In a Fallen World, Part 2

Civil authority has been established by God for two purposes: To restrain evil by means of force, including deadly force (1 Peter 2:14; Romans 13:4), and to create a climate where law-abiding people receive a measure of the fruit of their labors (1 Peter 2:14; Romans 13:3-4).

We must always obey authority whether that authority is just or unjust (1 Peter 2:13-14; 1 Peter 2:18; Romans 13:1-2).

But there are two exceptions.

As private citizens, we must always disobey civil authority when it requires us to sin, but we must always do so respectfully (Acts 4:19-20; Acts 5:29; 1 Peter 2:17; Romans 13:7).

It is the duty of those who hold office to protect those under their care. They "bear the sword" against those who are under them, but they may also use that deadly force against those who are over them. In both cases they are to do this in order to protect those for whom they are responsible.

This is ONLY for those who hold office; it is never for private citizens.

It is why one must not call the American War for Independence from England a revolution. It was not a revolution; it was the representatives of the people protecting those people from tyranny.

What happened in France when the common people beheaded Louis XVI and in Russia under the Bolsheviks were revolutions.

In the United States, the Continental Congress authorized the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, not private citizens.

(Following John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, vol. 2, The Library of Christian Classics (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 4.20.29-32; pp. 1517-23).