… Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth… (Revelation 1:5)

Authority comes intrinsic to life—we all have those to whom we answer. Of course our ultimate authority or ruler is the Creator God, who was manifest in the flesh. But we also have earthly rulers we must obey, like our government, our local police and our bosses at work:

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. (Rom 13:1–2)

Young Christians get caught in endless debates about what to do when the laws of man conflict with the laws of God. For example, should Christians smuggle Bibles into countries where that is forbidden? Should we lie when asked, “Are you smuggling Bibles into our country?” We must remember when interpreting Scripture that general principles are often presented without addressing every possible application. That is why each believer must be “diligent to present [himself] approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15). If God had explained every single application and interaction of His Word in complete detail, it would have created a book so large no library on earth would be big enough to hold it. But He has given us His Spirit and wisdom to study the Word when tension exists in applying seemingly conflicting Biblical teachings.

What to us might be a dilemma, to the apostles was a no-brainer. When the commands of earthly authority conflicted with the clear command of God, they would always go with God. When forbidden by the religious authorities to preach the Gospel, Peter and John responded, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge” (Acts 4:19). Later, after continuing to preach Christ, the command to stop was repeated to them. This time Peter, with the complete agreement of all the other apostles, confidently and tersely said, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

We should obey the authorities of this earth because the ruler of all authorities has commanded us to do so. But when they contravene God’s higher commands, we must remember our higher allegiance, to the Ruler of Kings.

Lord, I am willing to suffer the consequences when I refuse to obey an authority in my life that requires me to be disloyal to Christ.