Excerpt #8 of “Analysis of Romans 13:1-7 in Light of the Analogy of Scripture”
Given the length of the full paper I recently published on this site, I am posting excerpts which emphasize specific principles within the paper. Hopefully, these excerpts will not only encourage you to read the actual paper, but also think more deeply about the role of Romans 13:1-7 in our response to both Godly and ungodly civil government in our day and time. A proper understanding and obedience to Scripture is critical today as always. This particular Scripture has been mishandled in so many ways that a methodical approach to its exegesis is needed to avoid further error by both individual Christians and the broader church. The pressures being exerted upon true Christianity by the contemporary civil government demand a Biblical response informed by Romans 13:1-7 and the other Scriptures addressed within this paper.
(These excerpts are posted in the order as found in the paper, but do not include the entirety of the paper which combined. Only the PDF contains all sections of the paper.)
David’s Resistance
The narrative of the conflict between David and Saul provides many instances of resistance to the civil government. David’s period of fleeing Saul exhibits several forms of obedience and disobedience which each elicit approval as righteous acts or at least no condemnation. David had been anointed future king by Samuel (I Samuel 16:13) and had gained great respect from the Jews (I Samuel 18:6-16). Saul knew of David’s fame and feared it (I Samuel 18:6-16), causing him to try to kill David (I Samuel 18:1-2). Knowing God’s will for his future, David was under no obligation to surrender to Saul’s act even though it was an act of Israel’s government. David took Jonathan’s warning in chapter 20 and escaped Saul’s plan to murder him. Others fled to serve under David and also incurred no Biblical condemnation, though they were effectively rebelling against Saul by supporting David (I Samuel 21:1-2). Yet, when David had the opportunity to slay Saul by ambush, David held back unwilling to lift a hand directly against God’s anointed (I Samuel 24:1-15). Saul recognizes his own sin in this episode (verses 16-22). Clearly, the righteousness of each participant depended not on the simple presence or absence of government approval, but on whether or not God approved.
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