And when they had brought them, they set them before the Council. And the High Priest questioned them, saying, "We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this Man's blood upon us."
But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.”
Acts 5:27-29

Respect for authority is taught everywhere in the Bible, even when that authority is unjust, wrong, or actively opposed to God and everything that’s right.

Legitimate authority is derived from God. We consider human authority to be placed over us by God, and therefore representing Him; that is why we are to respect and obey those in authority.

But when the lesser authority steps out from under the higher authority from which its power is derived, its authority has been lost. So we are to obey and honor those in authority, until they require us to disobey God and His Word. 

Even human law recognizes this principle, and that it works at all levels of authority. The older brother can’t contradict Mom and Dad. Dad can’t demand that his children do things that are wrong. The police and elected officials can’t overstep the constitutional limits of their authority. At the Nuremberg trials, when war criminals protested that “We were only following orders” it was found to be no excuse for their crimes. They should have known better than to follow those orders.

God’s Word is the ultimate authority, so that my own feelings, desires, beliefs and arguments are only legitimate when they stand in submission to that higher authority.

Lord, thank You for making the truth clear. Thank You for Your Word and the principles You have laid down there, to guide me. Give me a heart of true understanding and submission to Your authority, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Pastor Dan Giles