On Civil Disobedience - Hebrews 3:18-19

  
 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?  So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. - Hebrew 3:18-19

    We live in a tumultuous time when citizens take to the streets daily in an attempt to disrupt civil society. At the very core of their behavior lies the deliberate intent to refuse to obey the law of the land. Forgive me for going out on a limb here but I am of the opinion that these very same miscreants seldom find a seat in the congregation on Sundays. After all, violating the law is their raison d'être. “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” - 1 John 3:4.
    Human choice is the primary area where sin has taken up residence. While many make the right choice, far many more do not, as is evidenced by daily life. The litterer in the car in front of you; the pushy person at the grocery store; the obnoxiously loud person at the theater, and the list goes on. It certainly would be hard for human law enforcement to keep up with the petty wrong-doings of the citizenry. Look at how difficult it is for them to contain serious crime. So is there no recompense for daily disobedience? Far be it. “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” - Hebrews 4:13.
    God has made it clear in many Scriptural passages that there is nothing hidden, even behind the facade of respectable or non-serious transgressions. “For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.” - Ecclesiastes 12:14. And if every work is brought into judgment would that not include serious civil disobedience? Our sovereign Lord has made it clear that all authority comes from Him and that included our civil authorities from the local meter readers up to and including the President of the United States! And unless the person in authority is demanding that we as Christians break God’s laws, then we are compelled by God’s word to respect and follow the law of the land. “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.” - Romans 13:1-2.
    Most of the current civil disobedience that we are subjected to on the nightly news is being committed by avowed anarchists and there is nothing that chafes the soul of an anarchist like the binding authority of God! They will not obey because they do not believe in the authority that God Himself has put in place. As a result of their unbelief, they will not enter His rest - a very bitter pill to swallow for a fleeting feeling of personal autonomy.
    Let us be reminded that all authority on earth comes from the providence of God and unless that authority rebels against Him we are to follow it to the letter.