Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 21
October 9, 1969
NUMBER 23, PAGE 6-8

Of Man And Authority — II.

F. Lagard Smith

Acceptance of the purposeful-creation idea cannot but result in a general respect for authority. The next step must move us from the general to the specific; from ultimate authority to derived authority. Let us first examine the two ways in which ultimate authority can be known.

The first ascertains the Creator's will through deductions of right reason from that which is demanded by man's nature. From man's master drive for perfection and happiness, man knows even without much reason that he ought to choose whatever will achieve that desired end. Good rather than bad actions are thus sought. Anthropological research reveals that men of every time and race have recognized the evil in killing other men haphazardly, having sexual union with complete promiscuity, and taking from another what belongs to him. Every man is endowed with an inherent sense of right and wrong, dictated in various degrees by a conscious moral sense — whether enlightened by education or dulled by careless conduct.

Beyond the just rules of conduct prescribed to man by the Creator and known by inherent and reasoned moral consciousness are the standards, rules, and guidelines which may be precisely known through divine revelation. The principles of the Ten Commandments, for example, correspond with man's intuitive sense of right and wrong, and appeal to man's highest capacities for attainment. The concurrence of the Bible's standards with man's sublime moral nature is harmony such as could only be expected of a book having the same author as man himself. The revealed authoritative standards are reasonable and full of logic. They are complete and, most importantly, universal. The revelation of the Creator's mind to man confirms what can be known from reason — that man is subject to his Creator and responsible toward his fellow man. For the God of the Bible demands that man love and obey him above all things, and love and respect his fellow man as himself. (Cf. Matt. 22:35-40)

Thus what is demanded by man's nature and what is demanded by revelation have the same source — the Creator — and have the same general content, although it is clearer in detail in revelation. These two ways in which ultimate authority (eternal, man-discovered law) can be known become, moreover, the source material for derived authority (temporal, man-made law).

By "derived authority" is meant the type of rule and law enacted by man, usually in the form of statutes, which fills in the gaps of man-discovered law, determining specifically for particular situations the application of ultimate authority. The Creator, recognizing the necessity for ever-current application of his eternal laws, has ordained certain institutions and relationships for that purpose. The God of the Bible not only organized his spiritual kingdom — with Christ as the head of his church universal (Eph. 5:23, 24), and elders or bishops exercising oversight among local congregations of Christians (Acts 20:28; I Pet. 5:2, 3) — but he also provided for man's social order within definite systems of authority.

Note the importance of civil government, and man's respect for its authority, as the Apostle Paul reviews it in his letter to the Roman Christians.

"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay all of them their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due." (Rom. 13:1-7)

Referring to a sub-order of social authority — the master-servant relationship — the Apostle Peter gives this exhortation, the principles of which may be applied to present-day employer-employee relationships: "Servants be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to the kind and gentle but also to the overbearing?' (I Pet. 2:18) Still further, Peter covers the entire realm of derived authority when he pens God's will that man "Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution. . ." (I Pet. 2:13) In context this commandment implies, of course, as a prerequisite to subjection, a consistency between derived and ultimate authority, as will be discussed later in more depth.

As the third major God-ordained institution, along with the church and civil government, the home, too, has a planned order and system of authority. The home relationship itself must be considered in two sub-orders, marriage and the family, Of marriage Paul writes: "Wives be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands?' (Eph. 5:22-24) And of the parent-child, family relationship he ' writes: "Children obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord?' (Col. 3:20)

Man is thus an ordered being. Whether in his spiritual, social, business, or home relationships, he is burdened with both obligation and responsibility within Creator-instituted systems of authority. On the other hand, within these systems of order, derived authority is not to be exercised arbitrarily or capriciously, for those in positions of authority are, like those in subjection, merely creatures of him whose ultimate authority is the source of their own.

In the spiritual realm, elders are exhorted to rule, "not as domineering over those in your charge but being examples to the flock." (I Pet. 5:3) In the material realm, civil rulers are given authority not only to "punish those who do wrong" but also "to praise those who do right." (I Pet. 2:14) And Paul tells masters: "... treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a master in heaven." (Col. 4:1) Then in the home relationship, husbands are instructed: ". . . love your wives, and do not be harsh with them." (Col. 3:19) Indeed, the husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church, and even as his own body — nourishing and cherishing the bride of his youth. (Eph. 5:25; 28 29) Finally, fathers are told: " ... do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged?' (Col. 3:21)

The great task of human legislators, then is to apply the general principles of ultimate authority within the framework of these Creator-instituted systems of derived authority, so as to give as much effect to supreme law and order as possible. And the goal of those in subjection must be to respect and encourage those having the responsibilities of exercising derived authority, so as to assure the achievement of order in society. When young people accept their roles as purposely-created men and women, and when they grasp a true overview of the beautiful order that their Creator has fashioned for them through the various realms of authority, they will not be — as Plato lamented — disrespectful, dia. obedient, or disorderly. Sound ideas have sound consequences. Would that sound ideas were more widely accepted!

Not all of youth's apparent rebellion against law, order, and status quo need go without sympathetic understanding. When men fail to properly apply ultimate authority to man's immediate needs, substituting human judgment instead, the result is invariably counter to man's best interests. And who can see this more clearly at limes than alert young people. When man-made laws punish those who do right and praise those who do wrong; when employees are allowed to rule by strength over their employers; when so many marriages are broken for lack of the husband's love or the wife's subjection; when children are raised permissively without requirements of respect and obedience — can we really expect young people to believe that systems of authority are beneficial and deserving of respect? Of course, not! But what they must see is that it is the abuse of these systems that needs elimination, not the systems themselves.

Understanding the relationship between ultimate authority (man-discovered law) and derived authority (Man-made law) is half the battle for man in his quest for order. That relationship has been compared as that of a compass to navigation. A compass indicates, of course, only general directions. A navigator, using the directions as a guide, then makes specific determinations for his particular time and place, so as to safely reach his destination. Although a compass will not relieve the navigator of his task, the validity of his calculated directives depends on the compass.

So it is with the relationship of ultimate to derived authority. Man-made laws must follow certain basic, authoritative guidelines established, not by uncertain chance or human judgment, but by the Great Orderer and Supreme Lawgiver of the universe. Then, within such a framework, laws must set forth more specific directives for definite sets of circumstances so that the common good can be achieved. Note that, like the navigator's directives, for man-made laws to be valid and beneficial the compass of ultimate authority must be faithfully followed. And just as navigation without a compass is aimless and meaningless, while with one it is purposeful and significant, so it is with authority. Without either conscious or unconscious reference to the directives of ultimate authority, day-to-day lawmaking is aimless and meaningless, while with it, man-made laws have purpose and significance.

The relationship of man-discovered to man-made law is clearly seen in, for example, the Creator's universal prohibition against murder. Man's nature tells him that to kill indiscriminately is bad. Revelation also commands that he not kill his fellow man — in fact, not even hate his fellow creature. (Cf. Matt. 5:21, 22) This eternal prohibition, then, as known both naturally and supernaturally, finds its place in both statutes and decisions. "Thou shalt not kill" becomes codified with more specificity. For instance: "Any person who purposely, and of deliberate and premeditated malice. .. kills another, is guilty of murder in the first degree," ORS 163.010. Because of the harmony between the man-discovered and man-made prohibitions against murder, man finds it relatively easy to respect and obey the latter. The nature of the evil involved in murder is what in law is described as being malum in se — that is, inherently wrong, as known by man's very nature.

As opposed to this inherent evil is that which is described as malum prohibitum, referring to acts innocent enough in themselves, but deemed to be wrong by legislators looking to the common good of the people. Such would be, for example, violations of speed laws. While there is nothing inherently wrong with a car travelling 90 m.p.h., it is not in the best interest of society for cars to travel such speeds on congested highways. Here, because of the apparent irrelevance of man-discovered law, these man-made laws are blatantly ignored. But is there not relevance? Is not the aim of speed laws the same as the laws against murder — simply the preservation of human lives? Is one law, thus, less important than the other in the Creator's divine order for man? To ask the question is to answer it! And to answer it is to confront its necessary implication that neither is deserving of less respect and obedience than the other.

Vale, Oregon 97918

-Final Installment Next Week