Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake. 1 Peter 2:13
Very few Christians that I know obey the traffic laws 100 percent of the time. Some of us travel at a rate of speed that exceeds the posted limit. Some of us make rolling stops at a stop sign. Some of us fail to use the appropriate signal at every intersection whenever we are making a turn. And, every so often, some of us have to pay a fine for our disobedience. Sometimes, we think we can justify breaking the traffic laws, if road conditions are good, if we are in a hurry, and if nobody else is near. But the government officials have created the rules and regulations for good reason (most of the time), and we violate those rules and regulations at our own peril. In light of our text today, a Christian who loses his driver’s license for traffic offenses is not a good testimony. And as Christians we need to observe most other laws also. Note the use of the word ‘most’.
The principle on which this is based is found in Romans 13:1-2: ‘Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.’ God has instituted governments among men to conduct the affairs of the world and to enforce the laws that make our society tolerable. All of these governments – some good, some better, some worse – are imperfect because they are handled by imperfect human beings. There is coming a time when this world will be under a perfect government, under the King of Righteousness. Unlike today, every law will be fair and will be fairly enforced. Every government decision will be accurate and beneficial. But until then, we accept what God has given to us, for His sake. To do otherwise would be to dishonour the Lord.
But there are times when it is wrong for us to submit to men’s ordinances. Peter explained it to the Sanhedrin who had told him and the other apostles to stop preaching Christ: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men’ (Acts 5:29). For example, the dictator of North Korea has decreed that the Gospel not be preached in his country. And the Christians who are there do not hold Gospel meetings nor do they openly witness for Christ. But they violate the dictator’s decree every day as they share the Gospel privately with friends and relatives, and thousands are being saved. In our own land, Christians are about to face growing persecution when we stand up to the government’s demands that we embrace and promote the homosexual movement. Some are already paying the cost of obeying God rather than men. And that cost will rise sharply for many of us if we are left here much longer. Obeying the ordinances of men does not apply if it means violating the Word of God.
Our testimony depends on our submission to the ordinances of men, except when those ordinances clash with the Scriptures. -Jim MacIntosh