Authority Gets Legitimacy from Obedience to God

authority gets legitimacy

AUTHORITY GETS LEGITIMACY. Most Christians I know don’t like Romans 13:1-7 because they think it means we never question authority. But if we’re good Bereans and we read this passage closely, we will see it says something quite different. In fact, it clearly states that God has expectations for rulers. And that He establishes them to fulfill these expectations and duties.

In verse 3 God expects authorities to praise “what is good.” If we do good, we should have no fear of them. In verse 4 He expects them to act as “a minister of God to you for good.” And to use armed force to bring wrath on whoever does evil.

In verse 6 God expects them to be “devoting themselves to this very thing.” But what thing? To be “servants of God.” They may not know God, but He still considers them His servants. In verse 7 He expects authorities to operate on what “tax is due” and what honor is due to them. That means not taking more than what is due to them.

To the degree they fail in these duties, they lose legitimacy and act against their God-given authority. Because God establishes their authority, and not them personally. That’s why the Scripture refers to the authority as “it” and not as “him” or “her”. Specifically, “it is a minister of God to you for good…It does not bear the sword for nothing… For it is a minister of God” (verse 4).

What authority do we have?

Again, God does not establish the person, He establishes the authority. We owe honor to the people in authority, but we always submit to the authority. We don’t always submit to everything the person in authority does.

To the degree that authorities fail to fulfill their duties, we are justified in calling them to do so. Not only for the sake of people whom their actions affect, but for the sake of God whom they serve. And for their own sake as those whom God will judge.

But we are justified in calling them out only to the degree that we are doing our duties. God has given us authority to fulfill many duties too. In Romans 12, our duties include: to “love…without hypocrisy…abhor what is evil, cling to what is good… Bless those who persecute you… Never take your own revenge” (verses 9,14,19). ”

If government authorities don’t do their duties, and instead praise what is evil, and persecute us for the good that we’re doing, they lose their legitimacy. But we are to keep loving them, keep blessing them and not take revenge. “Never pay back evil for evil… but overcome evil with good” (verses 17,21).

The good we can do when persecuted includes reminding them of their authority and God-given duties. But we lose our legitimacy if we do it in the wrong way. Romans 12 reminds us of the right way to exercise our authority in conflicts. Then the rest of Romans 13 tells us how to love our neighbors as ourselves. And how to avoid sins which would cause us to lose our own moral authority and legitimacy.

Most of the time most authorities are tracking down thieves, murderers, and crooks. We must honor them for that. But when those in authority become lawless, as under the Antichrist, they lose their God-given authority. “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

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Photo by Adrien Olichon: https://www.pexels.com/photo/lonely-cross-on-slope-of-mountain-4534513/