Romans Part 6: RESPONSESample

Submit to Government

The book of Romans is an inspired masterpiece of gospel doctrine. In Romans 13:1-7, Paul briefly explains the role of Christians in their civil authorities.

In Scripture, God has ordained authority in four categories:

1. The government over all of its citizens.
2. The Church over its members.
3. Parents over children.
4. Masters (employers) over employees.

The Church in Rome was largely Gentile with no direct Apostolic guidance. The culture was steeped in Greek paganism which practiced polytheism and emperor worship. Now that these young Christians worship the One God and King, they find themselves at odds with their surroundings. At this point in the Roman Empire Jews had been given a pass by the authorities to worship the “Jewish God” in peace. As time moved on, the Roman authorities recognized the Christians, not as a Jewish sect, but as a different religion. Persecution would soon come for the new Christian Church.

Since Jesus spoke of His kingdom being “not of this world,” some of the early Christian converts were unsure how to conduct themselves in their present cultural setting. In a short and succinct answer, Paul tells the early Church to be good citizens: pay taxes, honor the authorities, be a good neighbor, and obey the law. The only exception we have for civil disobedience is when the law requires disobedience to God's word. (Exodus 1:17, Daniel 3:16-18, Daniel 6:7-10, Acts 4:19) We are called to the very same obedience today in the U.S.A., as is every Christian in every Nation.

Romans 12:18 “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

Very soon, in the life of the early Christian Church, persecution would come from the civil government. They would demand that Christians renounce their faith, curse Christ, and worship the emperor. Some would renounce; some would not. Those who would not deny their Lord would be tortured and killed in a variety of ways to be made an example of and a spectacle for the population to see. Ultimately, this is the fate of the Author of this Epistle. The number of Martyrs in the early Church and those who are being persecuted and killed for their faith in Christ, even today, is a fearful reminder that there is a line drawn in the sand over which believers cannot cross.

Our Lord did not come to make an old creation moral, but to make the new creation Holy. The Christians’ priority is to proclaim the gospel and to live a holy life, demonstrating that God is a saving God.

-Mike Vander Dussen