Obeying those in authority
13
📚Every person should be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God; the authorities that exist have been determined by God. 13:1 This does not mean that all rulers and government officials are good men who obey God. (When Paul wrote these words one of the worst emperors the Romans – or any nation – ever had, Nero, was in power.) But in spite of their errors, sins, failures, and corruption, governments are appointed by God (Ps 75:2-7; Dan 4:34-35). Sometimes God will permit evil rulers to gain power as a punishment to a people for their sins. But even a bad government is better than no government at all. Anarchy – a complete breakdown of government – is the worst state to which a country can come, for then there is no governing power to restrain any evil.
It is the duty of Christians to obey their government because God has appointed it (vs 2,5,7). There is one exception to this rule – if the laws of a country or the commands of certain officials are contrary to the Word of God, believers should disobey men and obey God. See Acts 4:18-20; 5:28-29.⚜
2 📚Therefore, whoever resists the authority is resisting what God has arranged, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 📚For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Do you want to be without fear of the authority? Do what is good, and you will receive praise from him. 4 📚For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do what is 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 does evil. 5 📚Therefore you need to be subject to the authorities, not only because of wrath, but also because of conscience.
6 📚For this reason you also pay taxes; for they are God’s ministers, attending continually to this very thing. 7 📚Therefore, give to all their due; tax to whom tax is due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour.
13:1-7 Believers in Christ have been brought into God’s kingdom. They owe their primary loyalty to the King of kings Jesus Christ. But they are still in the world and in one or another of man’s kingdoms. These verses show how they are to behave toward government authorities.⚜
13:6-7 Matt 22:21; 1 Pet 2:17. If a believer is dishonest in the matter of paying taxes, etc, he is sinning against God.⚜
The principle of love
8 📚Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another. For he who loves others has fulfilled the Law.
13:8 Debt is something to be avoided. It is a trap that catches the careless. It can bring much bondage and misery. The custom of going into debt for special occasions like marriages, etc, or to buy unnecessary things, is surely wrong for believers. The rule of life for believers should be contentment with what they have (Phil 4:12; 1 Tim 6:6-8; Heb 13:5), and faith that God will supply all they need (Matt 6:33; Phil 4:19). People who will not pay their debts, when they are able to pay, are no better than thieves – they take and use what does not belong to them. But there is one debt all believers have and which they must make continued efforts to pay – the duty of loving one another (Rom 12:9-10; John 13:34).⚜
9 📚For the commandments, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, You shall not covet, and any other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself”.
13:9 Exodus chapter 20; Lev 19:18.⚜
10 📚Love does no harm to a neighbour, so love is the fulfilling of the Law.
11 📚And do that, knowing the present time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep. for now our salvation is nearer than when we believed. 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 📖.
13:11-12 Neither Paul, nor any other apostle, knew the day of Christ’s second coming. He was eagerly looking forward to it and he wanted all believers to have the same expectant attitude he had. The Holy Spirit inspired him to use language suitable for every generation of believers. Compare Matt 24:36, 42, 44. “Salvation” (v 11) here means the completion of the salvation believers already have. Compare Rom 8:23; 1 Pet 1:9.⚜
13 📚Let us walk decently, as in the daylight, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and unbridled lust, not in strife and envy. 14 📚But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil its cravings.
13:11-14 Spiritually speaking, the world is a dark place (John 3:19-20), but believers are children of the light (Matt 5:14; John 12:36; Eph 5:8). Here is how God wants them to behave.⚜
13:14 The Lord Jesus is in believers (Rom 8:9; 2 Cor 13:5). “Put on” here speaks of the outward life. It means that the behavior of believers should be in accordance with the ways of Christ Who is in them. Compare Eph 4:22-24. We must apply His truth to our behavior. Observe that Paul recognizes that the sinful nature with its desires is still in believers. Compare Rom 7:18; 8:13; Gal 5:16-17. See the importance of the thoughts in getting victory over the sinful nature. See Rom 8:5; 12:2.⚜