Submission is tough. Just ask any Christian wife. If submission in a loving relationship between two people is a challenge, how much harder is it between an entire nation and the government in authority?

Yet submission is central to God’s relationship with man. His first recorded interaction with Adam was to give him one rule to obey (Genesis 2:16-17) so that Adam could exercise submission to God.

But why such a premium placed on submission?

Because ours is an orderly God who works within rules, structures and hierarchies. It is in His character. Genesis 1-2, which introduces us to God, demonstrates this very nature in the orderly way in which God formed creation and all the creaturely beings.

By Numbers 11:16-17, that orderliness is expressed in a hierarchy of authority when God calls for 70 of Israel’s elders to stand with Moses and “share the burden of the people” with him. Earthly authority graduates from community leaders to political ones with the ordination of kings.

If submission is what God expects of us when it comes to the people in authority, then what does that submission look like for us as citizens of a country?

Here are seven Scriptural ways to approach submission to earthly authority.

1. Positionally

We submit to earthly authority firm in our position as children of God.

In 1 Peter 2:11, Peter urges Jew and Gentile believers scattered across Asia Minor to remember they are “foreigners and exiles”. We may live on this earth, but we don’t belong here.

What he says carries a lot of weight and comfort considering the political climate of his time. 1 Peter was likely written between AD62 and AD64. Emperor Nero was in power then.

History bears witness to the fact that Nero was both depraved and deranged. He killed his mother and his second wife, captured and castrated a young man who resembled his late wife to replace her. He also turned Christians into living candles by burning them alive.

Living in Singapore, we are not subject to such cruelty. But the rest of the world may not be as fortunate. According to Freedom in the World 2023: Marking 50 Years in the Struggle for Democracy, only 20% of the world’s 7.9 billion people live in a “free” country.

Even so, there is comfort because, for believers, this is not our final destination. As “foreigners and exiles”, we are secure in our eventual citizenship and that frees us (1 Peter 2:16) to live “such good lives” (1 Peter 2:12) in submission to earthly authority, whatever shape or form it takes – “whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors” (1 Peter 2:13-14).

2. Piously

We submit piously, as an act of submission to God.

1 Peter 2:13 continues: “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority”. A few verses down in 1 Peter 2:16, we are told to “live as God’s slaves”.

We are not asked to look upon our earthly authorities as God. We are told to submit to them “for the Lord’s sake” because that, 1 Peter 2:15 tells us, is God’s will and considered “doing good”. In fact, in the same breath that Peter tells the people to fear God, he tells them to “honour the emperor”.

Paul gives us a reason why God demands that we obey governing authorities. In Romans 13:1, he writes: “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”

Paul wrote this knowing full well who the governing authority of the day was – Nero.

Our minds may not be able to conceive of a good reason why God would put the godless in power. But the Bible is clear that His sovereignty extends over political authority as well.

3. With precedence

We submit because we have a precedence in Christ.

Jesus was the one who told the Jews to continue paying taxes to their earthly authorities and “give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s” (Mark 12:17). When they wanted to make him their king, essentially starting a revolution, Jesus slipped away to the mountains (John 6:15). When whipped, stripped and nailed to the cross, He neither resisted not retaliated (Matthew 27:12-14). 

We are told to “follow in His steps” (1 Peter 2:21).

4. Properly

We submit properly – obeying the laws of the land, respecting the government at hand.

Peter was clear about this when he said in 1 Peter 2:17: “Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honour the emperor.”

Proper submission also means engaging the authority through the channels made available to us, participating in democratic processes and contributing our wisdom to matters of the nation whenever possible.

5. With principles

We submit to earthly authority according to the principles and laws of God.

Whenever the issue of submission arises, there will always be the “what if” questions: What if the authority is corrupt? What if I am asked to go against my Christian faith?

If ever that were the case, then the answer Peter and the apostles gave in Act 5:29 must also be ours: “We must obey God rather than men.”

There are enough examples in the Bible to inform us of this. The midwives in Egypt and Moses’ mother disobeyed Pharaoh and let the Jewish baby boys live. Their effort was approved by God (Exodus 1:20-21).

Daniel’s three friends – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – refused to worship the golden image of King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3:8-12), incurring the wrath of the king.

Daniel himself openly defied King Darius’ order that no one pray to any gods for 30 days except to the king (Daniel 6:10). Daniel was thrown into a lion’s den but clearly his lack of submission was approved by God because God saved him.

The caveat for such civil disobedience is that our earthly authority must be asking us to betray our Christian faith or commit a moral wrong.

6. Prayerfully

As we submit, we pray for our earthly authority.

In 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Timothy tells us: “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

Our prayers are specifically for our leaders to make wise decisions and keep the peace so that we can practice our faith freely, and live out godly principles and our godly convictions without obstacles.

7. Purposefully 

We submit with the purpose of being Christian witnesses.

Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 2:12 to “live such good lives among the pagans that … they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us”. He later defines that “good” as submission to earthly authority (1 Peter 2:14-15).

Titus 2:9-10 says the same in the context of a slave-master relationship: “Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Saviour attractive.”

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