Submitting to God's Governing Authorities As They Submit to God's Authority

On July 4, 1776, John Hancock, the President of Congress, and Charles Thomson, the Secretary of Congress, signed the Declaration of Independence. (The famous image of all the delegates signing the document together on July 4th is a historical myth.) The formal signing ceremony took place on August 2, 1776, when 50 of the eventual 56 delegates signed their names to the parchment. The remaining 6 delegates added their signatures over the following months as they returned to Philadelphia.

With the Declaration of Independence, the American colonists formerly informed King George III they were leaving the British Empire. The Declaration of Independence was more than a philosophical document. It was drafted as an official legal and diplomatic notice to the Crown that the American colonies were forming their own nation.

We today celebrate the "American Revolution." Perhaps, it can be more biblically called the "American Resistance." Colonial theologians argued that "revolution" implies a lawless overthrow of God-ordained governing authorities that will institute anarchy. In contrast, they defined "resistance" as a defensive, legal duty to preserve the rule of law. The colonialists did not view the Declaration of Independence as a sudden act of law-breaking. Instead, they argued that the British government had already legally severed its contract with the colonies and cast them out of the empire through its own legislation.

Because we are not good at studying history, most of us don't know that King George III signed the Prohibitory Act in December 1775. This act declared the colonies outside the King's protection. This was the ultimate legal catalyst. It banned all trade with the colonies, authorized the British Navy to seize American ships as "open enemies," and forced captured American sailors into British naval service. Under 18th-century British and international common law, allegiance and protection were reciprocal. A subject owed allegiance to the King only as long as the King provided legal and military protection to the subject.

When King George III signed the Prohibitory Act, he officially declared the American colonists to be outlaws and foreign enemies, effectively declaring war on them. John Adams famously observed that the Prohibitory Act was a British bill of divorce, noting that the British Parliament had thrown the colonies out of the royal protection and made them independent long before Congress voted on it. The colonists listed 27 specific actions where the King had broken British law, including suspending local legislatures, taxing without consent, and signing the Prohibitory Act to wage war against them. Because the King legally withdrew his protection, the colonists argued that they were biblically and legally absolved of their oath of allegiance.

As Lutherans, we would say that the colonists applied the role of the Lesser Magistrates from The Magdeburg Confession as the legal and scriptural defense of their actions of separating from the British Empire. (We'll study The Magdeburg Confession this fall in our Wednesday Bible studies.) The "lesser magistrates" were the colonial assemblies and the Continental Congress standing up to shield its citizens from a law-breaking tyrant. This was a lawful act of constitutional resistance. The colonists did not operate as a lawless, revolutionary mob. They resisted and operated under the legal authority of their local governments.

These were Christian patriots who declared independence from King George III and the British Empire. They were following St. Paul's directives in Romans 13. They submitted to God's servant of the governing authorities when the governing authorities were submitting to God's will for the benefit of its citizens. They did not want to rebel. But when the governing authorities were opposing God's will and bringing harm upon its citizens, then those authorities were no longer acting as God's servant. Now they were acting as Satan's servant according to Revelation 13. (Again, we'll talk about this more in depth this fall in our Bible studies.) So, they resisted. They were Christian citizens holding their governing authorities accountable to God and his divine will.

St. Paul writes, "Everyone must submit to the governing authorities. For no authority exists except by God, and the authorities that do exist have been established by God. Therefore the one who rebels against the authority is opposing God's institution, and those who oppose will bring judgment on themselves" (Romans 13:1-2). What does the word "submit" mean? As Inigo Montoya famously said to Vizzini in The Princess Bride, "You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means." While it might be a famous blunder to get involved in a land war in Asia - only slightly less well-known is this: To define a word apart from its natural, contextual meaning.

So, what does "submit" mean? Scripture lays out a pattern for wives to submit to their husbands, children to submit to their parents, slaves to submit to their masters, citizens to submit to their governing authorities, and the Christian Church to submit to Christ. Submission is not servitude or slavery. Nor does submit mean "surrender." Submission is yielding to authority. It is willing subjection to another.

Submit is not a synonym for "obey." Otherwise, there would be a lot of unhappy wives if they were called to "obey" their husbands' every word or whim. Submit cannot mean "compelled obedience." Rather, it means humble acceptance, according to the order God has given. As Christian citizens, we owe submission to our governing authorities, not obedience. We owe obedience to God alone. As Jesus says in today's Gospel, "Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" (Matthew 22:21).

The concept of submission is closely bound to the concept of headship that St. Paul discusses in 1 Corinthians 11. He begins that discussion with the metaphor of a human head and body, "I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and man is woman's head, and God is Christ's head" (1 Corinthians 11:3). The head guides and directs what the body does, but never in a selfish way. Rather the head always seeks the best interest of the body in everything.

The head - whether that's the husband in the home, the pastor in a church, the employer in a business, or the authorities in a government - is not to crush or compel others into submission. Rather, the head exercises its headship in loving service to those it leads within the body.

Those within the body - whether that's the wife in the home, the members in a church, the employees in a business, or the citizens in a nation - submit to the proper head. Submission isn't forced. It's an inward attitude toward ordained order and authority. Jesus Christ submitted to his head. Jesus' head was his heavenly Father and his heavenly Father's will.

The apostles speak a great deal about submission. Those who are submissive are trusting those with authority to take care of their physical and/or spiritual needs. Those who have authority over us have received that authority from God himself. Whether that be husbands, parents, pastors, or governing authorities - each is established by God, and accountable to him for their use of authority.

God has placed these authorities over people for their benefit. Husbands care for, love, and support their wives. Parents feed, clothe, teach, and nurture their children. Pastors provide forgiveness, grace, and blessings in sharing God's Word and Sacraments. Governing authorities provide protection, structure, and order to our communities, states, and nation. When God's servants fulfill their vocations in this earthly kingdom, they bring a measure of peace and order. Such peace and order in God's earthly kingdom make it easier for God's servants to live in and share God's heavenly kingdom.

Gladly and willingly entrusting ourselves with an attitude of submission to the authorities God has placed over us is beneficial to everyone involved. It usually brings earthly blessing, avoids earthly punishment, and provides a setting for Christian proclamation.

Here in America, our governing authorities are given their authority by "we the people". That means that unlike any other government in existence, our American system of government is both given power by and has its powers limited by the governed. The Preamble to the U.S. Constitution states: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

There may come times when a wife disagrees with her husband's leadership, or children push back against their parents' authority, or citizens civilly resist their governing authorities. As Christians, they dare never do this only because those in authority are doing something they don't like. That's rebellion. Rather, they resist and push back only when the authorities are opposing God's will. They may be promoting something sinful or doing something morally wrong or committing an action that will harm other people. These are not acts of sinful rebellion. Rather, these are examples of Christian resistance as Christians hold those God has placed over them accountable to God's will. Authorities in the home, church, and government are God's servants to follow his divine will for the benefit of those within their care. But when those authorities are opposing God's will, then they are acting as servants of Satan and their own sinful flesh. With their actions, they can only harm those within their care.

Some have wrongly concluded that "submit" means "obedience" to the governing authorities. But absolute, unquestioning obedience is no different than worship. In the Book of Revelation, St. John records that in the End Times people will be worshiping the beast of the persecuting government (Revelation 13:4). Those who worship the beast follow it with absolute, unquestioning obedience. We owe absolute, unquestioning obedience to God alone. To others we submit.

It's difficult to know when to submit to the governing authorities when they are submitting to God's will or when to resist the governing authorities when they are submitting to Satan's will. That's why constant discussion and evaluation need to happen. We need to continually study God's Word and then apply it to these situations within politics and culture. We ask for grace from our fellow Christians when we disagree. We ask for forgiveness from God when we get it wrong. We ask Jesus to apply his righteousness to our unrighteous living. We thank Jesus for dying on the cross to pay for our unscriptural rebellion or our unbiblical obedience.

Jesus submitted to and respected his religious and political leaders. But he also resisted them when they tried exercising authority over him that they didn't have. They were exercising authority that Caesar didn't have. When Jesus was accused by the Sanhedrin, he didn't say anything to them (Matthew 27:12). Jesus didn't answer one word of Governor Pilate's questions (Matthew 27:14). Jesus refused to perform like a circus clown when King Herod wanted Jesus to do miracles for him (Luke 23:8-12). Jesus' perfect resistance to the authorities covers over our imperfect resistance to our authorities.

Jesus also submitted to the will of his religious and political leaders. Jesus allowed the Sanhedrin to arrest him and hold a sham trial. Jesus permitted the Roman governor to sentence an innocent man to death. Jesus did not fight back against the Roman soldiers as they tore apart his perfect back with the scourge or pierced his divine skin with nails or crowned his heavenly head with thorns. Jesus willingly submitted to their evil actions. Jesus' perfect submission to the authorities pays for our imperfect submission to our authorities.

God used an imperfect government in Daniel's time to accomplish God's will of chastising the Israelites with Babylonian captivity for 70 years. God used an imperfect government in Paul's time to allow it to kill Paul, Peter, and other Christians as martyrs. God used an imperfect government to put the Son of God to death to accomplish our salvation. Then he used the Roman peace, Roman roads, and Greek language of the Roman empire for the spreading of his gospel message through that Roman empire. God still uses the imperfect American government to accomplish his divine will.

Signing the Declaration of Independence was a profound act of courage by the colonists. Under British law, the Declaration was a treasonous document. By putting their names on the parchment, each delegate was providing the Crown with written evidence of a capital offense. For this reason, Congress kept the identities of the signers secret from the public for six months until the American victory at Trenton proved the revolution/resistance could survive. We pray that those signers and all the colonists were rightly carrying out God's will in resisting -- and not revolting -- against the British Empire.

The same is true for us 250 years later as American citizens. The government is God's servant here on earth. We rightly submit to that servant. We trust that servant serves for our earthly benefit. We must remember, though, that the government is filled with sinners. They make mistakes. They can be selfish and self-serving. They can watch out for and benefit one group of people while unintentionally -- or even intentionally -- ignoring and hurting another group of people. That means that the government is fallible. We still submit to the government as God directs. But, when Christians are not allowed to question, debate, or even resist, then the government becomes infallible. And the only one who is infallible is God.

We pray to understand properly and apply accurately God's call to submit. We pray for quiet and peaceful lives of submitting to governing authorities who submit to God's authority. Amen.