The Western world is gradually stripping away the last vestiges of its Judeo-Christian heritage, including Christian influence in the legal system. Christians who hold to the classical definition of marriage, family, gender, and other contentious issues are frequently facing legal action from other parties who find these views objectionable, and out of step with modern societal norms. In a recent debate on social media, we were discussing the question of whether or not Christians have a right to recourse through the legal system in these situations.
One person replied to me by quoting Romans 13, claiming that this passage commands Christians to unquestionably obey all the laws of the land.
A superficial reading of the text supports this interpretation. This is a quote directly from the ESV Study Bible text notes on Romans 13:1-7. "This passage addresses the responsibility of Christians to the governing authorities. They are to "be subject to" (which generally means to obey, cf 1 Peter 3: 5-6) the government because it has been ordained by God. Paul is speaking here of the general principle of submission to government. Several other passages show that God approves of Christians disobeying government, but only when obedience to government would mean disobeying God (see Exodus 1:17, 21; 1 Kings 18:4-16, Esther 4:16, Daniel 3:12-18; 6:10, Matthew 2:12, Acts 5:29, Hebrews 11:23). There were even times when God raised up leader to rebel against the government and deliver his people from evil rulers (Exodus 1-14, Judges 2:16, Hebrews 11:32-24).
You can see this principle in action in the lives of people such as the 19th century abolitionists, Corrie ten Boom, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Confessing Church movement in Nazi Germany, as well as the Scholl siblings and the White Rose resistance movement, Martin Luther King in the 1950s and 1960s in the United States, Archbishop Romero in San Salvador during the 1979-1982 military dictatorship, and plenty of Christian groups who support asylum seekers.
Not to mention the millions of Christians in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East whose governments persecute them just because of their religious faith.
https://www.commongrace.org.au/organisations_supporting_asylum_seekers
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