After the Message - On Submission

When we hear the word "submission," something inside us often recoils. In our culture of independence and personal rights, submission sounds like weakness, like rolling over and playing dead. But what if we've misunderstood this concept entirely? What if submission, properly understood, is actually one of the keys to human flourishing and spiritual maturity?

Understanding True Submission
The biblical concept of submission isn't about being passive or weak. It's about placement—willingly placing ourselves under the authority of another. Think of it like a well-functioning school system. Students submit to teachers, teachers to principals, principals to superintendents, and superintendents to school boards. This isn't about anyone being inherently less valuable; it's about order, structure, and the proper functioning of an institution.

The Apostle Paul, writing to his protégé Titus, reminds the early church: "Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people." This instruction doesn't stand alone. It flows directly from Paul's discussion of God's grace—the grace that saves us, trains us, and gives us hope for the future. In other words, our submission to earthly authorities is deeply connected to our relationship with God himself.

The Heart of the Matter
Here's where it gets challenging: submission must be willful, not begrudging. There's a world of difference between saying "Fine, I guess" through gritted teeth and genuinely placing ourselves under another's authority with a willing heart. We see this distinction play out dramatically in Luke 10, when seventy-two disciples return to Jesus with joy, reporting that "even the demons are subject to us in your name." The demons submitted, but not willingly—they were forced into submission by the power of Christ's name.

This same dynamic will play out at the end of time. Scripture tells us that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. But not everyone will bow gladly. Some will bow reluctantly, crushed under the weight of his glory. One of the key differences between believers and unbelievers isn't whether they submit to Christ—eventually everyone does—but whether they submit willingly or begrudgingly.

To Whom Do We Submit?
Paul's instruction encompasses multiple spheres of authority. Throughout his letter to Titus, he mentions submission in marriage relationships, workplace dynamics, and church leadership. But when he speaks of "rulers and authorities," he's primarily referring to governmental leaders.
This is uncomfortable territory. It means Christians are called to submit to political leaders across the spectrum—regardless of party affiliation, regardless of whether we voted for them, regardless of whether we agree with their policies.
Paul makes this even clearer in his letter to the Romans: "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, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed." This is a sobering truth. We can't simply say, "I only obey God," as an excuse to disregard governmental authority. God himself has established these authorities, and to disobey them is, in most cases, to disobey God.

The Limits of Submission
But notice that qualifier: "in most cases." Are we really called to submit to every authority in every situation? What about corrupt governors, deceitful church leaders, abusive spouses, or cruel employers?

Scripture gives us two primary limits to submission: sphere and sin.

• The Limit of Sphere: No human has absolute authority over all things—that position belongs to Jesus alone. Every human authority is limited to a particular sphere. A father has authority over his own children, not his neighbor's. A Walmart manager can't boss around Target employees. The U.S. president can't make laws for Mexico.

But spheres can overlap in complex ways. Government intersects with family (through child protection services), with finance (through taxation), and even with faith (through building codes and public safety regulations). The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted these tensions dramatically, raising difficult questions about worship gatherings, public health, and competing authorities.

• The Limit of Sin: Even within their proper sphere, authorities don't have the right to command sin. Husbands cannot abuse their wives. Pastors cannot manipulate their congregations. Government agents cannot violate basic human dignity and justice—even if it's technically legal.

When authorities command us to sin, we must obey God rather than man. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's golden idol, even knowing it meant the fiery furnace. They didn't mock the king or speak evil of him; they simply, gently, firmly refused to disobey God.

The General Rule
These exceptional cases are important to understand, but they're not the main point. The general rule—the default posture for Christians—is willing, gracious submission to rulers and authorities. This means:

• We don't pick and choose which laws to follow based on personal convenience
• We don't gush over leaders from our political party while spewing hatred at those from other parties
• We don't confuse our personal preferences with God's holiness and then use God as an excuse for disobedience
• We submit without quarreling, malice, or hatred, with gentleness and perfect courtesy

Even when our leaders are far from perfect—and they always will be—our default posture is willing submission.

The Gospel Connection
This might sound like a burden of rules and regulations. Where's the good news in all this?

Here's the beauty: this call to submission flows from the grace of God in Jesus. Jesus has saved believers from the guilt and penalty of sin—that's finished, done on the cross. But Jesus also saves us from the chaos of sin. He frees us from sin's mastery so we can submit ourselves to him and be transformed into his image.
Imagine if traffic laws were merely suggestions. If everyone drove wherever, whenever, however fast they wanted, we'd descend into utter chaos. God is not a God of confusion and chaos, but of peace and order.
When Christians lead the way in willing submission to proper authorities, we contribute to the flourishing of society. This won't always be easy or comfortable—if it's never hard, we're probably not really submitting, just following our own preferences. But even when it's painful, we have a greater hope: we ultimately submit ourselves to Jesus, a ruler who loves us perfectly, leads us wisely, and will never fail us.
In a world that prizes independence above all else, willing submission is a radical, countercultural witness to the lordship of Christ and the goodness of his design for human flourishing.