Paul's Directive to Obey the Government
Romans 13 Advises Christian to Pay Taxes and be Obedient to Rulers
For many modern Christians, Paul’s writings to the Romans regarding the relationship between Christians and governmental authority are difficult to accept.
Although there were no persecutions of Christians in Rome at the time Paul wrote this epistle, almost every aspect of Roman social life and culture was antithetical to early Christian beliefs.
This included subjection to the “governing authorities” and paying taxes. For Christians today that champion social justice, protest wars, and decry abortion and the death penalty, this passage confronts those endeavors.
Obedience to Rulers
Paul’s admonition in verse one, to be in subjection to governing authority, is based on the fact that authority and the rulers that impose such authority are there because God permits them to be. In many ways, they serve the ultimate will and purpose of God within the greater scope of God’s plan of Creation.
Those that actively oppose authority, oppose God (verse 2). Paul tells his readers that it is sinful to oppose God by opposing secular, civil authority. Even Jesus had accepted the temporal sovereignty of Rome, paying the required tax and never criticizing imperial policies. Paul’s directive in verse seven to “Render to what is due them” echoes Jesus’ statement to render to Caesar what is Caesar’s.
The Caveat of Good Behavior
Paul writes to, “Do what is good…” Here is where Christians in modern times have found ways to circumvent the notion of total obedience to authority. Was it “good” for Corrie and Betsie Ten Boom to hide Jews in their Haarlem house during World War II, saving an estimated 800 lives? Such Christians rationalized that dictators like Hitler and regimes like the Nazis did not represent God in any way, directly or indirectly.
If, as in verse four, the avenger “brings wrath upon the one who practices evil,” this must be construed as a warning not only to Christians who, for the wrong reasons, disobey rulers, but for rulers themselves that depart from justice and follow a spirit of anti-Christ.
It should also be remembered that this particular passage deals specifically with Christians, not rulers. The assumption in the passage is that rulers were not acting out of evil motives. The epistle was most probably written at Corinth during the last year of the reign of Claudius or the first two years of the reign of Nero, relatively stable periods.
Christians Should Pay Taxes
In the United States, there were times Christians, either individually or as members of activist groups, refused to pay federal taxes. These well-meaning people opposed the war in Vietnam; they wanted to protest the war in Iraq. They felt that their best form of protest was to withhold taxes.
Paul’s admonition was for Christians to pay the taxes – not only for fear of wrath, but as a matter of conscience (verse 5). “Tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.” (verse 7) Christians belonged to God, but lived in a secular society in which they owed civil authorities obedience. An old glib Christian adage states that, “you’re so heavenly minded, you’re no earthly good.”
The Epistle to the Romans in Historical Context
Modern Christians frequently equate such passages as strictly historical. Paul supported slavery, yet contemporary society does not. Paul accepted the subordinate role of women although modern Western traditions reject gender disparity. Even evangelical Christians that believe in the Bible “cover to cover” do not accept the validity of slavery.
Hence, Paul’s often difficult message in Romans 13, 1-7 might be tempered with the conclusion that his advice was historical, pertinent to the existing time yet perhaps no longer applicable literally.
Sources:
- New American Standard Bible (Moody Press, 1973).
- The New Testament in the Language of Today, William F. Beck (Concordia Publishing House, 1964).
Paul's World Was Different From Today
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