What attitudes should Christians display when compelled by conscience to disobey the government?

Before addressing that question, let’s review one thing. Christians normally should not disobey the government. Quite the opposite is the case. In most situations, Christians should obey the government even when governmental directives appear unreasonable or overreaching. There is one broad biblical exception, that is, when the government either forbids an action that God requires, or requires an action that God forbids. I wrote a short piece about last year — early on when churches were wrestling with governmental responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. But today I’ve got something else on my heart.

I’m concerned with the attitudes that Christians display on those rare occasions when they feel compelled by conscience to disobey the government. What heart postures should Christians carry into civil disobedience?

The short answer is that Christians need to respond in humility, grace, meekness, and faithfulness. Christians should not be arrogant, quarrelsome, insisting on their own way, flaunting their rights, or focused on power.

Let me offer a recent example. In the region of the United States where I live, governmental leaders have frequently attempted to forbid singing during church services, with the stated purpose of limiting the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Many Christians have considered the government’s prohibition of corporate singing to be an example of forbidding something that God requires (see 1 Chronicles 16:9, 23; Isaiah 42:10-11; Jeremiah 20:13; James 5:13; plus many dozens of such instructions throughout the Psalms, like 9:11; 30:4; 33:1-3; 149:1-3). Let us also grant that Christians could still disagree on this. A Christian might argue in good conscience that for the sake of protecting the lives of others, we ought more closely to adhere to whatever directives our federal, state, and local governments issue. But, for the sake of argument, let us assume that many Christians will feel free in their consciences to disobey a governmental directive not to sing during a worship service.

What kinds of