Romans 13:1-3: A Christian's Responsibility to Government

Happy [belated] Thanksgiving! I hope y'all had a wonderful time with family and friends, and I surely hope y'all spent some time being thankful!

Romans 13:1.. "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities."

"A Christian's Responsibility to Governement." Hmmm. It just sounds like a controversial blog post, does it not? Well, I hope it does not turn out to be. Anyway, let me first emphasize a few things. Firstly, this is a topic I'm super passionate about, and I would love to discuss it more. I believe that oftentimes in the evangelical world we get this topic all wrong, and I have a great passion to fix that. Secondly, this is a topic that often is discussed without any biblical basis. Many Christians debate on how Christians should react to government without even consulting the Bible. This is truly treachorous territory. How will we ever know how to act rightly if we do not know what the biblical response to government is? Therefore, let's find out.

The Christian's responsbility to government is simple and is clearly laid out in Romans 13:1: "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities."

Firstly, let us discuss what the responsibility is. The English text translates the verb in the above sentence from the original Greek as "be subject to." This is a great translation, but if we look at the original Greek we can find an even deeper, clearer meaning. The Greek verb used by Paul here comes from the root "hupotaso" and means "to line up under" or "to place in subjection." In its original use, it was used as a military term that meant to "order ["taso"] underneath [hupo]," such as a lower-rank member of a military "lining up under" his commanding general. Paul, using this term, implies the same meaning. A Christian's responsibility to government is to "order underneath," "line up under," or "be subject to" the governing authorities. Ultimately, this means that we ought to view them as superior in societal rank and therefore seek to fully obey their command.

Secondly, let us discuss who the responsibility is to. Paul notes here that we ought to "be subject to the governing authorities." Therefore, the command here is to be subject to the governing authorities. Did you get that? Let me say it again. The Bible commands all Christians to be subject to the governing authorities. This is so often stated, yet so often missed. Christians have a responsibility to be subject to the government as a whole. Paul places no restrictions here on which authorities we ought to obey--he simply says we ought to obey all governmental authorities.

Thirdly, let us discuss why the responsibility is called for. Paul gives four reasons within the following text: We are subject to authority because...

1. All authority is from God (v. 1b)

2. All authority is instituted by God (v. 1c)

3. To resist authority is to resist what God has appointed (and therefore to resist authority is to resist God himself) (v. 2)

4. Authority is for good (v. 3a)*

Lastly, let us get practical. What does this look like in a day-to-day Christian's life? Here are some of what I believe to be practical implications of this:

1. Joyfully paying your taxes (see Romans 13:6). When you pay your taxes, you obey God's command to be subject to government, and therefore present yourself as a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1-2). Yep, paying your taxes is in fact an act of worship.

2. Voting in every election, and not voting third party. I know I'm ruffling feathers here, and I am more than happy to be argued on this, but I truly believe every Christian has a responsibility to vote in every election, no matter who the candidates are. And also, I do not consider voting "third party" voting, because its a waste of a vote.**

3. Being knowledgable about political affairs. Now, I'm not saying that you should stay up to date with every political scandal, every so-called sex offense, and every rumor passing around our American politics. However, I do believe that every Christian should be (at least somewhat) knowledgeable about what it's government is doing, even though in today's world that isn't easy (simply because you never know what to believe). Personally, this is where I struggle, because it isn't easy. However, I still believe it is our Christian responsibility to be involved in government by simply being knowledgable about what's going on. [Side Note: if you want a great resource that will enable you to be knowledgable about politics from a Christian worldview, check this out: https://albertmohler.com/the-briefing]

4. Obey the law. It's truly that simple. The government has placed laws for us to abide by in order to keep order within society--worship God by obeying them.

*I can hear all of your minds working..."What about government that does things that aren't fair?" "What about government that does not fulfill its God-given purpose?" For those questions, of which do not contain room in this blog post to discuss, I point you here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u2lc5MdPSKDZqMqv0oRmr2G75jFsZ5rRnGRZVSFDhWo/edit

**I know I may seem harsh here, but I'm truly restraining myself, I promise. There is so much more I would love to say on this. If you'd like to argue or find more of my reasoning, feel free to contact me.