Oct 10 - Acts 5:29

We must obey God rather

than any human authority.

Acts 5:29

 

There is rule and then there are exceptions.

 

The rule is obey both – God and human authorities. Under normal circumstances, obeying human laws is how we are good citizens.

 

But how many times do we say, “I don’t like this rule. I think that law is stupid. What will it hurt if I fudge just a little?” The answer is: It hurts a lot. Excuses compromise our heart. And they teach our children a dangerous precedent. There’s an old axiom: What you tolerate, your children will embrace.

 

Therefore, under normal circumstances, wisdom and respect demand compliance of human laws. That’s the rule.

 

But Acts 5 showed one of the few legitimate exceptions: ²⁷ Then they brought the apostles before the high council, where the high priest confronted them. ²⁸ “We gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man’s name!” he said. “Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him, and you want to make us responsible for his death!”

 

²⁹ But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.”

 

Unless your civil objection rises to the level of “I won’t kill,” “I won’t steal from a neighbor,” and “I won’t forsake my God,” then you and I probably ought to slow down on the highway and model civil obedience rather than excuses.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s heard his

daughter-in-law say

that one of the things

that attracted her

to her husband is that

he was know as a

rule follower