Romans 13

The Church finds our hope past our limited ends in the unlimited sovereignty of God.

Let’s talk for a moment about the whole scope of the book of Romans. It matters becuase as a reminder, the book is really a letter, read to a church in ancient rome. So when we get to Romans 13, really Romans 12, these aren’t separated by chapters but they are separated by theme. We get an entire shift in focus in the later half of the book

When we get to Romans 12 there is an entire shift in the letter. Paul, in light of us understanding the overwhelming grace of God, we now have to look at

how do we live because of that?

What changes in our daily lives because of the incredible grace and salvation found in Jesus.

Romans 12 talks about our overall posture. What it looks like to be a Christian,

From that place we begin to understand Romans 13. Because the chapter shows us how it is we are called to live in society and live in relationship.

Romans 13 often becomes a prooftext for our relationship with society but its a very hard text to just pull out without any other conversation. It does not simply stand on it’s own. You have to see it in light of what Paul is saying before.

but romans 13 is like walking into a room halfway through a conversation.

as backgound here is some of the posture Christian’s are called to take up

Romans 12:1 ESV

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.

submitted to God. Romans 12:1

Romans 12:9 ESV

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

to love others by abhoring what is evil and rejoicing in what is good. Romans 12:9

Romans 12:18–20 ESV

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 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.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”

and to live peacably with all, not avenge yourselves and love your enemy. Romans 12:18-20

And the chapter ends with Romans 12:21

Romans 12:21 ESV

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Our allegiance in Romans 12 is not to anything less than the sovereignty of God. And because of the Christian’s surrender to God, He is our first and final authority.

To trust in the sovereignty of God means to trust His outcomes over ours. Means to trust His devices for humanity over ours. It means to trust His righteousness over ours. It means to trust His triumph over ours.

From that place we learn how to live in society. Whether in relationship, with one another or society, a bunch of one anothers.

To just bring up Romans 13 alone is becomes very complex very quickly. We will talk through some of those areas but we have to see them in light of the reality that we first live under God’s authority. That He is our final victory. And that from that place we learn to live with one somebody and a bunch of somebodys.

Romans 12 teaches us that we find all that is good about God in our submission to Him

Romans 13 begins to show us how to live that out beyond our own lives.

Loving A Bunch of Somebodies: In Society under Christ

Romans 13:1–2 ESV

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.

This probably makes most of us bristle. It is a hard passage but a good one, honestly.

The passage goes on to talk about how that happens and why. We are to pay taxes, not take vengeance and so on.

All to what end, though?

Why?

Some of you are like, “really?” Why?”

Let’s figure that out.

First of all, let’s continue to frame this rightly. We look at this and think “governmental overreach!” We wonder how to apply this. We like this passage when our guys are in office. We ignore it when our guys aren’t in office.

But this passage is not really about Government, it is really about the sovereignty and rule of God.

We think this is about submitting to a government

Paul looks at this as submitting to the rule and reign of God.

We ask, “how could we ever submit to a govt?”

Paul asks, “how could we not submit to the complete authority of GOd?”

This passage is not an approval of the existing human order.

It does not say, “this is the right way to do things in a government or society.” IT does not slum to that level. It is not about approval of the existing order but it is about the work of God within any order.

Paul is writing this within a horrible overwhelmingly oppressive government. This is right about the time Nero was Caesar. That Nero. So it’s not like Paul is living within a free society.

But the reason this is written and can be done so boldly is because there is no confidence in the any current human order. In any goverment, any means of ordering people.

But there is incredible confidence in God.

And for the Christian we have to decide whose confidence we will sit under.

We are being told to subject ourselves to the limited nature of Govt. It can’t do everything but it does some things. But part of that subjection is to realize that we are not the solution to the problem.

This section provides a caution. A means for reflection.

Because it is calling us to not do something but submitting to the governing authorities. Our action is a non action

This is important to understand because the opposite of what we are being told to do is to not subject to the governing authorities. (now there is a place and time, when the authorities are going against God’s law where this is not the case, but we are called as the church to check whose authority and whose triumph we are coming under.)

The issue this passage shows us is not how we conduct ourselves when we agree but rather how we conduct ourselves in the world when we don’t agree.

The call is to be in subjection, not because the government is sovereign but because God is. God is the One in authority. He is the One in control.

and to not take the time to wrestle with that reality and to work that out in our lives is to simply react to the issues in worldly ways

At the very moment of Jesus’ arrest he said to one of those with him

Matthew 26:52–53 ESV

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?

Power only speaks one language. And Jesus, knowing that reminds the disciples that those who take the sword will perish by it. And that final power and authority rests in the Father.

- The church does not pursue triumph. We live in the triumph of Christ. Triumph against power ONLY comes through violence. It only comes through confrontation of power against power. IT comes only through rebellion.

- Power speaks one language.

The purpose of ROmans 13 is not to tell us to obey the Govt. It is a command to remember whose Triumph we follow. Whose power we want. Whose will we follow.

TO choose to not subject ourselves is, in it’s opposite, to choose rebellion. And the moment we choose rebellion it becomes up to us, in our strength, to bring about the revolution. It is to choose your own strength against the strength of the object of your rebellion

It becomes about us against whoever we are fighting. It is about what already exists vs what already exists. Rebellion and revolution creates new things and new systems but it does not create a new kingdom that kingdom already exists

Albert Camus, in the Rebel says that those who rebel against the societal machinery have to be really cautious about that rebellion. Because once you win a rebellion you become the revolutionary and replace the very system you overthrew.

That becomes a big problem. Power and authority then becomes something we handle and wield. And humans don’t have a great track record of wielding those things well. We become what we are fighting against.

We live under a theocracy. We have a king as Christians. Christ rules. He has power and He has authority. And He does not pervert it.

Our great hope is in Christ. And that Christ works through whatever govt system that we face.

But we also know that any govt system that is set up is set up in a broken world. It is less than perfect. Paul is writing this in an oppressive regime.

In a working system, the govt provides the boundaries necessary to live righteously with one another. Not redeemed but righteously. The government can never redeem.

And we can’t expect it to. But we can speak into how it handles issues of justice and righteousness. We can communicate the church’s Christian stance and posture as a means of understanding how to live in the world.

To understand this passage is to understand the ordering of God’s rule. The government is not our final authority. God is

And when we understand that our obedience is to God and He is calling how we handle the govt means that we will sometimes have to call the govt to look at God’s ordering of the world.

According to Bohnhoeffer politics can’t create ideal conditions because it only preserves. It can only restrain sin through law not heal it

And when we do that we get the order right. We see the church, not as a reactive organization, like a lobby against governmental power. But rather as God’s means of proclaiming Christ as redeemer.

The church can never be confused with the goverment because in this text there is a massive shift that Paul makes to keep talking about the church and leaves the govt behind.

This passage is not how we interact with the govt it is how we interact with God. It is how we live out the grace of God in our lives.

We don’t hold up power against power but hold up Christ’s victory through His death and resurrection as our understanding of triumph.

Paul is not saying trust the government or align with the government or love the government. He is saying love God enough and trust that he is holding all things together enough that we don’t have to ask the government to do more than it does. It allows us to not idolize the government

Look at the way Paul talks about the government in Rom 13. It’s al based on power. Look at the way Paul talks about the church and Christ in Rom 13. It’s all love.

And it allows us to focus on how to do that well.

But Paul points back to the church and says, but this is how you live.

Romans 13:8–10 ESV

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Our role as the church is to love our neighbor.

Love moves in a direction. It has an end. We love people to the greater love found in Christ Himself.

This is why it is important to keep in mind who is soverign. Who is our end. Who is our means. God is. So that when we love we love people toward Christ.

Oliver o donavan definition of love. Delight and wisdom. Both interacting in the life of someone else.

Sometimes we get confused about our end and believe that the govt is the most important space in the world. Or that the public square is the most important space in the world. or whoever is yelling loudest is the most important space in the world

If we want to talk about where we find life, we have to trust that the church is the most important space in the world. Because it is the space where God represents Himself to the world. How He shows the world what He is like.

We have to look past the structures and systems of the world to love people toward the grace of GOd.

if we loves towrad lesser ends then we can only lead people toward lesser ends . We lead people toward whatever we believe our final end is . And if it’s govt or a church building or behavior or ministries then we will severely limit where peop,e find life. Only in Jesus

No matter what we are currenlty facing we to believe Pauls words

Romans 13:11–12 ESV

Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

We have a call far beyond the structures and systems of this world. Far greater than any governmental system. Our call is to the cosmology of the human soul. To love God in such a way that He remains the sovereign end in our lives and to love others in such a way that they see Him

We can’t stop short. Our call is t live in the light. To walk in the daytime. To do so is to live in Christ and to love others as yourself.