Authority

God had used Peter and John to heal a crippled beggar, and the leaders of Israel were unhappy with the miracle. So they arrested the disciples and brought them before the Sanhedrin. “By what power or what name did you do this?” they demanded. “Name” stands for authority. So they were actually asking, “By what authority did you accomplish this miracle?” The disciples answered, “It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified.” This sentence is the theme of the chapter, and it carries us into this new section. There is a fourfold sequence.

The only thing that ever really changes the world is not laws enforced by arms, but moral renewal in the lives of normal citizens. And that comes from God alone. That is why the only profound changes that come into the world are in periods of revival, as God works in His people in such a powerful way that they are changed. Then because they have been changed, the moral climate of the country is changed, too, and good laws follow. Change must come first, then laws. You never achieve change merely by passing laws, because laws do not change people.

We tend to rebel easily. We rebel when we should clearly submit. But this is not the same thing as saying that we must obey the state at all times and in all circumstances.

We concluded yesterday’s study with the important point that the state is responsible to God for what it does. Incidentally, this is also what gives limits to the civil authorities. We see one of these limits in the story. When the state tells us that we cannot preach the Gospel, that is an overextension of its authority. It is an illegitimate use of its legitimate authority and we must resist it.

Only the kingdom of God will never pass away. It is eternal. The important question is “What kingdom do you belong to?” Where is your ultimate allegiance? Do we have allegiance to the state? Yes, we are to have a certain measure of that. We’re called to give honor where honor is due, taxes where taxes are due, all of that. But most of all, we are called to be citizens of the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ and live for Him.