Romans 13 -- Our Relationship To Government

My commentary says, "God established three institutions:  the home, government, and the church."  Here, it says, Paul gives four reasons why the Christian must be in subjection to the laws of the State.

For wrath's sake -- "It is God who has established the governments of the world.  This does not mean that He is responsible for the sins of tyrants, but only that the authority to rule comes originally from God ... God established human government because man is a sinner and must have some kind of authority over him ... Rules must bear the sword; that is, they have the power to afflict punishment and even to take life ... Even though we cannot always respect the man in office, we must respect the office, for government was ordained by God."  This represents obeying out of fear of punishment.

For conscience's sake -- "When the law is right, the Christian must obey it if he is to maintain a good conscience ... When conscience begins to work, we cannot live with ourselves until we have made things right.  Romans 13:7 commands us to pay what we owe:  taxes, revenue, respect, honor.  If we do not pay our taxes, we show disrespect for the law, the officials, and the Lord.  And this cannot but affect the conscience of the believer ... we dare not violate our conscience by refusing to pay."

For love's sake -- "Paul enlarged the circle of responsibility by including other people besides government officials.  'Love one another' is the basic principle of the Christian life ... When we practice love, there is no need for any other laws, because love covers it all!  If we love others, we will not sin against them."

For Jesus' sake -- "We have come a long way in our reasons for obeying the law:  from fear to conscience to love to our devotion to Jesus Christ.  The emphasis is on the imminent return of Christ.  As His servants, we want to be found faithful when He returns."  Paul admonished us to wake up (1 Thes. 5:1-11), clean up (1 John 2:26-3:3), and now to grow up (Romans 13:14), my commentary said.  "We grow on the basis of the food we eat.  This is why God warns us not to make provision for the flesh.  If we feed the flesh, we will fail, but if we feed the inner man the nourishing things of the Spirit, we will succeed.  In other words, a Christian citizen ought to be the best citizen."

Father, I want my life to reflect You to the world.  Please help me never to make provision for my flesh and in doing so to dishonor You.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford