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Week 1 · How We Know When to Obey and When to Resist 1 / 31

Fairfax Presbyterian Church · Faith & Resistance

Week One

"How We Know When to Obey
and When to Resist"

"My house shall be a house of prayer for all peoples."

Isaiah 56:7

Fairfax Presbyterian Church · Faith & Resistance

What Is
Resistance?

Resistance looks like...

Feed
Pray
Build
Protect
Sanctuary
Show Up
Give
Bear Witness
Speak Truth
Advocate
Refuse
Hold the Line
Small Acts of Courage
Show Mercy
Welcome the Stranger
Name the Truth
Be Present
Confess
Give

Before We Can Discern

The Tensions
We Hold

There are always reasonable, scripturally-grounded arguments for holding back.
Let's look at each one honestly.

Tension 1 of 7

The Tensions We Hold

"Governing authorities are established by God — to resist them is to resist God himself."

The case for deference
Romans 13:1–4
"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."
Paul wrote this under Rome — a far harsher regime than most of us face. If he could counsel submission to Caesar, the argument for deference has real theological weight.
The resistance case
Acts 5:29
"Peter and the other apostles replied: 'We must obey God rather than human beings!'"
1 Samuel 8:11–14
"This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons... your daughters... the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves."
God grants Israel's request for a king — but calls it a rejection of divine rule. Authority can serve God's purposes, and authority can become demonic. Romans 13 describes authority's vocation; when it inverts that vocation, it forfeits its claim.

Click to reveal

The resolution
Authority is a gift — but never absolute.
When the vulnerable are being harmed,
obedience becomes complicity.
Our allegiance to God is prior to our allegiance to any human institution. Authority serves God's purposes until it doesn't — and when it doesn't, we must obey God rather than human beings.

Tension 2 of 7

The Tensions We Hold

"God is sovereign over history — if the world is as it is, perhaps God wills it so."

The case for deference
Daniel 2:21
"He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning."
If God raises up rulers and ordains the flow of history, our role may be to trust, pray, and wait — not to presume we know better than God's unfolding purposes.
The resistance case
Isaiah 10:1–3
"Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. What will you do on the day of reckoning?"
Amos 5:21–24
"I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me... But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!"
God grieves injustice — the prophets make clear it provokes God's anger, not God's design. "Let justice roll" implies it is currently being blocked. Sovereignty is not the same as approval.

Click to reveal

The resolution
The world as it is reflects human sin —
not divine endorsement.
God calls us to transformation, not preservation.
Sovereignty is not the same as approval. The same God who ordains history sends prophets to condemn it. We are agents of transformation — not defenders of the status quo.

Tension 3 of 7

The Tensions We Hold

"Who are we to judge? We should examine our own sins before criticizing others."

The case for deference
Philippians 2:3
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."
Matthew 7:1–2
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
The history of self-righteous Christians causing harm in God's name is long. Real humility might mean examining ourselves first and holding back from judgment of others.
The resistance case
James 2:14–17
"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
Matthew 23:23
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices — mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law — justice, mercy and faithfulness."
Jesus was meek before God and fierce before injustice. True humility acts despite uncertainty and does not use self-doubt to abandon the vulnerable.

Click to reveal

The resolution
Humility guards us from self-righteousness —
not from action.
When the vulnerable are at stake, hesitation is not a virtue.
We resist not as the righteous judging the wicked, but as people who are also being transformed — confessing our own complicity even as we act.

Tension 4 of 7

The Tensions We Hold

"Christian community depends on tolerance of difference — we are not the morality police."

The case for deference
Romans 14:1–4
"Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters... The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not... Who are you to judge someone else's servant?"
Paul urges tolerance in matters of conscience — food, holy days, personal practices. Christian community across difference depends on this. It is the foundation of pluralistic faith life together.
The resistance case
Isaiah 1:16–17
"Stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow."
Galatians 2:11–14
"When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned... he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid... he was not acting in line with the truth of the gospel."
Romans 14 concerns personal conscience. When Peter's tolerance of division enabled injustice, Paul opposed him publicly. Peace at any price means peace for the comfortable, paid for by the vulnerable.

Click to reveal

The resolution
We tolerate differences in conviction.
We do not tolerate harm.
The question is always: who bears the cost of our tolerance?
When the answer is the vulnerable, tolerance has become abandonment. Tolerance of oppression is not a virtue — it is complicity dressed in the language of grace.

Tension 5 of 7

The Tensions We Hold

"Unlimited empathy can be paralyzing or manipulated. At some point, we have to take care of our own."

The case for deference
1 Timothy 5:8
"Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."
This is a real obligation, not a preference. And there is genuine wisdom in acknowledging limits. The language of "toxic empathy" captures something true: we cannot sustainably pour ourselves out for everyone. Care for those close to us is itself a form of faithfulness.
The resistance case
Luke 10:29–37
"But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'... 'Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?' The expert in the law replied, 'The one who had mercy on him.' Jesus told him, 'Go and do likewise.'"
Galatians 3:28
"There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
In practice, the accusation of "toxic empathy" almost always functions to limit care for the outsider — not the insider. It suppresses compassion for immigrants, strangers, the poor — exactly the people Scripture consistently places at the center. The circle of moral concern in Scripture moves in one direction only, and it is not inward.

Click to reveal

The resolution
Empathy is not toxic. Indifference is.
Tribal loyalty is not Christian loyalty.
The circle of moral concern does not stop at the boundaries of our community. Scripture answers "Who is my neighbor?" not with a limit, but with a Samaritan — the last person anyone expected — showing mercy across every boundary.

Tension 6 of 7

The Tensions We Hold

"Turn the other cheek. Love your enemies. Jesus went to the cross without resistance."

The case for deference
Matthew 5:38–44
"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also... Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
The call to nonviolence is central to the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus did not resist arrest. He went to the cross. This is not a minor theme in his teaching.
The resistance case
Mark 11:15–17
"Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers... 'Is it not written: My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of robbers.'"
Luke 13:31–32
"At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said, 'Leave this place — Herod wants to kill you.' He replied, 'Go tell that fox, I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.'"
A backhand slap to the right cheek was an insult to an inferior. Turning the other cheek forces the aggressor to strike as an equal or back down. Creative, dignified resistance — not passivity.

Click to reveal

The resolution
Nonviolence shapes our methods —
not our passivity.
It is active, creative, and costly.
We refuse to mirror the oppressor's violence while still confronting, exposing, and refusing to cooperate with injustice. The cross was not passive — it was the ultimate act of defiant, nonviolent resistance to the powers of death.

Tension 7 of 7

The Tensions We Hold

"God will make all things new — so why pour energy into rearranging a world he is going to redeem anyway?"

The case for deference
1 Corinthians 7:29–31
"What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep... For this world in its present form is passing away."
If God will remake all things at Christ's return, social transformation may be a distraction from the primary Christian task: preparing souls for the kingdom. This argument runs deep in traditions that see the present world order as passing away.
The resistance case
Luke 4:18–19
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Jesus' programmatic announcement is not about what will happen when the kingdom arrives — it is about what is happening now. The kingdom breaks in through acts of justice, healing, and liberation in the present.
Revelation 13:10; 14:12
"This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God's people."
The Greek word here (hypomonē) is not passive waiting. It is active, sustained resistance under pressure — the refusal to be moved. Revelation's eschatology energizes resistance; it does not replace it. The community that knows how the story ends is freed to act without fear.

Click to reveal

The resolution
Christian hope is not a reason to disengage.
It is the ground that makes sustained resistance possible.
The community that knows how the story ends — that the powers have already been disarmed in Christ — is freed from paralysis about outcomes. We resist faithfully without needing to control results, because results are not finally in human hands.

The Tensions — Summary

Where We Landed

The temptation
Governing authorities are established by God
If the world is as it is, perhaps God wills it so
Who are we to judge? Examine our own sins first
Christian community depends on tolerance of difference
Unlimited empathy is paralyzing — care for our own first
Turn the other cheek — nonviolence means not resisting
God will redeem all things — social transformation is a distraction
The resolution
A gift — but never absolute. Obedience to harm is complicity.
The world as it is reflects human sin — not divine endorsement.
Humility guards against self-righteousness — not against action.
We tolerate conviction. We do not tolerate harm.
Empathy is not toxic. Indifference is. Tribal loyalty is not Christian loyalty.
Nonviolence shapes our methods — not our passivity.
Christian hope is the ground of resistance, not a reason to disengage.

The Centrepiece

The Discernment Framework

1
Who is suffering?
2
What is authority doing?
3
What does Scripture prioritize?
4
What do we discern together?
5
What form aligns with Christ?
then ask again

Click to step through the framework.

1 — The anchor question

Who is suffering?

Every act of discernment starts here. God's attention in Scripture is drawn first and always to those who are being harmed. This question keeps the framework from becoming an abstraction.

2 — Evaluate the institution

What is authority doing?

Authority has a vocation: protect the vulnerable, restrain evil, promote justice. Scripture evaluates authority by what it does, not by the mere fact of its existence. When it inverts that vocation, its claim to obedience weakens.

3 — Read the whole story

What does Scripture consistently prioritize?

Not isolated verses — the arc. From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture consistently moves toward the liberation of the oppressed and the inclusion of the outsider. Single verses can be marshaled for almost anything. The arc cannot.

4 — Don't go alone

What do we discern together?

Individual certainty is not enough. The history of the Church is full of people who were privately certain and publicly catastrophic. Discernment is a community practice — it requires correction, wisdom, and courage we cannot generate alone.

5 — The model

What form of resistance aligns with Christ?

Nonviolent, truthful, compassionate — and costly. The form of resistance matters theologically, not just strategically. Which leads us to the person who demonstrated all five questions in practice.

Click to begin

The Living Example

Jesus as
the Model

He didn't just teach resistance.
He lived it — specifically, concretely, at great cost.

1 of 5

What Did Jesus Resist?

Purity systems that exclude
"A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, 'If you are willing, you can make me clean.' Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. 'I am willing,' he said. 'Be clean!'"
Mark 1:40–41
He touched the untouchable. In doing so he violated the purity code — knowingly, deliberately, in public. The man was excluded from community. Jesus crossed that line.

2 of 5

What Did Jesus Resist?

Religious leaders who burden the people
"They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them."
Matthew 23:4
He named it publicly, repeatedly, at length. Matthew 23 is one of the most sustained prophetic confrontations in the Gospels — Jesus speaking truth to religious power with no softening.

3 of 5

What Did Jesus Resist?

Political power that crushes
"Go tell that fox, 'I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.' In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day."
Luke 13:32–33
Warned that Herod wanted to kill him, Jesus called him "that fox" — and kept going anyway. Defiance and continued mission, not flight.

4 of 5

What Did Jesus Resist?

Tribal limits on compassion
"But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him... 'Which of these three do you think was a neighbor?' The expert in the law replied, 'The one who had mercy on him.' Jesus told him, 'Go and do likewise.'"
Luke 10:33, 36–37
The hero of the story is the enemy — a Samaritan. Jesus answered "Who is my neighbor?" by expanding the circle to include exactly those his audience would have excluded.

5 of 5

What Did Jesus Resist?

Economic exploitation
"Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there... 'Is it not written: My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of robbers.'"
Mark 11:15–17
He overturned tables. This was not symbolic — it was direct action against a system that extracted money from the poor as a condition of worship. And he quoted Isaiah 56:7 as his warrant.
The Cost of Resistance
You could not live the life Jesus lived
without putting yourself in mortal danger.
"From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."
Matthew 16:21
He didn't just predict his death. He courted it — by refusing to be anything other than what he was. His resistance was not reckless. It was faithful. And it was costly. This is the model we are called to follow.

A Question to Carry

"Jesus resisted the forces that excluded, burdened, intimidated, divided, and exploited the people of his time. What are the equivalent forces in ours?"

Then
Purity systems that excluded the sick and the different from community
Now?
Who are the people our systems declare untouchable?
Then
Religious leaders who multiplied burdens and blocked access to God
Now?
Where does religious authority today serve itself rather than the people?
Then
Political power that intimidated and threatened those who challenged it
Now?
What forms of power today use intimidation to silence faithful witness?
Then
Economic systems that extracted from the poor as a condition of worship
Now?
Where do economic arrangements today extract from those who can least afford it?

What We Covered Today

The Arc of Week One

1
Resistance has a shape
It isn't protest or politics — it's sanctuary, truth-telling, mercy, presence, and courage in small acts.
2
The tensions are real — and they resolve
Authority, sovereignty, humility, tolerance, nonviolence, empathy — each one has a sympathetic case for deference. Each one, when the vulnerable are at stake, resolves toward resistance.
3
Jesus is the model
He resisted purity systems, religious burden, political power, tribal limits, and economic exploitation — specifically, concretely, at great cost.
→
Next week: Scripture as a long resistance story
From Genesis to Revelation — God's sustained refusal to accept the domination of the weak by the strong.

Before Next Week

Something to Carry With You

Observe
Notice a moment of tension
Before next week, pay attention to one moment where you felt the pull between deference and resistance. Where did you feel it? Which tension was operating?
Read
Sit with one tension
Pick the tension you find hardest to resolve. Read the scripture on both sides slowly. What do you notice?
Reflect
Ask the first question
Is there a place in your life where honestly asking "who is suffering?" would change how you act? You don't have to solve it — just sit with it.
Discuss
Ask someone outside the class
What does Christian resistance mean to them? You don't need to agree — just listen. Bring what you hear back next week.

Closing

Next Week

Week 1 — Today
How We Know When to Obey and When to Resist
Week 2
Scripture as a Long Resistance Story
Week 3
A History of Discernment
Week 4
Practicing Faithful Resistance Today
"Faithful resistance is not a political stance. It is the shape of Christian love in a world where the strong still dominate the weak."