Dear Preacher

There are some Christians who believe that the Church should be supportive of and submissive to the government, based on the writings of 1 Peter 2 and Romans 13 where it is claimed that as servants of God:

"Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the King, as supreme; or unto Governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers ..." 1 Peter 2: 13.

In addition, Romans 13: 1-3 states:

"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established ... Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."

Some understand this passage to be claiming that the church should support the rulers to the extent of overlooking their atrocities.

However, Revelation 13 depicts the government of that time as a beast doing evil and one that should be resisted. By the time of the writing of Revelation, the Christians were being persecuted by the Roman Emperors who were seen as doing evil. But, when the book of Romans was written the government was seen, through its policies, as facilitating the spread of Christianity and a shield against evildoers.

The Bible also says that it is better to obey the voice of God rather than humans when there is a conflict. Therefore, the attitude of Christians, individually and collectively as the church, should be to give 'honour to whom honour is due' (Romans 13: 7). Respect is also due to those in authority who 'beareth not the sword in vain' (13: 4), where the 'sword' is a symbol for the proper administration of justice.

However, if rulers engage in misrule, condone evil, proclaim good as evil and wrong as right then a case could be made that they have forfeited their privilege to rule and obtain respect.

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Did you know...?

That the Roman Catholic Church has 12 preparatory schools in the Archdiocese of Kingston? They are Alvernia, Holy Childhood, Holy Rosary, Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of the Angels, Msgr. Colin Bryan, Stella Maris, St. John the Baptist, St. Peter and Paul, St Theresa's, St. Catherine and St. Helen's.