Obedience
SCRIPTURE: Romans 13:1-7 
Read the passage
BIO: My name is Drew Roberts and I am active in my LIFE Community group. I live in College Park and have a wonderful wife, Shay Roberts.
KEY VERSE: Romans 13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
CENTRAL TRUTH: In this passage, Paul describes the Christian relationship to the governing authorities. The state and its official representatives have been established by God and we must submit to them.
DEVOTIONAL: Let’s first look at the context of this passage in the letter to the church at Rome. In Romans 12-16, Paul is calling believers to a kind of life that is built on the ‘mercies of God’ as explained in chapters 1-11. He has explained the stranglehold of sin (1:18-3:20), how only God can change that through faith (3:21-4:25), the significance and power of the Gospel in our lives (5:1-8:39), and God’s sovereignty in fitting Gentiles like us into the plan of Israel (9:1-11:36). Then Paul gives practical application for a life built on this faith. In Romans 12, Paul develops our four basic Christian relationships: to God (12:1-2), to ourselves (12:3-8), to one another (12:9-16), and to our enemies (12:17-21). In Romans 13, he develops three additional relationships: to the state (today’s passage), to the law (13:8-10), and to the day of the Lord’s return (13:11-14).
Today’s passage applies the practical way (in response to chapters 1-11) that we live under the authority of the state. Paul begins by communicating that governing authorities are instituted by God (this same sovereign God that has made you righteous through faith). In verse 5, he says that we must be in subjection to the state for two reasons: “not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.” In other words, we are to obey law enforcement agencies not simply because of the fear of consequences, but because our consciences are held captive by the Word of God. RC Sproul explains it this way: “Since God authorizes rulers and places them over us, we are to render obedience as a matter of principle unless they require us to do something God forbids or forbid us from doing something God commands. Living by principle lies at the heart of Christian ethics and the Christian life. We are not to live doing whatever our hearts desire; we are to be, in the main, submissive people – submissive ultimately to the law of God and to every other authority that God places over us.”
Recommended Reading:
- John Piper’s Sermon on Institutions
- John Stott Commentary – Chapter 21
- RC Sproul Commentary – Chapters 50 & 51
QUESTION 1: In light of this passage, how would you apply the way a Christian should obey laws like the speed limit?
QUESTION 2: What is the appropriate response to paying taxes to a governing authority that has been instituted by your savior?
QUESTION 3: If you are a government official (or part of another institution such as Business, Church, Family, and Education), what is your responsibility for enacting justice? How does that mesh with your responsibility as an individual to display mercy?
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