Subject to Authorities

Bust of Julius Caesar in Le Gallerie degli Uffizi

Scripture:

Romans 13:1
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval; 4 for it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience. 6 For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, busy with this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is due them—taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

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Observation:

Paul was concerned about a growing trend among some believers who thought they were subject only to the laws of God, or to their citizenship within the kingdom of God. In the first century, there were also rumors that some Christians were pushing for insurrection, still holding on to the hope that Jesus would be a political leader. Paul needed to remind them that they were still subject to the ruling and governing authorities. However, the authority of the government was not to reach into the spiritual realm. If a secular ruler overstepped that boundary, it was the duty of believers to testify to the truth—though always by peaceful means. Early Christians were known as a people of peace.

Origen said, “Paul tells the church not to do anything against the princes and powers of this world so that it may live in peace and quiet. For if the church rebels... then it will be punished, not because of its faith but because of its crimes, and instead of dying for a worthy cause people will die for an unworthy one.” (Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans). Writing a couple of centuries later, Chrysostom explained that Paul “does not speak about individual rulers but about the principle of authority itself. For that there should be rulers and ruled, and that things should not lapse into anarchy, with the people swaying like waves from one extreme to the other, is the work of God’s wisdom.” (Homilies on Romans 23).

Laws and structures do exist, and secular rulers are entitled to punish criminals. Christians must accept this. They are to “obey the law of the land, paying their taxes and respecting those in authority, whether they agree with them or not” (NICNT). Christians and their leaders have not always considered their secular leaders just. Paul is not calling for a tacit approval of the behavior of government authorities, but for a recognition that there is a government under which we, as believers, must live (NICNT).

While there were times throughout the centuries when Christians were encouraged to resist government authorities, the early church fathers—many of whom endured persecution at the hands of those very authorities—encouraged believers to continue to submit, even in persecution. This became part of their witness to the world. Enduring persecution was itself a testimony, and if they hoped to evangelize those in public service, they needed to show submission and not be seen as an insurrectionist movement. As the NICNT notes, “Christianity was a spiritual movement, not a political one.”

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Application:

Augustine gives us this very direct application of the passage:

So if anyone thinks that because he is a Christian he does not have to pay taxes or tribute, nor show the proper respect to the authorities who take care of these things, he is in very great error. Likewise, if anyone thinks that he ought to submit to the point where he accepts that someone who is his superior in temporal affairs should have authority even over his faith, he falls into an even greater error. But the balance which the Lord himself prescribed is to be maintained: “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s but unto God the things which are God’s.” For although we are called into that kingdom where there will be no power of this world, nevertheless, while we are on the way there and until we have reached that state where every principality and power will be destroyed, let us put up with our condition for the sake of human affairs, doing nothing falsely and in this very thing obeying God, who commands us to do it, rather than men.(Augustine on Romans 72)

I think that’s pretty good advice, even today.

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Prayer:

Lord, in the messiness and confusion of our day, help us to find the balance that is in you. Help us to persevere as people of faith until every principality and power is destroyed and placed under your authority. Until that day, may you find us faithful. Amen.

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