The Scriptures call us to submit to the governing authorities (Rom. 13; 1 Pet. 2). However, there are also plenty of examples of God’s people subverting the system.
Jesus declared the kingdom in a midst of the Roman Empire. Paul proclaimed a subversive message that got him thrown in jail. Daniel defied the Babylonian empire. Nathan critiqued and confronted Israel’s king. John the Baptist spoke against King Herod’s marriage. John the Apostle was exiled to the island of Patmos by Rome. And when the apostles were told to stop preaching the gospel, they said, “We must obey God rather than human authorities” (Acts 5:29).
The most subversive thing we can do is exist as the kingdom of God amid the kingdom of man.
This was Jesus and Paul’s main political action. They came announcing a new way and forming a new community. We too witness to the world about the king and his kingdom where justice, peace, and harmony reside. Jesus didn’t seek to change the structures around him. He preached another politic, another way.
And this alternative politic is manifested where? In the community of believers we call the church.
That is one reason it is so important to be a part
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