Romans 13.3a-Governmental Rulers Are A Cause Of Fear For Law Breakers
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday December 15, 2009
Romans: Romans 13:3a-Governmental Rulers Are A Cause Of Fear For Law Breakers
Lesson # 435
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 13:1.
This evening we will continue with our study of Romans chapter thirteen.
By way of review, in Romans 13:1, Paul issues a command for his Christian readers in Rome to continue making it their habit of voluntarily subjecting themselves to the governmental authorities in Rome.
Then, he presents the reason as to why the Roman believers should continue doing this, namely because there is, as an eternal spiritual truth, absolutely no authority that exists on the earth except by God.
Lastly, he defines specifically this reason by teaching that those governmental authorities, which do at any time in history exist on the earth have been ordained from eternity past by God the Father under the divine decree.
Romans 13:1, “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”
In Romans 13:2, Paul presents an inference from his instruction in verse 1 teaching that the Christian who at any time does set himself or herself in opposition against any governmental authority is in a state of opposition against this institution, which originates from God the Father.
He advances upon this statement teaching also that those Christians who are in a state of opposition against any governmental authority will, as a certainty, undergo judgment at the hands of these authorities for the detriment of themselves.
Romans 13:2, “Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.”
This evening we will begin a study of Romans 13:3 and in this passage Paul resumes the discussion from verse 1 as to why the Romans believers are to obey the command in verse 1 to continue to voluntarily subjecting themselves to the governmental authorities.
The statement presents an additional reason why they should obey his command in verse 1.
Therefore, the Roman believers must continue to voluntarily subject themselves to the governmental authorities because governmental rulers are a cause of fear for those whose conduct is evil.
Then, he poses a rhetorical question that follows as a logical consequence of the previous statement.
Thus, Paul is saying that since governmental rulers are a cause of fear for law breakers consequently or as a logical consequence to this if you do not want to live in fear of the authorities, then obey the laws of the land.
The command that presents the logical consequence of the rhetorical question requires that Paul’s Christian readers in Rome must continue practicing that which is good, i.e. obedience to the laws of the Roman government.
Lastly, this command is followed by a result clause indicating that if Paul’s readers continue making it their habit of practicing that which is good in character, i.e. obedience to the governing authorities, the result will be that they will receive praise from the governing authorities.
Romans 13:3, “For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same.”
“For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil” resumes the discussion from verse 1 presenting the reason why the Romans believers are to continue to voluntarily subject themselves to the governmental authorities.
The statement presents an additional reason why they should obey his command in verse 1.
“Rulers” is the articular nominative masculine plural form of the noun archon (a&rxwn) (ar-khone), which refers to the governmental authorities in the Roman Empire.
An archon in Paul’s day was a government official of the Roman Empire who possessed exousia, “authority, power,” which the Latins called imperium.
Imperium extended to matters of life and death, law, military command and all decisions of policy.
The individual with imperium had supreme and absolute power.
An archon in the Roman Empire who possessed imperium had the power and authority to issue the death penalty, capital punishment to convicted criminals.
This is the power Paul speaks of in Romans 13:1 when he uses the Greek noun exousia, “authorities.”
The archon, “rulers” in Romans 13:3 refers to those government authorities who possessed the power and authority (Greek: exousia; Latin: imperium) to administer the sentence of capital punishment to citizens or non-citizens in the Roman Empire and to tax.
Romans 13:3, “For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same.”
“A cause of fear” is the nominative masculine singular form of the noun phobos (fovbo$) (fob-os), which is used in an active sense meaning “that which causes fear” and is used here of governmental rulers.
Governmental authorities are a cause of fear for those whose conduct is evil and commit crimes such as stealing, murder, or kidnapping.
“For good behavior” is composed of the articular dative neuter singular form of the adjective agathos (a)gaqov$) (ag-ath-os), “for good” and the dative neuter singular form of the noun ergon (e&rgon) (er-gon), “behavior.”
The adjective agathos means good in the sense of “intrinsically valuable, intrinsically good, inherently good in quality but with the idea of good which is also profitable, useful, benefiting others, benevolent.”
Therefore, it is describing conduct that is “intrinsically valuable, intrinsically good, inherently good in quality but with the idea of good which is also profitable, useful, benefiting others, benevolent” since obedience to human governmental authorities is in accordance with the Father’s will according to Romans 13:1.
It is good in the sense that it is “intrinsically valuable, intrinsically good, inherently good in quality but with the idea of good which is also profitable, useful, benefiting others, benevolent” since human government has been established by God for His benefit, the Christian and the entire human race.
Without human government, the human race, which is enslaved to the devil and the sin nature and thus totally depraved, would destroy itself.
Therefore, human government benefits God in that it helps to perpetuate the human race so that He can save some of them and it provides freedom for the gospel to be proclaimed.
It benefits the Christian in that it enables them to grow to spiritual maturity and it benefits the unbeliever in that it provides him the opportunity to either accept or reject Jesus Christ as Savior.
In Romans 13:3, the noun ergon is in the singular and means “conduct” and refers to the Christian’s personal behavior that is based upon obedience to the Father’s will.
Therefore, these two words mean “good conduct” and refer to obedience to the laws of the civil government in which the Christian is under the authority of.
Romans 13:3, “For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same.”
“But for evil” is contrasting the idea that governmental rulers are never a cause of fear for those Christians whose conduct is good with the idea that governmental rulers are a cause of fear for those whose conduct is evil.
“Evil” is the articular dative neuter singular form of the adjective kakos (kakov$) (kak-os), which means “evil” and describes the conduct of the Christian which is in disobedience to the laws of the government and thus in disobedience to the will of the Father who established human government.
Conduct that is in disobedience to the laws of the land by the Christian is evil in quality and character since it is in disobedience to the Father’s will according to the command in Romans 13:1 to obey governmental authorities.
The Holy Spirit through the teaching of the Word of God reveals that it is the Father’s will that the Christian voluntarily subject himself or herself to the governmental authorities as demonstrated by the command to do so in Romans 13:1.
Therefore, disobedience is evil in quality and character since it rejects the will of the Father.
