Have you ever wondered if there’s a time when following the rules isn’t the right thing to do? When an unjust authority demands something that goes against your conscience, what’s a person of faith to do?
I believe we Christians have sometimes gotten off course. The focus has shifted from valuing all life to pursuing personal blessing and comfort. We thank God for parking spots and bigger houses as if He were a genie granting our wishes. But what about when the laws of the land conflict with God’s command to love our neighbors as ourselves?
The Midwives Who Defied a Wicked Tyrant
In Exodus 1:1-22, we read about Egypt as a great power worried about demographic changes. The king (Pharaoh) saw a power shift on the horizon as the Israelites grew in number. So the people of Egypt positioned themselves in power over the Israelites, making their lives increasingly difficult with unattainable demands. Their laws even permitted the murder of Hebrew baby boys.
There were those who refused.
There were those who protected the young boys. Even when it put them in harm’s way. Even when it meant defying an authority figure.
That last line is hard for me to write. I want to scratch it out. I want good to be “black and white,” easy to understand, easy to identify. I want clear instructions about right and wrong, but I live in a fallen world. We live under the complex call of Scripture to honor legitimate authority and simultaneously stand for the oppressed. It’s a tension God’s Word requires us to navigate.
Given thousands of years of perspective, we can all easily agree that the Pharaoh in Exodus is the villain and the midwives are the heroes. A midwife’s purpose is to usher new life into this world. They refused to use the same hands that delivered babies to destroy life. They lived to protect innocent persons born into oppression, and God rewarded their good work.
God honored their compassion, their quiet defiance of unjust laws, their value of life, and even their deception of a wicked tyrant. In the ancient world, such moral behavior was recognized and rewarded by God himself, establishing a basic principle that resonates throughout Scripture: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
God’s Pattern of Using Ordinary People Against Unjust Authority
Were there others who stood against the Pharaoh’s law? Scripture doesn’t tell us. Only the midwives’ small resistance is noted. That seemingly minor act of defiance was enough for God to orchestrate the salvation of the Israelites through the arrival of a baby.
God used the compassion of women to free the oppressed! Sit with that thought.
In a patriarchal society, where women weren’t viewed as a threat but baby boys were, God used the compassion of women to usher in His people’s salvation. The midwives lied, a mother hid her baby, a sister stood guard, and an Egyptian princess defied her father and raised a Hebrew child as her own. Those who opposed the Pharaoh and his laws did not do so with violence, but with compassion. Their hearts were stirred by the value of life, and they resisted, standing with the oppressed, placing targets on themselves, responding with gentleness.
These examples reveal the dynamics of disobedience that God honors—not rebellion for self-interest, but courageous action to protect the vulnerable when evil rulers threaten them.
A Pattern Throughout Scripture and Church History
The midwives in Egypt aren’t the only ones who defied an unjust authority to save lives. Rahab, many years later, hid Israelite spies on her roof and lied to the soldiers who came looking for them. She saw value in their lives and corruption in the laws of her own city. God honored her for her compassion and included her in the lineage of Jesus Christ.
We see Daniel and his friends refusing to bow to the king’s statue or cease praying, accepting the consequences of the fiery furnace and lions’ den rather than violate their conscience. The apostles, when ordered to stop preaching about Jesus, boldly declared, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29), continuing their ministry despite threats from religious authorities.
This pattern continues throughout history. Herod, many years later, would fear another Savior and order the deaths of baby boys. It would take the resistance of travelers, a vision from an angel, and the obedience of two young parents to save just one baby—Jesus, whose life and death would become the model by which we all should stand for the oppressed.
Throughout the Bible, we see that there are numerous times when disobeying unjust laws is permissible (we will explore more of these stories in the coming days).
Faithful Resistance Through Church History
Later in the early 1520s, we see Martin Luther practicing passive resistance in the face of unjust authority. His refusal to recant his beliefs before civil authorities became a pivotal moment in church history, challenging the established religious practices and political order of his day.
The Quakers provide powerful examples of peaceful resistance to unjust authority. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Quakers like John Woolman advocated against slavery when it was legally sanctioned and culturally accepted. They refused to purchase goods produced by enslaved people and established an Underground Railroad to help those escaping bondage. Their commitment to the divine worth of every human being led them to defy laws they believed contradicted God’s higher law.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian during the Nazi regime, exemplifies costly discipleship in the face of tyranny. Initially a pacifist, Bonhoeffer ultimately concluded that faithful resistance to Hitler’s genocidal policies required more direct action. His involvement in a plot to assassinate Hitler cost him his life but demonstrated his conviction that “silence in the face of evil is itself evil.”
Modern Prophetic Witnesses
The 20th century civil rights movement provides perhaps the clearest modern example of Christians defying unjust authority. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., himself a Baptist minister, articulated the theological basis for civil disobedience in his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” King argued that unjust laws fail to square with moral law and God’s law, writing: “One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”
King’s approach drew from the theoretical framework developed by Thomas Aquinas, who distinguished between just and unjust laws and provided criteria for discerning the difference. For Aquinas, laws that degraded human personality or were inflicted on a minority without their participation in creating them were fundamentally unjust.
Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, consistently practiced civil disobedience in opposition to unjust war, nuclear weapons, and economic injustice. Her commitment to the works of mercy and resistance to systems that dehumanize the poor offers a model of faithful defiance to unjust structures without resorting to physical violence.
In South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu defied apartheid laws, using his position in the church to advocate for justice when speaking out carried severe consequences. His witness reminds us that Christian leadership sometimes requires confronting governing authorities when they contradict God’s vision of human dignity and equality.
When Does Defying Unjust Authority Become Necessary Today?
When innocence is threatened, what are we as good citizens to do? In the real world, significant differences exist between right and wrong, despite what cultural relativism might suggest.
Nearly two thousand years ago, Calgacus, a Caledonian chieftain who resisted Roman invasion, offered a searing indictment of empire that remains disturbingly relevant today: “Robbery, butchery, rape: the liars call it Empire. They create a desolation and call it peace.” His words cut through imperial propaganda to expose the violence beneath claims of “civilization” and “order.” How often today do we see similar justifications when nations, including our own, pursue “peace through strength” policies that create suffering for vulnerable populations? True peace cannot come through domination and fear.
“Your iniquities have turned these away, and your sins have kept good from you. For wicked men are found among my people; they lurk like fowlers lying in wait. They set a trap; they catch men. Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; therefore they have become great and rich; they have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy. Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?” — Jeremiah 5:25-29, ESV
We are not to profit from the oppressed. We are to stand up for them. We must reject the theology that prioritizes personal blessing and instead seek to serve others, as Christ did. Christ did not come for His own comfort. He came to comfort the weak, to bless the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, the merciful, the peacemakers (Matthew 5). He lived and died for others.
As a general rule, Christians are called to be good citizens who respect authority. But there comes a point when civil disobedience is necessary when an unjust authority puts our neighbors, those Christ commanded us to love, in harm’s way. This might look like:
- Standing with immigrants when laws separate families
- Protecting vulnerable populations when healthcare access is denied
- Speaking truth when institutions silence victims
- Creating sanctuary for those fleeing violence or persecution
- Using our platforms to amplify marginalized voices
- Defending access to books and library materials that tell the stories of the marginalized
- Advocating for the common people when economic systems favor the powerful
Life in every shade, every background, every stage, disability, belief system—life is valuable. Let go of the desire for personal comfort and safety, and grasp more tightly to the righteousness of the midwives who defied an unjust authority. Acknowledge our complex history; don’t deny it. Our feet walk on ground stained by the blood of the oppressed. Learn from history so we can move toward compassion.
Finding Clarity in Gray Areas
Here is where I have landed in the grayness of this life: God sees the heart. When I lie for personal gain, I am the oppressor. When I defy authority out of necessity to protect the oppressed, I am living out the example of Rahab and the midwives.
It is my job, my calling as a Christ-follower to love with NO ulterior motives. Even when this puts me in harm’s way. As Peter wrote, “For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures grief while suffering unjustly” (1 Peter 2:19, ESV).
Our personal relationship with Christ should inform our response to unjust authority. When we develop a deep connection with Jesus—understanding His heart for justice and compassion—we gain wisdom to discern when obedience to God requires disobedience to human authority.
What examples have you seen of ordinary people standing against unjust authority in our world today? How do you navigate the tension between honoring authority and protecting the vulnerable?