Tyndale Open Study NotesRomans 13

This section of Romans explains the moral and ethical demands of the gospel. God’s gift of salvation in Christ calls for a response from believers.

God not only forgives sin. He also wants to transform how people live.

Much of what Paul teaches here about the moral duties of believers also appears in his other letters. However, Paul also addresses issues that were especially important for the church in Rome. One key issue was the disagreement between people who were weak in faith and people who were strong in faith(14:1–15:13).

• The main command in 13:1–7 is to submit to governing authorities. In God’s ordering of the world, people are accountable to those who hold positions of authority. This submission usually takes the form of obedience.

  However, God stands above all governments. For this reason, submission to governing authorities is always shaped by our ultimate obedience to God (see Acts 4:19–20).

  Some Christians in Rome may have been resisting the government. They may have misunderstood the good news, thinking that no longer copying the values of this world (12:2) meant they could ignore earthly authorities (see study note on Rom 13:6).

• God has set in place: Scripture consistently teaches that God is active in raising up and bringing down human leaders and governments (1 Samuel 2:6–10; 12:8; Proverbs 8:15–16; Isaiah 41:2–4; 45:1–7; Jeremiah 21:7, 10; 27:5–6; Daniel 2:21, 37–38; 4:17).

  Because God has ordered human society through governing authorities, rejecting their role entirely is a rejection of God’s ordering of the world. At the same time, obedience to rulers is never absolute. When rulers demand what conflicts with obedience to God, faithfulness to God must come first (Acts 4:19–20; Romans 13:2).

rulers are not a terror to good conduct: Paul presents a positive picture of governing authorities. He describes them according to the role God has given them. Paul does not discuss situations where rulers punish those who do good and reward those who do evil.

Paul was aware of such situations. He knew them from the Old Testament and Jewish history, from the experience of Jesus and the other apostles, and from events in the Greco-Roman world. Here, Paul limits his discussion to how believers should respond to governing authorities who act according to their calling.

• Servant: The New Testament often uses this Greek word (diakonos) to describe Christians serving God in different roles. In non-religious Greek, diakonos can also refer to a city official. A government and its leaders serve God by administering justice, whether they realize it or not.

• he does not carry the sword in vain: Here, the sword might be a metaphor for any punishment. Some interpreters believe it means human governments, under God's authority, have the right to use capital punishment. (Capital punishment is the practice of killing someone as a legal penalty for certain crimes.)

• These two reasons for submission summarize 13:1–4. in reverse order. The reason to avoid punishment connects to 13:3–4. The matter of conscience connects to 13:1–2.

• The word conscience (Greek suneidēsis) refers here to the painful awareness of doing wrong. Christians know that they have a duty to submit to governing authorities. If they fail to do so, they would experience the pain of a guilty conscience.

pay taxes: Jesus spoke about paying taxes in his well-known teaching on the disciples’ relationship to government (Matthew 22:21). A tax revolt took place in Rome around the time Paul was writing this letter. Paul may have known about this event. His discussion of the Christian responsibility toward government may have been prompted by reports that some Roman Christians were involved in this revolt (see Tacitus, Annals 13).

These verses explain how Christians should treat other people. True love for others will be shown through actions that follow God’s commandments about human relationships.

• The idea of obligation connects 13:1–7 and 13:8–10. Christians should “pay everyone what you owe him” (13:7). At the same time, Christians always owe love to their neighbors.

• Be indebted to no one: Debt is not wrong, but Christians should avoid it. If a Christian does incur debt, it should be repaid promptly. This allows the believer to remain free to serve others in love (see Proverbs 22:7).

• to one another in love: Christians are called to love all people they encounter (Romans 12:14–21; Luke 10:25–37). However, this phrase especially emphasizes the love that each Christian owes to other Christians.

• has fulfilled the law: This teaching closely follows the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 22:34–40.

The New Testament often speaks of salvation as the final victory over sin and death that those who believe in Jesus will experience when Jesus returns in glory (see 5:9–10).

the day has drawn near: The word day comes from two sources:

• First, the Old Testament repeatedly predicts the Day of the LORD. This is the time when God brings his plan to its completion (see Isaiah 13:4–13; Jeremiah 3:18; 30:8–9; Joel 2:1–32; Obadiah 1:15–18).

• Second, moral teaching in the ancient world often used day and light to represent what is good. Night and darkness represented what is evil. Greeks, Romans, and Jews all used this contrast.

  Because believers belong to the day, they should live according to its values. This means avoiding the dark actions that are associated with nighttime.