Stephen Nichols recounts the events surrounding the failed “Valkyrie Plot” of July 20, 1944. A group within the German Resistance sought to overthrow Hitler by detonating a bomb at his field headquarters. The attempt failed. Hitler survived, thousands were executed, and countless others arrested. Among those implicated was the young German pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Bonhoeffer’s role was not one of carrying out violence but of using his contacts to carry messages between the Resistance and British allies. Even so, he knew this involvement would seal his fate. Nichols notes that Bonhoeffer wrestled deeply with whether his actions were sinning against God. Unlike philosophers in real time, in history’s darkest hour.
Bonhoeffer’s story reminds us of a difficult question: How should Christians view and relate to governing authorities? When is obedience required? When is disobedience justified? What does it look like, in Peter’s words, to “fear God and honor the emperor” (1 Peter 2:17)?
The Apostle Peter’s teaching is both clear and countercultural. He writes to believers scattered in a hostile, pagan world. He calls them “sojourners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11), reminding them that they do not ultimately belong to the kingdoms of this world. Their citizenship is in heaven. Yet far from withdrawing or rebelling, Peter exhorts them to live with “honorable conduct” among unbelievers (vs. 12). Their godly lives would serve as a powerful witness, even leading some outsiders to glorify God.
Then Peter applies this principle in one of the most surprising places: their relationship to governing authorities. “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution,” he writes, “whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors” (vs. 13–14). This would have stunned his first century readers. The emperor at the time was Nero, a violent, wicked, and unjust ruler who would soon unleash brutal persecution against the church. And yet, Peter commands these suffering Christians to whom he writes to honor, respect, and submit to their governing authorities.
Paul echoes and expands this same teaching in Romans 13:1–7. Writing to believers in the capital city of the empire, in Rome, he insists: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (vs. 1). Notice Paul’s reasoning. Rulers are not ultimate, but their authority is derived. From whom? From God!
Even unjust and wicked rulers only govern under the sovereign hand of God. The prophet Daniel, writing under wicked King Nebuchadnezzar, says that the LORD God, “removes kings and sets up kings” (Daniel 2:21). Therefore, resisting them in a spirit of rebellion is, in principle, resisting God’s ordering of the world. Paul also describes rulers—however imperfect—as “God’s servant for your good” (Romans 13:4). Their basic God-given function is to restrain evil and preserve order, punishing wrongdoing and commending what is good.
This does not mean rulers always fulfill that role faithfully or justly. Yet the office itself is divinely appointed by God. Paul even presses the point down to practical details: believers are to pay taxes and revenue, to respect and honor those in authority (vs. 6–7). Like Peter, Paul ties submission not merely to civic duty but to Christian worship. We honor leaders not because they are worthy of honor in themselves, but because in honoring them we acknowledge God’s providence and lordship.
Why? Because government is not ultimate, but it is ordained by God. Rulers are in place by His providence. Even corrupt rulers, Peter insists, serve the function of restraining evil and maintaining order. To submit to them, then, is ultimately to submit to God.
But our submission has another purpose, a missional and evangelistic purpose: “This is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people” (vs. 15). Have you ever considered that how you respond to and speak of governing authorities represents your Savior and Lord to those around you? Our respectful, obedient posture toward authority testifies to our true citizenship and the transforming power of the gospel.
Of course, Scripture is not naïve about the limits of our obedience. When human laws demand what God forbids, or forbid what God commands, we must say with Peter himself in Acts 5:29, “We must obey God rather than men.” Civil disobedience is warranted only when obedience to man would mean disobedience to God. But Peter’s burden here is not to outline every exception. His concern is to call believers to a general posture of submission, respect, and peace toward governing authorities for the Lord’s sake.
How countercultural is this in our world today? In our divided political climate, dishonor, mockery, and contempt are the common posture toward governing authorities. Yet Peter calls Christians to something different. “Honor everyone,” he writes. “Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor” (vs. 17). We honor all people because they are made in God’s image. We love fellow believers because they are our family. We fear God because He alone is supreme over all. And we honor governing leaders, even those with whom we disagree, not because they are worthy in themselves but because our submission is an act of worship to the One who rules over all.
Church, ultimately, we can live this way because of Christ. Our Lord Jesus Himself submitted to corrupt human authorities. Peter will go on to say later in his first letter, “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:21-23). Our King Jesus stood before Pilate, silent before false accusations. He endured injustice, scorn, and crucifixion, because His Father’s will was that he would suffer and die in our place for our sins. And in doing so, He freed us from sin and made us citizens of a better kingdom that is coming soon; a kingdom in which our true and just King will reign forever in perfect peace.
Church, our calling is to follow the example of Christ. As sojourners and exiles, we must remember that this world is not our true home. Let us live honorably, not marked by rebellion or contempt, but by respect, love, and steadfast devotion to our true King and Savior. Let us fear God and honor the emperor, so that our lives may bear compelling witness to the watching world of the kingdom that is to come.
