Obeying authority

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If the bible says to obey authority, is it speaking of the Church, not the authority of the state?

Ro 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
Ro 13:2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

Thanks.
 
lily20 said:
If the bible says to obey authority, is it speaking of the Church, not the authority of the state?

Ro 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
Ro 13:2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

Thanks.
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In this context it means the state. Of course, this does not mean absolute obedience that violates the laws of God and concience but only what a citizen owes to to those in authority over him. The state can only ask of us ordinary obedience to submit ourselves to the laws meant for the good of all.
 
As Aquinas noted, Obedience is a Virtue, and thus should always be practiced.

One note was that Aquinas defined Obedience as conforming one’s will to the one with authority

The key being “with authority”. The State has limits on it’s power that are placed by both Divine and Natural law.

Commands by the State that encourage or require violations of the Divine or Natural Law lack any authority. Thus there is no Virtue practiced by obeying those false commands.
 
I don’t have to obey every authority that exists, only those that have legitimate authority over me.
My parents
My teachers
My boss
My church
The governmental units/jurisdictions I occupy (those laws that don’t contradict God’s law)

I don’t have to obey the pastor of another denomination, for example. Elder Bubba at the Baptist Church on the corner has no authority over me and cannot bind my conscience or command me.
 
lily20 said:
If the bible says to obey authority, is it speaking of the Church, not the authority of the state?

Ro 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
Ro 13:2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Well, that is Paul, and hence must be treated with a great hermeneutic caution.

But remember, Scripture says that all civil authority are given by Satan (Lk 4:6). And there is only one law-giver, God (Jm 4:12).

Obey the law of God, and you can’t go wrong.
 
I think that often people are confused between the meanings of “power” and “authority” and they use the two words as synonyms. “Authority” original meaning was really “witness to the truth” and later (late 14th century) it changed in “power to enforce obedience”. We are to obey authority because it is the witness to the truth and Jesus is the Truth. We are not mandated to obey all form of power. The etymology is from the Latin “auctoritas” that meant legitimate, just, legal.
 
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