Romans 13: Part 4, Trading Liberty for Chains

Romans 13:1-7

1. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers: for there is no power but of God: and the powers that be, are ordained of God. 2. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist, shall receive to themselves condemnation. 3. For Magistrates are not to be feared for good works, but for evil. Wilt thou then be without fear of the power? Do well: so shalt thou have praise of the same. 4. For he is the minister of God for thy wealth: but if thou do evil, fear: for he beareth not the sword for naught: for he is the minister of God to take vengeance on him that doeth evil. 5. Wherefore ye must be subject, not because of wrath only, but also for conscience sake. 6. For, for this cause pay also tribute: for they are God’s ministers, applying themselves for the same thing. 7. Give to all men therefore their duty: tribute, to whom ye owe tribute: custom, to whom ye owe custom: fear, to whom fear: honor, to whom ye owe honor.    [1599 Geneva Bible]

In my series on Romans thirteen I have yet to address one of the most prevalent misunderstandings of this short passage. Those who have studied the scripture in question know it is easy to divide the seven verses into two parts making the split between verses two and three. This is exactly what the Loyalists did (Royalists was what they called themselves) in the 1770s. Christian patriots believed that civil government was established on a covenantal basis and that the covenant was dissolved when the leaders violated God’s law in large ways. The Loyalists believed that Romans 13:1-2 pretty well described the relationship between the governing and the governed and there was really not much else to think about or to temper that interpretation. Hence, they believed that however wicked the king or governor became it was always the duty of the subjects to obey no matter what. Sure, if the government told them they could not preach the gospel that would go too far but other than that it was nearly a closed discussion.

Now, I have heard the defense of the Loyalist position stated something like this; ‘well, Romans 13:1-2 is very clear. God establishes the government and we are not supposed to resist. That is what the text says. I believe God’s word, so any other discussion is just an attempt to skirt around the plain teaching of Scripture. It is disobedience and therefore sin’.

There are a lot of problems with that Loyalist position. One of the easy places to look for further insight is the Scripture I have been writing about recently, 2 Kings11, the story of Queen Athaliah and her rightful overthrow by the priest Jehoiada. Here the hero of the story does exactly what the Loyalists among us would insist is always wrong. Yet, Jehoiada is obviously the courageous man in the right. The story of Queen Athaliah puts the lie to the Loyalist interpretation of Romans thirteen. Rather, Romans thirteen is to interpreted within the context of the entire Bible. It is like any other passage in that respect. Proper understanding is only gained by using the larger context of the Word to shed light on correct interpretation. Old Testament law has a lot to say about civil government and it is not all summed up in those two verses in Romans.

In fact the Romans thirteen passage contains several caveats that add insight into those first two verses. Verse three tells us that rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, verse four calls them ministers of God with all of the many connotations of that term, and verse seven instructs us to pay tax and honor to whom they are ‘due’ not to any one who levys these things. A present day Loyalist explained to me that verses three through seven make no sense to him since they seem to call into question the absolute nature of the earlier verses. But, he maintained, even though he could find no logic in those additional verses he still was certain that the command to obey the authorities was unequivocal.

I am telling you, that is terrible interpretation. It has hurt the church in the past and it is causing churchmen to trade their liberty for chains. Most of our churches presently adhere to the Loyalist position. Christian men are not leaders in the renewing struggle for liberty partly because our hollow theology neither calls for nor even allows for Biblical freedom. We are unwilling to enter any contest for righteous liberty and in fact could not define what Biblical liberty is if we had to. We men, have become girls. Some of our leaders effectively teach us that the mark of manliness is to do what we are told. We have deep voices but have no use for them. We have nothing to speak for because we have been fed from an emasculated Word that, due to our manifest sissyness, loses its power to feed and transform. Even passive resistance to the humanist’s trillions of stupid laws is frowned upon in the church as being somehow misdirected. Yet God’s law (parents teach your children, pay your tithes, children are a blessing) is passed by as if it had no right power to compel. We obey man’s law to the jot and tittle but have no conscience about our wholesale disregard for God’s.

Romans thirteen instructs us to pay tax to whom tax is due and honor to whom honor is due. We should start asking ‘what, precisely, according to God’s law, is due’? We are told that the authorities are ‘ministers’ for our good. Great, let’s demand that these leaders start advancing the good for which they hold office. We are instructed that they are ‘servants of God’ which is wonderful, so maybe we ought to expect behavior fitting a servant of God. Perhaps we need to start some serious discussions about regaining our liberty under God’s law. Is that too radical? If so, perhaps we should just wear our chains lightly as we shuffle toward the darkness.

For Christian Culture,

Don Schanzenbach

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Romans 13: No Contradictions

Romans 13: Part 1, Dispensational Disconnect?

Romans 13: Part 2, Meaning of “Minister”

Romans 13: Part 3, Paying What You Owe