Paul tells us that authority ultimately comes from God, “For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” (Romans 13:1) The Greek word used here is exousia, meaning “power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases; leave or permission; the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege); the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed).” Evidently, the way we define this word has remained constant over the years. The question we must answer, then, is “does God have the right to command me?” Recalling Webster’s definition, consider that God is the authority (or “expert”) on the subject of all things created, including man, for it is written, “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27) If there is anyone who has the right to grant rights, surely it is God.

It is no wonder that Jeremiah tells us “that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23) Nevertheless, man continues to pursue this very impossibility! We live in a society where many consider it foolish to believe in the possibility of any kind of eternal and all powerful being, let alone to allow such a being to influence our thoughts, opinions, and behavior. If we hold this truth to be self-evident, that all men are equal, then who, apart from God, can give man the “right” to do anything? This life becomes absurd when we remove God from our understanding of authority because all men, being equal, then naturally gain the right to give rights, both to themselves and others. If there is no God to command me to submit to one universal standard, then my right as a man (being equal to all other men) is to do whatever I please. “Authority” without God becomes nothing more than saying, “We all do whatever we want and tell all others to do the same.” The obvious problem with this is not every person wants the same thing. If it is one man’s right to verbally assault another and another man’s right to murder him for doing so, what is to stop our society from plummeting indefinitely, since both men would be right, and no one has the “right” to tell them otherwise?

It is this kind of moral degradation and chaos that Paul says is the direct result of rejecting God. As we look at our society, in all its moral decay, we should not be surprised. It is the very reasoning we just showed to be absurd that man has used to justify things like rampant fornication, legalized recreational drug use, homosexuality, and abortion. When the Gentiles “exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator...since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.” (Romans 1:25, 28) We are told “They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” (Romans 1:29-32)

Our word exousia from earlier comes from the word exesti, meaning “it is lawful.”  Let us remember that these things which “ought not to be done” are sins deserving of death because they violate “God’s righteous decree.” God’s authority is what determines that which is lawful, and thus sin, which is against God, is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4) God, being the Creator, is the source of life, so sinning against God separates us from life and earns us death. How do we know what is permitted and what is lawless? How can we be sure that we “have the right” to do something? Jesus Himself says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18) If authority must be given, and all authority comes from God, and in turn has been given to Jesus, then it is Jesus “whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed.” As Jesus Himself says, “If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has Himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that His commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.” (John 12:47-50) God gave Jesus the authority to command us and influence our thoughts, opinions, and behaviors so that we could gain eternal life through His grace and mercy, and a life of submission to Him. Will you submit to God’s authority, or will you reject the life that only He can give?