Romans 13:1-6

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing.

God delegated authority to human government following the Genesis Flood. He granted man the right to take the life of a murderer (Genesis 9:6). Paul says that everyone must submit to the government, because all existing authorities have been established by God. Human government is instituted and ordained by God. But it’s more than that. No man or woman could occupy the position of authority they have apart from the sovereign, decretive, permissive will of God. See John 19:11, Daniel 4:17,25,32, and 2 Chronicles 20:6. If you rebel against that authority, you are bringing judgment on yourself. Submit to authority out of reverence for God, not solely out of reverence for the ruler. See Matthew 10:28 and 1 Peter 2:13-17. It is not wise to fight against that which God has established. See Acts 5:34-39.

A question generally comes up here, wondering if every leader – Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Pol Pot, etc. – should be considered “appointed by God.” And the answer, tenderly spoken, is, “Yes.” See Proverbs 21:1 and Daniel 2:21. Look at how Judah and Israel were split after Solomon’s reign. 1 Kings 12:1-15 says, “So the king [Rehoboam] did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word the LORD had spoken to Jeroboam.” Consider the circumstance of Nebuchadnezzar or Pilate. See Jeremiah 27:6 and John 19:10-11. Furthermore, these authorities are “to do you good.” Even “evil empires” offer “good” services to their people. Even communism provides land for its people… What would you do if 9-1-1 didn’t answer? What if roads were never paved and potholes never repaired?

According to Paul, unless you are a wrong-doer, there is no reason to fear the government. What are some differences between Paul’s definition of government and ours? How about the different types of governments (democracy, constitutional republic, monarchy, communist dictatorship, tyranny, etc.)? Is there reason to fear any of these governments if you don’t “do wrong”? “Wrong-doing” is objective, not subjective, and Paul is essentially commanding civil authority to be subject to God’s moral law. I wonder if he knew that Caesar would hear his instructions on this. I wonder if Caesar did hear his instructions on this. Caesar might have appreciated them, as they do say that God has placed authorities in power to do good to the people. This would not have offended Caesar. With what we’ve noted so far, there are clearly vast implications on the world and its people. Any thoughts?

Paul says, “Do right and be free from fear; in fact, be commended. The government is God’s servant to do you good.” Submitting is a matter of both avoiding punishment and conscience. One role of government is to install fear of punishment into the culture as a deterrent of crime. Can you imagine the implications of true anarchy? Consider that even a case of anarchy is “established by God for His sovereign purpose.” Then again, we also submit to the government not out of fear of punishment by the authorities, but due to our Christian conscience convicting us. Both should keep us in obedience, but unfortunately the second one often does not. Examples might include speeding, taxes, etc.

So to summarize, we submit to civil authority (1) because it’s instituted by God, (2) because it is good for us that there is civil authority, (3) because if we don’t, we get punished, and (4) because if we don’t, our consciences condemn us for breaking the higher moral law of God. Now, there are exceptions in which we do not have to submit to government, and the guideline is that we live a life of love for others. If others stand to benefit, civil disobedience is perhaps permissible. Notice these Biblical examples:

(1) Exodus 1 – the Hebrew midwives disobeyed pharaoh’s command to kill the baby boys; civil result = no penalty other than rebuke / God’s blessing = families of their own; (2) Joshua 2 – Rahab disobeyd the command to reveal the location of the Jewish spies; civil result = no penalty / God’s blessing = salvation for her and her family and everlasting commemoration in Scripture; (3) Daniel 3 – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused the command to bow down in worship of the king; civil result = fiery furnace / God’s blessing = life and witness; (4) Daniel 6 – Daniel disobeyed Darius’ decree that the people could pray only to him for 30 days and not to other “gods”; civil result = lion’s den / God’s blessing = life and witness; (5) Matthew 2 – The wise men, warned in a dream, refused to obey Herod’s command that they report back to him the location of infant Jesus; civil result = no penalty / God’s blessing = spiritual life?; (6) Acts 5 – The apostles disobeyed the Pharisees’ command that they not teach in Jesus’ name; civil result = flogging, rebuke / God’s blessing = rejoicing that they had experienced persecution and additional witness opportunity. Notice that all of these civil disobediences are done humbly and in love, without aggression or arrogance.

The government does not bear the sword for nothing; the government is God’s servant as an agent of wrath to punish the wrong-doer. We might experience this in the form of paved roads and a speeding ticket. Others get it in the form of police protection and capital punishment. What are your thoughts regarding capital punishment? I think our justice needs to be carried out much more swiftly than it currently gets done.

Finally, Paul confirms that it is right to pay taxes to the government, as those serving as agents of God in civil authority do so full-time, and thus deserve to be paid. Policemen, firemen, judges, Congressmen, etc. need to be paid, because, even if they are as anti-Christianity as you can possibly imagine, they are carrying out God’s decretive will and serving Him and us in that way.