1 Peter 2:18 and Ephesians 6:5 command absolute obedience and subjection toward earthly masters and rulers, whereas Acts 5:29 explicitly declares that believers must obey God rather than men. Traditional harmonization resolves the social parameter by explaining that civic or institutional submission is mandatory unless the state directly commands a violation of divine law; conversely, critical scholarship views it as a reflection of fluid boundaries as an early movement navigated Roman authority.