“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. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.” – Romans 13:1-2
What does a Christian’s responsibility and freedom look like when he or she doesn’t agree with something the government requires? This is a very timely question! In general, Christians must submit to whatever the government requires unless that mandate violates God’s commands in Scripture.
God appoints and is sovereign over local, state/provincial, and national governments. He even permits ungodly and wicked governments to exist for a time and uses them to accomplish His greater purpose! Thus every Christian is commanded to submit to the government’s rules and laws, except for those which violate God’s rules and laws.
That’s the key criterion for determining what we must and must not obey. For example, Christians are commanded to worship and we’re commanded to sing. Regardless of what the government commands, we must worship and we must sing! On the other hand, the Bible doesn’t give instruction on how close to sit or whether faces should be covered. Thus Christians must follow government requirements, even if we don’t like or agree with them.
As Christians, we can discuss and debate those policies with which we disagree but which don’t violate Scripture. We can petition, protest, campaign, pursue legal action, and lobby for change. We can seek elected office to bring about change. But until that change happens, we must also submit.