A Spirit of Submission to Governing Authority (Part 2) – Romans 13:1–7

PRAY

Romans 13:1–7 ESV

¹ 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. ² Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³ 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, ⁴ 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. ⁵ Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. ⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ⁷ 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.

Submit to governing authorities as God’s instruments for promoting good.

Although we could have gone through this passage more quickly to get it all in one week, I chose to slow down on the first part of this and ask some probing questions, especially concerning the meaning of submission.

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.” (verse 1a)

Last week we asked:

To whom does this apply? - This applies to “every soul.” First it is a challenge given to Christians, to have this submissive posture like the Lord Jesus. It is further a comfort to Christians that everyone else is also subject to governing authority, so that we know that in some cases those who mistreat us may face consequences of justice even from earthly authorities.

To whom are we called to submit? - The governing authorities described here are not just the institutions of authority but especially the people themselves who hold these positions. Very few are likely to be believers. Most will be unbelievers, and yet we are called to submit to them.

What is submission?

Submission is to willingly place yourself under someone else’s authority (in a spirit to follow their lead with an intent to obey and to pursue what is right and good).

Submission is a willing posture, not a prison sentence.

And then a final question we asked is… Why doesn’t Paul qualify this more? - The answer, it seems to me, is that Paul respects his audience as thinking people who are willing to understand the spirit of submission. The spirit of submission is broader and should not simply be equated with obedience, although an intent to obey is included in it. In the same way he assumes we know from Scripture that there are contexts in which we remain submissive but cannot obey earthly authority if what they demand dishonors God or prevents us from rightly obeying His command. Finally, from Paul’s own example we can conclude that submission can and should include holding our leaders accountable to the standards set for their behavior and position.

As we move forward in the passage, Paul explains the command—submit to governing authorities—with a primary reason (1b-2), a supporting reason (3-4), a recap of the point (5), and a particular example (6-7). A primary reason we submit is because God appoints leaders. Explanatory support for this is because they are a means from God to approve good and punish evil. Paul recaps the point that we submit then not only to avoid consequences but also for a clean conscience before God. Finally, a particular example of us submissively participating in the reason these authorities exist, is to willingly continue paying to them both taxes and respect.

So Paul explains…

Submit to earthly leaders because God appoints them. (verses 1b-2)

-God sovereignly assigns governing leaders and delegates authority to them. “For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”

God is sovereign, providentially ruling over everything. That means nothing happens without his deliberate influence or permission. It is hard for us to fathom this, because no human has power anywhere near approaching the complete control and care that God exhibits.

Think of this complete control like a computer system has over everything that is in its sphere of operation. Nothing within that sphere is happening without its control. With God there are two consequential differences: There is nothing outside of God’s sphere. It is all his system. And God has real intelligence to know he is in control and real freedom to allow for secondary causes within his control.

The reason we can trust God is because he providentially rules everything in totality, without denying the reality of human will and secondary causes within His providence. So Paul says our submission to governing authorities corresponds to trusting that it is God who has given them this position and power.

-Therefore, resisting them, when you should be submitting, is resisting God and incurs his judgment. “Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.”

Resisting someone’s authority means to be hostile toward it and to oppose it, as if facing them in battle. This is the unsubmissive spirit. A submissive spirit yields authority to another without seeking to resist, undermine, or usurp that authority.

Resisting is therefore the opposite of willing submission, and Paul warns that such an attitude and behavior is ultimately resisting God, who appointed them. The result of such unsubmissive resistance is judgment from God. In this context the intent seems to be that God’s judgment plays out in legal condemnation for wrongdoing. It corresponds to actual judgment at the hands of these authorities whom God has appointed.

Since it is God who appoints governing authorities, he expects us not to resist but to submit. If we do resist, we can expect consequences. But in essence our submission to earthly authority demonstrates our allegiance and submission to God’s supreme authority.

Now Paul supplies additional, explanatory reasoning that supports this primary reason. We submit to earthly leaders because God has appointed them. They are his instruments. But to what purpose?

Submit because they are a means from God to approve good and punish evil. (verses 3-4)

-Rulers (which describes officials or leaders who make judicial decisions) are meant to instill fear regarding evil activity and to approve good behavior. “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.”

Sometimes fear gets our attention when we are foolishly not doing what is right. Such is the way I learned as a young driver to stop tailgating. Once when I was once doing so, the person pulled over into the gas station and then aggressively sought to follow. By the time he caught up to me I had pulled into the parking lot of my destination, and he too pulled in and parked behind me. He was quite miffed and told me he was an off-duty police officer and explained adamantly why following so closely was dangerous. The fear of that experience taught me to stop tailgating, and I now safely leave space between me and the vehicle in front.

-So we can either live in the freedom and approval of good behavior, or in doing wrong we live in fear of deserved reprisal. “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.”

Like the proverbs, this is meant as a principle, not a promise. It isn’t a guarantee that no ruler will ever unjustly condemn you for doing good. Neither does it guarantee that all wrong will meet with perfect justice in this life. But in such wickedness, unjust rulers are accountable to God.

However, the general principle is clear and true that when we are living in way that is morally good and submissive, we receive praise. (Although it’s not the point here, this is a good reminder that when we are in a leadership position to remember to praise and thank people for doing good. Parents, we should especially practice this with our children.) In giving out such praise the leader is acting as God’s servant to promote good.

The contrasting principle is also true. We live in fear of God’s delegated justice for what our wrongdoing deserves. God curbs evil in the public sphere by this delegated governing authority, making us afraid of reprisal for wrongdoing. The earthly ruler does not bear the sword in vain, which is likely a reference to the power they have for capital punishment (for things like murder and insurrection). Craig Keener says, “Swords were carried in front of Roman officials to indicate their authority over life and death.” (IVP BBC) The point of that was quite literally to strike fear into the hearts of those who do wrong.

“For he is the servant of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the wrongdoer.” So we submit to governing leaders because it is God who has established order through delegated earthly authority, and he has done so for the purpose of curbing evil and promoting good. Through our submissive posture we are participating in God’s common grace to a society that maintains some semblance of moral order. Just imagine the capacity for chaos and depravity in a world of sinful humanity if God had not established this means!

Since we know we submit to governing authorities as God’s instruments for promoting good, participating in this common grace from God, Christians are to be spiritually sensitive that we do it with a right heart attitude before God.

Submit not only to avoid consequences but also for good conscience before God. (verse 5)

“Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid wrath but also for the sake of conscience.” - What the Christian recognizes is that relationship to God is the highest priority. We care not just about escaping consequences, but we care deeply that we not anger God with our sin and that we walk in the freedom of fellowship with him in a clear conscience.

-So this reference to wrath is likely meant to remind us that earthly consequences for bad behavior are really from God. It is certainly true that there is ultimate wrath in store for the rebellious spirit who never submits to God in Christ Jesus, but in this context wrath is being carried out in time by earthly authorities. Paul is therefore telling us that since we know this is ultimately about God’s judgment, we don’t do good and submit only to avoid temporal consequences but because we desire to live with a clean conscience before God.

Conscience is that part of us which tells us what is right from wrong based on our moral standards. It is like an inner moral compass. The existence of our conscience is the essence of having God’s moral law written on human hearts created in his image, so that we all know there is such a thing as right and wrong, and that we should choose what is right (see Rom 2:14-15). Now our consciences can and do become corrupted and seared through unbelief, and by brazenly pursuing our sin, and by listening to the father of lies and his minions (see Titus 1:15 and 1 Tim 4:1-2).

Therefore, the Christian conscience is to be shaped by obedience to Christ and to the letter and spirit of God’s word. Our inner compass tells us that Jesus is true north, that his character and pattern of life is the perfect fulfillment of all that God is and desires and commands. What’s more, we have the help of God the Holy Spirit in us to be our spiritual lenses so that we can learn to see the goodness of Jesus and his ways, correcting the bad vision of our own opinions and fleshly desires. The Spirit helps us see the goodness of Jesus and the goodness of obedience to God’s word, so we can read true north and desire to pursue Him.

So here Paul suggests that our conscience before God tells us that it is right to be submissive to governing authorities, to participate in God’s good purposes. And it is God’s good purposes for society, which Paul has been describing, that form the backdrop for the hot-button issue Paul addresses as a primary example of our need to submit.

Submissively pay taxes and respect to governing authorities, participating in God’s purpose for their role. (verses 6-7)

“For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.” - God’s purpose of promoting good and curbing evil gives us ample reason to submissively pay both taxes and respect to governing authorities. Although most authorities would not know or care that they are acting as God’s instruments, Paul deliberately uses the language of “ministers” and “attending,” words that suggest devoted ritual service to a deity. Essentially, without knowing it, they serve God diligently for his purposes.

So as Paul assumes they are already paying taxes, he suggests we do this willingly in good conscience before God, knowing what the authorities themselves do not know, that they are God’s ministers who attend to this overall purpose of approving good and punishing evil.

The idea then, behind what Paul says in verse 7, is a submissive spirit. “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.”

The concept here is repaying that which is our obligation. Repay to them what they are owed. Again, it will not always, perhaps rarely, feel like earthly authorities are earning their taxes or our respect. But Paul has been clear that the honor and financial compensation is because they are serving God’s purposes for the collective good, not because they will always personally merit it.

Then what we have in the list of four obligations to pay is two couplings of conceptually related terms. Each pair is closely connected to the other item in the coupling. The first two things refer to direct and indirect taxes, and the second two to respectful fear and to honor (high regard).

In terms of taxes, certainly there’s no question that Paul takes his cues here from Jesus. When the Jews tried to trap Jesus with a question about paying taxes, Jesus said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (See Mark 12:13–17 = Matt. 22:15–22 = Luke 20:20–26.) The normative posture towards taxation is to simply be willing to pay it. Paul adds that we pay it because these people devote their time and energy to governing, as servants that God has appointed to the post.

The first type of tax Paul mentions is tribute, which are direct taxes imposed on a subject nation. This involved property taxes and the head tax, payable to the Roman emperor. Property tax was about 1% of the assessed value, paid annually. The head tax (or poll tax) was a direct tribute levied on every person, regardless of wealth (or lack of it). In Judea this was probably 1 denarius per year per person, which became 2 denarii per year after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

Again, the idea is that we do this willingly. When I look at my property tax receipt, I’ve noticed that by far the greatest percentage goes to supporting the public school system. The same is true for all of us, even when we have no current personal use of the public schools. But it helps my attitude when I reflect on the benefit to society at large to have people who are educated. Even if it is not the best education system, more education still creates significantly better citizens, more capable to provide for themselves and others in the future, and even to some degree, who behave more morally in some ways. (That is not to say that bad morals might not also be taught and reinforced by an increasingly secular and self-centered worldview in schools.) But I also like that my taxes go to helping families with special needs children, or for any other reason that it would be a challenge for families to pursue education for their kids.

After tribute the other word is telos, which can mean end or result or purpose, but it also refers to a customs tax. These were indirect taxes paid on goods and the movement of them, such as sales tax and toll taxes. Sales tax was a 1% tax on everything sold at major markets or at auction. It impacted everyday people so consistently that it was extremely unpopular, even hated.

Movement of goods and services along main transportation routes and at ports were subject to this toll tax, and Rome often employed locals for this purpose. Such is the kind of roll Matthew (Levi) likely played, and Zacchaeus, which felt like a betrayal to their fellow countrymen. Evidently Nero (emperor at this time) proposed abolishing these indirect taxes because of their unpopularity, but the Roman senate talked him out of it for fear of overall revenue impact and, in their view, the dangerous potential for giving people a taste of easing taxation.

We can truly relate to these forms of direct and indirect taxes, as we have income tax, property tax, and sales tax, to name the most obvious ones. And therefore, we too need to grasp Paul’s point that we willingly pay these taxes to participate in God’s purpose for governing authorities to promote good and curb evil. Again, there is both the activity of paying it andthe willing attitude of submission, to please God.

As we said, the respectful fear and high esteem we pay to governing authorities is due to God’s command, not their merit. As is proven regularly in American politics, Christians might support a leader’s policies and disapprove of some serious character deficiencies. Conversely, there are those with more outwardly respectable demeanor who hold deplorable positions and who court the whims of the culture’s popular, jaded conscience. The point here is not to argue for or against such leaders. Faced with the opportunity and responsibility to help choose our leaders in our system of government, Christians must seek prayerful guidance by the Spirit of God, and vote in accordance with God’s word and the way of our Lord Jesus.

What Paul is saying here is that there will be leaders over us, and that ultimately God appoints them—by his direct intervention or by his permission. Because God has given them the position, it is the responsibility of God’s people to show sincere respect. We are to have a genuine attitude that holds their authority in high esteem. Knowing from experience the challenge that this can be, we must pray for help and seek above all to submit to God’s will for us, so that we can respect and honor earthly leaders, with joy and a good conscience.

What helps us a great deal in all of this is knowing we…

Submit to governing authorities as God’s instruments for promoting good.

I have three concluding applications for us from this concept Paul teaches here.

1. It makes such a difference to God’s people that we know why we are doing what we are doing. - We testify to God’s authority by a submissive spirit to governing authorities. We testify to Jesus’ Lordship in our hearts by willing submission to other authorities he has placed in our lives.
2. Everyone submits when it’s easy. Christians submit even when it’s hard. - In our leadership, we strive to be self-sacrificing people whose love is patient, kind, honest, and eager to serve. That makes it easy to submit. But when we’re on the other side of this, keeping a submissive spirit toward ungodly governing authorities is challenging. However, we look like Jesus when we submit to such authorities, and we look like Jesus if we have a submissive spirit even when we must disobey them to honor God. Christians submit even when it’s hard.
3. Don’t ask this text to answer every question about situational obedience in your submission. - We should admit that this gives us clarity about a submissive posture, but it does not answer all of our questions about disobedience when necessary, or about peaceful resistance, or organized revolt against tyranny.

Like we discussed last week, here are some rapid-fire biblical situations we might need to consider to help us be discerning in abnormal situations.

-There is biblical precedent for noncompliance to protect others from harm and to promote good. (Rahab with the Hebrew spies, Abigail & Nabal, Paul’s friends helping him escape)

-There is biblical precedent for using the legal system to advocate against injustice. (Paul’s own situation in Acts when he appealed to Caesar as a formal Roman citizen.)

-There is also biblical precedent for God providing leadership to rebel against oppressive government in deliverance of the people. (Think of the Exodus, and the period of the judges. You can also read the recap of this in Heb 11:32-34.) So God might give new leaders with the conviction and courage to lead revolt against oppressive authority. One must be cautious of this, though, not only because the consequences are significant, but because we might be opposing God.

But one thing is for sure, having a general spirit of rebellion in all or most things is a wrong and inappropriate attitude toward God’s institution of authority for order and human flourishing. Instead, the Christian should be marked by a posture of submitting to earthly authorities as God’s instruments for promoting good.

PRAY 

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