Read
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
R0mans 13:1
Reflect
Today’s Scripture creates an interesting problem when we think about the founding of the United States.
Paul says that governing authorities have been instituted by God and that Christians are to be subject to them. So what are we supposed to make of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers, who eventually rebelled against British rule?
There’s no getting around the fact that they did rebel. They declared their independence from Great Britain, formed their own government and fought a war to defend it.
But that decision didn’t come overnight.
For years, the colonists petitioned, protested and sought relief from the British government. Instead of resolving the growing conflict, tensions continued to increase through taxation, punitive laws and eventually bloodshed. The conflict had already turned deadly in incidents such as the Boston Massacre, when British soldiers fired into a hostile crowd and killed five colonists.
By the time the Declaration of Independence was written, the colonists believed British rule had become destructive of the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that government was supposed to protect. They weren’t rejecting the idea of government. They believed they needed a government that would fairly represent the people it governed.
That still leaves us with Romans 13.
Paul clearly teaches that government has legitimate authority, and Christians shouldn’t treat obedience as optional simply because they disagree with those in charge. But Scripture also makes clear that no earthly government has absolute authority. When Peter and the apostles were ordered to stop preaching about Jesus, they answered, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
Government is under God. It is not God.
That means Christians should approach resistance to authority very carefully. We aren’t free to ignore laws simply because we don’t like them, and political disagreement doesn’t automatically justify rebellion. But our ultimate allegiance belongs to the Lord, and every human government is ultimately accountable to Him.
Two hundred fifty years after the Declaration of Independence, the United States is still here. We certainly have our share of problems, and our history includes both remarkable achievements and grievous failures. Still, I believe God’s providence can be seen throughout the history of this country.
Many of the founders spoke openly about Providence and understood that a nation could not survive on laws alone. Character, virtue and a recognition that human authority is accountable to something higher than itself mattered.
Romans 13 also reminds us that our responsibility doesn’t end with deciding whether our leaders are good or bad. Christians are called to obey lawful authority, pay what we owe, show respect and remember that even when we disagree strongly with those who govern us, they remain people made in the image of God.
So today, give thanks to the Lord for the freedoms and blessings we enjoy in this country. Pray for those who lead it, whether you voted for them or not. Pray for wisdom, justice and humility.
And most of all, pray that the hearts of the American people—including our own—will turn toward Him.
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Reflection copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
