The fifth commandment

5.3 Honor authorities

The rulers of God’s people are called to exercise just judgment, and they are to be honored and obeyed.

Exodus 22.28

“You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.”

Acts 23.1-5; Romans 13.5; Titus 3.1

Deuteronomy 16.18-20

“You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous. Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the LORD your God is giving you.”

John 7.24; Acts 14.23; Titus 1.5

Parents, prophets, and rulers: these are the primary authorities God has established to bring order and blessing to the community of His people. Just as we should not curse our parents or revile those who, as God’s spokesmen, bring us His Word, so we should not curse or revile our rulers. They may not be the best rulers, and they may even be wicked at times; still, we must guard our tongues in speaking about them, as Paul showed (Acts 23.1-5).

When we speak ill of our rulers the danger is that we will demean the office and, hence, contribute to the undermining of God’s ordained order. There are proper ways of speaking about the decisions, actions, or character of rulers, and we must do so as often as is necessary, for this, too, protects the integrity of the divinely-appointed office. However, we must be careful in all our criticisms that we not condemn or curse those whom God has appointed to rule. Wicked rulers must not be obeyed, but not even they may be made subject to our cursing and reviling. If we must disobey a wicked ruler, we must do so honorably, as the Lord Jesus and apostles, following the prophets, demonstrated.

This series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.