On a recent road trip from Pensacola, FL to northern Georgia and then to North Carolina and return (it had been several years since we traveled), I was amazed that very few drivers on the highway obeyed the posted speed limit. While I drove the speed limit, fewer than fifty vehicles did not pass my car on the trip. With thousands of vehicles on the road, it is certain that many of those who were driving over the speed limit were Christian.

Virtually everyone acknowledges that governments have the authority to establish laws against stealing, murder, etc. Such laws are based on biblical prohibitions. Most people will agree that the government also has the authority to regulate speed limits. The federal government establishes the limits on the Interstate system; the state government establishes the speed limits on state roads and the county governments limit the speeds on county roads and so on. While people understand that if they exceed the posted speed limit, they can be stopped by police, given a ticket, or arrested, even Christians still regularly disobey the authorized limit. Hence the question, “Is it sinful for a Christian to exceed the speed limit?”

Many people, even Christians, would answer “No, it is not really sinful.” Some would rationalize, “If I am driving the same speed as other vehicles, I am much safer than someone driving slower than the majority of the traffic. “If I drive the speed limit, other vehicles will run over me.” “I’m in the fast lane to drive fast. If you want to drive slowly, move to the slow lane.” “Since there are no police officers around, and everyone is exceeding the speed limit, I can also.” These all sound like reasonable excuses, right? It has become very easy for even Christians to justify themselves and receive affirmation from others regarding their wrong behavior.

Why do they do it? Because they do not grasp the extent of the clear teaching of Scripture.

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 13:1–5 (NASB95) “¹ Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. ²Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. ³ For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; ⁴ for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. ⁵ Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake.”

The Apostle Peter affirms that message in 1 Peter 2:13–15 (NASB95) “¹³ Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, ¹⁴ or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. ¹⁵ For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.”

Both Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 clearly state that there is no authority except from God and that it is His will that we obey those authorities. All federal, state, and local governments are established by God’s absolute authority. All those entities have a God-given authority to establish and enforce laws provided those laws do not contradict the law of God in Scripture. That includes even speed limits. Most people, even most Christians, believe government authority comes from our Constitution, written and passed by the people, and therefore subject to change.

What people, even many Christians, have difficulty understanding is rightful laws are not simply made by man. Scripture teaches that any authority to enact laws ultimately comes from a sovereign God who has given men the authority to enact those laws. Therefore, if anyone resists any rightful authority by ignoring the law, they have opposed the ordinance of God. They have rebelled against the lawful command of a Holy Righteous God.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism. question 14 asks, “What is sin?” The answer is “Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.” Therefore, when we do not conform to a lawful command of authority or when we intentionally violate a lawful command that is sin.

In Genesis 2:16–17 (NASB95), Scripture tells us “¹⁶ The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; ¹⁷ but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” As the all-powerful, all-knowing, perfectly righteous Creator, God has the absolute right to impose His commands upon man and to prescribe the consequence of disobeying His commands. “²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 (NASB95).

Genesis 3:1–5 (NASB95) tells us the temptation of Adam and Eve by the serpent (who is Satan) was to rebel against the authority of God. Those verses read, “¹ Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” ² The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; ³ but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” ⁴ The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! ⁵ “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

The temptation of Satan was that God’s Word is not true and when we disobey His Word, we can “be like God, knowing good and evil.” In other words, when we disobey lawful authority, we can decide for ourselves what is good (right) or evil (wrong). When we choose to exceed the authorized speed limit, we are demonstrating our rebellion against the righteous command of God. We are exhibiting our belief that our decision is better than the law of God.

Jesus tells His followers in John 14:15 (NASB95) “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” Therefore, when we disobey any lawful authority (even a posted speed limit), we are demonstrating our lack of love for our Savior. We are also demonstrating to the world around us that one can be a Christian and not obey the Word of God.

Although the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross paid our debt for all our rebellious sins, past, present, and future, as Christians (Christ ones), we must strive to live a life that demonstrates our love for what He accomplished in our stead. That includes obeying the law, even the speed limit.