I do not want to live in a city where there are no police. Through the years, I have come to know many police officers who have served alongside me in church. In every profession there may be bad actors, to be sure. These need to be corrected and held to account. But the good and godly law enforcement officers I have known in my churches have been a blessing to me.
Paul was taken into custody by the Roman soldiers in Jerusalem. Remember they had planned to punish him when they rescued him from the mob that was trying to kill him. But Paul reminded them of his Roman citizenship, averting their wrong intention. Now these same soldiers became his protectors. His nephew brought word of a conspiracy to assassinate Paul. The apostle then sent his nephew to the centurion who took him to the commander. The commander cared about his prisoner and provided two hundred soldiers to give Paul safe passage to Governor Felix.
This story provides context for Paul’s words in the letter he later wrote to the Christians in Rome. “Let everyone be subject to the authorities. . . for the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:1, 4).
In this passage, Paul envisions governing authorities at their best, doing the right things. God established authorities for the governance and protection of people. We submit to these good authorities and pray for them. But what do we do when a leader like Hitler sends the Gestapo police to harm the citizens? Bonhoeffer resisted and paid for it with his life. Paul himself would go before authorities and share the good news of Jesus. In the end, an evil Emperor named Nero martyred him.
The New Testament never envisioned a society in which the Christians were in charge. So how do we apply its teachings? We submit to good authorities, pay our taxes, and pray for all our leaders. When someone in authority opposes the cause of Christ, we stand our ground and continue to testify to the truth. Sometimes, God may use authorities to help the church. At other times, the church becomes the conscience of the state, speaking the truth to power. May God give us wisdom so that we may know and do God’s will.
