Romans 13 explained: Living Under Rulers, Living in Love

Authority comes from God (vv. 1-2)

Paul tells everyone to accept the rule of those in power, because he says no authority exists unless God set it in place, so resisting it means resisting God's arrangement. Some read this as a rule for believers in every age, while others stress that he was advising a small, exposed group in the capital under the emperor Nero.

What rulers are for (vv. 3-5)

Just before this, Paul told readers never to take revenge (12:19); here he says punishing wrongdoing belongs to rulers, whose sword stood for their power to punish. He describes government as it is meant to work, praising good and punishing evil, and asks for obedience from conscience, not only from fear.

Taxes and respect (vv. 6-7)

Paul says paying taxes already shows that rulers do a needed job on God's behalf. Give each person what you owe them: the different kinds of tax (probably a regular tax and a tax on goods), and the respect and honor due to those in office.

The debt of love (vv. 8-10)

Clear every debt, Paul says, except the one that never runs out: the duty to love other people. He lists several of the Ten Commandments and says they all come down to the command to love your neighbor as you love yourself (from Leviticus 19:18), because love never harms a neighbor.

The night is almost over (vv. 11-14)

Paul pictures the present as the end of night, with God's final rescue about to dawn; Christians link this to Jesus' return, and scholars differ on how soon Paul expected it. He urges readers to drop drunken partying, sexual immorality and feuding like old nightclothes and to put on Jesus like clothing, taking on his ways instead of feeding selfish desires.

Key verse: Romans 13:8

Where Christians differ

Christians genuinely differ over how far verses 1 to 7 reach: many read them as a duty to obey any government unless it commands something wrong, while others read Paul as describing government doing its proper job (vv. 3-4), which leaves room to resist rulers who punish the innocent and reward evil.

Something to think about

What do you think a person owes the government they live under, and where would that duty stop for you?