Now we arrive at what may be a less popular passage for many of us. Paul teaches that Christians should submit to the authorities over them, specifically, the government.
The primary reason is that all authority structures and figures are put in place by God, according to what he wants to accomplish on earth in the short or long-term. (v.1, and Romans 8:28)
When we ignore laws our governments have put in place, we’re ignoring the authority that God has put in place. We can’t easily separate disobedience to government from disobedience to God. When others are content to ignore little laws that don’t seem to matter, or to commit “victimless crimes”, believers should remember that doing this isn’t just brushing off “the man”, it’s brushing off God. And the consequences or punishments that may follow are part of God’s response. (v.2)
Government is not the enemy. Under normal circumstances, we are only afraid of our government when we are in the wrong; when we have done something against the law. The more we ditch our rebellious tendencies and learn the virtue of submission (a dirty word in pop culture) the less we will fear our government or view them as “the enemy”. In fact, we will more and more recognize them as a powerful ally and blessing God has given us. (v.3)
The authorities over us are even called God’s “servants”, which may seem strange. After all, we have no proof now (nor have we ever) that our representatives, governors or anyone in the White House are genuinely believers in and followers of Christ. So what does Paul mean by this?
God has a history of using leaders to accomplish his will, despite the fact that they had no allegiance to him. God called Nebuchadnezzar (the king of Babylon) his servant when he used him to invade Israel. Though Nebuchadnezzar didn’t worship Yahweh (God). (See Jeremiah 25:9) God used king Cyrus, another “non-believer”, in a similar way. (See Isaiah 45:1-6) God uses leaders like these to do good and to punish evil. (v.4)
Our leaders may not be good, moral people. And when human laws conflict with God’s laws, we need to look for ways to peacefully yet firmly obey God rather than man. (Acts 4:19, 5:29) But when this is not the case, we need to recognize that our authorities and laws are servants of God and we must submit to them. Whether or not we understand the reason for every rule.
There is a sense in which we know that when we disobey the laws established by humans, we are violating a greater cosmic principle. Unless we have allowed ourselves to become numb to it, violating the law bothers our consciences. Even if we somehow know we won’t get caught, our consciences remind us of the fact that we’ve sinned, not just against society or the people who wrote down laws and signed their names to some document, but against God. In this way, the laws established by the government provide clear boundaries that assist us in keeping our consciences clear. And when our consciences become numb, the fear of punishment plays its part as well. (v.5)
Because our authorities play such a valuable role, established by God, paying taxes is both reasonable and good! We can argue about what should be done with that tax money, and hold our leaders accountable in how they use it (meanwhile thanking God we live in a country that allows us to do this), but taxes themselves are a tool for equipping our leaders to do good and to dedicate their entire work week to providing security, safety and order for the rest of us. As we pay our taxes, we should aim to remember that God uses that money to bless us. (v.6)
Our governments and laws expect certain payment or behavior from us, and we should be ready and willing to submit to those expectations, whether in the form of tangible service, financial payment, or social courtesy.
A wise man’s young daughter once asked him about the purpose of a prison building as they drove past it. His response was, “That’s where they put the people who never learned to obey.”
Our governments have been put in place by God to bless us with safety and security, to help train and assist us in living in obedience to him, and to serve any other purpose God may have.
Next- The Importance Of Love
Coffee House Question- How much do you think we should expect our governments and laws to reflect scripture? When is it time to “take action” and what might that action look like as we aim to represent Christ well to non-believers?
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