Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

An overview of chapter 13 before we go into the verse by verse study.

What does Romans chapter 13 mean?

Romans 13 is a short chapter that continues the theme of Romans 12. How do those in Christ live, now that we have received God’s great mercy for us? Paul began Romans 12 by declaring that the only reasonable response is to become living sacrifices in service to God. Romans 13 continues to describe what that Christlike sacrifice looks like. This includes some specific applications.

Paul’s instructions take a surprising turn in the first half of the chapter. Those in Christ must be “submissive” or “subject to” human authorities in the government. In other words, one’s place in God’s kingdom does not allow us to ignore those in charge of whatever earthly kingdom we occupy. This is not just about keeping the peace. Christians are to submit to earthly authorities because God put them there. In fact, Paul says that every position of government authority on earth was, ultimately, filled by God Himself for His purposes. To improperly resist authority, then, is to resist God (Romans 13:1–2).

That rejection of authority brings painful judgment. God’s intention for authorities in human governments, in part, is to use them to bring judgment on people who do bad things. If you’re doing good things, Paul writes, you should have nothing to fear from those in authority. If you’re doing bad things, though, you should be afraid. Governments, broadly speaking, are there to rein in and punish evildoers on God’s behalf. The punishment a criminal receives from the government is also from God (Romans 13:3–4).

We should not submit to our human government only out of fear, though, but also because it’s the right thing to do. For that same reason, Christians must pay their taxes as a way of supporting the structure God has set up to accomplish His will on earth. In fact, in addition to taxes, we also owe to our human governments respect and honor (Romans 13:5–7).

Paul chooses not to address in this section something he faced in his own life: What do you do when a human government tells you to do something that contradicts God’s commands? Or when the government is not acting fairly, or morally, or in good faith? In that case, a believer must defy ungodly commands and willingly face the consequences (Acts 5:27–29). Paul’s instruction here speaks of subjection and submission, but not necessarily of obedience. This distinction was lived out by Jesus’ closest followers. Nearly all the apostles were eventually killed by government authorities for preaching the gospel: they refused to obey when told to be silent, but they submitted to the punishment and authority of the government.

Paul transitioned to the idea that Jesus-followers should pay all their debts. The only debt that will never be fully repaid is the obligation to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. When that command is obeyed, it fulfills the entire law, Paul writes. After all, love itself never harms anyone, making all the other relationship commands unnecessary (Romans 13:8–10).

Wrapping up this set of instructions, Paul urges Christians to be urgent about the time. He writes that the night is gone, and the day is almost here, suggesting that the day of the Lord, a reference to mankind’s ultimate judgment, will arrive at that metaphorical daybreak. That moment draws nearer every day. That’s why Christians must throw off any works of darkness we have been participating in. This includes lifestyles of drunken partying, sexual immorality, fighting, and jealousy. Instead, Christians must suit up in armor of light. That is, instead of joining in the darkness, we must take defensive positions against it. In fact, we must put on Christ Himself instead of arranging our lives to gratify our own desires (Romans 13:11–14).

Verse by Verse

Verse 1: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

In Romans 12, Paul described what it means to be a living-sacrifice Christian. In short, it mostly has to do with setting ourselves aside to serve the Lord, each other, and even our enemies in love.

Now Paul turns to the issue of how Christians who are saved by God’s grace should interact with our present governments. He describes the biblical doctrine of submission to human authorities, something Peter also teaches (1 Peter 2:13–17). Again, those in Christ are called to set themselves aside and to trust God to provide what is needed through those in authority, whether good or evil.

Paul is clear that this applies to every person. He calls for us to be in submission to government authorities, though he does not say that we must obey them in all cases. Paul (Acts 17:7; 2 Corinthians 11:24–25) and the other apostles refused to obey commands to stop preaching the gospel, for instance (Acts 5:27–29). They did, however, submit to those in authority in all matters that were not in contradiction to the will of God.

Why should we submit? Paul is clear: Every authority in the world was established by God. This would include, of course, good leaders, evil leaders, and everyone in-between. Paul’s instruction here, then, is not about blind nationalism or absolute obedience to men. Rather, it is a recognition that human government—in general—is a legitimate authority, and that Christians cannot use their faith as an excuse for civil lawlessness. God puts all leaders in place for the specific reasons Paul will describe in the following verses.

We should remember that Paul is writing this letter to Christians in Rome. The government of Rome ruled much of the known world at the time. It was led by the Emperor Nero from AD 54–68. Nero is famous for his cruel and unfair treatment of Christians, among other groups. We must not assume that Paul is writing these words lightly. He was aware of the implications of his teaching.

Verse 2: Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

Paul has spelled out the Christian doctrine of submission to human authorities, including government authorities. The bottom line is that those in Christ should understand every authority to have been placed in his or her position by God Himself and for God’s purposes. Christ’s kingdom may not be of this world (John 18:36), but that does not mean believers have license to disobey earthly authority for any reason (1 Peter 2:13–17). Only when commanded by government to disobey God are Christians obligated to disobey the government, instead, and accept the consequences (Acts 5:27–29).

Paul now begins to put together the pieces of what that means. Anyone who resists someone in authority is, in truth, resisting God’s work. In general terms, human government is one of the ways God restrains the influence of evil in the world (2 Thessalonians 2:7). Resistance to that system will result in judgment. It’s not clear if Paul has in mind judgment from the government or judgment from God. Both are possible.

Paul left little room for Christians to tell themselves that they were free to resist human authorities because their first loyalty was to the kingdom of heaven. Those loyal to Christ are specifically instructed to be submissive to human government. Generally, then, civil disobedience is only allowed when a Christian is being asked to sin, disobey God, or act in some ungodly way.

Verse 3: For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval,

Paul has described the Christian doctrine of submission to human authorities. Since every human leader is established by God, Christians must not resist God’s work by resisting those authorities. These verses give important context for understanding his recent comments.

Paul begins to describe why God establishes human authorities in the first place. The God-given role of governmental authorities is to keep order. This is true whether those authorities are good people or not. Broadly speaking, human government is one of the ways God restrains the influence of evil in the world (2 Thessalonians 2:7). Christians cannot embrace anarchy—rejection of all forms of government—or disobey authority simply because they disagree.

Paul describes the way to live without fear of someone in authority: Do good. Authorities are no threat to those who do what is right. In fact, they will approve of you. This teaching is certainly sound to the extent that those in authority are fair-minded and operate out of sense of integrity. Of course, our instinct is to recall moments in history where those in authority were most definitely a terror to people who were doing good, or at least not doing anything wrong, including Paul himself! The fact that Paul, personally, experienced ungodly government should give us pause before we dismiss his command as unrealistic.

Paul’s point here is simply the general case. He’s not interested—in this passage—in addressing exceptions. Paul’s first concern is that Christians be known in their communities as people in submission to authority; those who do what is good. Believers ought not have a reputation as law-breakers living in needless conflict and rebellion against authority.

Of course, Jesus and nearly all the apostles, including Paul, were killed by those in authority over them, often for a refusal to obey laws that were in conflict with God’s commands to them (Acts 5:27–29). This is a key subtlety in Paul’s teaching: to “submit” does not necessarily mean to “obey.” None of the apostles were killed for breaking laws merely for the sake of defying authority; they were “submissive” to the government when they refused to follow ungodly laws.

Verse 4: for he is God ‘s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God ‘s wrath on the wrongdoer.

This verse concludes a sentence begun in the previous verse. Paul has written that, by doing good in our communities, we can live without fear of those in authority. It is the God-given role of those in authority to keep order in the community; this is part of how God limits the influence of evil in the world (2 Thessalonians 2:7). Those in authority will most often give their approval to people who are contributing to that order by making things better.

Now Paul describes people in positions of government authority as God’s servants for our good. Of course, not everyone in those positions would agree with that statement. They may not see themselves as servants of God. God doesn’t care, though. He put them where they are for His own purposes. In fact, Paul boldly states that God’s uses men and women in positions of government authority to execute His own wrath on wrongdoers. Whether knowingly or not, those in authority are avengers for God, used by Him to punish criminals. If we as Christians choose to do what is wrong, sinful actions that break the law, we should be afraid of those in authority, as well.

It should be kept in mind that Paul himself was a lawbreaker; he disobeyed the government. However, Paul followed his own teaching here by being submissive to that same government: he eventually paid for his crimes against the state with his life, as did many of the other apostles. Paul does not choose this passage to address the need to break the laws of men when they stand against God’s direct commands to us (Acts 5:27–29). Instead, Paul makes clear that, in the normal course of life, human authorities instituted by God carry out God’s will by punishing people who do what is wrong. Christians, in that sense, should submit to those in authority, doing good in all cases, and obeying all laws that are not a violation of Christian conscience.

Verse 5: Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God ‘s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.

This verse is about our ultimate motivation as Christians for submitting to the human authorities in our lives, including those in government. Paul has written in the two previous verses that God uses those in government authority to express His wrath against people who do wrong. The kind of wrong Paul is describing is criminal activity that hurts other people: stealing, murder, etc. This is one way all leaders, even the ungodly, serve God’s will: by restraining some kinds of evil on earth (2 Thessalonians 2:7). Even Christians ought to be afraid of government authorities when doing those kinds of wrong things.

Paul writes, though, that such fear of those in authority is not the only reason to obey the law. We should do so for the sake of conscience. By that, Paul means that we should be in submission to human authorities because we know, as Christians, that it is the right thing to do. It is God’s will for our lives. In a general sense, it’s part of the Christian sense of humility. We are not the ultimate authority, so we ought to be submissive to those in power over us.

It goes without saying that there are exceptions to the idea that government is a force for good. Paul was painfully aware of this himself. He spent much of his life in Roman prisons. He did so without attempting to harm or overthrow his captors—that’s submission. However, Paul was not “obedient” to the ungodly parts of Roman law. He refused to stop preaching about Jesus, even when those in authority told him to. He understood that he was responsible to obey God first if it came to a choice between that and obeying human laws (Acts 5:27–29).

Paul chooses not to address that in this passage, however. Truthfully, that is the exception and not the rule. In the case of almost every law and human authority, submission is God’s will for His children during our short time on this side of eternity. Submission and obedience are normally the same thing—but they are not always the same.

Verse 6: For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.

Paul has been teaching the Christian doctrine of being submissive to our human authorities, including and especially government authorities. Christians are called to do this because we believe that God is the one who has put every human authority in their position. They exist to serve His purposes, including the purpose of punishing people who do bad things (2 Thessalonians 2:7). Context of this and other passages makes it clear that Christians are obligated to disobey government when—and only when—compelled to disobey God (Acts 5:27–29). As a general rule, believers are commanded to cooperate with their government authorities.

Now Paul gets to a specific example of submission to human government: paying taxes. Christians are taxpayers, Paul writes, because those taxes support the work God intends to do through the human authorities He has put in place. Even when those men or women stand against the truths of God, their fundamental role as order-keepers is still part of God’s will.

This was a controversial position even among the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ and Paul’s day. Critics tried to trip Jesus up by asking Him if it was lawful to pay taxes to the Roman ruler, Caesar. Jesus, pointing out that Caesar’s picture is on the money, stated flatly that the taxes should be paid (Matthew 22:15–22). In a similar manner, some in the modern day have suggested Christians should not pay taxes if the government is funding evil practices. Jesus and Paul disagree. Both paid taxes to the same government that ultimately killed them and persecuted other Christians, as well. Neither endorsed the option of not paying taxes as a matter of conscience.

Paul’s larger point is that we must trust God to provide for us as His children. In the case of this passage, that includes provision through the government authorities He puts in place. God is fully capable of using them for our good no matter who they are or what their intentions.

Verse 7: Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Paul concludes this section on submitting to government authorities with a broader statement about paying what is owed in every sense of the word. In short, Paul describes Christians as people who pay what is owed in all cases. This includes taxes, as described in the previous verse, revenue—meaning money—as well as respect and honor. While we’re obligated to disobey openly ungodly commands (Acts 5:27–29), Christians are to live lives, in general, of lawful obedience.

Within the context of this section, adding the words respect and honor to what believers owe government may make Paul’s teaching even more difficult. Peter’s letters go even further when he instructs that we must honor the emperor (1 Peter 2:13–17). It’s important to note the difference between giving respect and honor versus having a high opinion of, or voicing praise for someone. Paul does not command living-sacrifice Christians to have positive thoughts for every authority figure. Nor does he command believers to advocate or defend them when they are wrong. Instead, Paul eliminates the option for us to speak and act in ways that are disrespectful and dishonoring.

As other Scriptures make clear, this also does not mean believers are to be unquestioningly obedient. Beginning with Jesus and Paul and the other apostles, Christianity has a long history of civil disobedience to those in authority. Most famously, Peter and the other apostles continued to preach the gospel when ordered not to. They said, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Most of them paid for that position with their lives: that’s “submission” in contrast to “obedience.”

Even in those circumstances, though, those martyred believers did not refuse to be respectful or honoring toward those in positions of what they believed to be God-given authority. Paul’s larger point is that Christians should never be known as people who defy and disrespect authority, especially in matters not related to obeying God. In addition, he insists that our acts of respect, honor, and submission to human authorities are, in truth, acts of faith in the God who provides for us.

Verse 8: Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

Paul transitions here from discussing what is owed to human authorities, including respect and honor, to what is owed to everyone.

The command to owe no one anything should not necessarily be read as a command to Christians never to borrow money for any reason. The sense of the Greek is that we should not let any debt remain outstanding—that we should not keep on owing anyone for anything. That may be understood as a requirement to always pay what we owe in a timely manner according to whatever agreement we have made with the lender. Or, put another way, to not live lives of constant dependency, borrowing, or unreliability.

In truth, however, Paul is not primarily concerned with money here, as the following verses will show. He wants to talk about our obligation as Jesus-followers to love other people, including our neighbors. He seems to say that loving others is a debt we will never pay off. We will never be done with “paying” love to each other.

How does continuing to pay our debt to love others fulfill the law, exactly? Paul is reflecting what Jesus said are the two greatest commandments, to love God and our neighbors (Mark 12:29–31). Paul will show in the following verses that Christlike love will naturally motivate us to keep all the other relationship commands in the law.

Verse 9: For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Paul has written in the previous verse that the person who loves another has fulfilled the law. Now he begins to explain what he meant by that statement.

As an example of the entire law, Paul lists four of the Ten Commandments, those forbidding adultery, murder, stealing, and coveting. Paul then adds the statement “and any other command.” This is the equivalent of the modern “etcetera,” or “etc.” He has in mind all the commands included in the law, especially those about human relationships.

All those commands can be summed up in the word “love” from the command in Leviticus 19:18, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” As Paul will show in the following verse, you cannot love someone and murder them or cheat on them or steal from them or covet their belongings. In this way, if we will obey the command to love our neighbors, we will fulfill all the other commands by default.

Verse 10: Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

In verse 8, Paul made the statement that those who love have fulfilled the law. He concludes his explanation of what that means in this verse.

Paul showed previously that we will, by default, end up keeping the whole law if we simply obey the command to love our neighbors as we love ourselves (Leviticus 19:18). Now he makes it clearer still: When we are acting in love, we will never hurt anyone. Thus, love fulfills the intention of every other commands given to protect people from harm.

We should be careful, though, not to read Paul’s words here to mean that the command to love our neighbors has now become the equivalent of the law of Moses. Paul is not teaching that if we succeed in loving others, we will obtain on our own the righteousness of God. Paul has been extremely clear that those who are in Christ have died to the law and have been released from the law (Romans 7:4–6).

Nor is Paul’s command suggesting that anything which displeases or bothers another is, by definition, unloving. For example, Christians are commanded to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15); truths such as the reality of our sin are sometimes hard to hear. What Paul means is that acts of love—in and of themselves—are not a source of harm. When we act for others’ best interests, we’re not doing anything to harm them.

Paul’s point here is that those who are in Christ are called to keep on loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. If we were able to do so perfectly—which we are not—we would perfectly keep the law—which we can’t. That distinction is one Paul has already addressed in this letter (Romans 3:10; 7:22–23).

Verse 11: Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.

Paul prefaces his statement here with “besides this.” The “this” in question seems to be everything Paul has written from the start of chapter 12 through the previous verse. He has described what it means to live as a Christian on this side of eternity. Using a series of commands, many of them difficult to follow, Paul has painted a picture of a believer as a person who sets himself aside for the good of others and radically trusts God to provide all that is needed.

Now Paul begins to describe why it is so essential for Christians to live this way. Time is of the essence. The world is changing right now. Paul writes to the Roman Christians that the hour has come for them to wake up, in the sense that the sun is about to rise. It’s time to get to work.

The schedule of day and night drastically controlled the world of Paul’s day. With no artificial lighting, firelight—feeble by modern standards—was all that stood between people and darkness. Most work stopped as soon as the sun went down and started again when the sun rose. Paul is urging Christians to see, in a spiritual metaphor, that the sun is about to rise. It’s time to get up.

What does it mean that the sun is rising? Paul describes the moment as one in which salvation is closer now than when his readers first trusted in Christ. Does this mean that Paul did not think of Christians as being saved? Not at all. The New Testament often describes salvation as something that has happened, is happening, and will happen. In this case, Paul is referring to salvation in the sense that all who are in Christ will have reached eternity, that the time of ultimate victory and judgment is fast approaching.

Paul believed that day could come at any time. Two thousand years later, we are still looking forward to it.

Verse 12: The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Paul is building a sense of urgency about how Christians should live in this moment. For Paul, of course, the moment was two thousand years ago in human time. For us, the moment continues. As he wrote in the previous verse, our ultimate salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The day of the Lord could come at any time.

Now Paul writes that the night is far gone, and the day is at hand. He describes the moments when the sky turns gray and the birds begin to stir before the sun breaks the horizon. Spiritually, this symbolic moment began when death was defeated at the resurrection of Jesus. The world remains broken by sin, but the clock is ticking. Creation groans along with us as we wait for our adoption to be finalized and the redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:22–23).

Because of the nearing daybreak, Paul writes, Christians must throw away any works of darkness, any of the worthless things we have done that belong to the night and not to the day. He will list some of those in the following verse.

Instead, Paul insists, Christians must prepare for the day by putting on the armaments of light. The actual Greek root word used here is hoplon, which is also translated as “weapon” or “tool” in English. Suddenly, Paul has introduced the concept of Christians taking a defensive position against the darkness rather than joining with it. Paul communicates this idea of the Christian life as a battle in several letters. In Ephesians 6:10–17, he describes in detail the spiritual armor Christians are to take on as we stand against the forces of spiritual darkness.

Those in Christ no longer belong to the night. We are people of light, and that must change how we live in this critical moment.

Verse 13: Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.

In Romans 12 and 13, Paul has described what it looks like to live as a Christian in response to the great mercy God has shown us. In mostly positive terms, he has described a lifestyle of putting others first as we serve and love God.

Now Paul describes the opposite lifestyle: deeds of darkness, in which those who follow Christ should no longer participate. These things don’t fit with who we are or the time in which we live. Paul urges us to walk as if it were daytime instead of taking part in the things that people usually do under the cover of darkness.

What should daytime people no longer do? Orgies and drunkenness describe a lifestyle of reckless partying. Sexual immorality and sensuality are the focus of those seeking personal pleasure above the good of others. Quarreling and jealousy are both about the need to serve ourselves first and best.

These are nighttime lifestyles, Paul writes, but the sun is coming up. Christians need a new way of living.

Verse 14: But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Paul is urging those of us in Christ to change the way we live. We don’t belong to the darkness any longer. The sun is coming up. It’s time for us to leave behind the works and darkness and live as if we’re standing in the light.

In the previous verse, he described some of the nighttime activities we must leave behind. Here’s what we must do, instead: Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. The metaphor at work has to do with what we wear. In verse 12, Paul told us to cast off the works of darkness. Instead, we will symbolically wear Jesus. In other words, our goal as Jesus-followers is to live as Jesus would live. That would include all of Paul’s commands and instructions in Romans 12 and 13. The opposite of this happens when we arrange our lives to satisfy our flesh.

When Paul uses the word “flesh,” he means more than just sexual immorality. He means all the human appetites we experience to feel good, to get what we want, and to be treated well. It’s not wrong to want any of those things, per se, but those cravings become sinful when we serve them above all others and are willing to harm others to gratify them. Instead, as Jesus did, we must put others first and trust God to provide for us in all other ways.