There is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.

Romans 13 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Be Subject to Government

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. ² Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. ³ For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; ⁴ for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. ⁵ Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. ⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. ⁷ Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

⁸ Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

¹¹ Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. ¹² The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. ¹³ Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. ¹⁴ But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

In today’s text Paul says:  Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.  Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.  For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.   This portion of scripture, Paul’s exhortation for believers to be in subjection to governing authority, is something that many today would rather avoid completely or at least attempt to rationalize as not being applicable in the current situation with our governing authorities. I’m sure that those who do not want to submit, either to government or to scripture can make their argument based in that the government does not follow after God. Keep in mind that Paul wrote this exhortation when he was a prisoner of an oppressive, godless government; a government that killed Christians for sport and entertainment, the same government at whose hands Jesus Himself was crucified.   There is a fine line that we need to recognize regarding when we are to stand for God rather than submit to human authority. We see examples in scripture such as when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were protected from the furnace because they stood for God. Daniel also was spared from the lions when he refused to bow down and worship the image of the king. Without going deeply into word studies and other forms of scriptural analysis, what I see on the surface of these examples as compared to the words and the example of Paul and Jesus, is that the determining factor involves what we are standing for and why in truth we are resisting authority. Is it for obedience to God above man, or is for the sake of our own rights?  Jesus overturned the tables and drove out those who were defiling the temple because it was an offence to God, but he submitted to the Jewish and Roman authorities when they arrested Him for no reason. In Matthew 26:51-54 it says:  Behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear.Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”   In John 19:10-11 it says:  Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”  As we determine for ourselves whether we should submit or resist the governing authorities, the first criteria we should use in our decision is whether we are standing for God or for our own rights.

Paul continues saying:  Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.  In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus says:  “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the great and foremost commandment.  The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”   So, love should be the first factor in determining our choice of how we will respond to human authority. Regarding that, in Luke 6:27-28 Jesus says: “I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,  bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you,”  and in Romans 12:9-21 Paul says:  Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.  Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.  “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

We need to recognize that in truth we are citizens of the kingdom of God and so we are aliens to the world. Yet even as aliens, we are subject to the authority of the world. It is simply that our real hope and trust is in the greater authority of God and the true citizenship we have with Him. We need to recognize that resisting the authority of the world could result in our death in this world. So, we should choose wisely the lines that we draw, whether they for God’s purposes or our own. Paul says:  Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.  Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.   If we will resist the authority of the world, may we first resist the deeds and the lusts of the world. May we put on the Lord Jesus Christ and be subject to Him.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit that Your authority is above all. Lead me in the path of righteousness. Give me wisdom to know how to respond to the authority of the world. Guide and guard my heart I pray. In Jesus name, Amen.