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Romans 13:1
Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.
(a) Subjection. Be a good citizen and submit to those in authority. Be a peacemaker, not a troublemaker (Rom. 12:18).
“Be in subjection” may not be the best translation as it leads to thinking of the strong dominating the weak or kings ruling over subjects. The original verb hypotassō means “to place under.” It is submitting to rather than being lorded over. Submitting is not something that is forced on us but something we choose to do as a way of honoring the Lord. “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority” (1 Pet. 2:13).
Paul is not preaching a law to be obeyed in all circumstances. Nor is he saying that you must submit to unjust laws or obey evil rulers. Peter and John disobeyed the Sanhedrin’s order to stop preaching about Jesus (Acts 4:18–20, 5:28–29). Paul also preached despite the threat of arrest (2 Cor. 11:32–33). But as believers, we respect and pray for those in positions of authority (1 Tim. 2:1–2).
(b) Governing authorities are those in power (kings, presidents, prime ministers, governments, councils, etc.) and their agents (e.g., tax collectors, judges, magistrates, police officers, animal control officers).
(c) Established by God. All authority comes from God. As Jesus said to the Roman governor, “You would have no authority over me unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11). God may not have picked the king, president, or prime minister (Hos. 8:4) but he set up the institutions of government to protect the world from lawlessness and chaos.
Romans 13:2
Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.
(a) Whoever resists authority. Whoever rebels or subverts the government. Jews and Christians reacted to the injustices of Rome in different ways. The Jews rebelled, leading to the destruction of their nation in AD70 and AD135, while the Christians prayed (1 Pet. 2:13) and relocated to quieter regions (e.g., Matt. 24:16). Jesus was not a zealot or a rebel. Neither are we.
(b) Opposed the ordinance of God. We may not agree with every policy, but we respect government institutions as ordained by God. When we disagree with those in power, we do so respectfully.
(c) Ordinance. Official decree; see entry for Rom. 1:32.
(d) Condemnation. Resist the government, and you will come under the judgment of the government. You could be fined, arrested, imprisoned, or worse.
Romans 13:3
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;
(a) Rulers. Civil authorities are meant to protect the good and punish the wicked. If you are law-abiding, you will have nothing to fear from authority. But this this is not always the case. Pilate had Jesus flogged and crucified, Herod Antipas beheaded John the Baptist (Matt. 14:1–11), and another Herod had James put to death with a sword (Acts 12:1–2). Paul himself was falsely arrested in Jerusalem (Acts 21:33), unlawfully imprisoned by a corrupt governor in Caesarea (Acts 24:24–26), and severely beaten by crooked magistrates in Philippi (Acts 16:20–24). However, these were exceptional instances. For the most part, those who obey the law of the land are untroubled by civil authorities.
(b) Do you want to have no fear of authority? Then don’t cheat on your taxes, don’t drive faster than the speed limit, and don’t steal from your workplace.
(c) You will receive praise. Do the right thing and you may even be commended as a good citizen (1 Pet. 2:14).
Romans 13:4
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.
(a) A minister of God to you for good. Civil authorities are set up by God to provide peace and security. They maintain order by punishing lawbreakers and protecting the nation from enemies.
(b) If you do what is evil, be afraid. If you break the law, you can expect punishment.
(c) Bear the sword. In Roman times, the sword or gladius symbolized absolute authority. A governor who had been granted the ius gladii, or the right of the sword, held the power of life and death over those they governed. These verses mention two powers of government: the sword (the ability to use force) and tax collection (verse 6).
(d) An avenger or agent of wrath is a government employee who restrains sin (e.g., a judge, magistrate, police officer, or soldier).
(e) Wrath. When officers of the law punish wrong-doing, they are acting as God’s agents of wrath. This is one of the ways God’s wrath and intolerance of sin is revealed. If crimes went unpunished, society would be hellish, and the strong would devour the weak.
(f) Who practices evil. For example: criminals, terrorists, traffickers, drug dealers, tax cheats, fraudsters, scammers, money launderers, corrupt politicians, bad tenants, abusive landlords, insider traders, identity thieves, counterfeiters, cyberbullies, predatory lenders, exploitative employers, sweatshop operators, drunk drivers, and people who park illegally in handicapped spaces.
Romans 13:5
Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake.
(a) Be in subjection. There are two reasons for being a good citizen: to avoid punishment for breaking the law and to enjoy peace of mind.
(b) For conscience’ sake. Maybe the government won’t catch you when you cheat on your taxes, break the speed limit, or send inflated invoices to customers, but your conscience will know.
(c) Conscience. Your conscience is that inner voice that lets you know when you have crossed the line; see entry for Rom. 2:15.
See entry for Conscience.
Romans 13:6–7
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.
(a) Pay taxes. Jesus said something similar: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” (Matt. 22:21).
By paying taxes, we recognize that the governing authorities have been set up by God for our benefit (verse 1). In many countries, taxes pay for public administration, infrastructure, social services, education, healthcare, welfare, public housing, and defense.
(b) Rulers are servants of God. Government officials and public servants may not identify as Christians, but they still carry out the Lord’s work by administering justice and ensuring peace and safety.
(c) Servants. The original noun leitourgos, which is sometimes translated as “minister” (e.g., Rom. 15:16), means “to serve in an official capacity.”
(d) Render to all what is due them. Pay your taxes and dues.
(e) Custom. Pay other necessary charges such as sales taxes and import duties.
(f) Fear… honor. Respect the office. We respect those in authority regardless of their political persuasions or character flaws.
Romans 13:8
Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
(a) Owe nothing. Just as we pay our public bills (verses 6–7), we pay our private bills. Don’t neglect to pay your employers and suppliers (Deut. 24:14–15, Jer. 22:13).
(b) Love one another. We live in a world of laws that are meant to restrain sin. How much better it would be to live in a world of love. This is where the church can shine. By loving others with the love we have received from the Father, we give the world a picture of the kingdom come. The kingdom of God is governed by love, not law.
(c) Fulfilled the law; see entry for Rom. 13:10.
Romans 13:9
For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”
(a) You shall not… Paul recites four of the Ten Commandments to show us that all laws are fulfilled or summed up in love (Ex. 20:13–17, Deut. 5:17–21).
(b) Love your neighbor. This law, which comes from the Law of Moses (Lev. 19:18), was quoted by Jesus (Matt. 19:19, 22:39, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27) and is sometimes called “the royal law” (Jas. 2:8). This commandment is the king of laws because loving others fulfills all the other laws (Gal. 5:14). Paul is not preaching a law you must obey. He is explaining how the laws of Moses and all the laws we could ever write are captured in this single, overarching law.
How wonderful the world would be if we could love our neighbors. But history proves we’d rather build fences and armies and keep our neighbors at arms’ length. To keep the royal law, we need the higher Law of Christ (Gal. 6:2). The Law of Christ is the Lord’s command to “love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34).
(c) As yourself. Under the old covenant, you provided the love, but in the new covenant, we love others with the love we have received from God (1 John 4:7, 11). Love is not something to manufacture; it is Someone to receive. When we receive from the abundance of the Father’s love, we are able to love others.
Further reading: “Is ‘love your neighbor’ part of the new covenant?”
Romans 13:10
Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
(a) Love does no wrong to a neighbor. If we loved our neighbors, we would not murder them, steal from them, or covet their possessions.
(b) Love is the fulfillment of the law. If we truly loved our neighbors, we wouldn’t need laws to restrain sin. More love means less law. Ultimately, what the world needs is not more armies and prisons, but a revelation of God’s great love.
Romans 13:11
Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.
(a) Knowing the time. Now is the time to prepare for the Lord’s return. “Be on the alert then,” said Jesus, “for you do not know the day nor the hour” (Matt. 25:13). We are to live with eternity in mind, watching and waiting for the Lord’s return.
(b) Awaken from sleep. “Turn to God, you sleepyhead, before it is too late” (see Rev. 3:2–3).
In nearly every church community, some have not yet made up their minds about the Lord. (For example, in the Corinthian church, there some who denied the resurrection and had “no knowledge of God” (1 Cor. 15:34).) They have heard the gospel but have not received it in their hearts or turned to God in repentance (Rev. 3:3). Their “deeds are incomplete” (Rev. 3:2). Paul encourages the spiritually somnolent to “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Eph. 5:14).
(c) Salvation. Deliverance or rescue; see entry for Rom. 1:16.
(d) Salvation is nearer to us. Every day brings us one day closer to the Lord’s return. Live with the end in mind because “the Lord is near” (Php. 4:5).
Romans 13:12
The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
(a) The night is almost gone. Peter wrote, “The end of all things is near” (1 Pet. 4:7). James said, “Behold, the Judge is standing right at the door” (Jas. 5:9). Paul and the other apostles did not know when the Son of Man would return (Matt. 24:36). Still, they understood by the Holy Spirit that they were living in the last days. We continue to live in the last days and the end of all things is nearer than ever (see entry for Heb. 1:2).
(b) The day is near. “The day of Christ Jesus” (Php. 1:6) refers to his final return when the Son of Man is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels (Luke 17:30, 2 Th. 1:7). On that great and glorious day, the Lord will bring justice and peace, uniting heaven and earth under his rule (Eph. 1:10 Col. 1:20).
The day of Christ Jesus is sometimes referred to as the day of the Lord (Acts 2:20, 1 Th. 5:2, 2 Pet. 3:10), the day of God (2 Pet. 3:12), the day of visitation (1 Pet. 2:12), the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30), the day of judgment (Matt. 10:15, 2 Pet. 2:9, 3:7, 1 John 4:17, Jude 1:6), and the day of eternity (2 Pet. 3:18).
(c) Lay aside the deeds of darkness. Abandon the old ways and mindsets of the old self.
(d) The deeds of darkness are actions unbecoming of the children of the light (e.g., drunken carousing—see next verse).
(e) Put on the armor of light, a.k.a. the full armor of God (Eph. 6:13). Be wrapped in the truth of Christ Jesus. Put on righteousness like a breastplate and have your feet shod with the gospel of peace. Take up the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit (Eph. 6:14–17). In short, put on the Lord Jesus (see verse 14).
(f) Light. God is light. He is the Source of all illumination and the means by which we see (1 John 1:5). God sent his Son to be the Light of Life, the Light of the world, the Light of men, and the True Light (John 1:4, 9, 8:12, 9:5). To believe in the Light is to believe in Jesus (John 12:36). The fruit of the Light is the spiritual fruit that Christ bears in our lives (John 15:5).
Romans 13:13
Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.
(a) Behave. The original verb peripateō means “to walk.” Don’t walk in the darkness you once inhabited, but “walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8).
(b) In the day. Live as one of God’s shining lights “in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation” (Php. 2:15). Let your life be a witness of God’s goodness, righteousness, and truth.
(c) Carousing and drunkenness. Wild, intoxicated partying.
(d) Sexual promiscuity and sensuality. Sexual immorality and indecent behavior.
(e) Strife and jealousy. Being quarrelsome and envious.
Romans 13:14
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
(a) Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Be clothed in Christ (Gal. 3:27). See yourself as fully enveloped in, or hidden with, Christ in God (Col. 3:3). You were in Adam, and now you are in Christ. Act like it. Be who you are in Christ and learn to walk in the new way of the spirit
(b) Lord; see entry for Rom. 1:4.
(c) Make no provision for the flesh. Don’t waste another moment thinking about how to gratify the self-serving and unspiritual desires of the old self. Give little thought to things that have no lasting consequence.
(d) Flesh; see entry for Rom. 8:4.
(e) Lusts. The lusts of the flesh include the desire to prove, preserve, and elevate yourself; see entry for Eph. 2:3.
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- Romans 13:1
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- Romans 13:14
Was hoping you’d have something to share about Romans 13: 1 to 7. Obviously troubling scriptures in this day and age considering the leadership in the USA and Russia and other countries with leaders that are not caring for their countries in a godly manner.
I will get there eventually. In the meantime, check out 1 Pet. 2:13.