"DISOBEYING CIVILLY"
Yesterday we began go over when (if ever) it is okay for a Christian to disobey the Governing authorities. Based on the Scriptures, the general rule is that we are to submit to the governing authorities, pay our taxes, honor our leaders and pray for them; our Government and those who serve in it are ordained by God and are as the Epistle to the Romans states it "his ministers" whether conscious of it or not.
That being established, we did see that it is possible and indeed sometimes necessary for Christians to disobey the governing authorities. We saw that always and without exception, based on Acts 5:39, that we are called to "obey God rather than man." This means that if the Government should seek to compel us to do something that would be sin against God, we must not participate; we're called to resist.
As examples of Christian resistance I brought up the scenario of different people living under German rule during World War II. I promised that from their stories we'd seek to glean some insight on this Godly civil disruption. So, here are three examples during World War II of Christians dealing with unjust and ungodly governments:
1. Joe German (My nickname for the average citizen of Germany during World War II)- The average citizens of Germany before and during World War II were not rabid anti-Semites and racists ,foaming at the mouth for the blood of Jews and Gypsy's. Heinrich Himmler, Goebbels and Hitler were, but not the average German (this is why we never have arrested the average Nazi soldier, and ended up leaving most of the German citizenry alone after the War). The average German probably wanted good for his family, prosperity for his nation, and overall comfort. The average German was a Christian no doubt.
Yet from this overwhelmingly Christian nation, Hitler was allowed to come to power and to stay in power! How did this happen? Answer: They just did what they were told. The Church as a matter of fact, used Romans 13 to justify not doing anything about Hitler and the Nazi's; the people agreed, and so even if they didn't personally like Hitler, and didn't like handing over Jews to the military, in order to be compliant, they just did.
That is the first way we can deal with injustice in our governing authorities: just put our head down and follow the rules (even if the rules are unjust and murderous). Of course the problem with this is at some point, a person becomes complicit in following the injustice of the government right? At the point that the government starts taking Jews away, doesn't the Christian have a higher obligation to save life than to follow the "laws" of the ungodly government of Hitler? At this point I would say "We must obey God rather than men" applies. Christians must do something.
It's easy to condemn the Joe Germans from our vantage point for not rising up and doing something. And yet for some of them, I'm convinced they were seeking to even be faithful to the Bible in Romans 13 in their not doing anything; they were just badly misled (that's why this issue is so important).
2. Dietrich Bonhoeffer- The second way some Christians dealt with Hitler was to pursue his death, to assassinate him. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of these. He was a Pastor and Theologian by training and profession and had always been a critic of Hitler's. But as the war went on he became convinced that Hitler's government was so wicked and unjust that it was his Christian duty to fight back in some way. Indeed, he did join a group that sought to assassinate Hitler (and failed). He was caught by the Nazi authorities, was imprisoned for nearly two years and in April 1945, about a month before Germany would surrender, Bonhoeffer was hanged.
What would you say to Bonhoeffer? Was he following the principle of "obeying God rather than man," by seeking Hitler's death? Can a government become so evil, so corrupt (as Hitler's government was) that the Christian's responsibility is to overthrow it at all costs? If so, where do you find the justification biblically for Christian armed resistance? Frankly, I wrestle with this, and I'm not sure what the answer is. On the one hand, I don't believe that Hitler would have or could have been defeated by singing "Give Peace a Chance." There needed to be armed resistance against him, no doubt about it. On the other hand, does the Christian citizen ever have the option of bringing that armed resistance? Nations absolutely have this right if it's for the protection of their citizens, but do individual Christians have this right, biblically speaking?
Bonhoeffer is one of my personal heroes, so to even probe about the rightness of his actions is tough for me, but in order to be biblically faithful, we have to deal with it. When is Christian armed resistance appropriate? (not working as a soldier for a government; working as a soldier in armed resistance can be a calling from God to serve your neighbor (Romans 13:4-6)
3. Corrie Ten Boom- The third way some Christians dealt with Hitler was to secretly rebel. This was the method of people like Corrie Ten Boom. In case you haven't heard of her, let me give you a bit of background. Corrie came from a very devout Christian family in the Netherlands who during the early 40's hid Jews and other resistance fighters in their home from the Nazi's. For close to two years when the authorities would come by, they would hide their "guests" in a secret room. Eventually, the family was caught and placed in Concentration camps. While in there, Corrie's father and sister both died. Eventually, Corrie would be released and for many, many years would share her story of God's faithfulness and love for her in spite of all that went wrong.
Now, technically speaking, the Ten Boom's were rebelling (by lying) against the authorities. But they were rebelling to save innocent people's lives; they were seeking to "obey God rather than men." It seems to me that as Christians this method of rebellion against the authorities, is probably the most biblically balanced (?). On the one hand, it is not violent resistance. On the other hand it is not just putting our heads down and obeying evil leaders. It is resisting the government (hiding Jews) while turning the cheek at the same time (going to jail for it).
This was obviously the method of Dr. Martin Luther King as well in his quest for civil rights; peaceful, non-violent resistance toward the unjust laws of the land. Speaking about this fine balance, he said:
"An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law."
Next week we'll wrap up our devotions on politics with a look at living as a Christian in America where the nation is "ruled by the people, of the people and for the people." Do we still have to submit in the same way?
Soli Deo Gloria,
Pastor Erick
RECEIVING FROM CHRIST....GROWING IN CHRIST....GOING WITH CHRIST....
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