The Duty of Disobedience: Biblical Civil Disobedience

Before we move to the exception, let us be certain we have understood the rule: All people are to be subject to the governing authorities, for it is God who has ordained their power. Therefore to disobey the government is to disobey the authority that God has constituted. We have a number of examples in scripture of people who obeyed the government, even when the government was unjust or even unrighteous. One need only consider David's unwillingness to slay King Saul when given the chance, or of Joseph obediently taking his pregnant wife on a long journey to be enrolled for taxation.

With the rule well in hand, we move on to the exception. The exception is clearly stated in Acts 4 and Acts 5 in similar situations; we also see it implicitly played out upon the pages of scripture in some of the great stories of the Bible. When the government commands what God forbids, or forbids what God commands, then the Christian has a duty to disobey. This is not an 'option' to disobey, it becomes my duty to refuse the government because to obey them would be to disobey God, and disobedience to God is always a sin.