God & Government | Romans 13:1–7
In October of last year, a NASCAR driver named Brandon Brown had just won the Sparks 300 race at Talladega. As he was being interviewed by an NBC reporter, the crowd in the background was chanting something vulgar at President Joe Biden. The reporter suggested that the crowd was chanting, “Let’s go, Brandon!”
And that’s how “Let’s Go Brandon” became a euphemistic expression of disapproval toward President Biden. The slogan went viral, and it didn’t take long to be commercialized on stickers and shirts and flags and anything else that would sell.
But what should Christians think about such things? Does God have anything to say about how we relate—how we speak and act toward government officials, including those with whom we disagree?
One of the most challenging and contentious issues for Christians throughout church history has been the relationship between Christians and the government. Few topics are so emotionally charged. The stakes are high; the positions are polarizing. Thankfully, we have a word from God on these things in Romans 13:1–7.
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For 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 will receive his approval, for 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, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay 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.”
Summary of the Text
Romans 13 is a hotly debated text of Scripture. It is commonly misunderstood and frequently misapplied, although the main point is not difficult to identify. It’s found in the command stated clearly in verses 1 and 5: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities” (v. 1). And, “Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience” (v. 5).
The idea is simple enough: God calls his people to submit to the civil government, to obey the law and honor rulers because God has authorized governing authorities to punish evildoers. That’s straightforward. The challenge comes when we try to apply this to Christians living in vastly different circumstances, under all kinds of different governments. Does Romans 13 require Christians to submit to any and all “authority”? What about despots and tyrants? What about godless and wicked rulers?
Before we jump to applications and exceptions, we have to start with the original context. Paul wrote this letter to Christians in Rome just a few years before The Great Jewish revolt. Just a few verses earlier, in Romans 12:19, Paul quoted Deuteronomy 32:35: “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Those words originally came through Moses, who warned Israel that God would not let them rebel forever, but would eventually end their idolatry and sin for good. Moses prophesied that God would use foreigners to bring his judgment on Jerusalem (Deut. 32:21), and that instrument of judgment turned out to be the Roman Empire. Jesus also taught his disciples that the city of Jerusalem and the temple would be destroyed within a single generation (Matt 24:34). Now, 25–30 years after Jesus prophesied the fall of Jerusalem, Paul wrote this letter to believers in Rome, sometime between 55 and 58 A.D. And less than ten years later, in 66 A.D., Jews in Judea revolted against Rome in what came to be called The Great Jewish Revolt. That bloody rebellion lasted several years, but was finally crushed by the Romans, who desecrated and destroyed the Temple, just as Jesus foretold.
That provides an important background for Paul’s words in Romans 13. Paul was warning Christians in Rome not to get caught up in a Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire. The command in Romans 13 does not call for absolute and unqualified obedience to anyone who claims to hold a government office.
Just consider Paul’s own life. He recounts in 2 Corinthians 11:32–33: “At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.” The same Paul who penned Romans 13 also evaded a government manhunt. These things call for godly wisdom and discernment.
So what does Romans 13 mean for us today?
Remember the banner over this section of Romans is found in 12:1–2: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
The Christian life is not escapist. We are not trying to achieve disembodied nirvana. We live in physical bodies. We live in houses made of 2x4s and sheetrock. And we live in communities—cities, states, nations—under the governing authority of mayors and city councils, of governors, legislatures, and judiciaries. And in this fallen world, our governing officials are often non-Christians. So, as people who profess that Jesus is Lord, how are we to relate to a secular civil government?
Here’s what this text claims: Because God governs all human government, your respectful obedience to human government is an act of worship to God. This Word from God reveals timeless truths meant to transform your relationship to the government by renewing your thinking about God’s relationship to government. To that end, we’re going to look at what Scripture reveals about the absolute sovereignty of God, the limited authority of government, and the respectful disposition of the Christian.
The Absolute Sovereignty of God
As with any subject, right thinking about government begins and ends with God. God is the main character here. God is explicitly mentioned six times in this passage, and implied several other times. In verse 1, Paul says, “For there is no authority except from God, and those [authorities] that exist have been instituted by God.” In verse 2 he draws this implication: “Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed.”
Paul’s claim is both simple and sweeping: God is sovereign over every human authority. He reigns supreme over and above all kings, presidents, prime ministers, sultans, and tzars; all parliaments, legislatures, and councils; all judges, prosecutors, and clerks; all sheriffs, police chiefs, and law enforcement officers. Name any civil magistrate, any government official local or national, and Scripture declares, “There is no authority except from God.”
And the thing about absolute sovereignty is that there are no exceptions. God is not sovereign sometimes but not other times. It’s not like he’s sovereign only when your candidate is in office, but not when the other party is in. He is sovereign all the time, over all rulers and governments.
This does not mean God morally approves of anything any ruler does; but it does mean no one wields any power apart from God. This is the consistent testimony of Scripture:
“He removes kings and sets up kings” (Daniel 2:21).
“He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away” (Job 12:23).
“The Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will” (Daniel 4:17).
He is “the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:15).
And as the only Sovereign, God is the One who instituted human government. In “Common Sense,” Thomas Paine wrote, “Government even in its best state is but a necessary evil.” But that’s not the view of Scripture: “Those [authorities] that exist have been instituted by God” (v. 1) and “for your good” (v. 4). “Instituted” translates a word that means to establish order by arranging things in place. God is not a God of chaos but of order, and he arranges the world through human governments.
The home, the church, and the state are each human institutions established by God. God instituted civil government through Noah back in Genesis 9. As bad as you may think things look today, they were much worse in Noah’s days. Genesis 6:11 says, “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence,” so much violence that there was a “near-extinction” of God’s people, and Noah was the only righteous man left on earth (Gen. 6:8–9). So God sent a flood, which wiped out the wicked but did not remove human sin.
When Noah came off the ark with his family, what protection would there be for the righteous to ensure something like this never happened again? The answer is found in Genesis 9, where God instituted human government to protect the righteous and punish the wicked: “And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning …. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” (Genesis 9:5–6). With those words, God authorized the righteous to defend themselves against the wicked and the violent.
So much more could be said about legitimate government and due process and how that is carried out. And God did say much about it in the Mosaic law, but that is beyond our scope. My point is to give you the backstory that explains when and why God first established human authorities to protect the righteous and punish the wicked.
Romans 13 affirms that God is the King of the world and that He is not absent from but active in history. Romans 12:19 said, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’” But you must not think that means God waits until the end of history to reveal his wrath against sin. God manifests his blessings and curses in space and time.
In verse 4, Paul says about rulers in authority, “For he is God’s servant for your good.” And then he says, “For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” God works through human authorities to bless law-abiding people and to punish evildoers. God will fully accomplish ultimate justice in the judgment on the last day, but God is not waiting for the last day.
If you are bothered by injustice and violence and oppression in the world, read and pray Psalm 10 this week. It is a powerful lament that observes the arrogance of the wicked who think that God does not see and will not stop their violence. The psalmist calls on God to act in history and call the wicked to account (Ps. 10:15). To live in a society where God’s wrath against thieves and rapists and murderers is executed swiftly is a great blessing!
Understanding and applying Romans 13 begins with trusting this: that God is absolutely sovereign over human authorities.
The Limited Authority of Government
This passage speaks of “the governing authorities” (v. 1), “the authorities” (v. 2), and “the one who is in authority” (v. 3). The word here refers to human government officials. In v. 3, Paul speaks of “rulers” (v. 3), someone who has administrative authority in society, a civil officer or magistrate.
So, what does Romans 13 say about human government? First, it reveals that human government derives its authority from God.
This is simply the flip side of what this text reveals about God. If God is sovereign over human government, instituting and appointing “the powers that be,” then all legitimate governments possess limited and delegated authority.
And that means all governing authorities are accountable to God. “For he is God’s servant …. For he is the servant of God …” (v. 4). Verse 6 says, “For the authorities are ministers of God,” which also implies service or assistance. God appoints governing officials to serve his purposes for your good.
Some Christians who are quick to point to Romans 13 as God’s endorsement of government, turn around and act like God has nothing to say about what kind of laws should be enacted and enforced. But Paul clearly says (v. 3), “Rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. … Do what is good, and you will receive his approval.” Then he says (v. 4). “If you do wrong, be afraid …. He is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer” (v. 4). The word translated “bad” and “wrong” is the same word translated as “evil” several times in Romans 12.
Good and evil, right and wrong—these are not arbitrary categories left to the whims and fancies of the current regime. It’s not like God appoints rulers and says, “You are my authorized agent. Now decide for yourself what you think is good and evil.”
By what standard is human conduct to be measured? We are not left to our own imaginations. This talk of good and evil echoes down from Romans 12:2: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
The will of God is the standard! Good is that which pleases God. Evil is that which displeases God. And God has revealed his moral will in his Word.
So Romans 13 sets clear limits for human governments, and you can be sure that God will hold all in authority accountable to His Law. God established civil government for your good as defined by his Word. No government can claim authorization from God as it wields power for evil.
Second, Romans 13 reveals that the primary task of the government is to restrain evil. Look again at verses 3–5: “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. … But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.”
Government officials must not be limp-wristed and milquetoast bureaucrats. In a just society, rulers are supposed to be a terror to those who do evil (v. 3). In a just society, those who do wrong are supposed to live in fear. They should live in a constant state of paranoia and anxiety.
To carry out this task, God has assigned “the sword” to the civil government. “The sword” typically implies violent death in the New Testament. Like Genesis 9, the reference to loss of life as the ultimate punishment implies that the government has authority to impose lesser punishments as well.
Restraining evil in society by justly punishing the wicked is government’s primary responsibility—not housing or healthcare, not education or welfare. God gave those responsibilities to the home and the church. To the state, God gave the sword to carry out God’s wrath on lawbreakers.
And all this is for your good.
The Respectful Disposition of the Christian
Romans 13 reveals these truths about God and government, but it is addressed to Christians. And the reality of God’s sovereign rule over human governments is meant to engender your respectful submission to government. Verse 1 begins, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.” Verse 5 concludes, “Therefore one must be in subjection.”
Throughout this section, Paul uses the second person singular: you personally. It’s like Paul is saying, “You and you and you ….”
Willing obedience is the normal Christian disposition toward government, not fierce individualism and unbridled autonomy. “No one tells me what to do” might be an American attitude. It might be Cowboy. But it is not a Christian attitude.
Christians want to submit to just rulers. Christians earnestly pray that those in authority will fear God and govern justly. Christians grieve when the government requires what God forbids or prohibits what God commands. Christians are never rebels, terrorists, anarchists, rioters, or insurrectionists.
And before you wade into deeper waters—like is it ever permissible to resist tyrants or engage in civil disobedience—you really must master respectful obedience first. If and when Christians disobey human authority, they do so in trusting obedience to God, the highest authority. The entire Christian life is lived in trusting obedience to God.
Submitting to the government is simply the logical conclusion that flows from the truth that God institutes government. Paul gives the same two supporting reasons in verse 2 and verse 5: “Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment” (v. 2). And, “Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.” (Romans 13:5).
One motivating reason to obey the government is to avoid punishment. But that’s not the highest reason Christians obey. (That would be like obeying the speed limit only when you see a speed trap.) But Christians obey governing authorities, not just to avoid punishment, but ultimately to honor and obey our God who authorized those authorities. That’s what “for the sake of conscience” means.
There are only two possibilities. You either live in submission to and reliance on God or in rebellion against God. There is no neutral ground. And submission to God and rebellion against God are not invisible categories of the heart. Submission and rebellion are both manifested in the life you live in the world and in your attitude toward God-appointed authorities.
Listen to verses 6–7: “For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay 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.”
Taxes and revenue both refer to financial obligations owed to governing authorities. Those redeemed by God’s mercy present their bodies as living sacrifices. Do you think of filing your taxes as a spiritual act of worship to God? Do you think of obeying traffic laws as a way to obey and honor God?
Respect and honor both speak of an inward disposition that is observable in outward displays of reverence. God calls you to honor and respect governing officials, including those with whom you disagree. The military has a highly visible culture of honor and respect: soldiers stand at attention and salute superior officers. These are outward expressions of honor. But what if a private disagrees with or dislikes a sergeant above him? Then he can salute the rank, if not the man. Likewise, Christians must honor the office.
People who are always flouting the laws, bending the rules to suit themselves, or mocking authority are in defiance of God. If you only submit to those in authority over you when you agree with them, then you have never submitted to anyone but yourself. You have only ever done what you wanted to do.
As you are transformed by God’s grace, your life will be marked by discernible honor and obedience to governing authorities. And even when Christians are mistreated and persecuted, they refuse to revile or speak evil of those in authority.
A powerful example of this is found in a letter written to King Philip II of Spain over 450 years ago by a Reformed pastor named Guido de Brès. King Philip fiercely opposed the Reformation in the Netherlands locked up, tortured, and killed thousands of Christians. A common play from the enemies playbook is to accuse Christians of various crimes against society and especially against the government. So de Brès wrote The Belgic Confession, one of the great historical confessions of the Reformed faith, and delivered that along with a hand written letter appealing to King Philip for relief from persecution.
Listen to this excerpt from his letter—and notice how it is shaped by Romans 13.
“We are, they say, disobedient insurrectionists desiring nothing other than to destroy all political and civil rule and to introduce into the world confusion and disorder. … O the crimes alleged, which are unworthy of our confession, unworthy of a Christian man …. We protest and testify now before God and His angels that we desire nothing higher than to live according to the purity of our consciences in obedience under the authorities, to serve God and to reform ourselves according to His Word and holy commandments. … In our communal assemblies we pray for the kings and princes of the earth and in particular for you, O most gracious Lord, and for those whom you have authorized in the regime and ruling offices of the regions and countries of your domain. For we have been taught not only by God’s Word but also through the constant instruction of our preachers that the kings, princes, and authorities are appointed by the ordinance of God. Besides, we have been taught that he that resists the magistrates resists the ordinance of God and will receive damnation. We acknowledge and maintain that by the eternal wisdom of God the kings rule and the princes determine justice.”
And yet, the Christians in the Netherlands were resolved to obey God above man. Yet even that was done submissively and not defiantly:
“However, since we had the fear of God before our eyes and thus dreading the threat of Jesus Christ, who says that He will deny us before God His Father, should we deny Him before men: we offer our backs to the whip’s lash, our tongues to the knives, the mouth to the muzzle, and the whole body to the flames. … For we have not the right nor may we refuse to obey Him, because He hath made us and purchased us for Himself through the payment of the most dear price of infinite worth.”
And do you realize how Jesus purchased you for himself? He was condemned to death by human authorities who were under his authority. When Jesus stood on trial before the Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, Jesus said, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11).
Does God have anything to say about how we relate—how we speak and act toward government officials, including those with whom we disagree? Yes! He has spoken through Paul’s letter to the Romans, and he has proven his Word in the life and death of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Peter says it like this: “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:21–24).