I have separated from the beast system, but I am having a little struggle with Romans Chapter 13 and obeying the "Higher Authorities."

Yes, we are to obey the "Higher Authorities." However, the first question that must be resolved is "Who are the Higher Authorities"? According to the scripture, Jesus is the Highest Authority. He is "far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come." (See Ephesians 1:20-21)

Romans 13 is hard to understand because thieves and robbers have forced their way into high places. They educate us and our children, teaching us that they are the higher authorities. They make laws and demand that we obey them. If we do not obey, they confiscate our property and lock us up in their jails. They place attorneys into every organization, including the church, to make sure that everyone submits to man.

Those who set up "governments" without Christ are not the Higher Authorities. They are lower authorities and we owe them no allegiance. "They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not." Hosea 8:4

Since the U.S. is founded on Christian principles, aren't we to obey our leaders?

The U.S. is not a Christian nation, nor was it founded on Christian principles. Neither Jesus Christ nor the Bible are mentioned in their founding documents. It has been a secular (worldly) nation from the beginning.

In John, Chapter 10, Jesus gives us instruction on who is our Shepherd and who are the thieves and robbers. We are to obey the Shepherd and flee the strangers. We must obey God rather than men. We cannot obey two masters.

The people who run the U.S. are lawmakers, judges and attorneys. These are the very people that Jesus condemned and warned us against. They withhold the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, try to prevent us from entering, and they themselves refuse to enter in.

What was Apostle Paul's purpose for writing Romans 13?

The best way to understand Romans 13:1-7 is to read it as a blueprint for Christian government. Paul was not telling us to obey Caesar or the Roman State. He was giving us a definition of lawful government. Punish the evil and reward the good.

Jesus did not come to earth to put us under governments of men. He came to bring us a government to replace the wicked husbandman. He handed over His Father's Government to the Apostles at Luke 22:24-30. We are fellow citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, God's Government on earth as it is in Heaven. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

I'm convinced that the "authorities" Paul speaks of in Romans 13 are believers who hold a position in the church. But 1 Peter 2:13 seems to speak directly about obedience to civil authority?

1 Peter 2:13-14 says, "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well."

Peter, like Paul, was one of the founding fathers of God's government on earth. And Peter, too, was killed for his allegiance to the Kingdom of Heaven.

"Submit to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake" cannot mean "Obey all the Roman statutes." Otherwise Peter is contradicting his actions in Acts 5:29. Remember when Peter and some of the apostles were examined by the council? When they were asked why they disobeyed the command not to teach Jesus, Peter answered, "We ought to obey God rather than men."

Look at the verses leading up to 1 Peter 2:13. Peter is reminding the congregation that they are "an holy nation, a peculiar people" (verse 9). They were "in time past not a people, but are now the people of God" (verse 10). They are not residents or citizens of Rome, but "strangers and pilgrims" (verse 11).

Then at verse 12 he says to have such good behavior among the Gentiles that even though they speak against you as evildoers, that by observing your good works, they may glorify God in the day of visitation.

Finally after Peter lays the foundation of our being a holy nation, he says, "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake." As "strangers and pilgrims," we have been released from the heavy burdens of secular laws, but we do not flaunt that liberty. Instead, we lead quiet, godly lives, giving them no cause to speak against us.

At verse 16, Peter reminds us that we are free, but that we are not to use that liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.

Probably the most important thing that we need to do when reading the Bible, is to read it from an ecclesiastical viewpoint. Remember, the Apostles were setting up the Government of God. They were not telling us to obey the secular forces. They were instructing us to obey those in offices of godly authority, those looking out after our souls.