There was a danger that the Christians might consider themselves answerable to no one but Christ. And although He is the King of all kings and He is the highest authority, Paul reminds his readers that the Lord created rulers and governments for a reason. There was already a growing movement among the Jews to rise up against Rome, and Paul does not want the Christians to do the same. After all, in Paul's day the Jewish revolt that was going to lead to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple was not far in the future.
"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." (Romans 13:1) We may or may not approve of who is running our national or local government, but Paul says they rule by the sovereign choice of God. The prophet Daniel would agree, for he said of the Lord, "He deposes kings and raises up others." (Daniel 2:21)
In our day we see a lot of rebellion against the government and a lot of disrespect for those in office. Paul says that since God chooses who is in power, when we rebel against the government we are rebelling against God. "Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment against themselves." (Romans 13:2)
Government exists to maintain law and order. If every person were allowed to do whatever is right in his own eyes, or if every person were allowed to do whatever his carnal nature wants, we'd have nothing but lawlessness and chaos. The world is a dangerous enough place to live in as it is; imagine if there were no authorities and no penalties. "For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience." (Romans 13:3-5)
Does this mean all those in authority are godly, moral people? No. Many of the Roman authorities of Paul's day were ungodly, immoral people. The enemies of Jesus, many of whom were religious authorities, were not good people. But Jesus never led a rebellion against the government and it is not fitting for the Christian to do so either. If we want to see change in the world, we need to get Christ to the world. We are not being good ambassadors of Christ when we are stirring up strife and hatred.
Now Paul moves on to the subject of taxes. The Roman government, like all governments as far as I know, operated on the people's taxes. There were certain groups among the Jews, such as the Zealots, who believed it was wrong to pay tribute to anyone but the Lord. They recognized no authority but the Lord. But Paul knows no government can maintain law and order without taxation, so he urges his readers to pay their taxes without complaining. "This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor." (Romans 13:6-7) No one enjoys paying taxes, but we do enjoy the many benefits our government provides. Who would maintain our roads or fund our schools or put criminals in jail if we didn't pay taxes? Who would provide salaries for the people who keep things running if we didn't pay taxes?
In addition to all the logical reasons Paul provides for obeying the government and paying our taxes, there is a spiritual reason. If we have a rebellious spirit that refuses to submit to human authority, we are in danger of having a rebellious spirit that refuses to submit to God's authority.
***On a personal note I would like to ask for your prayers. As I've mentioned before, I've had some health problems lately and I'm seeing a specialist at 1pm today. Please pray in agreement with me that I will finally have some answers and treatment that will allow me to return to normal. Thank you so much!***
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