Based on Romans 13:1-7 (New King James Version)
“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.”
In today’s passage, we learn that God teaches something very contrary to what many believe in our society, regarding the respect for authorities. We see through the Bible, and even through the life of the Lord here on earth, that it is not God’s will to oppose the authorities, even if they are not peaceful or just. Both the Lord Jesus and Paul lived during the reign of the Roman Empire, one of the most ruthless empires the world has ever seen. The Roman Empire was pagan, cruel, and extremely dominant; especially when trying to subdue the nations they wanted to conquer or dominate. They practiced the method of killing by crucifixion, not only to give their opponents an agonizing death, but also to showcase what would happen if you didn’t follow their rules or commands. It is believed that many roads were lined with people that were crucified, and that it sometimes consisted of hundreds of people at a time, one behind the other, in sequence, with the idea to intimidate and punish. During the Christian persecution, an endless number of torture tactics and ways to kill people were practiced, many times done as spectacles in the famous Roman Coliseum to entertain the masses.
However, the Lord never preached against the Roman Empire, even though many of His followers believed that He would be the leader or the king that would lead them to go against the dominion of those they hated. In addition, the Lord explained when asked if they should pay tribute to Caesar, He said: Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s… And even the example was given when both He and Peter paid their taxes when He told Peter to go fish, and that he would find a coin in the fish’s mouth that would help pay what they needed to, so the authorities would not be offended. There is no teaching given by the Lord that shows us that we should rebel or hate our authorities.
Paul reinforces that sentiment through this passage. As believers, we should respect every authority, even the ones we don’t like. As much as we may not like a president or a leader, we should pray for them; not to wish any harm on them, but rather, so that God can work in their lives, if they don’t know the Truth of God. And I can assure you that no matter how bad you might think an authority is today, I don’t think they are as evil or ruthless as the Caesars were back then. So then, the Lord Himself, while being God, and Paul, taught to respect them, how much more should we respect the ones we have now?
I know this is not easy or pleasing to many people, but if we want to finally serve Christ, and follow the principles God establishes, we should consider what the supreme authority of the universe teaches us. So then, as long as our authorities don’t make us do things that go against God Himself and against what He teaches, we should submit to the authorities, respect them, obey them, follow their laws, pay taxes, be honest, etc. And not only do these things, but also, help them when we are able to, for it is written: Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. Titus 3:1-2.
Finally, if we desire to change things, for good, there are ways we can proceed. The Bible teaches us the following: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21. Things are not supposed to be changed by protests, or by being defiant, or through disrespect, or through force and violence, or through politics, etc. This is what the Scriptures say also: “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:1-4. The way we can and should affect in a positive manner everything that surrounds is through prayer and by practicing what the Bible teaches, through our testimony, just as our prime example (Jesus Christ) did. It is God’s will for us to be good citizens.
So then, are you treating your authorities as God commands you to? Lord bless! John