Authorities Under God

Having spent the first 11 chapters of Romans systematically unfolding the truths of the gospel, Paul turned in chapter 12 to formulating principles by which believers ought to live in light of their theology. We saw in our studies last month that the apostle exhorts us to give ourselves wholeheartedly to serving God; to love other believers as fellow members of the body of Christ; and also to behave lovingly toward non-believers. But we must deal not only with individuals but with institutions as well, especially our governing authorities. What principles are to guide the Christian in his dealings with the state and other institutions of governance? It is to this matter that Paul turns in Romans 13:1–7.

This passage has stirred much debate and discussion. Some, believing it to be glaringly out of place in the flow of Paul’s thought and unlike anything else he is known to have written, have concluded that it probably was not from the apostle’s pen at all. But while Paul’s change of subject here is indeed somewhat abrupt, it is not completely unnatural for him to launch into a discussion of the Christian’s relationship to government, particularly since he is writing to believers in the capital of the Roman Empire.

Paul’s exhortation is straightforward—everyone, believer and non-believer, is to submit to the governing authorities. And the reason for this is simple—every authority is established by God. In his Romans commentary, Dr. James M. Boice points out that the Greek word translated as “authority” in this passage has to do with “a power that is given to a person or group of persons by another.” He goes on to note that “the starting point for Paul’s argument is the doctrine of the sovereignty of God. . . God is sovereign. Therefore, those who exercise authority do so because God has established them in their positions.” Because that is the case, to resist any legitimate human authority is, in a sense, to resist God, and to resist God is to risk bringing His judgment upon oneself.

Of course, while Paul’s exhortation in these verses is straightforward, it raises many questions. Perhaps the foremost is this: Must we always submit to the government? We will consider this and other questions in Monday’s study.