Committed to Obedience

You will remember that following the resurrection, the disciples of Jesus boldly proclaimed the Good News and shortly found themselves in prison. In the account in Acts 5, an angel opened the prison doors at night and led them out. In the morning the officers found the doors securely locked, but no one inside. So the disciples were taken to the high priest to explain what was going on. Peter and the others defended themselves simply saying, "We must obey God rather than any human authority" (v. 27). One might think that was enough, but they went on to point out that God had exalted the very one they had hung on the cross and that Peter  and others intended to continue proclaiming the message.
       And so, civil disobedience became a part of this new movement of bringing  people to repentance and forgiveness. For the believer, there is a "law" higher than the jurisdictional code of any city or state. When a legal requirement violates a principle that we hold to be true, there is no option, but to take the high road.
       It may be helpful to think a bit about the nature of law. A law is not a rule created in a moral vacuum, such as, "I think it would be a good idea not to drive faster than 30 mph in town.
Every law is an expression of a moral concern. Take the speed limit in town: Behind it lies the principled concern that people be protected from being injured by cars out of control. Practice shows that 30 mph is a reasonable limit in town. So the law is written, not  in isolation, but as an expression of a humane concern. So when you get a ticket it is not because you drove too fast but because the social order desires safety for all. You may have to pay the ticket at the DMV but ultimately you did something wrong against a neighbor.
       And how does this apply to the disciples preaching the message when they were told not to? It was a clash of two moral principles: the town's, which was general and the disciple's which was specific. Civil disobedience allows a person to live out their understanding of what is of genuine importance even though it may, for at least a time, put them at odds with the authorities. It is anything but risk free. We allow people to follow their conscience although not with our blessing. Peter and his fellow spokesmen would gladly have followed the orders of the Sanhedrin, but unfortunately that would have made them disobey God, and of course they couldn't do that. How grateful we are that the early Christians were men and women of conviction. Were they here today, I believe they would refuse having anything to do with such current practices as same-sex marriage, abortion, and like practices. To be a stalwart example of commitment to principle will have its problems along the way, but it carries with it the smile of God.