We ought to obey God

saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man's blood on us!”
But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. – Acts 5.28-29

There is a clear principle all through the word of God that God’s people submit to human authority. God makes that vey clear in Romans 13 when Paul writes that we are to submit to every ordinance of man. Jesus said we ought to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. We see Paul sorry for his attitude toward the high priest. It is clear that submission is a part of life.

But here there is a difference. The rulers tell the disciples to stop preaching, but they can’t do it.

We have to obey God instead of man.

That sounds like an easy enough decision.

The thing is that we have to obey man in every case unless it comes into conflict with obeying. Even then we have to realise that obeying God instead of man is going to have consequences.

There are a few examples in the Bible but I think the clearest example is Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. The king made a huge false idol and the people were ordered to fall down and worship when the music played.

The three men knew they could not obey God and man, but they knew what they had to do. When the music played they simply refused to bow down The didn’t go on strike, they didn’t protest – they just stood.

They were ordered to bow and still they stood.

They were arrested and still they would not bow.

They faced the king and they politely explained that they were going to trust God, and even if they were thrown in the furnace they still had to obey God.

So the sentence was carried out and thankfully God intervened to protect them.

The lesson for us is clear though. We need to remember that we have to obey God when man’s laws conflict with His, but we need to know that man still has the power to punish us for breaking his laws.