Despising Authority

... especially those who follow the polluting desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold, arrogant people! They do not tremble when they blaspheme the glorious ones.... - 2 Peter 2:10

Paul said that all authority was ordained by God. Jesus told Pilate that the Roman governor would not have any authority unless God had granted it to him. Jesus also said that all authority in heaven and on earth was His.

Is it any wonder then that when Peter identified those false teachers for whom God had reserved special punishment, he stated that they had despised authority?

I know that some persons in authority are at worst, evil and at best, incompetent, but the principle of submission and its application to the people of God is all that keeps the church and society from total anarchy. While there is nothing wrong with questioning authority, we must be careful to acknowledge its source when we do, and remain respectful.

Those who despise authority, should never have any.

The authority by which the Christian leader leads is not power but love, not force but example, not coercion but reasoned persuasion. Leaders have power, but power is safe only in the hands of those who humble themselves to serve. - John Stott