If authorities exist because they have been instituted from God, how should that affect our relationship to our authorities?
God institutes our authorities, and they should be treated as such. We should live with a certain level of respect and submission to them. That doesn’t mean we have to agree with everything they say and do. But as Paul says here in Romans 13, we are to submit and be subject to our governing authorities. To resist the authorities is to resist God and worthy of judgment. Therefore we should submit to our authorities.
What is the biblical purpose of authorities?
According to Romans 13:4, the one in authority is “God’s servant for your good” and “the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.”
How might you shepherd one in this season who doesn’t agree with the elected authority in our country?
I would say that it is important to remember who the ultimate authority is. Regardless of who the elected authority is in our country, God is the ultimate authority in our lives. We may not understand why He has placed other authorities in our lives, but we have to remember that at the end of the day, for reasons we may never understand, it is His will, and He has placed them there for His purpose.
Additionally, I would be sure to point to scripture. Romans 13 would be my first stop. I would point to biblical truths such as resisting the authorities is to resist God (v.2), and God appoints authorities as His servants for our good and to carry out His wrath on wrongdoers (v.4).
However, I would also point to Acts 5, where we see the apostles resisting the authorities. When they are instructed to stop preaching in Jesus’ name, Peter responded that “We must obey God rather than men” (v.29). Daniel 3 provides another example where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to worship an Idol and are thrown in a fiery furnace for it.
Even though the authorities are appointed by God, evil and sin still corrupt; we see this throughout scripture in those that God appoints. King David is a prime example.
So, in short, when shepherding someone struggling with the elected authority in our country, I would tell them that scripture tells us that we must submit, and the only exception to that rule is when the law of man directly contradicts God.