Romans 13

Paul Bukauskas

Romans • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago • Presented a month ago

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The following material is adopted from John MacArthur’s commentary on Romans and his Study guide. Additional material taken from sources listed at the end

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— Prayers ( Blue )

— Promises ( Green )

— Warnings ( Red )

— Commands ( Purple )

D. M. Lloyd-Jones

— Many commentators take the view that this section of Paul has no connection whatsoever with what came before or what comes after

— Others, while not going so far to say that, think this chapter 13:1-7 seriously interrupts the continuity of thought between the end of 12 and 13:8

— I suggest that Paul is continuing his theme from 12:14ff is the importance of living peaceably with other people

— “Rejoice with them that rejoice”; “Be of the same mind toward another”; “Recompense to no man evil”; “Live peaceably with all men.”

— Paul is going on with that theme here

— It is one of the great functions of the state, the “powers to be,” the Government, to enable us to live peaceably with one another

—Chapter 12 talked about vengeance and we are not to take vengeance but that is the role of the Government

— In Chapter 12 Paul talked about our relationship with people in the church and outside the church

— Here he addresses how to react to people in the aggregate, in the realm of the state

Questions to consider:

* What is the duty of the Christian people towards the state?

* What is the extend, the limit, of their subjection to the state?

* What is their response to possible rebellion or revolution in the state?

* What should be the Christian’s view on capital punishment?

* What is the relationship between church and state?

Q: What would Christ say about the American Revolution? Just?

The Wuhan virus, also known as COVID-19, originated in China in 2019 and spread across the world, causing a global pandemic. On March 19, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a statewide stay-at-home order to protect the health and well-being of all Californians and to slow the spread of the virus. Churches across America canceled Sunday services and moved online. State officials expected a two-week quarantine, but the situation did not improve after six weeks. As the cases and deaths continued to rise, county and state officials stepped up efforts to tighten restrictions on church services and other gatherings. This raised questions about the relationship of the church and civic authorities. When must the church obey the government? When must she resist.

The Christian’s Response to Government — Part 1: Submitting to Government ( 13:1-7 )

( Romans 13:1–7 ) 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. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 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; 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. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. 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 …

— These seven verses contain the clearest and most specific NT teaching on the Christian’s responsibility to civil authority

— These verses are invariably quoted when dealing with the question of church & state along with 1 Peter 2:13-17

— The Church & State are are, at certain points, concerned about the same thing

— Christ is head of the church but also the head of all things

— Christ said “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” ( Matt 28:18 )

— And Ephesians says that the Father placed all things under his feet ( Eph 1:20-22 )

— For these reasons there is obviously some relationship between church and the state but the question is “What is it exactly?” [D.M. Lloyd-Jones]

Our Response

— Every Christian, no matter what form of government he lives under, is under command from the Lord to maintain proper and useful submission to that government for the sake of leading a peaceful life and having an effective witness

— Many evangelicals strongly believe that the American Revolution was wholly justified, not only politically but biblically

— They believe that the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness not only are divinely endowed but that their attainment and defense is Christian and justified at whatever cost

— Obviously, such action is forbidden by God, and, judged in light of our present text, it is equally obvious that the United States was born out of violation of Scripture

— Believing that the ends justifies the means, many contend that nonviolent civil disobedience is justified (example, opposition to abortion)

— Some Christians refuse to pay taxes because they oppose how their money is spent

— Even social and political activities that are perfectly worthwhile can deplete the amount of a believers time, energy, and money that is available for the central work of the gospel

— The focus is shifted from the call to build the spiritual kingdom through the gospel to efforts to moralize culture

— It is not that Christians are not to be involved in civil government

— Both the NT and OT present illustrations of believers in civil service

— Joseph in Egypt

— Daniel in Babylon

— When Jesus healed the centurion’s servant, He did not advise him to leave the army ( Matt 8:5-13)

— After Zaccheus was converted he did leave his position as a tax collector but became an honest tax collector ( Luke 19:1-10)

— Cornelius, another Roman centurion, continued to server after being converted by Peter (Acts 10)

— Because most Jews believed that Messiah would come as a political deliverer, they expected Jesus to free them from the Roman yoke

— Yet, Jesus cam no call for political or social reform

— He never tried to capture the culture for biblical morality

— To the contrary, He declared unambiguously, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s” ( Matt 22:21)

— When Jesus was not preaching, He demonstrated His great compassion for the pain and suffering of men in their personal lives

— He not only empathized with sinners but healed countless thousands

— Social morality and structure were never His concern

— He spoke to people about the saving gospel and being right with God - never to their social, economic, or racial rights

— What, then, is our responsibility to society, and to the government in particular?

— First: Be subject to government (13:1)

— Second: Pay taxes ( 13:6)

Q: Are there any limitations as to how far we should submit to the government?

The Standard: Be Subject to Civil Authority ( 13:1a )

( Rom 13:1a ) Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities.

— Paul gives no qualification or condition

— Every civil authority is to be submitted to willingly

— This principle applied in the OT

— While the Lord’s people were captives in Babylon, the Lord commanded them, “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.” ( Jer 29:7 )

— There is one limitation to the believer’s obligation to submit to the civil authority: namely, any law or command that would require disobedience to God’s Word

— When the pharaoh ordered the Jewish midwives Shiphrah and Puah to kill all male babies when they were born, the “feared god, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boy live” ( Ex 1:17)

— The Lord honored that civil disobedience and “was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty” ( Ex 1:20)

— When Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were commanded to eat “from the king’s choice food and from the wine that he drank,” they respectfully refused because they would be breaking the Mosaic dietary laws ( Dan 1:12-15)

It is important to note that, even while refusing to do what God had forbidden, those four faithful men of God showed respect for the human authority they had to disobey. Speaking for the other three as well as himself, Daniel did not demand deference to their beliefs but respectfully “sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself” (v8, emphasis added) and he referred to themselves as the commander’s servants (vv12-13). In obeying God, they did not self-righteously or disrespectfully malign, contend with, or condemn civil authority

— At the instigation of his commissioners and satraps, who were jealous of Daniel’s royal favor, a later Babylonian king, Darius, issued a decree “that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be cast into the lions’ den” ( Dan 6:7)

— Again it is important to note Daniel’s lack of malice and his genuine respect for human authority

— After being released unharmed, he said “O king, live forever!” ( Dan 6:21 )

The Purpose: God’s Reasons for our submitting to Human Authority ( 13:1b- 5 )

( Rom 13:1b-5 ) For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 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; 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. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake.

We Submit to the government

— Paul presents seven reasons why Christians are to submit to human government

— Government is by divine decree (v. 1b)

— Resistance to government is rebellion against an institution of God (v. 2a)

— Those who resist will be punished (v. 2b)

— Government servers to restrain evil v. 3a)

— Government serves to promote good (vv. 3b-4a )

— Rulers are empowered by God to inflict punishment for disobedience (v. 4b)

— Government should be obeyed for conscience’s sake (v. 5)

Governance by Divine Decree ( 13:1b )

( Rom 13:1b ) For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God

—First, Paul says, human government is ordained by God for the benefit of society

— there is no authority except from God

— In His sovereign wisdom, God has permitted Satan to have vast but limited power over the world and the affairs of men

— In both the Isaiah and Ezekiel accounts, Satan is closely identified with the kings of the nations involved

— It becomes clear that, although human governments were instituted by God and fulfills, to some extent, His plan for maintaining order on earth, many governments, if not most, are under the influence of Satan and are a means for promoting and perpetuating satanic activity

The autocratic, ruthless, and demonic regimes of Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Tse Tung were no exceptions to God’s command to subject to civil authority. The equally ruthless empires of ancient Assyria and Babylon were no exceptions. The Roman empire, sometimes ruled by Caesars who proclaimed themselves to be gods, were no exception. The apostate and heretical “Christian” kingdoms of the Middle Ages were no exceptions. Shaman-ruled primitive and animistic tribes in South America are no exceptions. There are no exceptions.

Resistance to Government is Rebellion against God ( 13:2a )

( Rom 13:2a ) Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God;

—The logical ramification is simple

— Because civil government is an institution of God, to rebel against government is to rebel against the God who established it

— Government is an invention of God not of Man

— When Noah comes off the ark, God commands them protect life, the sword of human government (Gen 8-9)

— God created government and we are to respect it

— He appoints rulers and they stand and fall at His will and their function is to bear the sword and punish evil

Those who resist Government will be punished ( 13:2b )

( Rom 13:2b ) and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.

—Paul is doubtless not speaking about God’s direct judgment on those who have opposed civil authority but rather the condemnation men suffer from the government itself as punishment for crime

A graphic and striking illustration of this principle came from our Lord Himself. When He was being taken prisoner in the garden, to be unjustly accused and execute, Peter drew a sword to fight the soldiers (authorities) who came to take Him. If ever there was a just cause for revolt, that would seem to have been it. But Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword” ( Matt 26:52 ). Jesus affirmed that, no matter how noble the cause, government has the right to execute a murderer.

— Under the Mosaic law, punishment was always public

— The offender was shamed before his family, friends, and society as means of deterrence

— Punishment was also generally corporal

— The lashes of the whip, for example, brought immediate physical and bodily pain

— But with the obvious exception of execution, punishment was short-terms

— And, once the penalty was paid, the offender was free to pursue his life again (there were no jails)

— Punishment under the Mosaic law had several objectives

— First, it was administered as a matter of justice for crime or evil committed

— “life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot” ( Deut 19:21 )

— Punishment was to be administered by the proper authorities; personal revenge was not involved

— Second, punishment was to be a deterrent to crime

— “Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will not act presumptuously again.” ( Deut 17:13 )

— Third, Mosaic law required impartiality

— The guilty were to be punished regardless of their wealth, social standing, or position in the community

— “If your brother, your mother’s son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom neither you nor your fathers have known,” ( Duet 13:6 )

— Fourth, punishment was to be without delay

— Most punishment was administered on the spot, immediately after the sentence was declared

— The principle of speedy trial and punishment is found in the constitutions of most modern democracies, but unfortunately it is frequently acknowledged more by disregard than by observance

— “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.” ( Eccles 8:11 )

— Fifth, the OT provided for pardon and rehabilitation

— Criminals were not to be permanently stigmatized ( Deut 25:3 )

— Once the offender paid his penalty, he was accepted back into society as a respectable citizen

We Resist the government

MacArthur's emphasis has always been to obey and respect the government. But if that is what John has always believed, why did he make headlines in the Summer of 2020? Four months after the government of California restricted in-person church gatherings to slow the spread of the Corona virus, John MacArthur and the Grace Community Church elders released a statement on Friday July 24th 2020 entitled “Christ, not Caesar, Is Head of the Church.”

— In July 2020 when the church re-opened the church was threatened with fines and jail time

— If Christians are supposed to submit to the government, how is it okay for these leaders to defy the government?

— In May of 2020 George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis and demonstrations occurred in cities around world

— All of sudden the same government leaders that insisted that churches remain closed were championing protests in the street

—Tens of Thousands were gathered to march in protest

— There was a clear indication that the lock downs were not handling the gathering of people equitably

— Churches were now defending their right to meet at all

— Many have grown up with a pithy statement that we should “obey the government unless we are told to sin”

—But that is a woefully inadequate understanding of government

— That gives government a deference that is only owed to God

— You obey God at all times and God will never command you to sin and that is how government views itself - we are never telling people to sin!

— Government always thinks it wants what is best for you

— The statement “obey government unless it tells you to sin”

— Comes from the Augsburg confession of faith

— This is a Lutheran understanding of government and is not the historic understanding of government

— A better understanding of government is that it is:

— Established for particular purposes (Rom 13)

— Check evil

—Protect the family and protect life

— When government is functioning for the purposes that God made it

— you obey it

— When government steps outside that purpose

— Than it is a conscience decision

— The Lord Jesus Himself identified a distinction between the church and the state in Matt 22:21

— “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.”

There is a distinction that our Lord Himself makes between what we would call the secular sphere, the sphere of civil government, and the sacred sphere, that of the church. We might add to that a third sphere, the sphere of the home and of the family. So when we talk about these spheres of authority or spheres of influence, what we are saying is that within the realm of the secular sphere and the civil, God has ordained government as the authority. Within the realm of the sacred, the realm of the church, God has appointed elders within each local congregation as authority and we see that in 1 Pet 5:1-4. And within the home, God has ordained parents to be the authority.

“The key is that within each of these spheres of authority there are certain boundary lines, certain jurisdictions. Such that the government doesn’t have the right to tell parents how to parent. And the government doesn’t have the right to tell pastors how to pastor. That is government over stepping its boundaries. In this current case the government has far over stepped its God-given jurisdiction. And when that happens is is right for the church to stand up and say, “Hey, when it comes to what we believe, how we as a church gather these are things that we are accountable directly to Christ for and so with all due respect to the government, you have no jurisdiction over the church” - John MacArthur

Mike Riccardi

— You are bound to those order [COVID restrictions] because every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities ( Rom 13, 1 Pet 2 )

— There is no governing authority except which is of God

— Those who resist authority are resisting God

— That weighted heavy on all our consciences — is it sin to disobey this order?

— My friend told me “I don’t think that is what those passages mean. You have to read Martin Lloyd Jones and his commentary on Romans 13”

— What I found out when I read Martin Lloyd Jones was that I had a functionally Erastianism view without every having heard of Erastias or of this movement.

D. M. Lloyd-Jones

But what about rebellion? Surely, as Christians, we are entitled to argue that if a state, a king, an emperor, a governor, a dictator or anybody else become tyrannical, then this state is violating the law of its own being and constitution as laid down in Romans 13:2. It is the business of the state and the Government to repress evil and to reward good; its function is to maintain a quiet, a peaceable and orderly life. That is what it is called by Go to do. So the state, having been instituted for the benefit of humanity, is to be the servant and not the master. The moment, therefore, that the state turns itself into a master and into a tyrant, it is disobeying the law of God that brought it into being and it must itself be punished; and the form of the punishment takes is that the Government is thrown out and replaced by one that is prepared to abide by the teaching of Romans 13:1-7.

A brief Historical Survey

— The view that the church and state are one is very old and goes back to the 4th century

— For the first three centuries no one taught that the church and state were one

—The controlling power was the Roman Empire

— It was pagan and it persecuted the church

— Emperor Constantine the Great announced that he had become a Christian (approx 325 AD)

— His reasons were political

— He made the Christian religion the official religion of the Roman Empire

— Constantine called the various ecumenical councils and is response for the Nicene Creed

— The Emperor dictated what the church should do

— The Roman Empire collapsed

— The Roman Catholic Church taught that the state was subservient to the church

— The church assumed the powers that previously belonged to the state

— Rome said that it had supreme authority and power over the rulers of states

— This view is called Papism

—King Henry II of England and John Wycliffe fought for freedom from domination by the Pope but didn’t succeed

— Finally, Henry VIII got rid of all papal powers

— He remained a Roman Catholic when he died but he substituted himself for the Pope

— Henry’s son Edward VI and his daughter Mary and other daughter Elizabeth I claimed the same thing

— Queen Elizabeth interfered actively in the church

— The view that the state dictates to the church is called Erastianism

Papism vs Erastianism

— Papism states that there is

— GOD - Church and the State

— The church is subject to God

— The State is subject to the church

— Erastias said no, God has ordained the State

— The State is subject to God

— The church is subject to the State

— GOD - State - Church

A Biblical Alternative

— Jesus said “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” ( Matt 21:21 )

— It is neither Papism nor Erastianism

— God has instituted the State and the Church to be co-ordinate institutions with respect to one another

Phil Johnson

— The government doesn’t have any authority to tell the church how to worship

— We can’t allow some government official to determine if we can sing hymns or not

—Or whether we can visit the sick or not

— Or whether we should gather for prayer or not

James Coats

I think Christians have to realize that governments aren’t neutral. That governments are even necessarily good. God has ordained them, and they serve a good purpose to the extent that they are faithful to that purpose, they are good. But we have to be cognizant of the reality that we should see the spirit of anti-christ at work in the government. So when the government goes at war with the church over a matter like COVID 19 we need to understand that is not a neutral thing. A spiritual battle is taking place at that level as well.

Vodie Bauchman Jr.

Many Christians don’t see Marxism as an issue of spiritual warfare because we don’t really understand what Marxism is. They don’t really understand that to the Marxist, Christianity is enemy. Unless you understand that, you don’t get the significance of the spiritual warfare that we’re dealing with.

Marxism is a State’s ideology. For the Marxist, the State has to be the vehicle through which all things and people are controlled. When people think of Marxism they think of classical Marxism, so they think of Karl Marx, economics, the Bourgeoisie and Proletariat. What they don’t tend to think about is neo-Marxism being more of a cultural revolution, changing a culture from within. The idea that the world is divided between oppressors and oppressed groups.

We Preach to the government

— Elijah confronted King Ahab and rebuked him for allowing and promoting the worship of Baal in Israel

— Ahab called Elijah “you troubler of Israel” ( 1 Kin 18:17 )

— Elijah rebuked Ahab and told him the Ahab was the troubler for allowing Baal worship ( 1 Kin 18:18 )

— Gavin Newsom used the words of Jesus to promote abortion

— Stassney Lane in Austin Texas

— One of a dozen places where Gavin Newsom placed pro-abortion billboards

— Picture of a women staring down at her knees

— At the bottom of the billboard a quote from Mark 12:31 Love your neighbor as yourself

“It seemed to me that when the governor decided to quote Jesus to support abortion, that he had gone off the edge and I was terrified for his eternal soul. I had met him, I did a Larry King program with him. I don’t know if that is too far what God has in mind for him. But the people following him, a whole State full of people and all the people around him in government. I felt the only weapon we have is righteousness, sin or self-control and the threat of judgment and to call him to salvation. It probably should have been done sooner. I probably should have done that years ago but zeal for your house has eaten me. You know the psalmist said and then Jesus quoted that when He cleaned the temple. And it just seemed to me that I just couldn’t — I was just shocked that a man would use the words of Jesus to support the slaughter of the ones who were created in the image of God. So, it activated that [Open letter to Gavin Newsom, Sept 28, 2022]. And my goal — I’m praying and our whole church is praying that he would bow the kneed to Christ and be saved.” John MacArthur

1 Kings 18 A showdown between

Stassney lane in Austin Texas - one of a dozen places where Gavin Newsom placed pro abortion billboards. A women stares at her knees Mar 12:31 Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment then these.

Christian. Submit to the government. Resist the government when necessary. And always preach the gospel. That’s how Christians relate to the government. Remember, God’s gift of government possess valid authority in its proper jurisdiction. But that authority always has its limits, unlike the authority of God, and that’s why human government is temporary. And at the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, when He returns in glory, human government will be no more. And we live in light of that coming kingdom and our citizenship is in heaven. And that’s why we submit, resist and preach to the government .

Government Serves to Restrain Evil ( 13:3a )

( Rom 13:3a ) For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil.

—We are to submit to civil authority because God ordained it as a means of restraining evil

— When Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, they entered into the knowledge of good and evil ( Gen 2:17; 3:1-7 )

— That knowledge has been passed down to all of their descendants throughout history

— It is that knowledge that forms the basis of conscience, even the conscience of the unsaved

— Through God’s natural revelation in conscience even the unregenerate rulers instinctively know right from wrong

— And that part of their duty is to punish evil behavior and promote good behavior

Although prisons had been common in Europe for centuries, they did not appear in America until the late eighteenth century. Interestingly, the idea was introduced by Quakers, probably on the grounds that imprisonment was more humane than corporal punishment. But the United States now has the dual — and I believe related — distinctions of having the highest per capita number of prison inmates in the western world as well as the highest crime rate. Prisons are breeding grounds for crime, for homosexuality, and for brutality. Because inmates are not able to make restitution for their crimes, there is no restoration of their dignity. Though certainly not meant to be, they are, in effect, government sponsored crime schools. The fact that an unbelievably large percentage of criminals are never punished or even indicted encourages crime still further. “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.” ( Eccles. 8:11 ) How much more are men “given fully to do evil” when punishment is not executed at all.

Government Serves to Promote Good (13:3b-4a )

( Rom 13:3b - 4a ) Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good.

—It is not wrong for Christians to look to their government for protection of life and property

— Paul took advantage of the government’s role in promoting what is good when he used his Roman citizenship to secure justice by appealing to Caesar ( Acts 25:11 )

— The apostle also experienced the protection of Roman law when he was in Ephesus during this third missionary journey

— The town clerk took Paul into protective custody and warned the crowd against rioting

— “So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against any man, the courts are in session and proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another. “But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the lawful assembly.” ( Acts 19:38-39 )

Rulers are Empowered by God to inflict punishment for disobedience ( 13:4b )

( Rom 13:4b ) 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.

—In order to promote and protect the good in society, human government must punish evil

— Those who do what is evil have reason to be afraid

— When a society rejects capital punishment for even the most serious crimes like murder, it comes under the blood guiltiness from God

— After Cain killed Abel, “The Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is Able your brother?’ And he said, ‘I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?’ And He said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground’” ( Gen 4:10 )

— Among other things, Israel was sent into Babylonian captivity because of the many bloody crimes in the nation that went unpunished (Ezek 7:23-24 )

— When a nation does not administer justice, it eventually falls under God’s justice

Government should be submitted to for conscience sake ( 13:5 )

( Romans 13:5 ) Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake.

— Christians are to submit to civil authority not only out of fear of punishment, because of wrath, but also for their own conscience’s sake

— As God’s own children, who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we should realize with spiritual instinctiveness that disobedience of and disrespect for government is wrong

The Christian’s Response to Government — Part 2: Paying Taxes (13:6-7 )

( 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.

—In most part of the Roman empire nationals were appointed (usually after paying a high fee) as tax collectors

— They were given specific amounts to collect for Rome each year

— They were free to charge virtually any rate they wanted and to collect taxes almost as often as they wanted, under the protection of Roman soldiers

— Whatever they collected over the prescribed amount for Rome, they could keep for themselves

— Such was the backdrop for Paul’s teaching about the Christian’s obligation regarding taxes

The Principle ( 13:6a )

( Rom 13:6a ) For because of this you also pay taxes,

—The first biblical reference to taxation is found in the account of the great famine in the Near East

— Joseph was made prime minister of Egypt

— Because of pharaoh’s dream, Joseph ordered that, during the seven years of abundance, a fifth of the grain produced wold be stored and kept in reserve ( Gen 41:35, 48-49 )

— Some years later, when another famine gripped the region, Joseph enacted a permanent law requiring that of a fifth be set aside each year ( Gen 47:26 )

— When God established the nation of Israel, He instituted a specific and detailed system of taxation

— The first tax was a tithe, or tenth ( Lev 27:30 ) and was devoted to supporting the priestly tribe of Levi who had not land (see Num 18:21-24 )

— Another tax was the annual festival tithe, which was used to support the tabernacle and then the temple ( Deut 12:10-19 )

— A third tax was also a tithe but it was levied only every third year, it amounted to 3.3 percent a year

— It was used to help “the alien, the orphan and the widow who are in your town, [who] shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do” ( Deut 14:29 )

— The fourth tax was used to support the tabernacle and temple

— Annual 1/2 shekel tax was levied on every male Israelite “twenty years old and over” ( Ex 30:14 )

— The Mosaic law provided two other taxes that were somewhat indirect

— At the end of every season, Jews were required to leave some of their crops unharvested

— The is allowed them to be gleaned by the poor ( Lev 19:10 )

— The second indirect tax was to fallow your field every seven years

— Whatever crops grew on their own were also left for the poor

— By NT times the taxes in Israel was very different because of their subjugation to Greece and then Rome

— But the Romans did allow Israel to levy certain religious taxes

— When the tax collectors in Capernaum demanded the two-drachma temple tax of Jesus, He willingly paid it

— Jesus did not have to pay the temple tax because He was the Son of God

— Jesus knew that the temple tax would go to the temple treasury which was already so corrupt that He had already cleansed it once of its moneychangers ( John 2:14-16 )

— And, He knew that it woudl go to the high priests who soon would put Him to death

— There is no loophole

— Jesus was stating unequivocally that paying taxes to human government is a God-ordained obligation

— The facts that Rome was despotic, pagan, often unjust, and even the fact that the caesar depicted on a particular coin was Augustus - who called himself the son of God — did not abrogate the obligation

— Taxes are to be paid

D.M. Lloyd-Jones

— Since the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ the union between the church and the state has ceased to exist

—The Lord taught this way: “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto the God the things which be God’s” ( Luke 20:25 )

— This is what you do with your money; this is what you do with your soul: two different realms

The Purpose ( 13:6b )

( Rom 13:6b ) for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.

—It is important for Christians to remind their leaders that civil responsibilities are a divine trust, granted and superintended by God

— As servants of God, civil authorities not only should realize that they serve God but that they therefore are held accountable by Him for serving responsibly on behalf of society

— The Lord requires of these servants justice, mercy, and compassion ( Isa 14:4-6, 11 )

— The Lord requires that rulers maintain order by just and firm enforcement of the law

— When the people of Judah failed to release Jewish slaves after six years of service and they were not punished by King Zedekiah and other civil authorities, God declared terrible judgment on those officials ( Dan 34:12-22 )

— In addition to those standards, the Lord charges rulers not to seek their own welfare at the expense of their subjects ( Isa 10:1-2 )

— The Lord demands truthfulness from human rulers ( Amos 2:4 )

— Finally, civil authorities are accountable for enforcing public morality and decency ( Jonah 1:2 )

The Particulars ( 13:7 )

( Romans 13:7 ) 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.

—Render to all what is due them carries the idea of paying back something that is owed

— Paying taxes is not voluntary or optional

— It is an obligation and cheating on taxes is a sin against God

Love Fulfills the Law ( 13:8-10 )

( Romans 13:8–10 ) Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 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.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

—Obedience is the heart of Christian living

— It is through obedience to God that believers have blessing, joy, and spiritual power

— Jesus warned, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” ( Matt 7:21 )

— Obedience demands the exercise of will under the prompting and the power of the Holy Spirit, just as coming to the Lord for salvation

— The popular saying, “Let go and let God” is valid if it is used in the sense of relying on God’s wisdom and power instead of human resources

— But it is not valid, and certainly not biblical, if it means putting the will into neutral and expecting God to control everything apart from personal volition and effort

— Otherwise, the countless exhortations in the Bible would be meaningless

— The mark of any faithful Christian is a life of submission to God and to His Word

— His consuming passion is to please the Lord in everything

The Debt of Love ( 13:8 )

( Romans 13:8 ) Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

—In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives tacit approval of borrowing

—“Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.” ( Matt 5:42 )

— There is divine blessing to those who give graciously and generously: “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.” ( Lk 6:35 )

The Discharge of Love ( 13:9-10a )

( Romans 13:9–10a ) 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.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor

—After declaring that love fulfills the law (v. 8b), Paul illustrates his point by quoting five specific OT laws

— Godly love does not commit adultery, because such sinful defilement of a person shows disregard for another’s purity

— Love highly values the virtue of others and will do nothing that is morally defiling

— The same principle applies just as obviously to the person who would commit murder or who would steal

— All laws of God that concern human relationships are summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor

The Discharge of Love ( 13:10b )

( Rom 13:10b ) love therefore is the fulfillment of the law

—Contrary to what many people think, living by love and living by the law are not mutually exclusive

— They are, in fact, inseparably related

— God’s law cannot be truly obeyed apart from love, because love and only love, as Paul explained (v.8b) is the fulfillment of the law

Some years ago the following paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13 appeared:

If I [know] the language perfectly and speak like a native, and have not [God’s] love for them, I am nothing. If I have diplomas and degrees and know all the up-to-date methods, and have not His touch of understanding love, I am nothing. If I am able to argue successfully against the religions of the people and make fools of them, and have not His wooing note, I am nothing. If I have faith and great ideas and magnificent plans, and not His love that sweats and bleeds and weeps and prays and pleads, I am nothing. If I give my clothes and money to them, and have not His love for them, I am nothing.

If I surrender all prospects, leave home and friends, make the sacrifices of a missionary career, and turn sour and selfish amid the daily annoyances and slights of a missionary life, and have not the love that yields its rights, its leisures, its pet plans, I am nothing. Virtue has ceased to go out of me. If I can heal all manner of sickness and disease, but wound hearts and hurt feelings for want of His love that is kind, I am nothing. If I can write articles or publish books that win applause, but fail to transcribe the Word of the Cross into the language of His love, I am nothing (Source unknown)

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ ( 13:11-14 )

( Romans 13:11–14 ) 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. 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. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

—As we clothe ourselves with Christ, His righteousness, truth, holiness, and love become more and more evident in our lives

— Paul urges believers to become more and more like Christ

— We are to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” ( v. 14a)

— This summarizes sanctification (the themes of chapters 12-16)

— The faithful, obedient, loving Christian grows spiritually by becoming increasingly like Jesus Christ

— It is interesting that Gentile unbelievers in Antioch of Syria were the first to refer to Christ’s followers as Christians ( Acts 11:26 ), i.e. “little Christs”

— Christian soon became a term of disdain by both Gentiles and Jews

— When King Agrippa, an unbelieving Jew, “replied to Paul, ‘In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian.’” ( Acts 26:28 )

— The obvious derision did not indicate the name to be one of honor and respect

Wake Up! ( 13:11-12a )

( Rom 13:11-12a ) 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. The night is almost gone, and the day is near.

D.M Lloyd-Jones

Now there is nothing new about the two parts. They are doctrine and practice; argument and application; reason and exhortation. That is what we have here, and we must work it out. Paul starts by saying, ‘And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep.’ And immediately we see the two elements: the statement — ‘knowing the time’, and the application — ‘time to awake out of sleep’.

MacArthur

—The phrases it is already the hour…now salvation is nearer…the night is almost gone… and the day is at hand all express urgency

— Time is limited, opportunity brief

— The time to obey is now

— If that admonition was urgent during Paul’s day, how much more urgent is it today!

— The apostle also cried out to certain believers in Ephesus, saying “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” ( Eph 5:14 )

— He was not speaking to the unsaved, to those who were spiritually “dead,” but to genuine believers whose spiritual lethargy and laziness made them appear and act as i they had no spiritual life

— Likewise, Paul appealed to believers in Corinth: “Be sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame” ( 1 Cor 15:34 )

— As with the Ephesian believers, the apostle was not accusing those Corinthians of not knowing God as Savior but of being ignorant of God’s Word

— They were unaware of and unconcerned about what the Lord was doing in the world and even less concerned about what he promised to would yet do — in particular the promise that Christ would come again to earth, not as humble servant but as Conqueror, King and Judge

— We do not know and cannot know the hour of Christ’s coming

— But we know that it is some 2,000 years closer than when Paul wrote his letter to Rome

— We do no know how much sand remains in the top of the Lord’s “hour glass” of human history as we know it, but there is abundant evidence that not much time is left

D.M Lloyd-Jones

This passage is always, of course, associated with the final conversion of that great man, St Augustine of Hippo. He was in deep trouble, in agony, under conviction by the Holy Spirit, seeing things fairly clearly with his mind, but with his flesh holding on to a life of sin. He had been going through this process for some time, and there he was, pushed backwards and forwards and in utter misery. There is no more miserable state than that of being under conviction of sin without seeing the way of release.

Augustine tells us that he was in the garden one afternoon when he suddenly heard the voice of a child saying, 'Tolle lege’ - 'Take up and read.' So going into the house, he picked up 'the Apostle’s book', and this is what he read: 'The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.' And in a flash the whole glory of the gospel and the way of salvation became clear to him. It was the great turning-point in his life.

Then Paul continues: ‘for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed’ — that is a statement, doctrine; ‘The night is far spent’— that is the same; ‘the day is at hand’ — that too, is doctrine. Then: ‘let us therefore....’ here is the application.

Throw off! ( 13:12b-13 )

( Rom 13:12b - 13 ) Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.

—The imagery here pictures a soldier who has been engaged in a night orgy and drinking bout and, still clad in the garments of his sin has fallen into a drunken sleep

— But the dawn is approaching and the battle is at hand

— It is time to wake up, throw off the clothes of night, and put on the battle gear

— Lay aside here carries the idea of forsaking, or renouncing, and in this context obviously refers to repentance from the deeds of darkness

— David spoke of a man who “clothed himself with cursing as with his garment” ( Ps 109:18 )

— We sin by choice, voluntarily clothing ourselves with its evil

— Paul uses the same word picture to the Ephesians and tells them to “lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit” ( Eph 4:22, see Col 3:8-9; Heb 12:1; 1 Pet 2:1; James 1:21 )

— We are to behave properly as in the day, because, as children of God, “we are of the day” and therefore should “be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us to wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” ( 1 Thess 5:8-9, emphasis added )

Put on! ( 13:14 )

( Rom 13:14 ) But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

—put on the Lord Jesus Christ represents the continuing spiritual growth of those who have become children of God through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ

— Provision has the basic meaning of forethought, of planning ahead

— More often than not, the sins we commit develop from wrong ideas and lustful desires that we have allowed to linger in our minds (cf. James 1:14-15)

— The longer we permit them to stay, the more provision we make for the flesh to bring them to fruition

D.M Lloyd-Jones

Historically, and from every standpoint, this is one of the magnificent, moving passages that are so freely scattered about in the epistles of this might Apostle Paul. Here he is giving us the final and great motive for Christian living

… These verses give us the typical New Testament way of preaching sanctification — it is always this ‘therefore’, this argument. Teaching about sanctification follows on directly from the truth, the doctrine, from everything about which we have been reminded concerning ourselves.

It is good for us to be reminded of what we were and what our condition was. We were under the wrath of God. That is true of the whole of humanity: ‘And all the world may become guilty before God’ [Rom 3:19]; ‘The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men’ [Rom 1:18]. The Apostle started this Epistle by laying down those great propositions.

… Our Lord did not merely come to deliver us from punishment and from hell. He did do that, that was His first object, but the work of the Lord was not merely negative. Though this is implied in this passage here, Paul states it explicitly in many other places. There is, for example, no better statement of the positive purpose of the atonement than in Titus 2:14: ‘Who gave himself for us’ — what for ? — ‘that he might redeem us for all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.’

So often we stop at forgiveness and regard the cross merely as a message of forgiveness. Some people carry this to a ridiculous extreme by saying that you can take Christ as your Saviour and perhaps go on like that for years, and then later on take Him as the One who sanctifies you, or as your Lord. What an abuse of Scripture! What a wrestling of Scripture in a wrong way! You cannot separate these doctrines. In the words of Cecil Frances Alexander, He died not only that ‘we might be forgiven’, but, ‘He died to make us good.’ That was the whole object of everything He did. Indeed the angel who announced his coming said that to Joseph: ‘He shall save his people from their sins’ [Matt 1:21]. Not from sin, but from sins.

Additional Resources

MacArthur, Romans. Romans 1-8. Moody Press, 1987.

MacArthur, Romans. Romans 9-16. Moody Press, 1991.

MacArthur, John. New Testament Commentary. Moody, 1985.

MacArthur, John. Episode 7: MacArthur and the Government. MacArthur Center for Expository Preaching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPJyKocyODg

Christ, not Caesar, Is Head of the Church. https://www.gracechurch.org/news/posts/1988.

Hendriksen, William. Exposition of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995.

Lloyd-Jones, D. M. Romans: An Exposition of Chapter 13: Life in Two Kingdoms. Banner of Truth, 2002.

Sproul, R.C. Romans: The Righteous Shall Live by Faith. Romans an expositional commentary. Ligonier Ministries. 2019.