"Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor" (Rom. 13:7). Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle but also to those who are unreasonable" (1 Pet. 2:17-18). "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right" (1 Pet. 2:13-14, NASB).
"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whoso resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God... For he is the minister of God to thee for good...(Rom. 13:1-2,4a, KJV)."
The Word says to fear (respect) all that fear is due (I learned this pretty fast in the Army saying my first "Yes, Sir!"), but does this mean it is up to us to decide whether they are worthy of our respect or not? All authority is given by God and established by Him and it would not have any power over us except that God has given it. Disrespecting authority is a way of disrespecting God (e.g., parents are in loco Dei or in the place of God as the first authority figures a child has to learn to obey, and disobedience to parents was a crime worthy of death, according to Romans 1) and only when they ask us to do some evil or sinful act are we entitled and obligated to disobey, and even do civil disobedience--there is a limit to our obedience (Shall we obey God or man? is asked in Acts 4:19).
But just as the judge demands respect from the court, even if they disagree, so in the military services one respects positions of authority regardless of the personal opinions or whether one likes them--it is the office they hold that is the key. When the judge enters the courtroom, all rise out of respect and call him "your honor."
We are to honor all people because they are in the image and likeness of God, no one deserves contempt or inhumane treatment as if they weren't human or deserved any rights. We believe in the basic dignity of man and that is why capital punishment is appropriate because a person in God's image has been killed. In a church, we have an organization, though the church is an organism of believers. Elders, deacons, and pastors and teachers are a chain of command and are there by God's decree. It is vain to believe we can reform our church to our image and agree with our way of thinking--Martin Luther tried this and failed to change the Vatican, getting excommunicated in the process and having to start his own denomination, which was not his intent.
Rebellion is a sin and so is sowing discord among brothers. Being divisive, factious, or contentious is a fruit of the flesh and to be avoided and disciplined by the church body (cf. Gal. 5:20). We are not trying to start our little own following, revolution or movement to be counterproductive to the system--we want to church's blessing on our endeavor. As an example, I have this blog and made sure that my pastor didn't object to my sharing it; I gave him a sample of my doctrine so he knows where I stand, and that I'm not way out there in some heresy or something, and dangerous to the church. This is done in the "up and up" and not in secret--no hidden agenda.
We are to work with the system God has set up and respect all authority, even if we don't like them. Remembering Jesus' words to Pilate: "You would have no authority over me, except it had been given from above." Jesus never showed any signs of lack of respect, though he didn't really cooperate as expected. As Protestants we can take advice from Martin Luther who dared to stand up to heresy and take the consequences, saying: "I dissent, I disagree, I protest."
Summing up, we don't have to agree with everything, but in everything we do we must show respect and disagree in the right way: Augustine's dictum, "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity" applies, but that also means we are to leave room for disagreement from the church, and not just them leaving room for our disagreement. There should be unity, but not uniformity in the body. "Being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (cf. Eph. 4:3). Soli Deo Gloria!
"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whoso resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God... For he is the minister of God to thee for good...(Rom. 13:1-2,4a, KJV)."
The Word says to fear (respect) all that fear is due (I learned this pretty fast in the Army saying my first "Yes, Sir!"), but does this mean it is up to us to decide whether they are worthy of our respect or not? All authority is given by God and established by Him and it would not have any power over us except that God has given it. Disrespecting authority is a way of disrespecting God (e.g., parents are in loco Dei or in the place of God as the first authority figures a child has to learn to obey, and disobedience to parents was a crime worthy of death, according to Romans 1) and only when they ask us to do some evil or sinful act are we entitled and obligated to disobey, and even do civil disobedience--there is a limit to our obedience (Shall we obey God or man? is asked in Acts 4:19).
But just as the judge demands respect from the court, even if they disagree, so in the military services one respects positions of authority regardless of the personal opinions or whether one likes them--it is the office they hold that is the key. When the judge enters the courtroom, all rise out of respect and call him "your honor."
We are to honor all people because they are in the image and likeness of God, no one deserves contempt or inhumane treatment as if they weren't human or deserved any rights. We believe in the basic dignity of man and that is why capital punishment is appropriate because a person in God's image has been killed. In a church, we have an organization, though the church is an organism of believers. Elders, deacons, and pastors and teachers are a chain of command and are there by God's decree. It is vain to believe we can reform our church to our image and agree with our way of thinking--Martin Luther tried this and failed to change the Vatican, getting excommunicated in the process and having to start his own denomination, which was not his intent.
Rebellion is a sin and so is sowing discord among brothers. Being divisive, factious, or contentious is a fruit of the flesh and to be avoided and disciplined by the church body (cf. Gal. 5:20). We are not trying to start our little own following, revolution or movement to be counterproductive to the system--we want to church's blessing on our endeavor. As an example, I have this blog and made sure that my pastor didn't object to my sharing it; I gave him a sample of my doctrine so he knows where I stand, and that I'm not way out there in some heresy or something, and dangerous to the church. This is done in the "up and up" and not in secret--no hidden agenda.
We are to work with the system God has set up and respect all authority, even if we don't like them. Remembering Jesus' words to Pilate: "You would have no authority over me, except it had been given from above." Jesus never showed any signs of lack of respect, though he didn't really cooperate as expected. As Protestants we can take advice from Martin Luther who dared to stand up to heresy and take the consequences, saying: "I dissent, I disagree, I protest."
Summing up, we don't have to agree with everything, but in everything we do we must show respect and disagree in the right way: Augustine's dictum, "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity" applies, but that also means we are to leave room for disagreement from the church, and not just them leaving room for our disagreement. There should be unity, but not uniformity in the body. "Being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (cf. Eph. 4:3). Soli Deo Gloria!