Imagine you are living in a wealthy and successful city. You have food, clothing, and shelter. The economy is great and so is your job. Everything in your life seems to be going well. But then all of a sudden, you learn that the reigning ruler in your city is a wicked man. He is so wicked that he has his very own mother murdered. Once the scandal of this crime blows over, he divorces his wife, and then murderers her as well. But the horror continues. This evil ruler eventually unveils a heinous hobby: killing Christians by torture and burning.

This scenario would become the real-life existence for many Roman Christians. The ruler who reigned during the writing of the book of Romans was Emperor Nero. The book of Romans was written before severe persecution of Christians began, although Paul was no doubt writing with Nero in mind. Nero was so evil that the early Christians believed he was the Antichrist or was going to come back as the Antichrist in the end times.1 In light of this wickedness, Paul’s words seem very foreign. Yet, as we better understand the times that Paul penned these words, the weight of these words only becomes more meaningful. In Romans 13:1-7, Paul instructs believers in their responsibilities toward government.

[First, Paul tells us that...]

1. We must submit our will to our government (13:1-5). In the first half of 13:1 we are commanded to submit to our government. The command reads: “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities.”2 The commandment begins with the words “Every person.”3 This includes believers and unbelievers, rich and poor, great and small, without exception. Paul calls on believers to “submit”4 to governing authorities,5 but this is not the only call to submission in the New Testament. There are at least five other commands for submission:

It is interesting to me that Paul chooses the word “submit” rather than “obey.”6 Why does he do this? Paul believes that our ultimate allegiance must be to God.7 In this context, this means we are to “submit” to our governing authorities unless the government requires us to do something that is clearly contrary to God’s Word.

Three biblical stories will help validate this. In Daniel 3, Daniel’s three friends were commanded to bow down before an image of gold. They refused, and rightly so; for they could not serve God and bow down to an idol. But the way in which they declined to do so demonstrated a submissive spirit. They did not refuse to obey all of the king’s commands, only this one. They knew that disobedience might cost them their lives — and they were willing to pay this price. A similar example is found in Daniel 6, where Daniel will not cease praying to his God. Daniel refuses to comply with a specific law and even the king agrees with him and hopes for his rescue.

In Acts chapter 5, the Sanhedrin has demanded that Peter and John stop preaching in the name of Jesus. But in Acts 5:29, “Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’”

Though they could not and would not stop preaching about their resurrected Lord, they did not challenge the authority of this body. Their answer was evidence of their submissive spirit and intent: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20). Submission usually is demonstrated by our obedience, but even when we must disobey we can and should do so in a submissive spirit and manner.

Obviously, this is still a hard and very challenging word. Fortunately, God is gracious and in 13:1b, He helps us understand this gut-wrenching command. In this verse, Paul explains that God ordains government. He writes, “For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.” Paul’s entire argument is based upon a fundamental premise: God is sovereign. He possesses ultimate authority. He is the sole authority of His creation. He delegates all human authority to men.8 No one has authority independent of God. This means that every government is to be acknowledged and obeyed by virtue of its existence, not because it meets our preferences.

The Scriptures teach an interesting paradox: on one hand, Satan is actively involved in the political process (Luke 4:6-7). The book of Daniel teaches that there are wicked spirits who are assigned to various leaders. There is no question that some world leaders are but tools of the Devil. Yet at the same time, the Bible clearly teaches that God rules in the affairs of men.9

In 13:2, Paul also states that government represents God. Paul writes, “Therefore whoever resists10 authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.” To resist governmental authority is to resist God. The Bible is clear that submission to government is an expression of our submission to God. God has instituted human government to exercise divinely delegated authority over men. We should be subject to human governments for this reason alone. Therefore, whether we think a law is fair or not, we have no right to disobey simply because of our preferences. When we do so, Paul states that we will receive condemnation upon ourselves. The word “condemnation”11 or “judgment” refers to divine judgment. Government will also penalize men for their wrongdoings, but this is a more indirect form of divine chastening. What government fails to judge properly in this life, God will make right in the final judgment.

Paul now explains the “why?” behind his statement in 13:2 — that disregard for government’s authority has present ramifications. These are described in 13:3-4. In 13:3, Paul writes, “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.” Rulers uphold the law. Therefore, if we are honoring the law, we have nothing to fear under a good government. But when we do evil, we have much to fear. Have you ever experienced the surge of fear that shoots through you when you zoom through a speed trap and then look down at your speedometer? It’s a frightening thing (I know!). Now if we as Christians never speed, we have nothing to worry about, right? Right! This is true of every scale of crime.

In 13:4, government is given an unexpected title — “a minister of God.” Paul writes, “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.” The Greek word for “minister”12 is the word which means deacon. So we are to look upon government authorities as part of God’s ministerial staff — part of the team He assembles to work in the world today. The task of this minister is to serve God by dealing appropriately with those who do good and also those who do evil.

Paul goes on in 13:4 to talk about the sword that government bears. Notice Paul didn’t say, “bear the whip or the lash or the jail sentence.” He said “the sword.” The Romans used the sword to behead a criminal. Now, it may be true that Paul’s words carry a much broader meaning, but it’s also true that capital punishment is certainly included in this concept. Paul seems to be saying that the state or the government, not the individual, has the authority and the right to take another person’s life. There is no conflict here between Paul’s words in 12:19-20 about not taking vengeance, and his use of the sword to restrain evil. Romans 12 is personal, Romans 13 is constitutional. In Romans 12 hatred (vengeance) is at work; in Romans 13, justice is at work.

Now the sixth commandment says that you should not commit personal murder, but if you kill another person in the course of a war for your country, that’s not murder. There are some of you men in this room who perhaps are carrying a load of guilt because of killing a member of the enemy during the war. Maybe you thought all along, “This is terrible. I’ve killed somebody. I’ve broken the sixth commandment.” No, you haven’t, because you were representing your government who has the power to bear the sword.

I’ll give you a great example from the Bible. When David was fighting for the Israelites and he killed Goliath, that wasn’t murder; it was part of a battle. But later in his life David personally had Uriah the Hittite killed for personal motives — because he committed adultery with Uriah’s wife and wanted to get him out of the way. That was murder, even though he was killed in a battle, because the motive behind it was personal in nature. You see the difference? So if there are some of you men who fought for our country and you’ve killed another man, I don’t want you to let the Devil make you feel guilty about that. By the same token, our government, I believe, does have the right for capital punishment. Look at what it says in Genesis 9:6, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.” The principle here is: God highly values human life. The natural deterrent to upholding this intrinsic value is to practice the death penalty.

After exposing the inevitable consequences of our actions, if we fail to be subject to the civil government, Paul now expresses the biblical motivation to obey. In 13:5, Paul writes, “Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience sake.” He begins with the word “Therefore.”13 In light of all that Paul has said in the previous four verses, he hopes that believers will be “in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience sake.”

The external motivation that promotes submission is the fear of punishment — at least primarily. The motivation Paul calls for here is internal — that of a desire to maintain a pure and undefiled conscience. The standard, which the law sets, is the minimal standard for all men. The standard set by our own conscience is personal, individual, and hopefully higher than the minimum set by human government.

What is the conscience? It is an internal standard, defining right and wrong. It is present not only in Christians. All men have a conscience (Rom 2:15). The conscience of one may be stronger than that of another (see 1 Cor 8:7, 10, 12). Some consciences have become hardened and insensitive due to sin (1 Tim 4:2), while the consciences of others are sensitized by obedience (Heb 5:14). We must never defile our conscience by doing what it considers evil, nor should we offend others by practicing what their consciences condemn as evil (1 Cor 8).

Paul’s conscience was a very important matter to him. He sought to serve God with an undefiled conscience. In light of a future bodily resurrection Paul said, “In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men” (Acts 24:16).14

[We must submit to our government, and also...]

2. We must fulfill our responsibilities to our government (13:6-7). Paul closes this section with a simple application. In 13:6-7, Paul writes, “For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.” How can we demonstrate our submission to the government? By paying taxes! Americans love to find ways out of paying taxes; yet paying our taxes is the most natural way to demonstrate our submission. If we are willing to take this step of submission, it is very likely that we will be submissive in every other area as well. In 13:7, Paul states that we are to pay direct taxes and indirect taxes (customs). But he also says that we are to fear and honor our governing authorities. This is a difficult word. Yet, it is nonetheless a biblical word!

Peter wrote the epistle of 1 Peter when Nero was at his absolute worst. Yet, like Paul, he exhorted Christians to live by these same truths. In 1 Peter 2:13-17, he wrote, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.”

So how should we respond? Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 2:1-2, “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions andthanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” As we prioritize prayer, especially for those in government, God will grant us a life that honors Him.

Copyright © 2001 Keith R. Krell. All rights reserved. All Scripture quotations, unless indicated, are taken from the New American Standard Bible, C 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1977, and 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, and are used by permission. Permissions: Feel free to reproduce and distribute any articles written by Keith Krell, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this information, not protect or restrict it.

Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: by Keith Krell, Timeless Word Ministries, 2508 State Ave NE Olympia, WA 98506, 360-352-9044, www.timelessword.com

Notes

1 Merrill F. Unger, R.K. Harrison, ed. The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary (Chicago, IL: Moody, 1988), 917.

2 Gk. huperecho, see Phil 2:3; 3:8; 4:7; and 1 Pet 2:13.

3 Lit. “Every soul,” cf. Acts 3:23 and Rev 16:3.

4 See Paul’s usage in Rom 8:7, 20; 10:3; 13:5; 1 Cor 14:32, 34; 15:27-28; 16:16; Eph 1:22; 5:21, 24; Phil 3:21; Col 3:18; and Titus 2:5, 9; 3:1.

5 See also Titus 3:1 and 1 Peter 2:13.

6 Douglas Moo, The Epistle to the Romans: NICNT (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdman’s, 1996), 797.

7 Eph 5:24 and believers are called to submit to God (Heb 12:9 and Jas 4:7).

8 See Isa 30:30; Jer 5:31; John 19:11; 1 Cor 15:24; Eph 1:21; and Col 2:10.

9 Psalm 75:6-7: “For not from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert comes exaltation; but God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another.” Cf. Proverbs 21:1: “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.”

10 Gk. antitassomenos: to “resist” is the opposite of to “submit” (hupotassestho) in 13:1 (the Gk. word tasso with the negative prefix anti rather than hupo).

11 Gk. krima, cf. In Romans 2:2-3, Paul adds the expression, “of God” in both instances. The term is also used in Rom 3:8; 5:16; and 11:33.

12 Gk. diakonos

13 Gk. Dio

14 Cf. Acts 23:1 and 2 Tim 1:3. Paul also urged others to follow this lead (1 Tim 1:19; 3:9) and believed that a clear conscience is a prerequisite for love and service to others (1 Tim 1:5; 2 Tim 1:3; and Heb 9:14; 10:22).

All Scripture quotations, unless indicated, are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1977, and 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, and are used by permission.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
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