Romans 13
McGeeCHAPTER 13THEME: Relationship to government; relationship to neighborsAs we come to chapter 13, we still are talking about the service of the sons of God. We are going to see that the believer has citizenship in heaven, but he also is a citizen in the world down here, which gives him a twofold responsibility. If there is a conflict between the two always our first responsibility is to our Lord in heaven. The Lord Jesus made it very clear that we have a responsibility to human government. You remember that He was asked by His enemies, “Is it lawful to pay tribute to Caesar, or not?” He asked them to show Him a coinHe wanted to teach them from something they themselves had, and also I don’t think He had a coin in His pocket that day. He didn’t have much while He was down here in this world. He asked them whose superscription and whose image was on that coin. They said, “Ceasar’s.” Then He made this significant statement, “…Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s” (Luk_20:25). Governments are ordained of God, and He gave them certain authority. At the very beginning of human government He said, “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man” (Gen_9:6). God has a regard for human life; it is precious in His sight. You have no right to take another human life. If you do, you are to forfeit your own life. Our contemporary society feels differently about it and makes the criminal the hero and the honest man the villain.
We live in a day when evil is called good and good is called evil. However, believers have a responsibility to human government. In fact, Paul said to a young preacher, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour.” (1Ti_2:1-3). By the way, we are to pray for those in authority, not leave it to the preacher on Sunday morning. The duty of the believer as a citizen of heaven is spiritual. The duty of a believer as a citizen under a government is secular. These two are separate functions, and to combine them is to fail to keep church and state separate and distinct. The Jew in Paul’s day was reluctant to bow before the proud Roman state. Jewry had fomented disturbances in the city of Rome, and as a result Claudius had banished them on one occasion. The proud Pharisees rejected the Roman authorities in Palestine in their desire to restore the government to the nation of Israel; it was they who masterminded the encounter with Jesus and raised the issue, “Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?” The implications smacked of revolution, as you can see. It is well to remember that the authorities in Paul’s day were mad and murderous. Nero was on the throne of Rome, and there was Pilate and Herodall a bunch of rascals, yet he said that believers were to obey those in authority.
Romans 13:1
RELATIONSHIP TO GOVERNMENTWe are to submit ourselves to governmental authorities for the very simple reason that they are ordained of God. It is true that the kingdoms of this world belong to Satan and that injustice and corruption abound in all governments; yet God still has control. History is the monotonous account of how a government flourished for a time in pomp and pride and then was brought to ruin and rubble. Why? Because corruption and lawlessness became rampant. As it did, God brought the government to an end. God still ruleseven over this earth. God has not abdicated His throne; He is riding triumphantly in His own chariot. Neither is He disturbed about what is happening on this earth. You will recall that when Uzziah, king of Judah, died, Isaiah was disturbed and very much discouraged. Uzziah had been a good king, and Isaiah thought the government would disintegrate after he was gone. So Isaiah went into the temple, which is a good place to go at a time like that. He came into God’s presence, and He saw the Lord sitting upon the throne, high and lifted up. In other words, God had not abdicated. Uzziah was dead, but God was not dead. God was still on the throne. Now the allegiance of the Christian is to that throne. And his relationship to his government on earth is submission.
Romans 13:2
In other words, anyone resisting the authority is resisting the ordinance of God. And those resisting shall receive for themselves judgment. The principle stated in verse Rom_13:1 raised many questions which the following verses amplify and explain. This verse seems to preclude the possibility of a believer having any part in rebellion or revolution. What about it? James Stifler cites the examples of Cromwell and Washington. Both of those men led a revolution. Stifler offers no solution.
I am not sure I have one either, but I am going to do the best I can to solve this. The believer has opposed bad government and supported good government on the theory that good government is the one ordained of God. The believer is for law and order, as over against lawlessness. He is for honesty and justice, as over against corruption and rank injustice. At great moments of crisis in historyand that’s where we are todaythe believers have had difficult decisions to make. I want to briefly give you my viewpoint, and I believe that it will coincide with history. During these last days, which I believe we are in right now, lawlessness abounds. The believer must oppose it; he must not be a part of it, even when it is in his own government. We need to beware of those who would change our government under the guise of improving it. Remember John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod, Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate, James, the brother of John, was slain with the sword of Herod, and Paul was put to death by Nero. Yet Paul says, “Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation” (v.
Rom_13:2). Therefore, Christianity never became a movement to improve government, help society, or clean up the town. The gospel was the power of God unto salvation of the individual. Paul never went around telling about the deplorable conditions of Roman jailsand he knew them well from the inside. When visiting Rome, my wife and I went to the Mamertine prison, and I got claustrophobia down there. I said to my wife, “Let’s get out of here!” But Paul couldn’t get out; they kept him down in that damp, dark prison.
Remember he wrote to Timothy, “Bring my cloak with you” (see 2Ti_4:13)he was getting cold down there. It is very difficult to say that we are to obey a corrupt government. I am not impressed by these menpreacher or politicianwho are running up the American flag and singing the national anthem as promotion for themselves. And behind it is corruption. Frankly, I feel resentful when I hear of certain government officials and certain wealthy men in positions of power who pay no taxes at all when I have a heavy tax burden. There is corruption in government from the top to the bottom, and it is not confined to one party. These unsaved, godless men who are in positions of government actually do not understand the American system.
You see, the men who made our laws had a Bible background. I don’t know that Thomas Jefferson was a Christianhe was a deistbut he had great respect for the Word of God. Many of those men were outstanding ChristiansJohn Hancock, whose name is first on the Declaration of Independence, was a real Christian. However, in our day the government is corrupt. I go to the civic centers in our cities, and I see fine buildings, costing millions of dollars, which have been built by contractors who are friends of the politicians. Also I see poverty areas.
While both parties talk about eliminating poverty, the poverty remains. Oh, corruption is there. What’s wrong? Well, the thing wrong is the human heart. What is the Christian to do? My business is to get out the Word of God, and my business is to obey the law. That is what Paul is saying here. Christianity is not a movement to improve government or to help society clean up the town. It is to preach a gospel that is the power of God unto salvation which will bring into existence individuals like the men who signed the Declaration of Independence and gave us a government of laws. My friend, nothing is wrong with our form of government; there is something wrong with the individuals who are in positions of power. A professor in the history department of the University of Michigan summed it up well when he said, “America is in the hands of those who do not understand the spiritual heritage that we have.”
Romans 13:3
The government is to maintain law and order. When it does not do that, it has failed. I feel that a Christian should be opposed to the breakdown of law and order. We are to respect our rulers who are enforcing the law. I have great respect for our army, although it is honeycombed with corruption. I have great respect for police officers, although I know they make mistakes.
Romans 13:5
Christians are to obey the law not only because we’ll be judged and have to pay a fine if we don’t, but obey for conscience sake.
Romans 13:6
Although we may resent the way our tax money is being used, we are to pay taxes anyway. In this verse the word for minister is one from which we get our word liturgy. It is strictly religious and is the same word used of angels in Heb_1:14 where they are called ministering spirits. This means that the ruler occupies a divinely-appointed office. He has no religious function, of course, but he holds a God-appointed office. That makes me pay my taxes, although I resent doing so. We need today a heaven-sent revival. I am sick and tired of those who are shedding crocodile tears. They remind me of Lewis Carroll’s brilliant satire, Alice in Wonderland. You remember that the Walrus and the Carpenter in this story were walking along the seashore weeping because there was so much sand and not enough oysters. They kept on eating and eating and weeping and weeping. What a picture of corruption! But in all of this the believer should submit to his government.
Romans 13:7
Although there may be unworthy men in the office, we are to respect the office. When I was in the army, I was told to salute the uniform. There were some folk in that uniform that I didn’t care about saluting, but I saluted the uniform. We are to show respect for authority. A Christian will be the best citizen although his citizenship is in heaven.
Romans 13:8
RELATIONSHIP TO NEIGHBORSDid you borrow your neighbor’s lawnmower? Take it back to him. Housewife, did you borrow a cup of sugar from your neighbor? Return it, please. Owe no one anything, In this we find Paul saying that the believer is positively to owe no man anything but love. This is a great principle to guide Christians in installment purchasing. You may ask, “Do you think we should turn in our credit cards?” No, but you had better be able to see your way clear in order to pay your debts. The believer always owes the debt of love to his neighbor. That does not necessarily mean the man next door, but all people with whom you come in contact. This love is not some sentimental thing. I get a little disturbed when I hear liberalism continually talk about love, love, love. How do you reveal love?
Romans 13:9
“Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Now don’t tell me that you love someone and are committing adultery with that one. You can call that love if you want to, but it is nothing in the world but sex. It is licentiousness, it is fornication, and it is sin in God’s sight. God hasn’t changed His mind about it. “Thou shalt not kill.” You can kill a person in more ways than pulling a trigger of a gun. You can destroy them by ruining their reputation. “Thou shalt not steal.” If you love, you won’t get something dishonestly. “Thou shalt not covet.” When your neighbor drives up in a new automobile, how do you feel about it? Sometimes we say, “I wish we had the car and they had one just like it.” What we really mean is that we would rather have that car than see them have it. Paul is saying that our love for our neighbor is revealed in what we do rather than in what we say. He is not putting the Christian back under the Law; he is saying that love manifests itself in not committing adultery, not killing, not stealing, not coveting. You can talk about love all you want to, but if you commit these acts against your neighbor, you have no love for him.
Romans 13:10
Loving your neighbor is the fullness of the Law. This love, let me repeat, is the fruit of the Spirit.
Romans 13:11
Paul said this nineteen hundred years ago, and certainly we ought to say it with a little more urgency in this day in which we are living. Let me give you my translation: And thisseeing that ye know the time or the season, that now it is the hour for you to wake out of sleep, for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is passing, it is far spent, and the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. In this closing section an alarm clock goes off to waken believers who have gone to sleep in the world and have forgotten this added incentive for yielding their total personalities to God. My friend, this is not the time for the child of God to live for the things of this world. I think many a rich Christian is going to be embarrassed when the Lord comes. How big will your bank account be, my friend? Are you using your time and what you possess for God? I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye yield your total personalitiesall you are, all you haveto God. This is rational. This is reasonable. This is what you are supposed to be doing, Christian friend. If we really are looking for the return of Christ, it will purify our lives. “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1Jn_3:3). These fellows who get divorces and live like the world, then talk about being premillennial and pretribulational and looking for the imminent coming of Christ, are not being honest. The apostle John says that that man is a liar! Let us wake up, my friend. Let us live for God in this hour!
Romans 13:13
In other words, let us walk honorably as those in the day; not in revelings and drunkenness, not in sexual intercourse and dissolute abandon, not in strife and jealousy. We hear a great deal about night life. The believer is identified with day life. He walks as one who belongs to the day.
Romans 13:14
Oh, how many believers are making every provision for the flesh but are making no provision to go into His presence. My friend, I beg you to put Christ first in your life and to get out the Word of God. This is all-important.