Romans 13
13
Submission to the Authorities
1Let every person #Titus 3:1; 1 Pet. 2:13 be subject to the governing authorities. For #[John 19:11]; See Dan. 2:21there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you #1 Pet. 2:14will receive his approval, 4for #2 Chr. 19:6 he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, #1 Thess. 4:6an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also #1 Pet. 2:19; [Eccles. 8:2]for the sake of conscience. 6For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7#Matt. 17:25; 22:21; Mark 12:17Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
Fulfilling the Law Through Love
8 # [Lev. 19:13; Prov. 3:27, 28] Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for #ver. 10; [Matt. 22:40; Col. 3:14]; See John 13:34the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9For the commandments, #Matt. 19:18; Cited from Ex. 20:13-17; Deut. 5:17-21 “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: #Cited from Lev. 19:18“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore #[John 14:15]; See ver. 8love is the fulfilling of the law.
11Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you #1 Cor. 15:34; Eph. 5:14; 1 Thess. 5:6 to wake from sleep. #[Isa. 56:1; Luke 21:28]For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12#[John 9:4] The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us #Col. 3:8 cast off #Eph. 5:11; [John 3:20] the works of darkness and #2 Cor. 6:7; Eph. 6:11, 13; 1 Thess. 5:8put on the armor of light. 13#1 Thess. 4:12 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, #Luke 21:34; Gal. 5:21; 1 Pet. 4:3 not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, #James 3:14, 16not in quarreling and jealousy. 14But #Gal. 3:27; [Job 29:14; Ps. 132:9; Luke 24:49; Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10] put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, #Gal. 5:16; 1 Pet. 2:11to gratify its desires.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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