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The Western church has placed such stringent conditions on civil disobedience that it’s difficult to imagine any situation that meets the standard. Scripture paints a different picture.

Civil disobedience is a topic that makes many Christians nervous.

When pressed, most believers will acknowledge there are times and places that call for peaceful disobedience to unjust laws.

However, the Western church is far more comfortable identifying other countries and other eras as the appropriate context for nonviolent resistance.

While we have a quiet admiration for heroes like Harriet Tubman, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Corrie ten Boom and Martin Luther King, Jr., the modern church rarely produces such leaders today, given how quick we are to criticise and sideline any emerging dissidents in our ranks.

Perhaps one of the reasons we shun civil disobedience today is that we have set far too high a bar for it. The Western church has a working assumption that peaceful defiance is only applicable when the gospel is being preached, a core Christian teaching is at stake, a martyrdom is at hand, or a tyrant’s evil is clear for all to see.

However, a survey of Scripture makes it clear these are only some of the occasions that call for quiet rebellion against governmental authorities.

12 Biblical Acts of Civil Disobedience

Consider 12 biblical acts of civil disobedience — at least half of which were prompted by rather unspectacular circumstances.

1. In Exodus 1:15-21, the Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah disobeyed Pharaoh’s command to kill the infant sons born to Hebrew families, instead preserving their lives.

2. In Exodus 2:1-2, Moses’ parents did the same, concealing baby Moses for three months in defiance of Pharaoh’s unjust law.

3. In Exodus 5:1–12:51, Moses and Aaron confronted Pharaoh repeatedly to demand the release of the Hebrew people, even after Pharaoh, who was the absolute monarch of Egypt, had made his will clear on the subject.

4. In Joshua 2:1-24, the Canaanite prostitute Rahab defied her own king to protect the Israelite spies sent by Joshua, in an act that helped her city of Jericho to be overthrown.

5. In Esther 3:1-6, Mordecai refused to give homage to Haman, rebelling against the royal decree made by the king.

6. In Esther 4:16, Esther defied royal protocol, approaching King Xerxes without his summons in order to plead for the Jewish people to be spared.

7. In Jeremiah 38:1-6, Jeremiah advised the Israelites to surrender to their Babylon invaders, in defiance of Jewish officials who insisted they stay and defend Jerusalem.

8. In Daniel 3:1-30, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego defied King Nebuchadnezzar’s command to bow down and worship his golden image.

9. In Daniel 6:1-28, Daniel continued praying to God, in disobedience to King Darius, who had made it illegal to pray to anyone other than himself.

10. In Matthew 2:1-12, the Wise Men ignored the command of King Herod to report back to him on the whereabouts of the infant Christ.

11. In Mark 3:1-6, Jesus defied the Pharisees’ strict interpretation of the law by working miracles on the Sabbath.

12. In Acts 4:18-20 (see also 5:29), Jesus’ disciples continued to preach in His name after bring ordered not to by the Sanhedrin.

Biblical Reasons for Civil Disobedience

One of the first things to notice about these acts of civil disobedience is just how varied they are.

Some of these biblical figures quietly rebelled in order to obey overt commands of God, whether via His law, a divine revelation, a dream, or a command of Christ. Others were guided by their conscience, feeling their devotion to God made it impossible to obey unrighteous rules. Still others acted on moral principle, extrapolating God’s value on human life and applying it to their particular context.

There was also great variation in the consequences these biblical characters faced. Some were thrown in wells, furnaces or dens of lions before being miraculously spared. Others endured worsening persecution that ultimately paved the way toward their martyrdom. Surprisingly perhaps, the majority escaped consequence-free.

Most relevant to our present discussion is that, for these biblical characters, civil disobedience was not reserved only for instances of gospel proclamation, defending orthodox beliefs, defying overt tyranny, or submitting to martyrdom.

God’s people peacefully rebelled against human authorities for all sorts of reasons — whether to spare the lives of babies, demand freedom for the oppressed, thwart ungodly dominions, expose religious hypocrisy, or keep their consciences intact.

Civil Disobedience and the Will of God

In short, civil disobedience is allowed — and possibly required — any time the commands of men contradict the will of God.

Of course, knowing the will of God in a given situation is not always an “exact science”. It requires familiarity with Scripture, maturity in the faith, a solid grasp of church history, the collective wisdom of believers, prophetic insight, and much more besides.

But the mistake we should avoid — a mistake all too often indulged by the modern church — is assuming civil disobedience is only for other times and places.

The Covid era was a sobering reminder that even “civilised” governments can quickly descend into repression — and that our spiritual blind spots can lead us astray. When Western Christians should have pushed back, by and large, we shrunk back.

As Hebrews 10–11 cautions, let us not be like those who shrink back, but instead, be people of courage and faith when our convictions are put to the test. Recall that the famous ‘Hall of Faith’ in Hebrews 11 identifies many of the dissidents from our list above, and commends them for their authority-defying faith in God.

While we shouldn’t go looking for trouble, may we be bold when the moment calls for it.

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Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.