Monday Romans 13:1-7

Live under the authority of the government.

Click here for an online Bible. Romans 13:1-7

Part of living in submission to God is living in submission to the government. The authority of government is given by God to provide order in the society since the world is a sinful fallen place. Most laws in most places are good moral laws. They exist to restrain evil. It is pretty universal that stealing and murder are illegal. The government has the authority granted by God to enforce order and basic morality.

It is the duty of all Christians to submit to the authority of the government. We are to obey the speed limits, pay taxes, follow building codes, obey noise ordinances, and all of the other laws that sometimes seem annoying.

Usually when we have trouble submitting to the authority of the government, it is a basic rebellion against authority. And rebellion against authority goes back to rebellion against God.

What about when the government is in conflict with God? Just because the government is hostile to God or His people does not give us an excuse to not submit to the government. Think about the government of Rome at the time Paul wrote this letter. The Roman government was not a friend of Christians. The emperor at that time was Nero who was the emperor who had Paul and Peter executed.

When submission the government conflicts with obedience to God, the law must be violated. Peter and John were ordered by the ruling authorities to stop preaching about Christ. They said, “We must obey God rather than man.” They disobeyed the rulers, but were also willing to suffer the consequences. Daniel said that the king’s authority was granted by God, but Daniel also disobeyed that king when is was forbidden for him to pray to the Lord. He disobeyed but was also willing to suffer the consequences.

For us, we are fortunate to live in America. We are free to obey God. Things could change and we could be forced to make hard choices in the future. If certain topic were declared to be “hate speech” and were determined to be illegal, then we must obey God. We must be willing to forfeit our tax-exempt status and risk jail rather than disobey God.

We also have the opportunity to participate in our system of government. We must vote with a biblical worldview.