Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
ROMANS 13
Submission to Governing Authorities
1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Love Fulfills the Law
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
The Day Is Near
11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
Application Notes
13:1-14 Christians understand Romans 13 in different ways. All Christians agree that we are to live at peace with the state as long as the state allows us to live by our religious convictions. For centuries, however, there have been at least three interpretations for how to do this:
(1) Some Christians believe that the state is so corrupt that Christians should have as little to do with it as possible. Although they should be good citizens as long as they can do so without compromising their beliefs, they should not work for the government. vote in elections, or serve in the military.
(2) Others believe that God has given the state authority in certain areas and the church authority in others. Christians can be loyal to both and can work for either. They should not, however, confuse the two. In this view, church and state are concerned with two totally different spheres--the spiritual and the physical-and thus complement each other but do not work together.
(3) Still others believe that Christians have a responsibility to make the state better. They can do this politically, by electing Christian or other high-principled leaders. They can also do this morally. by serving as an influence for good in society. In this view. church and state ideally work together for the good of all.
None of these views advocate rebelling against or refusing to obey the government's laws or regulations unless those laws clearly require the believer to violate the moral standards revealed by God. Wherever we find ourselves, we must be responsible citizens as well as responsible Christians.
13:1 Are there times when we should not obey the government? We should never allow the government to force us to disobey God. Jesus and his apostles never disobeyed the government for personal reasons; when they disobeyed, it was in order to follow God's higher law. Their disobedience was not cheap: They were threatened. beaten. thrown into jail, tortured, or executed for their convictions. Like them, if we are compelled to disobey, we must be ready to accept the consequences.
13:3-4 Wittingly or unwittingly, people in authority are God's servants. They are allowed their positions in order to do good. When authorities are unjust, however, upright people are afraid. When authorities are just, people who are doing what is right have nothing to fear. This provides our principal motivation to pray for our leaders. Praying for those in authority over us will also mean that we will watch them closely. If we pray diligently for our leaders, we will be functioning as God's sentinels.
13:8 Why is love for others a debt? We are permanently in debt to Christ for the lavish love and grace he has poured out on us. The only way we can even begin to repay this debt is by showing the same kind of lavish love and grace to others. Because Christ's love will always be infinitely greater than ours, we will always have the obligation to keep repaying that love to others the best we can.
13:9 Somehow many have gotten the idea that self-love is wrong. But if this were the case, loving our neighbours as ourselves would be pointless. Self-love can be healthy and godly. Even if you have low self-esteem, you probably don't willingly let yourself go hungry. You take care of your body and may even exercise. You clothe yourself reasonably well. You make sure to have a roof over your head. You try not to let yourself be cheated or injured. And you get angry if someone tries to ruin your marriage or a close friendship. This is the kind of love we need to have for our neighbours. Do we see that others are fed, clothed, and housed as well as they can be? Are we concerned about issues of social justice? Loving others as ourselves means actively working to see that their needs are met. Interestingly, people who focus on others rather than on themselves rarely suffer from low self-esteem.
13:10 Christians must obey the law of love, which supersedes both religious and civil laws. How easy it is to excuse our indifference to others merely because we have no legal obligation to help them, and even to justify harming them if our actions are technically legal! But Jesus does not leave loopholes in the law of love. Whenever love demands it, we are to go beyond human legal requirements and imitate the God of love. (For more on this law of love, see James 2:8-9; 4:11; and 1 Peter 2:16-17.)
13:12-14 The "night" is the present evil time. The "day" is the time of Christ's return. Some people are surprised that Paul lists dissension and jealousy with the gross and obvious sins of drunkenness and sexual promiscuity. Like Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Paul considers attitudes as important as actions. Just as hatred leads to murder, so jealousy leads to strife and lust to adultery. When Christ returns, he wants to find his people clean on the inside as well as on the outside.
13:14 How do we "clothe" ourselves "with the Lord Jesus Christ"? (1) We identify with Christ by being baptised (Galatians 3:27). This shows our solidarity with other Christians and our affirmation of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. (2) We exemplify the qualities Jesus showed while he was here on earth (love, humility, truth, service). In a sense, we role-play what Jesus would do in the situations we face (see Ephesians 4:24-32; Colossians 3:10-17). (3) We must avoid those situations that open the door to gratifying sinful desires because that would make us poor examples of our commitment to live like Jesus.
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)