The Bible tells us to submit to civil authorities that come from God, but what most Christians never think about - who defines legitimate civil authority that comes from God? A military coup who seizes power? A majority vote of a nation?
Saint Augustine wrote:
“Can a self-styled civil authority that oppresses a massive number of people with their unrighteous civil law have any more legitimate authority than a small pirate?”
So is a person who has the most power over people God’s definition of legitimate authority? There is NOT ONE verse in the Bible that says that. But Satan deceives many Christians by even using Scripture, as he also tried to deceive Jesus through quoting Scripture.
But no amount of saved or unsaved voting majority is God’s definition for His civil authorities. ONLY God defines His authorities that serve Him. Lest any Christian question this and take Scripture out of its context, God defined legitimate authorities IMMEDIATELY AFTER He said to submit to them (Rom. 13:3-4 NASB):
“Rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior… Do what is good and you will have praise from the same… for he is a servant of God to you for good… for he is a servant of God.”
Note the 4 characteristics of God’s definition for legitimate authorities:
1. “Rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior.”
2. “Do what is good and you will havepraise from the same.”
3. “For he is a servant of God to youforgood.”
4. “For he is a servantof God.”
We should think of all 4 of these areas if we want to know if an authority is a legitimate authority according to God. If a civil leader does not qualify in God’s definition for civil authority, then they are illegitimate … no matter how they got into power or what anyone thinks or declares.
St. Augustine wrote what most Christians for centuries understood and agreed with:
“Godless civil rulers are no more than a band of robbers. Moreover, being lawless in relation to God, they are lawless and predatory in relation to men. A law that is not just is no law at all.”
By the way, Martin Luther King Jr., when he was in jail for protesting for civil rights, he quoted St. Augustine - “Unjust laws are no laws at all.” Where are the pastors today publicly protesting the godless illegitimate laws of today? Is Martin Luther King the last pastor in America history that will have led in public protests and rallies against immoral laws and illegitimate authority?
Does God legitimize same-sex marriages? Of course not. Does God legitimize homosexual pastors? Of course not. So with God’s marriage institution and church institution, Christians know they should never accept what is illegitimate. Yet with God’s civil institution, they unwittingly accept any authority that comes along.
Any so-called authority who does not acknowledge the only legitimate Supreme Authority and His Law, such “authorities” are illegitimate, treasonous, and rebels to the ONLY one who has “all authority… on earth” - King Jesus. As Jesus said (Matt. 28:18):
“ALL authority has been given unto Me …on earth.”
Jesus’s authority on earth has not been revoked! Christ is not just Head of the church but also head of the State (Col. 2:10):
“Christ is the Headover every ruler and authority!”
If a ruler is not ruling with and for Jesus, they are ruling in opposition to Jesus! There is NO gray zone, NO in-between area. Jesus said (Luke 11:23):
“Anyone who isn’t with Me opposes Me, and anyone who isn’t working with Me is actually working against Me!”
Did you also know in Romans 13:4 the word for civil “servant” is the same Greek word for church “servant” i.e. “deacon,” in 1 Timothy 3:8? Both are God’s “servants” - one for civil service and one for church service. Do pastors or congregations define who is a legitimate deacon? Of course not, ONLY God and the Bible define His servants – church government or civil government. ONLY God in the Bible defines who are His legitimate civil servants / authorities.
Should a congregation ever allow a man to become a deacon if they do not honor God and His Word? Of course not. If a deacon is in power and they do not acknowledge Jesus as Head of the church and do not lead according to God’s Word, does God expect Christians to still honor such a deacon as a legitimate deacon? Obviously, not! Neither should Christians honor illegitimate civil servants but work to get them out of office!
How deceived pastors and Christians are who teach to honor illegitimate “authority” who actually reject the Supreme Authority - King Jesus and His Word. Jesus is the exclusive Head of the church in being called the - “Chief Shepherd.”Jesus is also the exclusive Head of the State in being called the - “King of kings.”
Even our non-evangelical Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson, had a more biblical understanding of what God wants regarding civil authorities than do most pastors today. Jefferson always wore a ring that was inscribed with these words:
“Rebellion to tyrants is submission to God.”
And every authority is a tyrant who rebels against King Jesus and God’s Law.
What Jefferson inscribed on his ring is what God also mandates (Prov. 28:4):
“To reject the Law is to praise the wicked; to obey the Law is to fight them.”
There would have been no Declaration of Independence and no American Revolution if early Americans, pastors and their congregations, had not believed and obeyed Scripture.
Most Christians reading in the Gospels about the Pharisees and Sadducees don’t realize the political implications:
* Rome let Judea be ruled under its own local law, God’s Mosaic Law.
* Rome let Judea be ruled under its own local people, the Jews.
* The Pharisees and Sadducees were the two political parties that were the civil rulers in Judea, ruling from the Sanhedrin.
So every time Jesus was condemning and contending with the Pharisees and Sadducees about God’s Mosaic Law, it was always in reference to the civil law. In that light Jesus was a prolific political activist. Jesus called the Pharisees more than civil frauds, He called them (Matt. 23:33):
“Snakes! Sons of vipers!”
The Apostle Paul also said that every person either is following God the Father or is (Eph. 2:2):
“Obeying the devil… and who refuse to obey God.”
There is no such thing as neutrality with God. Every person is either under God or under the devil.
In the Old Testament Saul was the first king over Israel. But hear what Samuel said to king Saul when he began to disobey the Word of the Lord (1 Sam. 15:23):
“For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king!”
Though Saul still maintained power over Israel, the Lord no longer viewed him as king over Israel. God “rejected” him as the civil ruler, and therefore he was no longer God’s legitimate authority or therefore to be subject to. Should any Christian ever accept any civil ruler as legitimate who God rejects?
All God-fearing Christians should unite and mobilize to oust all God-dishonoring civil leaders and replace them with only true, God-fearing, legitimate civil leaders (Ex. 18:21; Deut. 1:13; 17:15):
“Select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders… Choose some well-respected men… who are known for their wisdom and understanding… one from among your brothers you shall set… over you.”
Civil leaders must be “one from among your brothers.” Applied today, that would be brothers in Christ. However, not just any brothers in Christ, but brothers in Christ who have seven qualities: “capable, honest, God-fearing, bribe-hating, well-respected, having wisdom and understanding.” If Christians do not appoint civil leaders who are Christians and with these qualifications, they are civil leaders that God has not consented to or approved (Hosea 8:4):
“The people have appointed kings without my consent, and princes without my approval.”
So, what would a true Christian nation with God’s Law look like? First, here is what it would NOT be:
* Not a state church.
* Not a socialist state.
* Not a state oligarchy.
* Not a libertarian state.
* Not a dictatorship state.
* Not an ecclesiastical state.
* Not a pure democracy state.
* Not a state for Christians only.
* Not a “theocracy” like demonic Islam.
* Not a state church of any one denomination.
* Not a state with legislators making up their own laws.
A Christian nation is none of the above. What then is a Christian nation? A Christian nation is a nation that is governed by God’s Constitution, God’s Moral Civil Law. It is a nation that honors the Lord Jesus Christ as King of kings, and all His Law as Jesus said in the beginning and the end of Matthew (Matt. 5:17-19 & 28:18-20):
“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the Law of Moses … until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s Law will disappear … whoever obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
“I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth … Go therefore and teach all nations … teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you, and behold, I will be with you to the end of the age.”
