When Can Christians Disobey the Government?
The Intersection of God’s Laws, the Government’s Guns, and Your Actions
Listen to the audio narration of this article here.
Introduction:
By almost any metric, the United States government has been growing quite rapidly ever since its formation. Not only has this trend accelerated dramatically over the past few decades, it’s hit warp speed with the covid control. This has prompted many Christians to critically contemplate exactly where the limits of the civil magistrate end. Some Christians have attempted to avoid the difficulty by the reflexive, rote repetition of Romans 13. Such a simplistic mantra fails to adequately account for all the Scriptural data on the subject. Other Christians have defaulted to their prior political positions. But this approach also fails to fully incorporate the entirety of Scripture into one’s political thought. This is no longer a theoretical, academic question, so we must abandon these philosophical fiascoes and pursue a thoroughly biblical approach.
Civil Government Defined Biblically:
To understand when the civil authorities may and/or must be disobeyed, we must understand the concept of sovereignty, and from whence it comes. God is the Sovereign, possesses supreme authority, and the capacity of delegating it on the conditions of his choosing. All legitimate authority begins and ends with his delegation.
In the beginning, God delegated Adam authority as his viceregent and gave him dominion over the entire creation (Gen. 1:26-31), conditioned upon perfect, personal, and perpetual obedience to his law. Thus, as R. J. Rushdoony said, “The basic government of man is the self-government of Christian man.”1 Without this realm flourishing, the following three are doomed to fail.
Next, God instituted the household government (Genesis 2:21-24), bound by the covenant of marriage, with man as the covenant head (Ephesians 5:23). As man’s existence was complicated by numerical expansion coupled with the fall, God more specifically instituted the ecclesiastical sphere (Gen. 3:8, 21, & 4:2-5) and the civil sphere (Gen. 4:8-16 & 9:5-6).2 The laws governing each institution are laid out more extensively in the Mosaic Code, which is then applied and commented on by the prophets and apostles.
This understanding of sovereignty for each sphere is often associated with Abraham Kuyper’s thought, the seeds of it far predate him. Take, for example, the Scots Confession of 1560, Chapter 24 “The Civil Magistrate”:
…Therefore we confess and avow that those who resist the supreme powers, so long as they are acting in their own spheres, are resisting God’s ordinance and cannot be held guiltless. We further state that so long as princes and rulers vigilantly fulfil their office, anyone who denies them aid, counsel, or service, denies it to God, who by His lieutenant craves it of them.
While the venerable Westminster Confession says nothing positive about lawful disobedience, it should be noted that the Westminster Assembly was convened by a Parliament currently engaged in a civil war against the king.
Protestant Resistance Theory:
The belief that each government receives its power directly from God means they only have power in their sphere or jurisdiction. Thus, their power has limits. With this in mind, Protestants during the Reformation, often living in hostile areas, carefully crafted standards from Scripture on why, when, and how magistrates could be resisted. This Protestant Resistance Theory sought to correct for the excess of power which had accrued by the late Middle Ages in the church and magistracy by emphasizing household and self-government. Often, the Reformers’ discussion of “liberty of conscience” strikes modern ears as a bit weird. We generally don’t think of such a concept as being relevant to us, but in a situation where the state told you where you could go to church and how to worship when there (as we’ve seen beginning in 2020), asserting the rights of household and self-government was crucial. The insistence of the Reformers on liberty of conscience was not a liberal/libertarian, autonomy-oriented impulse, but rather a holy reverence for that primordial governmental institution foundational to all the others.
In our day, I think the imbalance is an emaciated church and household. The weakness of these two governments, which have historically served as buffers between state power and individuals, is what has allowed the state to gain so much power in recent decades. And given that individuals (as well as households and churches) are increasingly coming face to face with a ravenous, tyrannical state, now more than ever, we need a refresher on Protestant Resistance Theory.
What will follow is an attempt to sum up the best of Protestant Resistance Theory into bite-sized propositions, each with supporting Scripture passages. The “Further Reading” section will have some excellent resources which go into greater depth on this subject.
Propositions on Righteous Resistance:3
Section 1: Obedience to Magistrates:
1. Christians ought to obey the civil magistrate as a fellow servant of God for their blessing in all their lawful commands and ordinances.
1.1. Christians are to do this all while offering sincere thanksgiving, supplication, and intercession for their magistrates and the commonwealth they rule.
1.2. Christians are to obey the lawful commands of the magistrate in a cooperative manner, without grumbling or complaining.
1.3. Christians must seek the good of their magistrate and commonwealth. Men must be willing to defend them in justified, lawfully conducted armed conflict, and similar loyalty is expected of women and children (though expressed in different ways).
1.4. Christians are obligated to fulfill all these duties no matter the magistrate’s personal righteousness or lack thereof.
1.5. Christians are to give thanks for all things, including persecution, in which we are commanded to rejoice.
1.6. In the case of unjust and unlawful dictates from the magistrate, however, the Christian has numerous rights and duties.
Section 2: First Principles of Resistance:
2. The obedience God commands us render to magistrates is not absolute for magistrates themselves frequently disobey God and fail to justly enforce his law.
2.1. Just as our obedience to magistrates accords with God’s word, and just as magistrates are to rule according to his word, so we are to disobey only in ways and means God has prescribed in his word.
2.2. Thus, when forced to decide between two sinful actions, Christians must make the less sinful choice, using the law of God as their standard.
2.3. All lawful disobedience, to the extent morally possible, should conform to other lawful demands of the magistrate.
2.4. Lawful, Christian disobedience to tyrannical magistrates is perfectly consonant with high respect for the sacred office of the magistracy, even while opposing the man or men currently occupying the office.
2.5. While Christians may seek to avoid punishment for their lawful disobedience, they may not sin in so doing and must be prepared to manfully face the consequences.
2.6. If possible, lawful disobedience should be led by lesser magistrates, who, just as the sinning magistrate, have the duty of rewarding good and punishing evil.
2.7. Disobedience to magistrates is never justified by personal feelings or offense but only by the strict standards of God’s word.
2.8. Christians engaging in lawful disobedience must still sincerely seek the good of the magistrate they are opposing and the commonwealth of which they are members; God blesses this kind of lawful disobedience.
Section 3: Unjust Commands:
3. Christians can and must disobey the magistrate when required to do something sinful or prevented from fulfilling their positive duties towards God.
3.1. In refusing to comply with evil commands, Christians have a positive duty to aid their brethren in this resistance spiritually, physically, and financially.
3.2. If there is disagreement among Christians about what is or is not sinful – and thus when the magistrate may be disobeyed – the duty to aid the brethren is not abrogated.
3.3. If one believes another Christian’s disobedience was unwise, he is still obligated to help him; however, if the disobedience was of an obvious, blatant, and pagan-like nature, aid may be withheld until such time as he repents.
3.4. The manner of disobedience must be in a form proportionate to the sin being required (or the sin of omission which would be incurred if the Christian obeyed the magistrate).
Section 4: Tyranny and Jurisdiction:
4. In some instances, magistrates will mandate or prohibit an action or item which is, in and of itself, perfectly moral or even good, but when such a mandate or prohibition is an overreach of their power and a breach of their jurisdictional authority, the situation is more nuanced.
4.1. Egregious and persistent jurisdictional violations are to be resisted, with judiciously applied lawful disobedience, but there is often little private citizens can do, hence the wisdom of recourse to other magistrates.
4.2. Christians ought to pray and prophesy (that is, to publicly preach) against such jurisdictional overreach, but this may be of no avail.
Section 5: Armed Resistance:
5. There are situations in which Christians may lawfully take up arms against a magistrate.
5.1. Obviously, Christians may, in obedience to their magistrate take up arms against a foreign magistrate in defense of their commonwealth.
5.2. Parallel to this, a Christian may, in obedience to a magistrate of their own commonwealth, take up arms against a tyrannical or usurping magistrate.
5.3. The reason for this parallel is threefold. First, the cause: in both situations, the sin being opposed is jurisdictional violation. Second, the means: in both cases, Christians are still obeying a magistrate in authority. Third, the ends: the goals of each resistance are peace, justice, and the welfare of the commonwealth.
5.4. If a magistrate is posing immediate harm to a private individual’s person, family, or church, and no recourse to another magistrate may be made, all legal defenses have been exhausted, and there is no possibility of fleeing, Christians may defend themselves with violence.
5.5. Christians may also choose to endure a particular injustice, both for the sake of shielding themselves from further injustices or for the more glorious display of the gospel.
5.6. Endurance of injustice in lieu of self-defense is an honorable choice, but cannot be made binding on the consciences of other Christians. The rule of godly wisdom applies here.
Section 6: Preparing for Lawful Disobedience:
6. Christians are to understand the times in which they live and the culture they inhabit.
6.1. Since at many times throughout their history, God’s people have been persecuted and attacked, Christians, of all people, ought to be the most vigilant in anticipating tyranny and the corresponding possibility of resistance.
6.2. Thus, Christians have a duty to prepare for lawful disobedience. This includes several key responsibilities:
6.2.1. Ensuring congregants understand God’s law and have a strong grasp on Protestant Resistance Theory,
6.2.2. Ensuring congregants are spiritually prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice if – God forbid – things should come to that,
6.2.3. Ensuring churches have practical plans for the physical and financial effects of persecution and lawful disobedience,
6.2.4. And finally, ensuring that churches are mortifying and repenting of the sins for which they and their nation are being or will be judged.
Scripture Proofs:
1. Deut. 27:1, Rom. 13:1-7, Titus 3:1, 1 Pet. 2:13-17.
1.1. Ez. 6:10, 1 Timothy 2:1-2.
1.2. See 1.; Phil. 2:14.
1.3. Deut. 28:1, Jud. 4:9, 1 Sam. 8:10-12, Jer. 29:7, Luke 3:14, Eph. 6:1-3.
1.5. Matt. 5:11-12, Eph. 5:20.
1.6. See following.
2. Ex. 20:3, Matt. 22:20-21, Matt. 28:18, Rom 13:3-5, Eph. 6:1, Rev. 1:5.
2.1. Deut. 17:18-20, 27:26.
2.2. Ex. 1:15-22, Josh. 2, James 2:25, Heb. 11:31.
2.3. See 1.; Rom. 12:8.
2.4. See 1.4.; Acts 12, 1 Peter 2:13:17.
2.5. 1 Kings 19:3, 1 Sam. 19:18, 1 Sam. 21:13, Dan. 3:16-18 & 6, 2 Cor. 11:32-33.
2.6. Num. 11:16-30, Neh. 4, Est. 7-8, 9:3, 1 Kings 18:3, Jer. 38:7-13, Jer. 39:15-18, Dan. 1:8, Rom. 13:3.
2.7. See 1.; Jer. 17:9.
2.8. See 1.1.-4.; Ex. 1:20, 1 Sam. 16 – 2 Sam. 10, Dan., Matt. 10:32, Est. 9.
3. 1 Sam. 22:17, Acts 4:19, 5:29.
3.1. 1 Sam. 21:1-6, 1 Kings 18:3.
3.2. 1 Kings 19, Matt. 25:31-46, Rom. 12:3.
3.3. 1 Cor. 5.
3.4. See all the above; Eccl. 3:1.
4. Deut. 17:18, 2 Chron. 26:16-21, Matt. 16:19, Heb. 5:4.
4.1. See 2.6. and 4.1.; 1 Sam. 18:10-18, Dan. 6:10.
4.2. Ex. 5:1.
5. Gen. 14:1-15, 1 Sam. 14:45, 1 Sam. 22:1-2, Neh. 4:13-14, Est. 9:1-19.
5.2. See 5.; 2 Sam. 15– 18, 1 Kings 1.
5.3. See all the above.
5.4. See 5.
5.5. Matt 26:52, Acts 16.
5.6. Rom. 14.
6. 1 Chron. 12:32, Matt. 16:3.
6.1. John 15:20, 2 Tim. 3:12.
6.2. See following.
6.2.1. 2 Tim. 4:2.
6.2.2. Rev. 2:10.
6.2.3. See 3.1.-3.
6.2.4. Deut. 28, Deut. 30:1-10, Ez. 9-10, Dan. 9:1-19.
Conclusion:
This is a complex and nuanced subject, and this short article can only scratch the surface. Thus, we welcome feedback. Was there an important principle of resistance you think we missed? Is there a supporting text of Scripture we failed to mention? Or perhaps you disagree with something we said. This is a vitally important issue at this time in history, and so we welcome dialogue and debate on the topic.
Further Reading:
I would like to close by directing readers to further resources on this subject. The following resources are listed in order of ascending complexity and depth.
Obviously there’s a lot to read on the subject, and you probably won’t get around to all of it. Thus, I would like to highlight a particularly poignant quotation from Calvin on this subject. First, from the specified chapter, §29:
Wherefore, if we are cruelly tormented by a savage, if we are rapaciously pillaged by an avaricious or luxurious, if we are neglected by a sluggish, if, in short, we are persecuted for righteousness’ sake by an impious and sacrilegious prince, let us first call up the remembrance of our faults, which doubtless the Lord is chastising by such scourges. In this way humility will curb our impatience. And let us reflect that it belongs not to us to cure these evils, that all that remains for us is to implore the help of the Lord, in whose hands are the hearts of kings, and inclinations of kingdoms. “God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.” Before his face shall fall and be crushed all kings and judges of the earth, who have not kissed his anointed, who have enacted unjust laws to oppress the poor in judgment, and do violence to the cause of the humble, to make widows a prey, and plunder the fatherless.
It can be easy to slip into thinking that we don’t deserve the tyranny which is coming upon us, but the fact is America (and the West writ large) exemplify the sins of Sodom to a T – we are rich, prideful, and awash in degeneracy. And since this has all happened on the church’s watch, and since judgement starts with the household of God, Christians will not be exempt from this chastisement. Furthermore, the desire to resist is sometimes (though not always) evidence of a lack of faith on the part of Christians. If we believe that God is punishing us for our sins, then we should likewise trust that he will answer our repentance with forgiveness. We must always remember that the most effective form of resistance is repentance and regeneration.
Belgic Confession, Article 36.
Scots Confession, Article 24.
Thirty-Nine Articles, Article 37.
Westminster Confession, Chapter 23.
Second Helvetic Confession, Chapter 30.
Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin, Book IV, Chapter 20.
On the Rights of Magistrates by Theodore Beza.
Lex Rex by Samuel Rutherford.
The Christian Manifesto by Francis Schaeffer.
God and Government by Gary DeMar.
Institutes of Biblical Law by R. J. Rushdoony.
And, at the recommendation of a friend, Discourse Concerning Unlimited Submission and Non-Resistance to the Higher Powers by Johnathan Mayhew.
Editor’s Note: The image in the thumbnail portrays one of Calvin’s most famous acts of defiance. The Genevan church’s session had barred a prominent libertine from taking the Lord’s Supper, who appealed to the city council, which overturned the decision. Calvin resolved to defy the council. That Sunday, after Calvin had consecrated the elements, the libertines rushed forward to the table, but Calvin withstood them. Unlike his previous excommunication – which got him exiled – Calvin won this round disobeying the city magistrates.
Rushdoony, Rousas John. The Institutes of Biblical Law. P&R Publishing, 1973.Pg. 772.
Ibid., Part VII, Ch. 5. In this chapter, Rushdoony argues that Genesis 4 shows the seeds of civil government arising from household government, and I agree with his exegesis.