Must we give allegiance to earthly government?

By: Gamaliel Ministries

    We often encounter people who, like ourselves, were taught from their youth on up that secular government authority exists by the will of God, and that He sets all rulers in their places, so we must honor and obey earthly rulers for the LORD's sake. This is supposedly derived out of Roman's 13 and First Peter 2:13.

    When one begins with the point of view that the Creator's work was good at the end of the sixth day of creation, and that He had pronounced His eternal law at that point, then we can see why all through the Tanach (Old Testament) there is perfect harmony in the scriptures. We can also see that there is nothing new under the sun, for that which was shall be, and that which is, has happened before.

    Our bible colleges taught us that Romans 13 is properly interpreted as meaning that all secular governments are ordained by God, and given to us for our protection. Is this true? Is there Old Testament support for this interpretation? Secular governments began with Nimrod, at Babylon. God cursed and dispersed that entire society. Quite obviously, then the Nimrod government was not given by God, and that kind of government is not to be obeyed.

    The next time that God's people set up their own government was in First Samuel chapter eight, where in verse eighteen, we were told that "And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day" [NKJV]. When you view the entire chapter of I Samuel 8 in context, it is simply not possible to make the case for God having chosen this form of government for us, or having it be anything other than our own lack of obedience that inflicted these earthly kingdoms upon us. Nimrod and Fist Samuel, therefore, tell us that God did not give us our earthly kings. Let's keep looking, because if this is something that is important, it should be in the bible at least three times.

    We read in Hosea 8:4, "They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I [the Lord] knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off." OK, that pretty well settles it. God did not authorize secular authority to rule over His people.

Now, let's look at Romans 12 & 13

KJV Romans 12:

1. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy [Qodesh: set apart], acceptable unto God [anything else is unacceptable], which is your reasonable service.
2. And be not conformed to this world [obey the law of the land?]: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
3. For I say, through the grace [empowerment] given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
4. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
5. So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
6. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
7. Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
8. Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
9. Let love be without dissimulation [partisan politics?]. Abhor that which is evil [earthly government?]; cleave to that which is good.
10. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
11. Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; [WHAT!?!?!? Not the earthly govt.?]
12. Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
13. Distributing to the necessity of saints [taxes don't go to the saints]; given to hospitality.
14. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
15. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
16. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things [bankers and politicians?], but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
17. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
18. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. [When man's law does not conflict with God's Law, seek to live in peace by driving the speed limit.]
19. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. [Protests and wars do not accomplish the goals we seek.]
20. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
21. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

KJV Romans 13:

1. 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. [If it isn't Godly, then it is not a power that we need to recognize.]
2. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. [When earthly rulers act contrary to God's Law, they are resisting the power.]
3. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
4. For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
5. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
6. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
7. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. [These three verses appear to have been subject to minor editing, do they not?]
8. Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
9. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
10. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
11. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
12. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
13. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
14. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

To begin with, Romans 12:

1 says we are to present our bodies to be a living sacrifice to GOD, not to our company commander, or the national flag. Because these verses are talking about our BODY, then any allegation that this has some mystical, higher, spiritual meaning that does not include our physical self, must necessarily fail. The next verse, dealing with not being conformed to this world, certainly means that we are not to give great weight to following the dictates of earthly statutes. This is in complete conformity with the Law of God as given in Leviticus 18:3-5

3 After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. 4 Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God.

5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD] and the obedient practice of the Israelites in Esther 3:8 [And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king's laws: therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them].

    Romans 12:3 obliterates any hierarchy among us. Although we do have different stations and jobs in our society, our different jobs do not grant us special powers or privileges. We are co-laborers with the ONE who redeems us.
Basic formula structure in mathematics teaches us that:

When A equals B, and A = B
When A does not equal C, A ≠ C
Then B can not equal C B ≠ C

    Therefore, Romans 13:1 says that when anyone claiming authority or power that is not Godly or observant of the Law of God, then that one is, in fact, not a lawful power or authority. This is VERY explicit, in that it says "Let EVERY soul be subject to the higher power." This does not mean that the Citizens on the soil must be subject to God's Law, but the Aristocracy may do as they wish, and still claim God's seal of approval on their right to rule. Unless those in secular authority are in reality, subject to The Higher Power (God Almighty), then those in secular authority are not in the "power pipeline" over us. How do we know if they are in conformity with the Law of God? Go back and read Romans 12 again, and use this as your plum-line for gauging rectitude of conduct of the Clinton's, Gores, Cheney's, and Bushes.

    Going even further, Romans 13:2 says that whosoever resists the power and Law of Elohim will receive damnation. The word "whosoever" would necessarily include the "political leaders" of a country, would it not? We saw an explanation of part of the Law of Elohim in Romans 12. When the leaders of a country openly resist the Law of Elohim, and the people follow the leaders, then the people will also receive unto themselves damnation.

    Romans 13:9 gives an abbreviated list of the ten commandments, at least those that explain how to break down the great commandment of "Love your fellow man as yourself" into its component parts. When the leaders of a country covet, steal, routinely lie in the name of "national security", and send our boys and girls to foreign soil to steal the oil and resources of a foreign people, then we can be quite certain that we will also receive unto ourselves the damnation if we follow the secular leaders instead of the Prince of Peace.

    One political commentator (W. F. Buckley) made the statement that "Taxation is a form of eating, for politicians." Feeding a politician by paying him tribute is not going to make him go away. In fact, the more you feed him, the bigger he gets and the more he wants. Political power is like drug addiction. Once someone becomes addicted or dependent upon opiate drugs, then the usual dose does not serve for very long. One of the signs of addiction is the need for an increased dose, or increased frequency of use. One cannot cure an addict by giving them drugs any more than one can cure a politician's greed by paying taxes. If we are on the side of RIGHT, then we will obey the Law of our Creator when it comes to promoting the continuation of evil, or cutting off evil in our land.

    In studying the history of the canonization of the books of the new testament, one finds a great deal of controversy about the origin, content, size, and history of the books attributed to Peter. Some of the surviving manuscripts attributed to Peter are only half the size of others, so it is quite obvious that there were many "judgment calls" and interpretations when it comes to the present-day content of the books attributed to Peter. With this much variation in the manuscripts, then some of what we have today may be authentic, but some is most probably a fabrication, regardless of how well-intentioned.

    Believe it or not, there is a dependable test regarding accuracy of the New Testament! We know that the surviving texts of the Hebrew Tanach (the Old Testament) are rock-solid in their continuity and accuracy. The scrolls being produced today are exact reproductions of the scrolls that were used by Ezra, in the old testament. We can compare the teaching of any alleged text put forth as "New Testament", and if it does not conform to the Law of the Unchanging God as written in the Old Testament, then the purported words are fake.

    If the compilers and interpreters were honest, then they would have used this test in their translations, and not have made the obvious error in the book of First Peter, chapter 2, verse 13. For continuity's sake, we will print verse 14, as well. These verses say: "13. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; 14. Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well."

    By contrasting this with the pronouncement of God in Leviticus 18:3-5 (above) and the practice of Israel when they were in obedience in Esther 3:8 (above), we can see that the ordinances of man are irrelevant. By making the comparisons between what is purported to be the writing of the Apostle Peter in First Peter 2:13, we can easily see that it is absolutely NOT in conformity with either Leviticus or Esther, therefore, one or the other is in error, and should not be depended upon for regulating one's personal conduct.

    If one wishes to criticize the point of view being presented herein, claiming that one must obey earthly government until and unless the earthly government is in conflict with God's Law, then how are they going to comply with the word "every", in verse 13 All means "ALL", and every means "EVERY". To me, it seems that if one is going to take First Peter 2:13 at face value, then one must either believe that they should support abortion, assassinations, and deliberate destabilization of societies wholeheartedly, with their own body, or they would be in violation of their own beliefs.

    So when earthly, secular governments are not given to us by God, and we are not to support them, then what government are we to support? Check out Isaiah 33:22, - For the LORD is our Judge, for the LORD is our Lawgiver, for the LORD is our King; He will save us. His government provides the peace, justice, mercy, stability, and salvation that we need.

This, then, is OUR government, - the government that is on HIS shoulders.