CHAPTER 13
13:1-7 - Obey government
13:8-10 - Love does no wrong
13:11-14 - Playing Well with Others
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2 Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.
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;
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.
5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience' sake.
6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.
7 Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom towhom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.
This chapter is a continuation of Paul’s exhortation on living ‘outwardly’. The Christian life involves the whole person - the mind, the soul, the spirit, the body, and your relationships with people around you. It starts, of course, with God saving you from sin.
Now you are to be a conduit of the gospel message to others: Family, neighbors, and going out into the city. Christianity is not a cloister, but an outreach. "Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures, and said to them, "Thus it stands written that the Christ would suffer and would rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And look, I am sending you what my Father promised. But stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." (Luk 24:45-49) How you live in your community will be a function of your faith.
Until we die and go to be with Jesus, or when He returns, we will live in two worlds - the natural physical world and Christ’s kingdom. I thought maybe the term “dual citizenship” might fit here. Upon reflection I think ‘resident foreigner’ is closer to the correct concept for the believers. “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,” (Col. 1:13 ) We no longer are under the rule and control of Satan, yet we live in the world he controls. Think of Satan as a governor of a land, but not the owner.
This passage has the potential of being whipsawed with more “What if...” scenarios than I can deal with.
V. 1 - “Be in subjection to the governing authorities” - Paul is addressing people who are living under Roman rule: in particular, people living in Rome. Nero was emperor.
Because this was written to the Roman believers, however not exclusively for the Roman believers but all Christians for all time the following fits: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16). It is a teaching for us all. Fairly straightforward - don’t be a rebellious citizen of the country where you are living. Obey the traffic laws. Obey the civil laws. Obey the legal laws.
Immediately, the idea of being subject to a despotic regime raises a potential problem. What if the government you live under is evil - be it communist, fascist, nazi, muslim, socialist, or democratic? How does a Christian subject himself to an evil government? How does a citizen obey laws that are cruel, evil and unjust? The believer must carefully compare the governmental laws to those given by God in scripture. Laws that violate the Bible teachings must be disobeyed. Realize that at that moment, when you disobey, your life may be forfeit. Martyrdom may need be contemplated.
You may say, “Not here in the U.S.” And so far you may be correct. There are many countries, especially communist and muslim controlled, where Christians’ lives are constantly at risk. As I write this, we have just gone through a trying time of Covid-19 here in the United States. For more than a year, government officials have issued mandates regarding faee masks, restaurant, business, and school closures that have affected all of us. None of these mandates were passed by the Congress or any legislature. They were rules handed out, and obedience was demanded by bureaucrats. I don't know how many people were thrown in jail for non-compliance. I do know that millions of children missed a year or more of education because of closed schools; millions of people lost their jobs - some from business closures, some from non-compliance regarding wearing the mask. How do we respond, as Christians, when ordered to obey a "law" that is not actually a law; plus real science shows it has no discernible positive effect on stopping spread of the disease. We are 'forced’ to take a vaccine shot to stop the spread, but the vaccine does not stop it. The Covid-19 shot does not prevent you from getting this strand of flu. It does not act like the polio vaccine, or mumps vaccine. I remember standing in line as a child to get the brand new Polio vaccine. I remember the joy our parents expressed knowing their children would no longer be in danger of getting polio and spending their life in an iron lung - parents lived in fear of that dread disease. For Covid-19, panic dominated the nation. Panic drove unwise decisions - decisions that affected the bulk of the nation, when only a very few people were really at risk. Instead of protecting those at risk, the fabric of the nation was shredded. We still have not fully recovered (the leaders are still making dumb decisions). How does a Christian respond to bad dscisions by the leaders?
“no authority except from God” - There is no king, or queen, or president, prime minister or sovereign in position in a government or country that has attained that position without God’s permission. My mind rebels: How can Hitler be placed by God at the head of Germany? How could Idi Amin (Uganda) possibly have been acceptable? Or Stalin (communist Russia)? Or Mao Zedong (China)? Or, here at home, how do you react to morally repugnant candidates or elected officials?
V. 2 - “whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God” - If God has placed the government, who are you to tell God he made a mistake by setting up this particular set of leaders? And yet, we know there are situations where resistance is ‘necessary’. Peter and the apostles were commanded to quit teaching the gospel. “But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’ ” (Acts 5:29) Also, “And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, ‘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 4:18-20)
My conclusion: If the laws violate God’s laws and scripture, we may not need to obey.
Two caveats:
- Be absolutely sure the laws you think need to be disobeyed really, truly go against God. Examine the scripture. Pray. Study the Scripture. Pray. Pray some more!
- Count the cost. Be prepared.
This will not be the modern equivalent of ‘civil disobedience’ in which you get to act out and only receive a slap on the wrist. This disobedience may cost your job, your home, your family, or your life. I am not saying to chicken out. In an evil regime, you may suffer even if you remain passive. For example, look back to Nazi Germany. The Jews were passive, even went into hiding. Still, six million Jews died in the death camps. (Not picking on Germany. Just stating facts.) Look at the modern muslim nations, especially the Islamist run countries - Christians are being martyred!
V. 3 - “rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil” - Governments are instituted by God to provide order. Laws are established for the working out of social and legal norms. We live in a fallen world, and many, many people will give in to their worst impulses, where greed and self-aggrandizement will rule the day. In literature, note that post-apocalyptic societies are almost always vicious and cruel. Good examples of this: “Lord of the Flies”, or “A Clockwork Orange”. The first shows life without rules or guidance. The second shows how far people can go when they choose to not follow laws. A real-life example is the French Revolution where the uprising devolved into savagery.
V. 4 - “for it is a minister of God to you for good” - The government you live under is set in place by God! The government, whether a democracy or a kingdom, sets the laws and enforces the same. In general, if you do not break the laws you have nothing to fear.
V. 5 - “it is necessary to be in subjection” - Do not rebel against your nation’s laws or against the Lord. This almost reads like "double-speak" - I have just written in a paragraph above that you may have to violate civil laws in order to obey God. I dont think I am advocating open rebellion against an evil regime. You must not quit worshipping God because someone tells you to do so. But you may have to do it surreptitiously. Many believers in some foreign lands meet and worship in secret, knowing that to do it openly means being arrested and punished.
V. 6 - “pay taxes” - Really? Paying taxes is obedience to God? Yes.
“for rulers are servants of God” - There it is again: Governments are placed there by God. Most rulers have no idea they are “God’s servants”. It doesn’t matter they may not know this. God knows and He expects obedience to secular rule from His people.
V. 7 - “Render to all what is due them” - God has not advocated disobedience or rebellion of His people toward their governments. See: Matt. 22:15-21; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:2-26. He did not have the Israelites rebel against the Egyptians. Jesus did not rise up against the Romans, nor the Jewish governors. God punished the rebels when they defied Moses or Aaron. (One incidence goes against this line of thought: God separated the 10 northern tribes from Rehoboam, leaving him Judah and Benjamin. I must ponder this.)
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Outline:
13:1-7 - Obey government
13:8-10 - Love does no wrong
13:11-14 - Playing Well with Others
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