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You have to pay your taxes, sorry.
What does this passage have to do with chapter 12?
12:2 we are told to “not be conformed to this world...”
It is hard for us to understand the implications of this command.
The Romans Emperor was considered god of the Roman Citizens.
So if you are a new Christian in Rome, how can you worship Jesus as Lord and Savior and still support the Romans government?
Paul is speaking into a real life issue for the Church in Rome
How they live as citizens will effect their ability to be witnesses for Christ where they live.
So he tells them “You have to pay your taxes.”
Why we struggle with this passage.
Our reaction to this passages comes from 2 places:
Our democratic form of government-
We have the opportunity to vote in the candidates we think most represent us
not the case in the Roman Empire or in other countries around the world.
When you have a say (to a point) in the laws of the land, submission is hard for us to understand.
If our candidates are in office, we can follow this well, but if the opposition is in office, submission, honor, and respect just don’t come easy.
The modern tendency we have toward villainizing those that disagree with us.
It is far to common in our culture to move quickly from a simple disagreement to saying the person you disagree with is evil or stupid.
“If you believe ________ then you are a bad person...”
“Our disagreements may frequently hoarsen our voices, but they rarely sharpen our thinking, much less change our minds.”
Brett Stephens
So the thought of submission, honor, and respect of those in authority just doesn’t compute in our modern society.
This is why is so important to us.
How we live this verse will effect our ability to
How are we as believers to relate with the societal institutions around us?
How are we to relate to authority in a way that doesn’t compromise our obedience to God?
That answer is in the greek word “hypotasso” which means “to place under” or to “submit”
We SUBMIT as CITIZENS.
“Let EVERY PERSON be subject to the governing authorities.”
Not a select few people.
Not only those who agree with those in charge.
Not only when it is advantageous to us.
“Let every person BE SUBJECT TO the governing authorities.”
Means to Submit
It is to acknowledge that certain institutions or people have been placed over us and have the right to our respect and deference.
It doesn’t mean “do everything the government tells you to without question.”
There is injustice and evil in every governmental system in the world.
Submission means to respect the position of those in authority over us even when it is necessary that we do not obey them.
“Let every person be subject to THE GOVERNING AUTHORITIES.”
Our submission is to those that have been placed in leadership over us.
President, representatives, governors, mayors, law enforcement, judges...
We are citizens of this city, this county, this state, this country, and for that reason, we must abide by the rules and submit to the authorities that have been given to us.
Paul isn’t contradicting himself from 12:2, not conforming to the world doesn’t mean we live in anarchy.
It means we do not accept the ways and institutions of this world as ultimately true and complete.
Rather we live in light of the mercy of God and, with transformed minds, we give ourselves to Him as sacrificial servants
One of the ways we do this is through submitting ourselves to the governing authorities over us.
We SUBMIT as SAINTS.
We SUBMIT as SAINTS.
The verse continues with the reason for our submission...
romans 13 1-
“There is no authority except from God”
Jesus said the same thing to Pontius Pilot in
roman 13 2
Paul connects our submission to human authority to our submission to God.
He doesn’t just do this here though:
Wives are to submit to
Wives are to submit to their husbands “as to the Lord”
Slaves (or employees in our day) are to submit to their masters (bosses) “as they would to Christ”
Children are to obey their parents “in the Lord” because it is RIGHT/righteous.
Church members are to submit to leadership in the church.
1 thess
We as a church family ought to submit to one another out of our devotion to Christ.
This is the theme of the previous verse, DON’T THINK OF YOUR SELF AS MORE IMPORTANT.
In each case, we must recognize the rightful leadership role that another human being has in our life.
In each case, we must recognize the rightful leadership role that another human being has in our life.
recognize the rightful leadership role that another human being has in his or her life.
And by doing so we are recognizing the primary authority in our lives, Jesus Christ.
Submission is the way of life for those who are in Christ.
If you have a problem with authority, then you will have a major problem being a Christian.
phil 2
phil 2
If we truly are IN CHRIST then our lives will be marked by submission.
To be IN CHRIST means more than not going to hell.
It means that He is gradually taking over in our lives, molding an shaping us more and more to be like Him.
You might not see how paying your taxes has anything to do with following Jesus, but it has ALL to do with it.
If Jesus is not LORD of ALL, He is not LORD at ALL.
That is a quote from Hudson Taylor, a missionary to China for 51 years.
Taylor understood that to truly be a Christian it had to be more than just simply praying a prayer and going to church on Sundays.
It has EVERY DAY IMPLICATIONS.
To be “transformed in mind” by the work of Jesus means that the laws of the land are seen for what they are.
They are for the promotion of good and when they are followed we should expect to be “approved”.
Paul is saying “
And thus we have our reason for
Why should you be subject to the governing authorities?
Because God is behind every authority (good or bad) in every aspect of our lives.
A life of sacrificial worship
How we live our every day lives speaks to how much we are truly devoted to Jesus as Lord of our lives.
And because submission to the authorities around us is ultimately submission to God’s complete authority in all of our lives.
And the mission of our lives is to listen to the one who has been given ultimately authority as Jesus says of Himself in
matt 28
and so the purpose of our obedience is the remainder of that verse.
matt 28 19-
We pay our taxes, honor and respect those in authority over us in order that the other might know how great and how powerful, and how incredible Jesus really is.
I want to end with the extended quote from Hudson Taylor on the implications of -21.
“How are we going to treat the Lord Jesus Christ with reference to this command?
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