Submit

 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
Romans 13:2 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.13.2.ESV

This is a tough verse to swallow. What if we were to live in Putin's Russia or Xi's China? Can we not even passively resist oppressive authorities?

The Kingdom of God might be revolutionary, but not in a political sense. Paul didn't lead a rebellion, or even a peaceful protest movement against the Roman Empire, codenamed Babylon the Great, mother of prostitutes by the apostle John. Instead, he made the most of his Roman citizenship to spread the gospel throughout the Eastern Roman Empire, whether he was tolerated or not.

Our raison d'etre isn't to establish the Kingdom of God as a worldly polity. God will establish His Kingdom on earth when Christ returns. Our job is to be faithful ambassadors of Christ in this world, until He returns.

All this doesn't mean to say we shouldn't speak out against oppression. Paul spoke against the slave trade for example. He didn't lead a Spartacist revolt. Instead he called slave traders to repentance and slaves to obedience in the midst of an unjust system.

'King of kings, may we be faithful ambassadors of You. Don't let us get sidetracked by politics, but to focus on serving Your heavenly Kingdom. For Your glory, amen'

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