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“WHO’S IN CHARGE?”

ACTS 5:12-42

On the morning of April 9, 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was escorted from his hut at Flosenburg, a concentration camp in the Bavarian forest, to the place of execution. He said a short prayer and then climbed the steps to the gallows. Why was he executed? Because of his attitude and actions against the Nazi state.

He was a part of a group of people who opposed Adolph Hitler, and eventually planned to assassinate him. He justified his position by saying: “It is not only my task to look after the victims of madmen who drive a motorcar in a crowded street, but to do all in my power to stop their driving at all.” The question is was Dietrich Bonhoeffer right or wrong in his civil disobedience?

Civil disobedience is a prickly topic in today’s world. In its most basic understanding civil disobedience is the refusal to obey civil laws or decrees. This refusal usually takes the form of nonviolent protest or passive resistance. People practicing civil disobedience break a law because they consider the law unjust, want to call attention to its injustice, and in so doing hope to bring about its repeal or amendment.

There are two notable examples of civil disobedience that led to important change in the mid-20th century. The first was the independence of India through the “truth and firmness” programs led by the nonviolent resistance of Mohandas Gandhi to the British colonial laws. The second was the civil rights legislation in the United States through the efforts of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Civil disobedience and social change have often gone hand in hand. But what about the moral and spiritual implications of Christian civil disobedience?

Not long ago a judge ruled in the case of an Indianapolis church threatened with the confiscation of its property in order to pay $6 million dollars in back taxes. Indianapolis Baptist Temple has refused to withhold taxes from its workers since 1984, maintaining that its allegiance should be only to God, not to the government. The Internal Revenue Service disagreed, and seized the church’s property to meet the outstanding payments.

Who is right and who is wrong isn’t the point – the point is as Christians we find ourselves in a difficult place. Because the history of civilization makes clear that it’s unrealistic to think that many of us will go through life without having to choose at one time or another between submission to a human authority and obedience to God. And chances are, sooner or later, we may be told by someone in authority over us to do something we think to be opposed to God. When that happens what should be the Christian response?

There is a great tension here for believers, because on the one hand the Bible tells us to obey those in authority over us. Romans 13:1-7 says: “Be subject to the government, for God is the one who put it there. All governments have been placed in power by God. So those who refuse to be subject to the laws of the land are refusing to be subject to God, and punishment will follow. For the authorities do not frighten people who are doing right, but they frighten those who do wrong. So do what they say, and you will get along well. The authorities are sent by God to help you. But if you are doing something wrong, of course you should be afraid, for you will be punished. The authorities are established by God for that very purpose, to punish those who do wrong. So you must obey the government for two reasons: to keep from being punished and to keep a clear conscience.”

That seems pretty clear. Christians are called to submit to civil laws because the God-ordained purpose of the power of the government has been given to promote good and punish evil. But what should Christians do then, when that same government uses its power in reverse – to punish good and promote evil?

The Bible also gives examples of godly people who resisted human authorities when their commands violated the commands of God. Daniel refused to stop praying to Yahweh when it became illegal. Moses stood against the tyranny of Egyptian oppression and helped free the Hebrew slaves.

Do you remember the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? They were three Jewish young men recruited to work for the Babylonian government. They were the best and brightest in the land. They worked hard and did everything with excellence. They submitted to the King’s authority. The only thing they wouldn’t do was to obey the official decree to bow down to the King’s gold statue. They didn’t fight – they didn’t make a scene – they didn’t run away. They simply didn’t bow, knowing full well that their act of civil disobedience would earn them a free front row ticket to Backdraft.

This is a difficult issue for us! There are no simple formulas to relieve this tension for the people of God. In fact, in some ways it’s this very tension that requires us to rely on godly discernment rather than some list of dos and don’ts.

Not only that, I would suggest to you that if we never feel any tension between the authority of God and human authority, we have to wonder where our commitments lie. Apparently, next to no one in Babylon felt any tension or anxiety about bowing down to the King’s gold statue, or if they did, they feared the fiery furnace more than they feared God.

But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not submit. They refused to violate the first and second commandments, which said “no other gods” and “no idols.” Furnace or no furnace, they were determined to honor the Lord. Rescue or no rescue, they would not bow.

Fundamentally we are dealing with the question: Who is in charge? It’s not easy to know where the line is drawn. Some would say the actions of Bonhoeffer were heroic – others would say he was noble but misguided.

What about smuggling Bibles into restricted access countries? Some Christians believe that’s a necessary means of getting the gospel into nations that prohibit the publication and distribution of Christian literature. Others feel that Christians should work within the legal limits of a nation and, when possible, negotiate with the restrictive governments to have the laws relaxed.

And so you have Brother Andrew on the one side and those who’ve worked diligently with international government for the persecuted church on the other. The truth is God has uses both groups of people for his glory.

This story about the early church is instructive for us on this issue. Filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered for ministry the early church was enormously successful. As news spread throughout the countryside literally thousands were pressing in to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.

The religious and civic authorities reaction was violent jealousy. And so because of the content of their message, and their unwillingness to submit to the court’s authority the council made a decision to arrest the apostles.

They had warned them not to preach and teach in the name of Jesus – now they meant business. Only Peter and John had been arrested before. This time they brought the paddy wagon and hauled in the whole bunch.

The only problem was they forgot who they were dealing with. The council thought THEY were in control. They weren’t in control – God was in control! If a guarded tomb was no match for God’s resurrection power, than what chance did a guarded prison cell have? And so in the middle of the night an angel of the Lord came, which is another way to say that the presence of the Lord himself was there, and broke the apostles out of jail.
The next morning came and the council convened “The People vs. First Church of the Nazarene.” The bailiff was instructed to retrieve the prisoners. A few minutes later the bailiff came back and said: “I’ve got good news and bad news. The bad news is we don’t have any prisoners. The good news is I think I know where they are.”

The twelve apostles were either 60-watt bulbs in 100-watt sockets, or they were passionate about the Gospel because guess where they were? Back preaching and teaching in the same public place they’d been arrested the day before. They didn’t run – they didn’t hide!

The high priest hauled them back into court and said: “You boys aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed, are you? Are you deaf, or are you just stupid? I thought we told you to knock off this Jesus stuff!”

And Peter, speaking for the entire church, laid the great foundation of Christian civil disobedience. He answered: “We must obey God rather than human authority” (Acts 5:29).

Needless to say the court hit the ceiling! The literal word in the Greek says: “They were sawn in half!” In 21st century vernacular: “They were hacked off!” They went ballistic! “That’s it!” they said. “You are dead meat!”

When suddenly a Pharisee spoke up. Now Pharisees normally didn’t have a lot of pull in the council. They were the conservative religious right among a Saducee dominated left. But this wasn’t just any Pharisee – this was the minority whip speaking.

Gamaliel was the E.F. Hutton of the Sanhedrin – when he spoke, people listened. He was the most respected Law professor in Jerusalem, revered both by the privileged elite and disadvantaged poor. He was the Pentateuch 101 teacher of another fairly famous Bible teacher named Saul of Tarsus.

Gamaliel said: “You know fellas, this reminds me of another case. Do you remember The People vs. Theudas? He was that charismatic hotshot who could give a good speech and rile up a crowd. But if you’ll remember, when he got killed, his cronies went home. And then there was that Judas from Galilee. Know the one? Same story. Had a few followers – he died – people left. No big deal!”

“So here’s what I’d suggest. Let’s leave these guys alone. If what they’re doing is on their own they won’t last long. But here’s the thing – if they’re here by divine appointment there’s nothing we can do to stop them. In fact, it may turn out to be The People vs. God Almighty!”

You see, Gamaliel was smart enough to know that trying to stop a movement God was leading was like trying to catch a kleenex in a tornado. He was also wise enough to know that anything not of God would never last.

Do you know what he was saying? “Let’s wait and see who’s in charge here.” When you get right down to it, Gamaliel and Peter shared the same view: When God is for something, nothing can stand against it!

It was good advice, and the council decided to let the apostles go. But their reputation was at stake. They had publicly arrested the apostles, and so to save face they had to publicly punish them.

A guilty verdict of any violation of Jewish law was forty lashes (minus one) for mercy. Thirty-nine lashes was not a walk in the park – some had even died from the flogging. Not only was it excruciatingly painful, socially it amounted to being shamed or dishonored before the people.

But wouldn’t you know it? This church was happy about it! Rather than being disgraced they felt like they’d been graced – because God’s Holy Spirit was helping them to live out their prayer for courage. They knew that God had delivered them from prison, not for their personal comfort, but for the furtherance of the mission! And the text says after the beating: “They left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Jesus”(Acts 5:41). And every day in the Temple (publicly) and in their homes (privately) they continued to teach and preach the message: “The Messiah you are looking for is Jesus” (Acts 5:42).

What should Christians do when faced with a conflict between human authority and God’s authority? Notice what Peter and the other apostles did:

1. Their aim was to serve and glorify God. They weren’t motivated by ego or out to protect their own power. Their motive wasn’t revenge or political in nature.

2. Their point of disobedience was specific and particular. They did not resist the authority of the Jewish council in total.

3. They approached the situation with a spirit of submissiveness toward both the council and God. They did not harbor rebellious anger toward authority in general. They weren’t just trying to be mavericks.

4. They delivered a positive, factual message about God’s plan and power in loving truth. They did not slander or show disrespect to their superiors. They just told the truth as they knew it in a loving way.

5. They accepted the cost of being loyal to the truth without resentment or bitterness. They didn’t try and avoid the punishment for breaking the law.

Yes, the Scriptures advocate Christians being subject to the state, because government is one of God’s avenues for order. But please notice that even in Romans 13, Paul specifically avoids saying that Christians are to OBEY the state. He says Christians are to be SUBJECT to the state, and there’s a big difference between the two.

John Stott articulates this well: “If the authority concerned misuses its God-given power to command what He forbids or forbid what He commands, then the Christian’s duty is to disobey the human authority in order to obey God’s.”

And my brother and sister, the difference between submission and obedience is huge because it leaves room for the superior relationship, the ultimate authority, as alone worthy of implicit obedience.

We’re not talking here about license to do whatever we want and putting a faith tag on it. Respect is in short supply today. Many Christians have abused this concept by claiming that their selfish desires were God’s will, and haven’t submitted to authorities in order to satisfy those desires.

Some important criteria need to be followed in practicing any civil disobedience responsibly. D.J.E. Attwood presents two situations that might warrant civil disobedience:

1. When believers are required to deny their faith in Christ, or explicitly disown their Lord;

2. When the state has required Christians to take part in an action, which is in clear conflict with their Christianly informed conscience.

Peter’s action comes under the first of these situations, as the refusal to witness is equivalent to denying the faith. Actions like breaking what we consider “a ridiculous speed limit,” refusing to pay “unreasonable” taxes, and bombing abortion clinics do not qualify according to the criteria just mentioned!

Jesus said: “Give to Caesar what belongs to him. But everything that belongs to God must be given to God” (Luke 20:25).

There are no simple answers. Situations vary. Great wisdom is needed. Prayer is essential. Perhaps the following questions will be useful as you wrestle with yours. Ask yourself:

1. Is this truly a matter of biblical principles, or just one of preference, taste, or style?

2. Why exactly do I have problems with what I am being asked to do? Is it really an issue of conscience and morality, or is it something else – perhaps a personality conflict, or just feelings of discomfort?

3. Have I made an effort to listen and understand exactly what the authority is asking me to do? Have I checked my perceptions by telling the authority what I think I heard?

4. Do I really understand how what I am being asked to do conflicts with godly values? Have I studied God’s Word diligently, prayed for His insight, and thought things through?

5. Is this really an either/or situation, or are there alternatives that might satisfy everyone involved? Can I think of a way to meet the authority’s needs while preserving my own integrity?

We honor God by supporting those in authority over us. We should be praying for our leaders. Too many Christians have given the Gospel a black eye by their critical spirit and their lack of cooperation over things that should never have become issues. It ought to break our hearts when we have to take a stand.

But, my friends, as Christians our commitments run deeper than Republican and Democrat. Our devotion is beyond even the country that we love. Because ultimately we are citizens of another kingdom. And it is the God of that Kingdom who is finally in charge. And we will bow our knee to no other.