To disobey a law...
"We may safely assert... that no civil rulers are to be obeyed when they enjoin things that are inconsistent with the commands of God. All commands running counter to the declared will of the supreme legislator of heaven and earth, are null and void; and therefore disobedience to them is a duty, not a crime. "
- Clergyman Jonathan Mayhew, 1750
No higher authority, not government or politics or any leaders on earth, can force us to do something that we feel is biblically questionable. Our first duty is to Christ, and therefore any actions, no matter how enforced, cannot become our ultimate goal, and we must be on our guard to recognize when is the time to disobey a law. Men are so far from perfection, that we cannot expect the laws leaders are constantly creating to be completely rational and reasonable.
Something to chew on...
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3 comments:
Interesting post! Will you add me to your blogroll? I've added your blog to mine. No need to respond, I'll just watch your blogroll
*chewing*
Makes sense, but this is a man making this point. :D
Very thought provoking.
There are many who take the position that we must obey every civil law, no matter what.
Some Christians even criticize ministries like The Voice of the Martyrs for "illegal" Bible smuggling.
If we apply that standard to the early church, what about Peter, Paul and the many other believers who violated Roman law?
Were Corrie Ten Boom and Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrong to aid the Jews in Nazi Germany?
I don't think so.
Where possible, we should strive to obey civil government, but there are times when obedience to Christ requires us to say "We ought to obey God rather than man."
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