This chapter is titled 'What Paul Said about the Task and Authority of the State'. This chapter is connected to the previous chapter. And in this chapter Nick discusses what Paul meant by the idea that Christians are to obey the state. Pay your tax, Paul would say. But why?
Nick says that traditionally Paul's words have been understood to mean that God is the one who instituted the state and therefore state should be obeyed. Given this understanding, many Christians obeyed the state even when the state's laws are bad. For example, when the state says that white and black cannot intermarry, they obeyed the state. Nick argues that this kind of understanding is incomplete. Nick goes on to argue that what Paul says is that God instituted the state to punish the wrongdoer -- or put it differently -- to do justice and therefore state should be obeyed. Thus when the state is doing justice, everybody should obey the state.
But what if the state is doing injustice? If the state is doing injustice, then it will be time to pray that the state changes its law or that the present government is voted. Or putting it differently, this is a time 'not to obey' the state. This is justifiable because the purpose for which the state was instituted by God is not being carried out by the state. And when the state is not carrying out its role, then it is justifiable to pray for its downfall.
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