Pastor Wang Yi was arrested for preaching the gospel in China. He will serve over 10 years in prison and the government will confiscate his possessions. All for speaking of Christ and failing to conform to his countries demands to stop preaching. Should the people of China revolt and lay claim to the same self-evident, and unalienable rights we have? Should the church stand to be persecuted by its own government, or should it call to arms its citizens to bring reform through a revolution?
They are difficult questions, and fortunately we already have the answer we need from Paul. In Romans 13, Paul says, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.” God has established his authority on earth as the institution of government. Every government is made of imperfect people, which only causes the government to be imperfect and even sinful, but even a corrupt government upholds the laws, and punishes evil. It is the order God has created to rule us, and to “rebel against the authority is rebelling against what got has instituted…” Romans 13
The book of Romans was written by Paul during the time of Emperor Nero. Nero had a dark rise to power, only to be followed by more evil and a sinister rule. He murdered his own family, government officials, and numerous Christians. He was a homosexual and a vile pagan. Yet, Paul told Christians to be obedient to him. As horrible as King George was he wasn’t half as bad as Nero, yet our founders felt the need to rebel.
As Christians what can we do in the face of corrupt government? We can write letters or speak to our local, state and federal representatives. Begin petitions, peacefully protest, vote if we have been blessed with the opportunity to do so, and most importantly pray for our leaders at every level of government, and for those who are suffering for their love of Christ.
They are difficult questions, and fortunately we already have the answer we need from Paul. In Romans 13, Paul says, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.” God has established his authority on earth as the institution of government. Every government is made of imperfect people, which only causes the government to be imperfect and even sinful, but even a corrupt government upholds the laws, and punishes evil. It is the order God has created to rule us, and to “rebel against the authority is rebelling against what got has instituted…” Romans 13
The book of Romans was written by Paul during the time of Emperor Nero. Nero had a dark rise to power, only to be followed by more evil and a sinister rule. He murdered his own family, government officials, and numerous Christians. He was a homosexual and a vile pagan. Yet, Paul told Christians to be obedient to him. As horrible as King George was he wasn’t half as bad as Nero, yet our founders felt the need to rebel.
As Christians what can we do in the face of corrupt government? We can write letters or speak to our local, state and federal representatives. Begin petitions, peacefully protest, vote if we have been blessed with the opportunity to do so, and most importantly pray for our leaders at every level of government, and for those who are suffering for their love of Christ.
