In Romans 12, our Lord illustrated the power of His awesome faith, so we can “believe to receive”, but in Romans 13, our Lord, shows how His awesome, powerful faith makes us willing to “submit to governmental authority”, when their authority submits to God’s authority; otherwise, we are commanded to love and pray for them, but to always submit first to God’s authority, plan, and will; yet be humble and submissive to their punishment for disobedience.
Romans 13:1-7 is God’s command for His children, Christians, members of Christ’s body, the church, to willingly submit to government authority, for God set in place governmental authority; thus, to willfully resist governmental authority (as a lawless criminal), is resisting the God who instituted government authority to establish “law and order on the earth”, but if those chosen to govern, protect, and provide for our earthly care, do not, then God will replace with others (Psalm 75:6-8).
God gave governments the authority to collect fair taxes and spend it wisely, so governments could keep the nations and its citizens protected, safe, provided for, repair infrastructure, and keep everything orderly and progressively in God’s plan and will.
The sword is an instrument of defensive protection and for death to offenders; thus, it is a symbol of positive and negative governing, the same way Christianity has a positive and negative submission to governing authority—we willingly submit to governmental authority when it submits to God’s authority, plan, and will—but we willingly respect, love, pray for, yet choose God’s plan and will above government authority that willfully disobeys God’s delegated authority, and tries to come between God and His children, but we joyfully, willingly, and respectfully submit to the punishment the disobedient government authorities provide.
Romans 13:8-10 is God’s command to forget about our welfare and demonstrate God’s love in us; not to resist government authority to show God’s power of protection, but to demonstrate God’s love, grace, and mercy, even toward those who reject Him, His plan, and will for His creation, for we know from 1 Corinthians 13:8 “Love never fails”, and the Song of Solomon 8::6 says, “Love is as strong as death”; thus, God’s love for the wicked demonstrated through Christians can change them, even when they kill us for respectfully submitting to God’s plan and will, rather than to their disobedience against God and His will.
Romans 13:8-10, is however, a catalogue of what God commands Christians NOT to do, except to love our neighbors, for God’s love demonstrated through us cause us to never harm anyone, but to love, honor, help, and respect everyone.
Romans 13:11-14 is God’s command to give Him our entire self, be clothed with Christ, so people will see Christ and not us, for the time of Christ’s return to mid-air and call Christ’s bride, Christians, the members of Christ’s body, the church worldwide, to come up where He is, to be with Him forever, and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 explains this so beautiful; therefore, do not fear governmental authority that rebels against God, for God has it all planned when their time ends, so love them, pray for them, and trust them to God.
Jim Nabors
