Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience.
For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.
So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.
I say: Keep the king's command, because of God's oath to him.
Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
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.
having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.
And afterward David's heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul's robe. He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord's anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord's anointed.”
Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com.