Rom 14:14-18 - Nothing is Unclean

14 I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 
15 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. 
16 Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; 
17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 
18 For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.

Walking According to Love

V. 14 - “I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself“ - Paul is not referencing activities which are sinful. Physical items - animals, rocks, wood, fire, water, etc. - are not, cannot be evil. Only our use of them in sinful activities imbues them with ‘sin’.

“who thinks anything to be unclean“ - For example, a chunk of wood is not evil, but when carved into an idol that chunk becomes involved in a sinful activity. So, is the idol evil? Let me take a different tack: Jesus is castigating the Pharisees and scribes because they are nit-picking between what is holy and what is not (See: Matt 23:15-22). It seems that people were making promises (swearing oaths) using the temple or items in the temple. By parsing the oaths, they were claiming some promises more valid than others. Jesus was asking: Which is more important - the temple or the gold covering the temple? The altar or the offering on the altar? Heaven or God who rules all of heaven and earth? The Pharisees were focusing on the wrong things. What they were doing was sinful - diminishing the importance and glory of the Lord - but they didn’t see it that way.

How do the oaths of the Pharisees tie into what Paul was addressing - thinking some things are unclean or sinful when they intrinsically are not? Both errors are caused by focusing on the wrong thing. The Pharisees were focusing on their own set of rules, cleverly (in their own minds) avoiding commitments to the Lord. They were hedging their bets: “Well, that wasn’t a valid oath! So I don’t need to keep that promise. If God wanted me to give that up, He would have given me the correct words to say!” They were narrowing down to a pin prick the size of the impact God was to have on their lives.

In the case of the people to whom Paul was writing: They were focused on what used to be unclean. They couldn’t believe the freedom they now have. “This can’t be right! How could God change His mind on what is unclean?” The focus was on what they were (used to be...) rather than on what they are - free in Christ.
The difference: The Pharisees wanted to limit God’s impact on their behavior; the new Christians were letting their past limit their freedom of behavior.

Paul sees this and understands correctly - even though something that was unclean is no longer so, these new believers were being convicted of sin. They were feeling guilt and shame, even though it was unnecessary. That guilt and feeling of shame for sins was limiting the abundant Christian life promised by our Savior.

V. 15 - “you are no longer walking according to love” - Paul gets to the nub of the matter. What is more important to you? Doing what you want, when you want, or being considerate of others? He was dealing with a clash of cultures - one group had grown up with strict rules, the others not so much. If you love a fellow believer, don’t cause them spiritual discomfort.

You like to eat bacon, but your friend grew up believing eating bacon was a sin. Why would you entice that friend when you know it makes him feel like he is sinning against a God? Is that showing love? Or maybe you know someone who sees no problem eating food taken from an altar. There were no such strictures in his pre-Christian life. Is that person showing love towards you when he grabs an offering to eat, and gives some to you (knowing this would freak you out)?

“Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died” - The first thing that pops into most of our minds is, “Come on! Come on, man!” How could food destroy someone? Anything that causes me to believe I have sinned against the Lord; anything that damages that relationship is destroying it. The ‘thing’ may not actually be a sinful act.
Why would you lead another to breaking his relationship with Jesus. (I think that Jesus knows the act is indeed not sinful, and from His perspective the relationship is intact.) When I think that I no longer can come to God because I have sinned against Him, the relationship is effectually damaged.

V. 16 - “Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil” - Anything that leads you into sin, and breaking off the relationship with Jesus Christ is evil. Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should. See: 1 Cor 6:12-13 - "’All things are lawful for me’ - but not everything is beneficial. ‘All things are lawful for me’ - but I will not be controlled by anything. Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both. The body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.”

Also: 1 Cor 10:23-31 "’Everything is lawful,’ but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is lawful,’ but not everything builds others up. Do not seek your own good, but the good of the other person. Eat anything that is sold in the marketplace without questions of conscience, or the earth and its abundance are the Lord's. If an unbeliever invites you to dinner and you want to go, eat whatever is served without asking questions of conscience. But if someone says to you, ‘This is from a sacrifice,’ do not eat, because of the one who told you and because of conscience - I do not mean yours but the other person's. For why is my freedom being judged by another's conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I blamed for the food that I give thanks for? So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.”

V. 17 - “For the kingdom of God is... righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” - Jesus’ kingdom is not food or drink, but abundant life in Him.

V. 18 - “Who in this way serves Christ” - The big picture here is: serving the needs of others is serving Christ! See: “But Jesus called them and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them. It must not be this way among you! Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant’ ” (Matt 20:25-26). And, “The greatest among you will be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matt 23:11-12)

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Romans 14:9-13 - Do Not Judge

9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
11 For it is written, "AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD."
12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this--not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way.
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Each One of Use Will Give an Account of Himself to God

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V. 9 - “For to this end” - Here is the reason Christ sacrificed Himself, and resurrected to eternal life... “He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” - Christ came for us. “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” (1 Cor 15:3-4) Everything, all creation is under the authority of the Lord, Christ Jesus. (See: 1 Cor 15:27; Eph 1:22; Heb 2:8) Christ came to redeem the whole universe - and on that day we will see a new earth, a new Jerusalem, and we will commune with God face-to-face, basking in His glory. When Christ died on the cross, we all died - not just believers. He died for the whole universe. To be God’s own, to benefit of His sacrifice, you must be born again. (John 3:1-18) Only those with this new life will be with Him. (John 14:6; 2 Cor 5:16-17). When you believe and accept Him as Lord and Savior, you are born again, your name is written in the lambs book of life. (See: Phil 4:3; Rev 3:5, 13:8, 17:8, 20:15, 21:27). Whether dead or alive, when we face Jesus on that day we are either welcomed into heaven or cast into hell - all based on our personal relationship with Christ. All power and authority is in His hands. He is Lord both of the dead and the living.

V. 10 - “Why do you judge your brother?” - I think ‘judging’ generally means determining who is worthy of heaven or hell. (Note: need to do a word study on ‘judge’.) You and I have no authority, and most definitely no power, to consign someone to hell or heaven. I cannot tell someone, “You are going to hell because... (pick a reason, any reason).“ I am not God, not even ‘a god’. Saying such a thing is stepping way out of bounds. We can only see what a person does. We cannot see their motive; cannot see what is in their hearts and minds pushing them to make these decisions. Only God can see what they think and believe. He sees their heart. (1 Sam 16:7; Deut 10:16; Pro 27:19)

“Why do you regard your brother with contempt?” - ‘Contempt’ is a ‘notch’ down the ladder from judging. Contempt is displaying the attitude of seeing yourself as better than another. That person is ‘less than’ you, not deserving of respect or consideration. It is thinking of yourself more than you ought to think, delusions of grandeur or superiority, maybe even delusions of mediocrity. (See: Rom 12:3, 16, 11:20) Contempt is a product of human pride and arrogance. You only need to read the Old Testament, especially the prophets, to see the Lord’s attitude towards our puny human pride.

“We will all stand before the judgment seat of God.” - When we stand before God on that day it will not be we who pass judgement on Him. We will stand trembling with fear because of His glory. We will either wail in anguish, or cry tears of joy and dance based on His judgment. All of us will stand before God and it will be announced whether or not our name is in the Lamb’s Book of Life. (See: Rev. 20:11-15) Christians, believers will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ to be judged for our behavior as His own. (See: 2 Cor 5:10). Have you lived worthy of the price paid?

V. 11 - “It is written” - Quoted from Isa 45:23, and also seen in Phil 2:9-11. Nobody escapes this. Some will cheerfully and gladly confess and offer allegiance to Christ. Others will do it because they see, perhaps finally at last, the One they have been resisting is the One to whom all must acquiesce. There will be no rebellion at this point, only fear and regrets for those who turned away from Christ. They will see and know ,”They shoulda hadda oughta...”, but now it is too late. “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.” (Heb 9:27-28)

V. 12 - “So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.” - Accountability. A much bandied-about word during this turgid political season. (The President! No, Congress! Judges!) It seems that accountability is usually, “Not me, but Thee!” Christians, those whose names are recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and non-Christians alike must face God, Father and Son. (See: 2 Cor 5:20; Rev 20:11-15)

V. 13 - “let us not judge one another anymore“ - Do not feel superior because you can freely drink a glass of wine without guilt or shame. Do not feel inferior because you are not comfortable eating a steak.

“not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way” - This is the learning-to-live-with-others part of this equation. Looking back at the first part of this verse - are you trying to 'shame' someone into doing something they are not comfortable doing (e.g., drinking wine, etc.)? Doing an action that you think may be against God's commands will feel like a sin, it is an assault on your conscience. Is someone attempting to get you to violate God's will for you? Are they making you feel uncomfortable about your decisions? Their actions are an affront to God's desire for us to help each other live for the Lord. Where possible live at peace with each other. ***

Romans 14:5-8 - We are the Lord’s

5 One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.
6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.
7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;
8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.

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We Live for the Lord

V. 5 - “Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.” - Paul shows he understands this problem is not limited to food choices. The principle of living each moment for the Lord is paramount. Is Sunday more important to you than Monday, or Saturday? Are some holidays more sacred to you than others? Are the worship songs from an older hymnal the only true way to raise your voice in song to God? Are the modern worship songs, with simple repetitive lyrics the best way to commune with your Lord? The list can be endless: movies, playing cards, having a drink of wine or beer, etc.

V. 6 - “for he gives thanks to God“ - All of these non-doctrinal issues are unimportant because our focus should be on Jesus Christ, on God, through the power of the Holy Spirit,

V. 7 - “For not one of us lives for himself” - We are to live our lives worthy of the price paid for us. “So that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Col 1:10) I do not live my Christian life for myself, for my wife, for my friends or pastor of my church. Christ is the one who saves me. To Him I owe my spiritual life, my new life. Therefore, I live to please Him. That is my goal as I live out my life here on earth.

V. 8 - “therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's” - Paul here is telling them whether they are allowed to live, or whether they may give their lives as martyrs - it is for Christ, and Christ alone.

Allow me one (at least one) caveat. This section is not approving ALL behaviors. There are things that no Christian should do. See the following lists: Rom. 1:29-32; 2 Tim. 3:2-5; 1 Tim. 6:4-5; Col. 3:5-9; Gal. 5:19-21. These are not comprehensive. People who practice these - anger, hatred, adultery, homosexual behavior - may not have Christ living in their lives. They are not acceptable in any circumstance. These (in the lists) are not the focus of this section of Paul’s letter. Eating, or holy days, or eating food offered to idols, are not sinful, but focusing on them and judging fellow believers is sinful. 

However, the problem arises when these practices (e.g., eating, holy days, eating food offered to idols, etc.) become the focus of a church or group of believers. When any of these activities begin to take focus away from Jesus Christ our Lord the church begins to lose its ability to draw people to Christ and change their lives to conform to Christ. In other words, church becomes a performance rather than faith and belief in Jesus operating out of His love bestowed upon us.

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Romans 14:1-4 - Tolerance

CHAPTER 14
14:1-5 - Tolerance
14:6-8 - We are the Lord’s
14:9-13 - Do not judge
14:14-23 - Nothing is unclean

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1 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.
2 One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only.
3 The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him.
4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

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In the this section of the letter (from 13:8 to 15:14), Paul discusses how we live together with other believers.

Paul continues on inter-personal relationships which was started in Rom. 13:8, 10, see: “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another... Love does no wrong to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment of the law”. This might seem like a stretch: the behaviors listed in 13:11-14, above, are human relational - e.g., carousing, promiscuity, jealousy. Wake up, Christians! Loving each other does not involve abusing each other in sinful activities.

This is a significant portion of the letter focusing on food issues (mostly), but highlight a principle of what it takes to live together in peace and love. In these verses, 14:1-15:3 Paul gives principles for living with other Christians who come from different backgrounds, cultures, and countries. These principles are not doctrinal in nature - nothing to do with Jesus Christ’s life, death on the cross, burial and resurrection, or ascension.
Let me take a step back. When I said 'nothing to do...' I did not mean devoid of any connection with Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection. Paul is addressing the practical issues of living together as Christians. He would totally agree with James who wrote "Faith without works is dead". (Jam 2:17) Our lives and the way we live them should be changed by our conversion and faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. "Good works follow saving faith. Salvation is not gained through works but rather good works are the fruit of saving faith in Jesus Christ." (see Note 1)

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V. 1 - “Now accept the one who is weak in faith” - Do you suppose that everyone is at least as mature as are you in the faith? Or, perhaps, everyone seems far more grounded and spiritual. (Sounds contradictory - “grounded” and “spiritual” - doesn’t it? But you know people so confident in their belief they cannot be shaken, or seem to have a direct line to God.) On the other hand who says to another, “Boy, you are spiritually weak.”?
Paul is acknowledging that our backgrounds - our pre-Christian life - has a strong influence on how we react to activities or deeds we do as Christians.

“But not for the purpose of passing judgement on his opinions” - You may not have had any trouble or dealings with alcohol, so going into a bar, or having drinks served at a party. Someone else may have been a drinker and knows that Jesus saved him from destruction by alcohol - that person will be concerned the temptation to drink will be stronger than the ability to resist. The same holds true for pornography, or sexual encounters - movies, strip clubs, Super Bowl half-time shows (the half-time show for Super Bowl 54 was R-rated), etc.
You may disagree with another Christian about certain seemingly innocuous activities - going to a movie, playing cards, drinking glass of beer or wine. These matters are mostly not doctrinal in nature, and your opinion of them should not be elevated to doctrinal levels - i.e., life-and-death issues.
Remember, Paul was writing to people who came from a plethora of religious backgrounds, both Jewish and pagan, worship of Roman and Greek gods, etc. In America, the background fabric is, or was, mostly Judeo-Christian, so perhaps we don’t comprehend the competing old belief systems.
Paul is teaching them to remain focused on the clear doctrines: Jesus Christ came from God in heaven to die for our sins. He took all our sins on Himself to meet God’s justice. He died. He rose from the dead to newness of life so that we too, believing in Him might have that new life. Our life is in Him. All else matters little - unless that ‘little’ causes someone to doubt their salvation and fall back into the sinful life from which they were saved.

V. 2-3 - “One man has faith that he may eat all things” - I guess that arguments about which foods could or could not be eaten was one of the hot issues. The first churches had many Jewish members, and food was one of the areas of disagreement. The Jewish religion had (maybe, still have) some of the most restrictive or detailed dietary food laws of any in the world.
However, any time a person changes from one faith to another, means there will be conflicting understandings regarding practices in the old system and those in the new.

“The one who eats... the one who does not eat“ - Food, a hot button issue? Peter had a strong dream or vision in Acts 10:9-16. Although the vision lead to the conclusion that Gentiles were able to become Christians, the vision (with three references to foods) clearly shows everything is suitable for food. The “unclean” animals were no longer unclean. I came to that conclusion on the basis that God would not command Peter to perform an unclean act - He just would not instruct Peter to eat an animal or substance that God considered unclean. The paradigm changed with Christ’s death and resurrection.
Paul deals with food issues in at least three other letters. See 1 Cor 6:12-13: "All things are lawful for me - but not everything is beneficial. All things are lawful for me - but I will not be controlled by anything. Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both.” Paul, previously a very conservative Israelite, a Pharisee, had no food issues upon his conversion. He realized others may not be as confident as he.
In Colossians he urges the believers there to not be pushed around by others. “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day--“ (Col. 2:16)
On the other hand, Paul is not going to insist on going his own way if will possibly cause another believer to falter in faith. “Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.” (1 Cor. 8:13)

V. 4 - “Who are you to judge the servant of another?” - You have no right, no authority, to tell me I am sinning because I drink coffee, and will end in hell because of it. Does that sound extreme? How about eating bacon? Drinking wine or beer? That is exactly what Paul is addressing here, with following exception. The Jewish Christians’ background included exacting food restrictions. It is hard to leave behind the basis of spiritual life in which you have grown up.

What is the difference between the Ten Commandments (Deut. 5:7-21), the Shema (Deut. 6:4-5)and the Book of Leviticus? Leviticus is a list of rules - Do’s and Don’t’s - to be followed. The Ten Commandments and the Shema are principles on which to base your life. The Ten Commandments can be considered 'rules', but they are not 'how to obey, e.g., how to honor your father and mother, or how not to murder. Or, "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might" (Deut 6:4-5) is not a step-by-step method for loving God.

Does drinking coffee (or not), does eating pork (or not) have any bearing on the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross? Do those activities impinge at all on His resurrection and ascension to heaven to be seated at the right hand of God? God’s grace and mercy to us is based solely on Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Since you and I have done nothing to save ourselves for our sin, nor can do anything to merit salvation, we have no authority, power, or ability to make any judgements - on what is life or death, heaven or hell. There is only One who can make that decision.

There is another ‘level’ of judging by Christians (not exclusively Christians, but the others don’t really matter for this discussion except for the realization that humans do this regardless of religion, race, nationality, etc.) - which is denigrating the life and actions because they don’t meet their standards. It is an attitude that says, “Well, you may be saved, but you sure aren’t living it...” This attitude tries to shame others into acting the way you think they should act.

“To his own master he stands or falls” - I do not answer to you, but to Christ. You do not have justify yourself  to anyone but to Christ. You and I will try to rationalize our behavior. Humans have been doing this from the beginning. (See: Gen. 3:10-13) There is only one standard that matters - that of the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not get to make up our own acceptable standards, to determine ‘our truth’. However, God did not make us automatons, each identical little robots rolling off an assembly line. The Lord in His grace and mercy deals with us as the individuals He created.

God does not care if you eat meat, or don’t eat meat. The issue, if it is an issue, is that if your conscience is bothered by an activity then perhaps you should not do that activity. This is not necessarily a matter of sinning against the Lord. The matter is the abuse of your conscience. If your heart and conscience is convicting you, and you do it anyway the conscience begins to be dulled. Violating your conscience may be traumatic the first time. It is not so traumatic the second time. The sharp edges get worn down. The activity - e.g., eating meat - dulls the effect, and it becomes more difficult for you to recognize wrong behavior.

This will be like a moral virus that attaches itself to you, and the warning signs lose their effect. If God wants you to eat meat, He will let you know. If He wants you to stop eating meat, He will let you know. It is to God we must answer, not fellow Christians, or non-Christians. Be confident that you are living for Jesus, not for the approval of people.

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Note 1: "Faith and Works", essay in Holman Christian Standard Bible by Mark DeVine; p. 2139; HCSB Study Bible; Holman Bible Publishers; 2010.
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Rom. 13:11-14 - Playing Well with Others...

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.
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.
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.
14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

Rom. 13:8-10 - Love Does no Wrong

8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
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."
10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Romans 13:1-7 - Obey Governments

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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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.
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.

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Peaceable Living

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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:

1. 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!
2. 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.)

*** Outline:
13:1-7 - Obey government
13:8-10 - Love does no wrong
13:11-14 - Playing Well with Others
***