Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.-Romans 13:1

 

Romans 13 from a theonomic standpoint: Overall Principles

In the light of the recent issues with police beatings and bratty children in Government Indoctrination Centers I was asked for my exegesis on Romans 13. First of all, the text:

Rom 13:1  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Rom 13:2  Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Rom 13:3  For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
Rom 13:4  For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
Rom 13:5  Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
Rom 13:6  For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
Rom 13:7  Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
Rom 13:8  Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Rom 13:9  For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Rom 13:10  Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 

Now let's look at some overall issues that we see in this text:

Honor to whom honor

Romans 13:7  Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. 

The first thing that we need to ask, altho it is rarely asked, is 'who is this talking about?'. All too often it is simply assumed that this text is exclusivley talking about government authorities; particuarly the police.

But even a cursory examination of  the text should make it obvious that 'the police' are not the only people covered by this text, even assuming that 'the police' are covered. For example:

Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. 

None of the ten commandments mention any obligation to the state or the church, but they do mention one other authority. And the command uses a particular word... honor. So when this text says 'honor to whom honor is due' one of the primary people to whom honor is due in Scripture is... the father (and mother). The New Testament also speaks of honoring all men, the wife, slave masters, widows, elders (including double honor), the unsightly parts of our body, repeats the honor due to the father and mother, and, above all, repeats the Old Testament injunction that honor be given to God.

So as an overall guide to exegeting this text we need to remember that whatever it says it says to us in regards to everyone that we are to honor, in particular everyone that is a 'higher power' than we are.

What is good

1Jn 3:4  Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 

The second issue that must be addressed when exegeting this text is that the topic of this text is not 'whatever the power wants' but 'what is good'. Several times in several ways the text speaks of 'what is good' or 'what is evil' and 'minister of God' or 'damnation' and even 'concience'.

And of particular interest to readers of my blog, the 'good' talked about here is clearly God's law. The passage concludes with:

Rom 13:10  Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 

In a fascinating twist this passage does not tell us that following the law is good because it shows us how to love our neighbor (which is true), but it supports and defends the idea of loving our neighbor because it is a way in which the law is fulfilled.

Whom to Honor II

1Ti 1:8  But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
1Ti 1:9  Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
1Ti 1:10  For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
1Ti 1:11  According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. 

So now we come back full circle and have to deal with the fact that the people that this passage is calling us to honor are any authority in our life... who is calling us to obey God's law. That is what the text says. All too many people treat this text as saying, "Do whatever the guy with the machine gun tells you to do, cause that is what God commands." Treating the text in that way is to ignore pretty much everything the text actually says!

Imagine that the text was to be used this way in world war II. Imagine Christians rounding up Jews to be slaughtered on the theory of 'well, we're obeying the guys with the machine guns'. Does that match this text? Are they 'being a terror to evil works'? Or are they, in flat contradiction to the text, being a terror to those who were minding their own business?

So while the passage contradicts anarchy and extreme forms of libertarianism, it stands in equally stark contrast to the 'guy with the machine gun' view. In order for a 'power' to be a 'power' within the meaning of Romans 13, it has to be a force for good, a force that is acting as God's minister  against evil. We read:

Rom 13:3  For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: Rom 13:4  For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 

Jurisdictions or Whom to Honor III

Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. 

Thus it is necessary for us, when asking whom to honor, to not only include everyone who stands in authority over us, to limit those who are included in the text to those who are actually a terror to evil works, not to good ones. But it is also necessary to remember that Scripture teaches very clearly, including in this passage, that each Christian is under multiple authorities.

And each of these authorities have their own area of authority. An authority which might have the perfect right to judge a man for murder might not have the authority to order his family. The rulers of the synagogue did not have the responsibility to tell the apostles not to preach Christ.  

Conclusion: Making up our own right or wrong

Rom 13:11  And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
Rom 13:12  The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Rom 13:13  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
Rom 13:14  But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. 

What this text also makes clear is that neither the state nor the citizens get to make up their own right or wrong. The goal of this text is to teach us to cooperate with the authorities in our life in redeeming our life and our culture.  The goal of this text is concluded in verse 14, that we 'put [] on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.'  Any exegesis of the text must end there. A reading of the text that leads us away from service to Christ, away from obedience to His Law, that rejoices in evil or punishes the good... is not a proper reading of the text.

 and here is the end.... Note to the Canadian Human Rights Commission: This article may cause people to have contempt for certain groups, including those who murder innocent children, 214th District Court Judge Jose Longoria, Judge Keith Dean , and members of the Canadian Human Rights Commission. I support The Constitution Party. Items copied from Life Site News are: Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.