealed in me while living under authority, judgment (exposure) will inevitably take place just as it took place in the final hours of Jesus life with those corrupt authorities. I am not responsible for the character, good or bad, of the authorities in my life. But I am totally responsible for cooperating and submitting to the authority of my Creator and Redeemer and Lord. I am responsible to live in such submission to the Spirit of Jesus, the essence of goodness, that whenever any corruption of earthly authorities comes in contact with the goodness of God being revealed in my life in that setting, that the true nature of the hearts involved in that situation will be exposed by default.

True exposure is not accomplished by attacks, force or humiliation. True exposure is accomplished by the presence in a person's life of true goodness in the face of evil, forgiveness in the face of senseless abuse, respectful behavior in the face of obscenity, allegiance to God in the face of intimidation, peace in the face of human wrath and senseless violence. For it is never shame or force but it is the kindness of God that leads us – and others – to repentance.

This does not require me to be blindly ignorant of the evil nature or workings of corrupt authorities. But it certainly redefines my choice of how I am to relate to them. If I feel compelled to directly expose authorities using the normal methods of the world and my flesh, then I am myself being judged, and in a way being complicit in the very same problems. For in real judgment everyone is judged including the judges.

For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17 NKJV)

(next in series)

Subjection or Conformity?

Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. (Romans 13:2)

I have been struggling to understand this from different perspectives. Another aspect came to my mind this morning. In the days of Jeremiah the prophet, Israel had become so wicked that God “arranged” for various foreign nations to come and act as ministers of wrath against Israel. The messages of Jeremiah to the rulers and people were to not resist or fight against these invasions but to allow themselves to be captured and taken away to Babylon.

Of course this did not sit too well with the king and his counselors and instead they not only resisted their enemies (who were ordained by God) but they carried out various acts of shame and brutality against Jeremiah including destroying the hand-written scroll of his prophecies in a fire, stripping him naked and even dropping him into a pit full of slimy, stinky mud. The leaders were clinging to promises from the past of God's protection while refusing to align their hearts with the God of those promises. As a result, their resistance produced massive destruction, devastation, torture and death at levels far beyond what God had planned to allow for them. Instead of escaping punishments for their sins they only amplified them.

In a number of passages in the Old Testament God talks about the surrounding nations that attacked Israel as His agents to teach Israel a lesson. He also notes that many times these nations carried out His “wrath” with far more enthusiasm and vengeance than what He intended and as a consequence His “wrath” was now to be turned against them and they would suffer even more tragic consequences because of their unfaithfulness in the job of being God's avengers. But just because they were far more abusive than what God had planned did not nullify the fact that God had “chosen” them to carry out the role of authorities to act in His behalf against His chosen people who had filled up their capacity for sin against Him.

So the wickedness of an “arranged authority” does not disqualify them from being an authority that needs to be acknowledged and be subject to. This must be balanced out against the fact that there are also illegitimate false authorities that are not necessarily ordained by God who make false claims of jurisdiction over our lives. But how are we to discern the difference? Is it even possible to always be able to discern the difference?

Again, it seems that throughout this passage that the main point is not so much discerning who is a God-ordained authority and who is not, but the reaction of resistance or the choice to relate with a respectful attitude to even those who may be overzealous in their role as avengers of wrath.

It also makes sense that humans, with their false views of the real meaning of wrath, will almost always become overzealous in the prosecution of enforcement duties arranged for them by God. Because the human flesh is so addicted to power and control and violence, whenever they are entrusted with responsibilities for exercising authority over others they will often become contaminated with the heady illusions of superiority and will become over-abusive and act very un-godlike. But just because others have overstepped their roles as God's delegated authority does not excuse anyone of allowing a desire for revenge to fill their own spirit with bitterness and thereby have their heart and spirit poisoned and poison many around them. (Heb. 12:15)

It is the condition of our spirit that is of utmost importance in the sight of God. Religion has given us the illusion that facts and doctrines are the most important things in heaven's eyes, but this is absolutely untrue. The message that rings all throughout Scripture from Genesis to Revelation is that the attitude and spirit that we cherish and how we relate in our spirit to God and those around us determines our condition in the eyes of heaven and ultimately our eternal destiny. Our beliefs and doctrines may have a great influence on the choices we make that affect the direction of our spirit, but it is the condition of our spirit that is of primary focus in the messages of God. He is primarily concerned with our heart because it is our heart that was created to unite with Him. He has also set eternity in their heart... (Ecclesiastes 3:11) Our heart is the connecting link between God and humanity, not our intellect as important and useful as that may be.

Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' (Matthew 7:22-23) There are many who are deceived into thinking that if they can just get the right formula figured out or do all the right things religiously that they will be assured a place in the kingdom of heaven. But Jesus stated emphatically that it is being known by Him – at the heart level – that determines one's qualification for living in the presence of the God who is passionately heart-oriented.

That is why it is so important to understand the message of Romans 13. Because a person could even subject themselves to every authority in the world but still be lost. They may find themselves standing before God and making very similar claims to those just listed in Matthew 7 and get the same answer from Jesus. Yes, there is a need to get along as much as possible with all men (Rom. 12:18), but if it is done without a transformation of the heart and without genuine, supernatural love as described later in this chapter, it will be completely useless except to make life a little less troublesome with the authorities.

The kind of subjection talked about in this chapter must be understood as being defined by the passage itself. I don't believe it is necessarily the kind of subjection that many Christians sometimes advocate, like that promoted in Germany during the early years of Hitler. It might be easy from our vantage point to see a problem with that thinking back there, yet it is the very same reasoning used today to promote blind subjection to governmental forces and agencies that have the very same spirit and intentions that was displayed in the 1930's and 40's in Germany.

It was not then obvious what the true character of Hitler's regime was or the results that would eventually come about because of his beliefs and goals. And neither is it often clear the diabolical nature of many of the goals and methods of present day governments that are going to end up in very similar tragedies. The terrible results of giving higher priority to “security” than to real freedom will only end up in national ruin and complete loss of the freedoms that this country was founded to protect. I believe we have already gone far past the point of no return and the end is coming very soon.

So the real question becomes, how should people respond to delegated authorities like the Nazi Regime or similar entities today in light of this chapter? Romans 13 has always been thrown down as the rationale for obedience to demands of despotic regimes. But I do not believe that was the real purpose for which this chapter was written. It has been used very effectively for intimidating Christians for centuries and making them feel guilty for opposing satanically inspired authorities, but what is the real message here without the spin of those with a strong agenda for blind allegiance to worldly agendas?

I see part of the answer as something of a subversive subjection; compliance within reason but with very careful attention paid to the spirit within. It is outward subjection when allowed by conscience but having a spirit that may not be in harmony with the spirit of abusive authorities. Of course there are some authorities that try to carry out their duties in a right spirit and these should be honored and affirmed for doing so. But this area is an issue that is often at the center of tension between conscience and conformity. In fact, the abusive way many Christians have promoted this chapter is in direct conflict with Romans 12:2 where we are instructed to not be conformed to this world.

So the question now seems to be, how do you live in subjection without caving into conformity?

(next in series)

Relating to Authority

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; (Romans 13:1-3)

Is the condemnation referred to in verse two something that comes from God or from the authorities?

Is it morally wrong to be on the receiving end of this condemnation or might it be inevitable when resisting false powers?

Didn't Jesus receive condemnation upon Himself from the established authorities?

Can one respect that fact that the authorities they choose to resist for moral reasons may be in place because of God's arrangements but still be need to be resisted?

What kind of resistance is Paul talking about here?

Do established authorities have complete right to determine our relationship to them?

What is really meant by resisting?

Are we to blindly accept and allow “authorities” to manage our lives and our conscience and our finances and our families because these verses supposedly say that is what we must do?

Or is this passage possibly warning us that though legitimate authorities are in place because of God's arrangements we may have to sometimes live with their condemnation while we have to follow our conscience in resistance to them? If that is true then it implies that we are resisting an ordinance of God but not resisting God Himself. Now that sounds rather strange, but is it out of bounds or is it realistic?

Verse three also introduces an interesting point about rulers. It says that rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same. (Romans 13:3) Does this mean that anyone who becomes a cause of fear for good behavior is not a legitimate ruler? That is a valid question. Then the argument moves into the definition of what is good which will be viewed very differently from the ruler's point of view than from a conscientious objector. Is this an exception providing the right to resist established authority?

To further complicate things, verse four asserts that these authorities are ministers of God avenging wrath in direct violation of 12:19 where we are explicitly instructed to not avenge ourselves. So is this a loophole for that previous instruction? If we can get ourselves into a government position are we then authorized to avenge ourselves in the name of being a delegated authority and a minister of God/wrath?

I think that one thing that is clear from verse three is that our response to authorities, whatever their legitimacy, is to do what is good. This lines up with the many instructions of Jesus along the same theme where He instructs us to treat our enemies with kindness. And after all, it only makes sense to reflect the kindness of God toward those who need to repent, for earlier in Romans Paul made it very clear that it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance.

This is certainly not what our natural feelings and reactions will lead us to do. Our flesh will be desperately looking for loopholes to excuse indulging in some degree of revenge rationalized by some pious-sounding justification. But we are to be witnesses of the transformational work of God going on at the deep levels of our souls and as such must allow the Spirit of Jesus to emanate from our lives instead of the natural tendencies of our flesh. It takes death to self to be able to properly respond to abusive authorities. And abuse is what power-thirsty governments always tend to foster.

My response to authorities must not be based on those authorities earning my respect for them. I am to be respectful irregardless of how others treat me. That is a very hard command and one that I, in particular, have struggled with for most of my life. There are very strong reasons for that in my past, but it is also a weakness that God wants to completely heal in me and restore me to wholeness and peace. This process of working through Romans and especially this chapter is challenging me to face these issues head-on and listen to whatever the Spirit wants to impart to me personally.

I notice that the solution for getting rid of fear of authority explained in this verse has nothing to do with the attitude or actions of the authorities changing in any way. It has everything to do with my choice of attitude and actions which is all I am responsible for anyway. Sometimes, hopefully, if I do what is right those authorities will praise me for doing what is right. But irregardless, my kindness of spirit needs to be constant so that it might have an influence on the persons who are filling the roles of authority. Unfortunately that is not always the case. But still, irregardless of the actions or reactions of those who are delegated to be in authority I am still to focus my attention on my spirit and attitude. If I get that priority straight the resultant words and actions coming from me will reveal my relationship with God as the factor determining my relationship with authorities.

I am beginning to see that, again the real issue emerging in this study is who I look to as my source of life and peace. If I subconsciously somehow believe that the government is responsible for making me happy, safe, prosperous or even keeping me “good”, then I will have some very intense emotions ready to erupt when that authority does not do what I need done in my life. This is allowing the government to take the place in my life that belongs legitimately only to God alone. And as a result of allowing human authorities to take the place of God in my soul I am then worshiping false gods and the results will ultimately be not for my best good. It may keep me in sync with millions of people around me who choose to do the same thing, but it will always leave me feeling somewhat empty, frustrated and focused on how the government is failing to be the perfect god that I need.

I wonder if it is a correct correlation to view the role of government in a similar light to the role of the law in Galatians three.

Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, (Galatians 3:24-25 NRSV)

So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. (Galatians 3:24-25 NIV)

This text refers to the practice in Paul's day of people putting their trusted slave in charge of watching and disciplining their children if necessary to get them to school and back and to make sure they did not play hooky. Paul says that the law acts in just such a way to keep us out of trouble until we are mature enough to have the principles of the kingdom of heaven internalized and no longer need the oversight of artificial rules. Has God arranged that human governments, though usually corrupt, often inept and abusive and certainly not very reflective of the principles of God's kingdom – has God arranged that these very imperfect systems of control remain in place while we are growing and maturing in the internal instructions from our true Teacher in our process of transformation?

Even more disturbing, I suspect that God allows these very systems of control to irritate and rile up my triggers in order to expose my weak points of character as opportunities to come to Him to receive healing and growth and mature in grace. I certainly cannot look to these abusers as examples to emulate, though that, in fact, is often my greatest temptation. But God is calling me to turn to Him and seek His face so that I will learn to emulate how Jesus related to abusive and corrupt authorities while He lived here on earth. These authorities were not given to be my instructors but only to prevent the earth from being too quickly overrun by evildoers. God takes responsibility for setting up and taking down kingdoms and authorities and He seldom does it with the timing that we would prefer. But under it all I am to remember that it is God who is my legitimate teacher and the artificial and often unjust rules are only the sometimes abusive methods of a slave who is venting on me the frustrations suffered internally by all slaves who long for freedom themselves.

If this is true, then it appears like God is giving me the very heavy responsibility to demonstrate to these slaves who often mistreat me without legitimate cause, the characteristics of the kingdom and the possibilities that could be theirs if they choose to embrace the same kind Master under which I serve. Instead of reacting with anger, revenge and bitterness against unjust authorities, I am to reveal the qualities cultivated in the body of Christ as described in the previous chapter. This would allow more opportunity for God's Spirit to soften the hearts of those observing God's goodness in me under duress, abuse or injustice and draw them toward a decision to join this radical body of believers – believers in a God very different than the kind of control and abusive-type authority embraced by this world.

"I, even I, am the LORD, and there is no savior besides Me. "It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, and there was no strange god among you; so you are My witnesses," declares the LORD, and I am God. (Isaiah 43:11-12)

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Legitimate Authorities

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; (Romans 13:1-3)

I start the study of this chapter by examining the meanings for the original Greek words.

Person = sentient spirit – soul.

Subjection = subordinate; reflexively, to obey:--be under obedience (obedient), put under, subdue unto.

Also compare to verses in chapter 12 such as be devoted to one another (10), give preference to one another (10), be of the same mind toward one another (16), be at peace with all men (18).

Governing authorities = huperecho and exousia

huperecho = to hold oneself above, i.e. (figuratively) to excel; participle (as adjective, or neuter as noun) superior, superiority:--better, excellency, higher, pass, supreme.

Exousia = (in the sense of ability); privilege, i.e. (subjectively) force, capacity, competency, freedom, or (objectively) mastery (concretely, magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence:--authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, strength.

The reasoning behind this is that apart from God there really is no real power or authority, so the authentic authorities that exist are in fact (ordained) to arrange in an orderly manner, i.e. assign or dispose (to a certain position or lot):--addict, appoint, determine, ordain, set – of God.

So Pilate said to Him, "You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?" Jesus answered, "You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin." (John 19:10-11)

A question that seems to be left unanswered is, did Pilate actually have the authority that he claimed he had or not? I realize most religious people teach that Pilate was the ordained authority within Rome and that this verse confirms it. But an open-minded reading of this does not necessarily prove that assumption. While Jesus did not defy the claim of Pilate to having authority or resist him, neither do I see this as a ringing endorsement of Pilate's claims. Jesus says, unless it had been given you..., but does not confirm that it indeed had been given to him.

Another point to ponder here. How much is this passage referring to authorities within the body and how much outside? Of course, since all authority comes from God I suppose that is a superfluous question. But the movement in this chapter seems to be an outward progression of relational attitudes from one on one relationships within the body to how we are to relate to the world at large.

How is it that earthly authorities are established by God? The word comes from tasso which means, To arrange in an orderly manner, i.e. assign or dispose (to a certain position or lot):--addict, appoint, determine, ordain, set.

As with many issues involving evil, particularly in the Old Testament, God accepts responsibility for events and authorities because He is the one who created everything and put all forces into being to counterbalance each other. That does not mean He intended them to act the way they do or for them to abuse their power. They will be held accountable to Him for any abuse of power just as everyone is. It is not our responsibility to pass judgment on the faults and sins of those in power or else we will become infected with the poison of bitterness and become vulnerable to craving power ourselves. With that attitude we are also very vulnerable to abusing such power ourselves if we were to be entrusted with it. Our greatest responsibility is for how we choose to respond and relate to those in power or placed in authority over us.

But I still believe it is a valid question to ask, what constitutes legitimate authority and what is illegitimate, usurped authority? Just because any ol' person comes along and asserts a claim over our life in order to exploit or abuse us does not mean they are an authority established by God, does it? Is a robber threatening your life an established authority? Is the Mafia an established authority? They have rules and organizations and territory just like more legitimate governments. What determines that an authority or person in power is established or not?

This is the crux of some very important issues that most people want to avoid or skip over because it creates too many hard questions of conscience that are difficult to grapple with. It tends to make the one's asking them very different from everyone who are just willing to submit to anyone who intimidates them enough. But just because an organization claims to have authority and uses brute force and intimidation or massive, complex deceptions to assert their legitimacy does not necessarily give them the role of established authority. This issue is going to become more and more sharp and difficult as we near the end of history, because there is going to be a concerted effort to enforce the will of evil men on the body of Christ that will violate their allegiance to God. And it is going to be much deeper than simply what day you keep for Sabbath or what denomination you subscribe under.

I do not yet have a clear answer for this question of what attributes an established authority needs to have to be recognized as such. I know that I have made choices about this issue that has put me at odds with the majority opinions and that will continue to do so. I am also aware somewhat of the history of the abuse of this passage in the past, such as enlisting support for the authority of Hitler from the religious people and churches in Germany. There was great pressure on church members of nearly every denomination to patriotically support the wonderful programs and the advancements that Hitler was doing for his country while overlooking the slight discomforts of some of his quirky ideas on the margins. No one knew at that time how tragic his plans would end up after their full exposure, so those people could not make their decisions based on the perspective that the world has now looking back. They had to take a seemingly indefensible position based on a high percentage of admittedly good things Hitler was doing that have been largely overlooked since that time in our emphasis on his later atrocities.

Those who chose to not support him based on what was considered at the time to be insignificant issues of conscience came under intense criticism and were often ostracized by the church leaders of the day. They were sometimes evicted from their churches and were viewed as fanatical and unpatriotic for their concerns about the direction they felt things were going. And remember, Hitler was not some fly-by-night terrorist trying to set up some power grab to get attention or just enrich himself. He was a legitimate ruler set up by a legitimate government and acknowledged by the world as the established head of authority in Germany. So in a very real sense, those who chose to oppose his agenda were refusing to submit to the governing authority.

And that was the very argument used most often against them by others. So what are we to say about them in retrospect? Was it wrong for these dissenters to stand for their concerns in the face of intense opposition and apparently against the explicit Word of the Bible here in Romans 13 that was being thrown into their faces? Does their situation apply to anything we are facing today or was that just a fluke in history?

Many now view these resistors as heroes, but they were certainly not viewed that way in their time. They were vilified as dissenters as have many of God's people throughout history. This chapter creates a tension that may be one of the most difficult for Christians to struggle with because of the internal conflict it creates between cooperation with earthly authorities and allegiance to moral convictions.

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