Romans 13:1,7 There is no Authority Except By God

Romans 13:1,7
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God’s appointment, and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God. So the person who resists such authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will incur judgment (for rulers cause no fear for good conduct but for bad). Do you desire not to fear authority? Do good and you will receive its commendation because it is God’s servant for your well-being. But be afraid if you do wrong because government does not bear the sword for nothing. It is God’s servant to administer punishment on the person who does wrong. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath of the authorities but also because of your conscience. For this reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants devoted to governing. Pay everyone what is owed: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

Governments are put in place by God to be servants for our wellbeing. Paul has in mind the positive aspects of governance. There is no power greater than God, so no human institution exists that can match or exceed that power. Those who govern are there because God has appointed them to that position. We are to be subordinate to those institutions. We are to come under their rule. There is an order to governance. The husband is head of the home. The Mayor is head of a town. We are subordinate to our bosses at work.

There are consequences to our refusing to subordinate ourselves. Those who govern have the power to reward and to punish. There is also a spiritual aspect to our being subordinate and that is an obedience to God. Our not being subject to those who govern means that we are not being subject to the authorities God has put in place. If we go against the powers above us our consciences may well condemn us because we may be acting against God’s purposes.

Paul warns us that if we are to be at peace with our consciences and with those who govern us, we should subordinate ourselves. Pay your taxes and be good citizens and you will have nothing to fear from the government or from God.

This is good advice we can all agree with and for the most part we live our lives being subordinate to a wide variety of rule makers and enforcers. The world works better that way.

The Greek word “subordinate”, or “subject” is hupotassesthō Root: ὑποτάσσω. 1) to arrange under, to subordinate 2) to subject, put in subjection 3) to subject one’s self, obey 4) to submit to one’s control 5) to yield to one’s admonition or advice 6) to obey, be subject ++++ A Greek military term meaning “to arrange [troop divisions] in a military fashion under the command of a leader”. In non-military use, it was “a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden”.

There is an element of obedience involved in subjecting ourselves to the rule of authorities above us, but far more it is “a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden.” It is like getting with the program in order to accomplish the tasks at hand. It is important to note that Paul does not use the word for obedience anywhere in this passage. He does not have unquestioned obedience to authority in mind. As important, there is no mention of being subject to an evil government. Remember, God is above all authority on earth and it is God we obey first and foremost. “We must obey God rather than men!” (Acts 5:29). Douglas Moo observes that “submission” is not the same as “universal obedience.” [Moo, D. J. (1996). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 809). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.]

There are places in Scripture where God praises those who take a stand against those in authority.

Exodus 1. The Israelites had lived in Egypt under the rule of the Pharaohs for several centuries. They became very numerous, so the king of Egypt commanded the Hebrew midwives to kill all the boy babies born to the Israelites (v. 16). But verse 17 says, “The midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.” And verse 20 adds, “So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and grew strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.”

Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar made a royal decree that all who heard his music must fall down and worship the golden image of his god. But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to obey the edict (3:16–18). So they were thrown into the fiery furnace, and God miraculously saved them and thus put his stamp of approval on their civil disobedience.

Sixth chapter of Daniel. Darius the king establishes an edict that for thirty days no one can make a petition to any god or man other than Darius himself (6:7). Daniel was one of Darius’ three chief presidents (6:2), but verse 10 says, “When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem; and he got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.” The result was that he was thrown to the lions. But again, God shows his approval of Daniel’s disobedience by saving him from the lion’s mouth.

The New Testament. When Peter and John were arrested by the Jewish authorities and commanded not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus, they answered in Acts 4:19, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” So they went on teaching in public and were arrested again. The high priest said to them in Acts 5:28, “‘We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.’ But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men.”

Pilate and Herod give Jesus an order to speak, Christ resists their orders and remains silent (Matthew 27:13, Luke 23:7).

When Paul has been beaten illegally by evil men within the Roman government, he refuses their command to come out of the jail and defiantly says “…let them come themselves and fetch us out.” (Acts 16:37).

Peter is assisted in a jailbreak by an angel. (Acts 12:7) Whom were they resisting? The Evil Authority.

In Damascus, the Jews that had authority under the governmental edict establishing their position (John 11:48) sought to murder Saul (Acts 9:23). Saul escaped over the wall as he left Damascus.

In Revelation, the true saints of God that oppose the Antichrist “overcame him by the blood of the lamb….” (Revelation 12:11). Antichrist heads the world government that is already in power. (Revelation 13:1).

It is clearly not appropriate to say that the Bible teaches that since all governing authority is from God, it must, therefore, be unquestioningly obeyed. Paul says that “Rulers are not a terror to good conduct . . . Do good, and you will receive their praise.” This verse and the next one must be a general statement of how governments should and often do function. Paul simply does not have in view the problem of evil governments. Instead he has in view a government in which doing good deeds will generally find approval and doing evil will generally be punished.

Paul begins by advising that all souls should be subject to higher powers. “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.” This admonition includes both earthly and spiritual rulers. Elsewhere Paul says that our struggle is against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12) Paul would never advocate for our obedience to Satan, or to evil higher powers whether they are spiritual or earthly beings. To argue that Paul in our passage expects us to be obedient to evil governments goes well beyond the passage and, as shown above, is inconsistent with other New Testament writings.

It is unthinkable that God’s word would demand that we cooperate with a government’s evil demands. The holocaust comes too quickly to mind. The government enabling the killing of the unborn, or defunding the police, or supporting anarchy in the streets are examples. The Supreme Court infringing on the right of Churches to assemble or restricting our right to pursue happiness through normal commerce add to the list. Evil governance is at a fever pitch today. Our primary obligation is obedience to God and that may demand a bold resistance to those in authority. Our Christian conscience demands that we approach our resistance prayerfully and rightly. We are not anarchist. We are not flame throwers. We still can vote in this country. If we Christians do not stand against the evil that surrounds us, then who will?

Notes:

1. See one church’s stand against governmental overreach here. (The page loads slowly.)
2. I have “borrowed” heavily from the work of others on the internet for this writing. My apologies for not providing citations.
3. Edited the title to better reflect the content.