Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies

by N.T. Wright

So, is disobedience to government possible for the Christian? The answer is ‘yes’, for two reasons. First, no earthly institution, whether monarch or magistrate, possesses absolute authority. The authority of the State is not an inviolable position but a performance of service, a service rendered to God and exercised for the people. The government’s authority is, then, conditional upon its performance to meet God’s standards of righteousness and to win the consensus of the people in how they wish to be governed.35 Second, while government is divinely instituted for the common good, and should be obeyed in principle, not every governor is good. Government should not be obeyed in every instance, especially if it interferes with religious liberty, acts unlawfully, or renders harm to its own people.36