When Faith Meets Authority
When Faith Meets Authority
A Devotional from Pittwater Uniting Church
Opening Prayer
Lord God, we thank you for your Word — a Word that challenges us, comforts us, and calls us to live differently. As we sit with Romans 13 today, help us to hear what you are saying to us about authority, about obedience, and about where our ultimate allegiance lies. Open our hearts and minds. In Jesus' name, Amen.
The Reading
Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. The authorities are God's servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God's servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.
Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority.
Reflection
Here's the thing — Romans 13 is one of those passages that sounds straightforward until you actually start thinking about it.
On the surface, Paul's instruction is clear: submit to governing authorities. Respect the structures of government. Pay your taxes. Be a good citizen. Simple enough, right?
But then you start thinking about particular places, particular times, particular people in power — and suddenly it gets complicated. What about corrupt rulers? What about governments that oppress the vulnerable? Did God really put those leaders in place?
As we explored on Sunday, Paul isn't talking so much about individual leaders as he is about the institution of authority itself. God has designed a world where order matters. Without it, we spiral into chaos. The book of Judges gives us a vivid picture of what that looks like — a repeated refrain that echoes through its pages: "There was no king in those days, and everyone did as they saw fit." And every time that line appears, something terrible has just happened.
God's intention for authority is that it serves the people — protecting, bringing order, creating space for communities to flourish. And our part of the deal is to participate in that order. We pray for our leaders. We obey the law. We pay our taxes. We contribute to the common good.
But here's the tension: Paul doesn't tell us what to do when the government departs from the role God ordained for it.
And that's where discernment comes in.
Scripture gives us examples of faithful people who reached a point where obedience to God required them to resist earthly authority. Daniel prayed to God openly, even when it meant the lion's den. Moses defied Pharaoh at God's command. Peter and the apostles stood before the Sanhedrin and said, "We must obey God rather than human beings" — and then went straight back to preaching the gospel in the town square.
A helpful rule of thumb: we should submit to authority until it forbids what the Lord commands, or commands what the Lord forbids.
Most of the time, obedience to God and obedience to the state walk hand in hand. But there are moments — and history is full of them — when those two allegiances collide. In those moments, we don't have easy answers. What we have is prayer, the Word, and the call to discern carefully what faithfulness looks like.
A Moment to Sit With
Think about your own life for a minute. Where do you see authority working well — government, workplace, community structures — bringing order and good? Where do you feel the tension between what is asked of you and what you believe God is calling you toward?
You may never face a lion's den or a Hacksaw Ridge. But every day, in small ways, we navigate the balance between respecting the structures around us and keeping our ultimate allegiance to God.
This Week's Practice
Pray for your leaders. Not just the ones you agree with — all of them. Pray that they would govern with justice and wisdom. Pray that they would fulfil the role God has given authority to play: serving the people and protecting the vulnerable.
Be a model citizen. Pay what you owe. Respect those in authority. Contribute to the common good. Let your citizenship reflect your faith.
Hold your allegiance to God above all else. If the day comes — in a big way or a small way — when you're asked to choose between what the world demands and what God commands, choose God. And trust Him with the consequences.
Closing Thought
God has not called us to blind obedience. He's called us to thoughtful, prayerful, faithful living — people who participate in bringing order to the world, who respect the structures around them, but who ultimately belong to Him.
Let's be people who pray, who serve, who discern — and who keep our eyes fixed on the One whose authority stands above every other.
Closing Prayer
Lord, give us wisdom. Help us to be people who honour you in every sphere of our lives — in how we respond to authority, in how we serve our communities, and in how we hold fast to you when the path is unclear. Strengthen us to be model citizens whose lives point to your kingdom. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
From the "Romans Explained" series at Pittwater Uniting Church