Romans 13:1–7. This one needs careful handling because these verses are sometimes made to say more than Paul says. He tells Christians to be subject to governing authorities, but Scripture also contains faithful people who refused rulers when rulers commanded what God forbade or forbade what God commanded.
The immediate connection with Romans 12 is especially important. Paul has just said, “Never avenge yourselves.” Now he explains that God has given civil authority a role in restraining and punishing wrongdoing. Personal vengeance and civil justice are not the same thing.
THE GOVERNING AUTHORITIES
Romans 13:1–7
Paul has just told Christians:
“Repay no one evil for evil.”
And:
“Never avenge yourselves.”
Then he said:
“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
That raises an obvious question.
Does that mean wrongdoing should never be punished?
No.
Paul now turns from:
personal revenge
to:
civil authority.
“LET EVERY PERSON BE SUBJECT”
Paul writes:
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.”
— Romans 13:1
Notice:
every person.
Christians don't receive permission to ignore civil government simply because:
Christ is their King.
They still live within human societies.
They still have obligations toward civil authorities.
But why?
Paul tells us.
AUTHORITY ULTIMATELY COMES FROM GOD
Paul continues:
“For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”
That does not mean every ruler is:
good.
It does not mean everything a government does is:
right.
And it certainly does not mean God personally approves every action of every ruler.
Paul's point is that the institution of civil authority has a place within God's ordering of human society.
Government has a legitimate function.
And Paul is about to tell us what that function is.
REMEMBER WHO WAS RULING
This letter was written to Christians in:
Rome.
Paul wasn't writing from a comfortable situation in which Christian rulers governed according to Christian principles.
The Roman Empire was pagan.
Its rulers certainly weren't Christians.
Yet Paul still recognized legitimate civil authority.
That makes his instruction more challenging.
We cannot simply say:
“I will respect government when I agree with it.”
Paul's readers often lived under authorities with whom they profoundly disagreed.
RESISTING AUTHORITY IS SERIOUS
Paul says:
“Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed.”
— Romans 13:2
Paul wants Christians to take civil order seriously.
The Christian should not be known simply as someone who:
refuses authority,
creates disorder,
or
breaks laws whenever convenient.
Submission to lawful authority is part of Christian conduct.
But we need the rest of Scripture before turning that statement into an absolute with no exceptions.
We'll come back to that.
WHAT IS GOVERNMENT SUPPOSED TO DO?
Paul says:
“For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.”
— Romans 13:3
Here Paul describes the proper function of government.
Civil authority should distinguish between:
good
and
evil.
It should restrain wrongdoing.
It should protect orderly conduct.
Paul continues:
“Do what is good, and you will receive his approval.”
Then comes a remarkable description.
“GOD'S SERVANT FOR YOUR GOOD”
Paul says of the civil authority:
“For he is God's servant for your good.”
— Romans 13:4
The word translated “servant” is diakonos.
Government has a God-given purpose.
It exists to serve a function within human society.
But notice the words:
“For your good.”
Authority isn't presented as an unlimited right for rulers to do whatever they please.
Paul describes authority in terms of a purpose:
promoting good and restraining evil.
“HE DOES NOT BEAR THE SWORD IN VAIN”
Paul continues:
“But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain.”
The sword represents the government's authority to punish wrongdoing.
Paul then says:
“For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.”
Now look back one paragraph.
Romans 12:19:
“Never avenge yourselves.”
Romans 13:4:
“An avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.”
That connection matters.
Paul forbids:
personal vengeance.
But he recognizes a legitimate public authority for dealing with:
wrongdoing.
Those are not contradictions.
They are different roles.
DON'T BECOME YOUR OWN COURT
Suppose someone wrongs me.
Romans 12 does not authorize me to decide:
I am the judge.
I will determine the punishment.
I will make him pay.
Paul says:
“Never avenge yourselves.”
Civil government, however, has a responsibility to administer justice.
That distinction helps prevent society from becoming:
everyone taking revenge on everyone else.
NOT JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE AFRAID
Paul continues:
“Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience.”
— Romans 13:5
A Christian doesn't obey the law merely because:
“I might get caught.”
There is a deeper reason.
Conscience.
We recognize that civil order has a legitimate place under God.
So our attitude shouldn't be:
“What can I get away with?”
It should be:
“What is right?”
YES, PAUL EVEN TALKS ABOUT TAXES
Paul says:
“For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.”
— Romans 13:6
Christians probably didn't enjoy paying taxes any more than anyone else.
Some of those taxes supported a pagan empire.
Yet Paul says:
Pay them.
That sounds very much like Jesus:
“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”
Neither Jesus nor Paul makes our obligation depend upon whether we approve of every use government makes of our taxes.
PAY WHAT YOU OWE
Paul concludes:
“Pay to all what is owed to them.”
— Romans 13:7
Then he gives examples:
Taxes to whom taxes are owed.
Revenue to whom revenue is owed.
Respect to whom respect is owed.
Honor to whom honor is owed.
Christians should be people who fulfill their legitimate obligations.
BUT DOES GOVERNMENT HAVE UNLIMITED AUTHORITY?
No.
Romans 13 cannot mean:
Whatever government commands, Christians must do.
Why?
Because the Bible itself gives examples where God's people refuse governmental commands.
In Daniel 3, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse the king's command to worship the image.
In Daniel 6, Daniel continues praying when the law forbids it.
In Acts 4, the authorities order Peter and John to stop speaking about Jesus.
Their answer is:
“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge.”
Then in Acts 5:29:
“We must obey God rather than men.”
So Romans 13 cannot mean:
Government replaces God.
GOVERNMENT IS UNDER GOD
Paul's opening statement actually tells us why.
Authority comes:
“From God.”
That means government is not:
God.
Human authority is:
delegated authority.
And delegated authority never becomes greater than the One from whom it comes.
When human authority and God's authority directly conflict, the apostles give us the principle:
“We must obey God rather than men.”
SUBMISSION DOESN'T MEAN THE GOVERNMENT IS ALWAYS RIGHT
This distinction is important.
Christians can respect governmental authority while recognizing that governments can:
sin.
The prophets repeatedly condemned kings and nations for injustice.
John the Baptist confronted Herod.
Jesus confronted rulers.
The apostles sometimes disobeyed governmental commands.
Paul himself repeatedly suffered at the hands of authorities.
So Romans 13 is not a blank check for government.
Paul does not say:
Whatever the government does becomes morally right.
WHAT ABOUT BAD GOVERNMENTS?
This is where we need to avoid making Romans 13 answer a question Paul isn't directly discussing.
Paul describes God's purpose for civil authority:
“God's servant for your good.”
And:
“An avenger...on the wrongdoer.”
But what happens when a government itself rewards evil and punishes good?
Other biblical passages address that problem more directly.
Revelation, for example, can portray political power as a:
beast
when it sets itself against God and persecutes His people.
That's not a contradiction.
Romans 13 describes the legitimate God-given function of government.
Revelation shows what government can become when it rebels against that function and demands what belongs to God.
We need both pictures.
PAUL ISN'T WRITING A THEORY OF GOVERNMENT
We should also notice what Paul is not doing.
Romans 13:1–7 is not a complete textbook on:
democracy,
monarchy,
constitutional government,
civil disobedience,
revolution,
or
political parties.
Those questions may be important.
But Paul isn't answering all of them here.
His concern is Christian conduct under civil authority.
Don't use Romans 13 as though seven verses settle every political question Christians will ever face.
Let the passage do the job Paul gave it.
CHRISTIANS HAVE TWO IMPORTANT OBLIGATIONS
Put Romans 13 beside Acts 5 and we get a balanced picture.
Christians should not casually disregard civil authority.
Paul says:
“Be subject.”
But civil authority is not supreme.
When government directly requires disobedience to God:
“We must obey God rather than men.”
Those two statements don't compete.
They establish the order.
Respect human authority.
But:
God remains the highest authority.
READ PAUL BEFORE READING POLITICS INTO PAUL
Romans 13 is particularly easy to read through our political opinions.
Someone who likes the current government may emphasize:
“Be subject.”
Someone who dislikes it may emphasize examples of civil disobedience.
But neither political preference should control the text.
Ask first:
What did Paul tell Christians in Rome?
Recognize legitimate authority.
Don't practice personal vengeance.
Do good.
Respect civil order.
Pay what you owe.
Honor those to whom honor is due.
And when we place that beside the rest of Scripture:
Government has real authority.
But:
only God has ultimate authority.
BEFORE YOU LEAVE
Ask the text:
Does civil government have a legitimate place?
Yes.
“There is no authority except from God.”
What is government supposed to encourage?
Good.
What is it supposed to restrain?
Wrongdoing.
May Christians take personal vengeance?
No.
Does government have authority to punish wrongdoing?
Yes.
Should Christians pay legitimate taxes?
Yes.
Does Romans 13 say every action of every government is right?
No.
Must Christians obey government when it directly commands them to disobey God?
The apostles answered:
“We must obey God rather than men.”
So the biblical picture isn't:
No government.
Nor is it:
Government is God.
It is:
Human authority under God's authority.
Paul has just said:
“Pay to all what is owed to them.”
Now he picks up that word owe and makes a beautiful transition:
“Owe no one anything, except to love each other.”
There is one debt Christians can never finish paying.
Love.
NEXT: LOVE FULFILLS THE LAW
Romans 13:8–14
TEXT B4 TRADITION
Read First. Conclude Later.
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