Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.  Romans 13:1 

Romans 13:1–7 – Romans: The Righteousness of God
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost – October 1, 2023 (am)

Rom.13 is one of those iconic passages that tells God’s people how to think about their relationship with some particular part of this world in a unique and specific way. In this case, government is the particular part of this world that’s in the crosshairs. Without Rom.13, it could be very difficult to know how believers in Christ should relate to government, especially immoral or unprincipled governments, governing authorities that handle their citizens in ways or require things of them that are contrary to God’s Word.

But it wouldn’t be impossible because this isn’t the only place in the NT where we read about this relationship. Peter wrote pretty specifically to it as well, and in a way that’s quite complementary to what we read from Paul here. Peter wrote: 1Pe.2:13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. Nero was the emperor.

Jesus also taught His followers to pay their taxes, in that encounter when the supporters of the Pharisees and of Herod were trying to entrap Him. Mat.22:18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” This instruction goes beyond the paying of taxes to include all sorts of expressions of submission to governing authorities that ought to be honored by Christians.

Paul also urged prayer for government. 1Ti.2:1 … I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior.

Jeremiah did the same with the exiles in Babylon. He wrote: Jer.29:7 … seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. So, God’s people living faithfully and prayerfully under the authority of even a godless government isn’t just a NT concept. It has always been this way.

So, when we come to Rom.13 we’re on significant ground. But we’re not on unprecedented ground. The proper disposition of God’s people toward government in this world is well-attested in His Word.

Still, it’s not entirely easy to see why Paul goes here next on the heels of 12:9-21 (or even 12:1-21), especially when it seems like 13:8-14 follow so well on the heels of 12:21. But his primary reason seems to be to make sure his readers know that his call not to be conformed to this world (12:1) doesn’t give them license to resist the governing authorities of this world or, more particularly, to refuse to pay taxes, which is one of the primary ways we display our submission to those authorities.

Part of transformed (12:2) living, then, is exemplary submission to government as a God-established institution through which God’s own ultimate judging authority (cf. 12:19) has a manifestation in this present world-order. But it could still remain unclear why Paul goes here next in Rom.13. On that, though, John Stott gives us significant help. In Rom.12 Paul has developed our four basic Christian relationships, namely to God (1-2), to ourselves (3-8), to one another (9-16) and to our enemies (17-21). In Rom.13 he develops three more—to the state (conscientious citizenship [1-7]), to the law (neighbour-love as its fulfilment [8-10]), and to the day of the Lord’s return (living in the ‘already’ and the ‘not yet’ [11-14]) (Stott 338).

So, with this set-up, let’s dig into these first seven verses of Rom.13 and understand better the connection between submitting to government and transformed living in this world. This connection comes in two unequal parts.

Understanding Transformed Living in This World – 1-6

The general principle (general call, v.7) is stated in v.1a with its primary rationale in v.1b. 1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. God is behind the presence of all authority structures in this world. That includes angelic beings, both good and evil, as we learn most clearly from the prophet Daniel, and also in the book of Revelation. These beings are also called authorities by Paul (Eph.1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Col.1:16; 2:10, 15) and they’re involved in the rule of nations (cf. Dan.10:13). But here almost certainly Paul is speaking exclusively of human government. God creates space for Himself in the minds and hearts of His image-bearing creatures by building an accountability-to-authority into this world that exemplifies His rule, even embodies it in some ways (4). And while the most strategically God-exalting authority structure might be marriage and family, illustrating the relationship between Him and His people, or even structures within the church, the most commonly experienced human authority structure is surely government.

And that is so closely aligned with God that 2 … whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist it will incur judgment. Now, ultimately this points to eternal judgment—those who persistently oppose secular rulers, and hence the will of God, will suffer condemnation for that opposition (Moo 2018 816). But Paul seems to be saying more than that. Even the immediate response to resistance that comes from the governing authorities themselves is an expression of God’s judgment—the judgment inflicted by rulers and authorities is in the foreground (Schrieiner 664-665). 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant (διάκονος) for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.

There it is, quite clearly stated. Now, some—many, in fact—want to ask, how far does this go? At what point do we stop submitting to the governing authorities and start resisting them? Surely there’s at least a line between these two, however blurry and in exact it might be. And surely, therefore, that line can be crossed. So, we all want to know what we’re supposed to do when we see that line approaching? And an increasing number want to ask, what are we supposed to do if we believe that line has already been crossed?

There are no easy answers to these questions. And surely there are no formulaic ones, no soundbites or bumper-sticker quips that can answer them. But I do believe there are some answers we can offer if we reason by analogy from other areas where we’re called by Scripture to be subject to some authority.

I’ve spoken at many marriage conferences and retreats over the years and one of the questions that routinely arises as we talk about the husband/wife relationship is: How far does this submission thing go? (Eph.5:22-27) At what point does a wife not have to be subject to her husband any longer, where it’s right and best to resist, to assert her unwillingness? Surely if her husband is requiring something illegal, God wouldn’t want her to be subject to him any longer, right? The same question can arise in the church in response to our call to be subject to the Elders (Heb.13:17).

However such questions are best answered, we must grant, first, that we can only answer them for our own government. Then, we must grant that it’s never best to begin a challenging course of obedience to God’s Word by asking: how long we have to keep it up before we can disobey. In other words, we need to see that the question itself is rather wrong-headed. God is telling us something here. It’s a general, guiding principle and it’s for our good. We’re called to live in subjection to the governing authorities of our day, seeing and knowing, and now learning, how they’re instituted by God, how they’re manifestations of His authority, how they’re expressive of His judgment and therefore reminders of His present and coming reign, His now-and-not-yet Kingdom. Submitting to government is part of what happens in us as we’re transformed by the renewal of [our] minds (12:2). This vision needs to take hold of our minds and hearts, and even our wills and imaginations, because 5 … one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. We need to have a growing sense of conviction that we ought to be exhibiting this disposition toward government as part of what it means to follow Jesus!

And if we have a growing concern for our governing authorities, as though they’re not exercising their authority in an appropriately God-honoring way, we should feel led by conscience to respond in just the way a godly wife would as she begins to see questionable behavior in her husband, or a godly church Member as he sees a similar sort of thing in his Elders. We’d do just what Paul told Timothy should happen in Ephesus. We’d pray. And we’d pray again. We’d offer 1Ti.2:1 … supplications, and prayers, and intercessions, and even thanksgivings … 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, understanding that this is how God in His Word has purposed that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. We’d recognize that 3 [t]his is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior. We follow the leading of Jesus, Who knew just what it was like to live under the self-righteous authority of a fallen human government. We’d imitate Him, 1Pe.2:21 [f]or to this [we] have been called, because Christ also suffered for [us], leaving [us] an example, so that [we] might follow in his steps. … 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He continued calling out to God. And He stayed the course all the way to the cross in order to provide salvation for all who believe.

The point? Jesus’ calling out to God under the persecution of human government didn’t save Him from feeling that persecution. But it did result in the perfect will of God, which in turn provided for our salvation. Escaping persecution is not always the highest aim.

So, the question must be asked: Have we learned our lesson regarding how to hear the Word of God when it calls us to an expression of obedience that seems hard or questionable or potentially compromising? Do we craft moralistic hypotheticals in a vain attempt to point out the weaknesses or limitations or flaws in the command? Or do we follow Jesus’ example, [walk in] His steps, leave vengeance to God (12:19), and [entrust ourselves] to him who judges justly? (1Pe.2:21-23)

The answer should be clear. Our conscience presses us to it. And, v.6. (interesting construction), our paying of taxes to the government expresses the conviction of our conscience regarding the role that governing authorities play in our lives, namely, that they’re ministers of God. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers (λειτουργοι) of God, attending to this very thing, meaning, approving good, restraining evil, stewarding taxes, and, in total, serving God’s purpose in this world.

Modeling Transformed Living in This World – 7

That leads us into our final verse this morning, the bottom line charge in this passage, the general call for submission (Moo 2018 822) to governing authorities in this world. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. And all of this, in context, is aimed at governing authorities. By God’s sovereign decree and according to His Word, our governing authorities are due, they’re owed, our taxes, our revenue (indirect taxation like sales tax and tolls [Schreiner 668]), our respect, and our honor.

This is part of what it looks like to live a transformed life in Christ. This is what it looks like to be a Christian. It can challenge us. It can cause us to feel uncomfortable, even mistreated. But our appeal is to God at such times. And that doesn’t mean silence in this world. Our government gives us a voice to express our disagreement and even to protest. It gives us the freedom to vote and even to campaign, debate, and lobby. And we should use these freedoms well. But our disposition should be to recognize government for what it is, an institution appointed by God (1-2). And our response to any perceived injustice or impropriety should first and foremost be to call out to God on behalf of His servants.

Now, having said all this, I must add that Paul hasn’t given us a fully developed theology of government here, but just a general principle regarding how we should understand it and a general call regarding how we should respond to it. He hasn’t given us specific direction about to react when government clearly goes awry—think 1930s Germany. But Paul did know that a human government sanctioned and perpetrated the crucifixion of Jesus, so he wasn’t clueless to the fact that this institution is capable of grave miscarriages of justice. But he also knew that even oppressive governments, by their very nature seek to prevent the evils of indiscriminate murder, riot, thievery, as well as general instability and chaos, and good acts do at times meet with its approval and praise (Stein in Schreiner 669-670).

So, the aim here is not to oversimply an admittedly complex subject, but to understand four things.

• We cannot and must not dismiss the fact that human government has been instituted by God and must be respected and honored as appointed by Him to accomplish His ends.

• We must grant that human government is just as fallen as the rest of this world, so it will reflect that fallenness in as many and varied ways as the rest of us fallen sinners, and the institutions we participate in, reflect it.

• Suffering of all sorts, even under a sinful government, is used by God to shape His people in the likeness of His Son—to accomplish His good (8:28).

• Therefore, God’s people are far better off calling out to Him under the weight of sinful government, and trusting Him to work in His unmistakable ways to accomplish His good, than we are to take matters into our own hands.

Conclusion

This is how Christians should understand and respond and relate to human governments in this world. This is what it looks like to live as citizens once we’ve been transformed by the renewal of [our] minds (12:2). Can we do it?

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Resources

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Sproul, R. C. 2005. The Gospel of God: An Exposition of Romans. Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus.

Stott, John, NT ed. 1994. The Bible Speaks Today. The Message of Romans, by John Stott. Leicester, Eng.: InterVarsity.

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NEXT SUNDAY: Owe No One Anything, Romans 13:8–14