Every authority in this world is established not by referendum, nor by democratic vote, but by the appointment of the Ruler of heaven and earth. In this sermon from his series in the book of Romans, Dr. R.C. Sproul reminds us that we are commanded to submit to the authorities God has placed over us.

Today, we will continue with our study of Paul’s letter to the church at Rome. We will start with chapter 13. Chapter 13 is important in the letter to the Romans because Paul sets forth the biblical understanding of the role of government, the civil magistrate, and our responsibilities as Christians to those earthly authorities whom God has put over us.

So, let us look together now at Romans 13:1–7. I ask the congregation to stand, if you are able:

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Please be seated. Let us pray.

Now, our Father, as we embark upon this segment of the epistle to the Romans, we ask that You would help us, that You would stoop to our weakness, dullness of understanding, and slowness of heart to believe all those things You have set forth in Your Word. Give us hearts, O God, that are pleased to be instructed by You. For we ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

God’s Just Vengeance

Once again, we see the problem of sequence and chapter divisions that I have complained about on a regular basis. I am assuming that these chapter divisions, which are not part of the original text, were inserted by some itinerate horseback rider. While he was asleep, he would, whenever the spirit moved him—although I doubt it was the Holy Spirit—make these transitions from one chapter to the next.

When Paul introduces this important theme of civil government in chapter 13, it follows immediately on what was articulated at the end of chapter 12 with respect to questions of vengeance.

If I can refresh your memories, last time, I distinguished among three concepts that are very important because they are often confused. One is the concept of justification, which has been the central theme of this epistle to the Roman Christians. The Bible speaks about justification as the merciful act of God by which, on the basis of Christ’s merit alone, He deems those who put their faith in Christ and depend upon His righteousness to be just in His sight.

Even though in and of ourselves we are not just or righteous, nevertheless, in this wonderful theme of justification, God counts us righteous because the righteousness of Christ has been imputed to us. I have labored that point throughout Romans. That is the concept of justification.

There is also the concept of vindication, which I mentioned last time. In Jesus’ parable of the unjust judge, sometimes called the parable of the importunate widow, a widow wanted to have her case tried in the civil courts. But the judge had no fear of men or God, was not the least bit concerned about executing justice, and did not want to be bothered with this poor woman’s plea. But, as you know, she persisted and pestered this judge until, simply to get rid of her, he heard her case.

Jesus gave a strong contrast between the unjust judge and the just judge of all of the earth who is willing to hear the cries of His people. The point of that parable, Jesus said, is this: Will not God vindicate His elect, who cry unto Him day and night? This concept of vindication is very important in biblical categories. Vindication means to be shown to be innocent of false and slanderous charges that have been leveled against us, whether in the court of law or in the court of public opinion, where most slanderous charges are brought.

Every Christian must bear the burden of being slandered from time to time. We patiently await our vindication in the court of heaven, where God promises to show that the charges against us were false and that we are innocent of the accused crimes. That is what vindication is.

Vengeance is something else. Vengeance is where payback occurs, where the scales of justice are set right. When an injury has been committed, the punishment for that crime is exacted at the court of justice. God says that when we are injured, we are never to become vigilantes in searching out our own revenge. Revenge does not belong to us.

As I mentioned last time, this is because God knows our hearts and that we are never satisfied to get even. We always want to get one-up. So, when we want justice, we end up committing injustice by exacting a greater penalty than the crime has merited. Nevertheless, we have to remember that God does not see vengeance as an inherent evil. Revenge is a legitimate enterprise when carried out justly.

God says that we are not to be agents of our own vengeance but that “vengeance is Mine.” Then what does He say? “I will repay.” If vengeance were inherently evil, then it would be evil for God to exact it. But since God promises to be His people’s avenger, we see that in God’s perfectly holy actions of judgment, the revenge He executes in the last judgment will be altogether just with no wickedness in it.

God Establishes Government

These concepts set us up for Paul’s treatment of civil government, because not only does God keep for Himself the prerogative of vengeance, but He also establishes an order in this world for justice to be carried out in His name and under His authority. We see in Romans 13:1–3 that the civil magistrate is not an afterthought that comes into being through the machinations of human invention, but civil government is an institution established by God alone. We will explore that in a moment.

I remind you that as God establishes the church and gives to the church a redemptive mission to fulfill, He also establishes government as a ministry to the wellbeing of human beings in this world. We might call this a common grace ministry. The church is involved with the dispensing of the elements of special grace, the grace that has to do with our salvation, whereas civil government ministers to the common wellbeing of the human race—not only to Christians, but to all people.

Both the church and the state are established and governed by God. This is the first thing we need to understand in light of the ongoing discussions in our culture, which cry daily for a separation of church and state. In Christian thinking, this originally meant a division of labor between the institutions of the church and human government. It has come to mean, in our culture, the separation of the state from God, in which the state declares its independence from God and its ultimate autonomy to rule apart from any consideration of the things of God.

When the government does that, whether in the United States, the Soviet Union, or any nation in the world, that government becomes demonized and exists as an agent of opposition to God Himself. The nation then becomes truly godless in the sight of the King of the universe. That is the clear and present danger we face every moment in our own nation. We need to be alert to this exceedingly great danger that we face.

Subject to Authorities

Let us go back to the specifics of what the Apostle enjoins to the Romans about earthly government. He says, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities.” When Paul says, “Let every soul,” he does not mean that we can divorce our souls from our bodies and that the only kind of submission we owe to the state is one that comes from within our hearts.

No, when Paul says, “Let every soul,” the right translation would be, “Let every person.” He is addressing Christians, saying that it is the duty of every Christian—indeed, of every person—to be subject to the authorities. We struggle with this because one of the things we fight against in our sinful corruption is accountability to the authorities that are placed over us.

Just think about all the different authorities you have had to deal with in your life. You had the authority of your parents when you were growing up. When you went to school, you had the authority of your teachers and the principal. You have the authority of the police department as they patrol the highways, and the authority of the dog catchers as they regulate how you treat your pets. You have the authority of state government, homeowner’s associations, and the federal government. On and on it goes, with one tier after another of authorities to which we are called to be in subjection.

This universal call to subjection to authority touches the root of our corruption because every one of us is a sinner, and every sin is an act of revolt against authority. If we respected the authority of God perfectly, we would never sin. But when we sin, we refuse to be in subjection to the governing authority of God Himself. God knows that about us. If we are not willing to be subject to God, how much more difficult is it for us to be subject to the police department, the government of the state and the nation, and the other authorities that rule over us? So, Paul begins this segment of Romans with this universal command: It is the duty of every Christian to be in subjection to the authorities.

Model Civil Obedience

When we look at this from a theological perspective, we see the principle of civil obedience. The point I would like to make throughout this chapter is that Christians are called to be extraordinary models of civil obedience. We are called to be people who bend over backwards to be submissive to the authorities over us. Throughout redemptive history, we see the testimony of the great men and women of God who have shown us what it is to be models of civil obedience.

For example, I ask this question: Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem? The quick and easy answer is because Micah prophesied in the Old Testament that He would be born in Bethlehem. So, in the providence of God, God moved things in redemptive history to work out that Jesus would arrive in Bethlehem prior to His birth, making sure that would be the place of His birth to fulfill the Scriptures.

Certainly, God’s providence was at work in that regard. But why else, from a human perspective, was Jesus born in Bethlehem? We know the answer because we read it every year in the Christmas story. In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone went to his own city to enroll, for what end? So that he could be taxed by a conquering emperor, who—without any regard for what it would cost the people to make the arduous journey back to their birthplaces to enroll for taxation—gave the imperial decree that they do it.

You can imagine a conversation like this going on in Nazareth. Joseph says: “Mary, did you see the latest edict that came out of Rome? That ridiculous emperor wants us all to go to our place of birth and enroll so that we can be taxed. How do you feel about making a trip to Bethlehem?” Mary says, “Well Joseph, I suppose if that’s what the authorities require, then that’s what we must do.”

“Oh come on, Mary. Don’t give me that,” Joseph says. “You remember what the angel said. You’re pregnant and you’re carrying the Messiah in your womb. Do you think we’re going to jeopardize the salvation of our people by going on this arduous journey just to fulfill the whimsical decree of this emperor? We’re staying here. Let him find us, if he wants our taxes.”

But they made the journey. Joseph risked the life of his wife. She risked the life of the babe in her womb, in order that they may be obedient to the civil magistrate. That is the example of godliness.

When the second-century apologist Justin Martyr wrote his First Apology to the emperor Antoninus Pius to give a defense of Christianity, he argued that the emperor should examine the lives of the Christians to see that they, above all the citizens in the empire, were the most scrupulous in paying their taxes and in their obedience to the civil magistrate. We see this strong motif throughout the New Testament to be obedient to the civil magistrate.

Obey God over Government

You may say: “Wait a minute. Are we always supposed to obey the civil magistrate?” No. Remember in the book of Acts when the Sanhedrin said to the disciples that they were to preach no more in the name of Jesus, and Peter said, “Shall we obey you or obey God?” There are times when such a conflict arises, when the civil magistrate commands or forbids something that is in direct conflict with the commandments of God. In those times, not only may you disobey the civil magistrate, but you must disobey the civil magistrate.

When I taught ethics in seminary, I used to point out to the students that this principle is so easy that a six-year-old child can learn it, but it is exceedingly complex to apply. The principle is this: We are always to obey the authorities over us—our boss, our police, our governor, or whoever that authority may be—unless that authority commands us to do something that God forbids or forbids us from doing something that God commands.

I do not know how many times women have said to me: “I’m trying to be submissive to my husband, but my husband won’t allow me to go to church. What should I do?” I say: “You go to church on Sunday morning. You disobey your husband on this because God commands you not to forsake the assembling together of the saints. Here’s one case where not only may you disobey, but you must disobey. Then, try to win him with your love and subjection the rest of the week.”

In any case, there are times when we must disobey. If the civil magistrate calls us to sin, we have to say no. The history of the world is replete with examples where governments do exactly that—they command their citizens to do evil. It can happen in any country, even our own.

The principle is easy, but the application of it is difficult. The law is not that I may disobey the civil magistrate when I disagree, or that I may disobey the authorities when they are making me suffer or making my life inconvenient. One of the ironies of this master text on civil obedience is that it was written to the Romans. It was written to Christians who were under the heavy hand of imperial Rome, and it was to that government that Paul called the people to be subject.

Honor God’s Authority

Here Paul says something to ground the theology of this ethic that is absolutely astonishing: “For there is no authority except from God.” Ultimately, the only One in all of reality who possesses intrinsic, inherent authority is God Himself. What is that authority? The authority that God possesses is the eternal right to impose obligations upon His creatures.

God has the inherent authority to command our obedience and submission to Him. It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves. His authority rests in His authorship and ownership of the entire world. Any other authority in the world is not intrinsic, but extrinsic. It is delegated from God. Again, Paul says, there is no authority except that which is established by God.

In Peter’s first epistle, he sounds the same message as the Apostle Paul when he effectively says, “Submit yourselves to the authorities, that Christ might be honored.” How does my submission to the police department, the state government, and the housing development people honor Christ? It aggravates me that we have to jump through all kinds of hoops in the zoning restrictions just to build a church. I want to say to the world: “Whatever happened to the first amendment? Will you people let us have the free exercise of religion?”

But we patiently, painstakingly jump through those hoops. I have to grin and bear it while we are doing it. I want to march before the civil magistrate and say: “You don’t want us to interfere in the matters of the state? Well, leave us alone when it comes to the church.” But apart from making a comment about it now and then from the pulpit, I suffer in silence, that Christ may be honored.

How is Jesus honored by our submission even to corrupt authorities? How does that reflect upon the honor of Jesus? You may not know it, but the universe is not structured as a democracy. It is a monarchy, indeed, a theocracy. The government of the universe is God, and He has appointed His only begotten Son as the King of the kings and the Lord of the lords. All authority in heaven and earth the Father has given to the Son.

The president of the United States, at the end of his life, will have to stand before Jesus Christ and be held accountable for how he held his office. The Senate and the House of Representatives will be answerable to the King of kings as to how they executed justice in their labors. The king of England, the chairman of China, and every earthly government will be held accountable to the King of kings, because all authority on heaven and earth has been given to Jesus.

We often overlook the fact that at the heart of the biblical message is a political message, a kingdom where the supreme political authority is vested in Jesus Christ, who owns every square inch of real estate on the planet. When we disobey lesser authorities, we are disobeying those whose authority rests on Christ and is delegated from Him and through Him.

The president of the United States could not exercise his office for five minutes apart from the will of the King of kings. It is the God of providence who raises kingdoms up and brings kingdoms down. Every king in the history of the world has ruled only by the providential will of God Himself. It is God who casts the final ballot in every election.

You may look at the results of elections. You say, “How could God have voted this way?” Maybe it was to judge us. He does that. He brings kingdoms down as well as raising them up.

God Will Vindicate

“There is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” Another way of translating this is “the powers that be”—not the ones that ought to be. Here is the radical statement the Apostle gives: “The powers that be are appointed by God.” Every authority in the world is established not by referendum or democratic vote but by the appointment of the supreme ruler of heaven and earth. Every authority is appointed by God.

Paul is saying that it is God who appointed the Roman authorities. I wonder if Paul rued the day he wrote these words when his life was ended by the sword, by the vicious and unjust execution of Nero. I think that when Paul put his head on the block, the last thought that went through his mind was: “The powers that be are appointed by God. Here’s my head, Nero. Do with it what you will.”

That is radical stuff. But can we look past those authorities to see the authority that stands behind them and governs them? That is why Jesus can say, “Will not God vindicate His elect who cry unto Him day and night?” Will not God set the scales of justice right?

When we are victimized by unjust, demonic governments that do everything but work for the glory and honor of Christ, do you not think God notices? Do you not think Christ notices? Our Lord will vindicate His people who seek to be faithful to Him, despite the injustice that comes our way from earthly authorities.

A Complicated Question

“Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God.” Whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance. Do you know why Christians in the eighteenth century struggled over whether they should take up arms against the British government and declare their independence?

One of the most heated discussions in our history was among Christians, as to how they were to understand Romans 13 in light of the War of Independence. The winning view was that British common law gave the colonists the right to resist in light of the circumstances of what they were fighting for—that is, the maintenance of their governmental system against the arbitrary changes made by the Parliament of England. That is a very complicated question that Christian scholars still debate to this day. The reason for these questions is this text in Romans 13: “Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment upon themselves.”

That is a sober warning, is it not? If we resist the authorities whom God has appointed, we may be regarded as heroes by the people around us, but we can only expect the visitation of God’s judgment on us.

Government Restrains Evil

“For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.” This is a proverbial point of wisdom. It is true in general; it is not true absolutely. No one did more good in the Roman empire than the Apostle Paul. He did not, in the final analysis, receive praise from the civil magistrate. Instead, he received his death sentence. But in general, even in the worst of corrupt governments, those who receive the harshest treatment are criminals, people who are involved in the worst forms of corruption. The whole point of civil government is to use force to restrain evil.

I want to say a couple of words about this. I had a luncheon, several years ago, with a United States senator whose name you would immediately recognize if I mentioned it, and I will not. But in the course of our discussion, as we were talking about the ethical issues that faced our nation, he said to me, “R.C., I don’t believe that the federal government ever has the right to force its people to do anything.”

I said: “Excuse me. Did I hear you right? Did I just hear you say you don’t believe the federal government has the right to force its people to do anything?” He said, “Yes, that’s what I said.”

I said: “Senator, do you realize you’ve just said to me that you don’t believe the federal government of the United States has the right to govern? Because what government is, in essence, is legalized force. Government has the right to enact legislation and enforce the legislation that is enacted. A government that has no right to exercise force, to cause its constituents to conform to the laws of the land, is a government that can only make suggestions, not laws.”

The essence of government is the power and authority to force conformity. You do not get a letter from the IRS every year requesting that you pay your taxes. If you do not pay them, you are under penalty of law. Every weapon in the United States arsenal can be used to bring you into conformity when you refuse to obey the magistrate.

Along with that statement from the senator is the comment we hear all the time, “You can’t legislate morality.” Every time an ethical issue comes up for political discussion, whether it be abortion, euthanasia, or another issue, we hear this cry from every corner: “You can’t legislate morality.”

There are two things I want to say about that. On the one hand, if what is meant by the comment “You can’t legislate morality” is simply that you cannot change people’s behavior just by changing the law, there is some truth to that. But that is not normally the way it is articulated. It is usually intended to mean that the government has no place passing laws that concern moral matters.

But if we cannot legislate morality, then what can we legislate? The state bird? Even that has ecological and ethical ramifications. Which birds are protected by state law? Think about how many of the laws of the land are moral. Is it a moral issue whether or not you rob banks? Is it a moral issue whether or not you commit first-degree murder? Of course it is. That is exactly what legislation is about: restraining evil.

Paul is saying, in simple terms, that although the government we are dealing with may be corrupt, the worst government is better than anarchy, where evil goes without any restraint whatsoever.

God’s Civil Minister

“For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.” The civil magistrate is referred to as God’s minister.

Several years ago, I was invited by the governor of Florida to give a message at the inaugural prayer breakfast. It was a breakfast on the inauguration day where, just a couple of hours afterwards, the governor-elect would take his oath and be installed as the governor of the state of Florida.

In my address, while the governor was sitting in the front row, I said: “You know, in the church we go through ordination ceremonies. When we are consecrated and set apart to the ministry of the church, we are ordained, and it’s a sacred occasion because we take vows to be faithful to God in our execution of the office of minister.” I said, “Sir, today is your ordination day, because you are being ordained as God’s minister of civil righteousness.”

I talked about Romans 13 to the governor. People came up to me afterwards and told me thay had never thought about that. But that is what it was, his ordination day, because civil magistrates are ordained by God. They are God’s ministers, and they are called upon to serve God’s good pleasure.

The Apostle says, “But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain.” That statement in Romans 13 is one of the most controversial statements Paul wrote about the power of the sword that God gives to the civil magistrate. That subject is so laden with important content that I have elected to wait until our next session to explore it. We will explore it, not only in light of what the Apostle says here in Romans, but also by looking at where the power of the sword was first instituted by God, and for what purpose He visited the power of the sword on the planet. God willing, we will look at that in our next session. Let us pray.

Again, our Father, we thank You that You have not caused us to live in chaos with no structure of authority. We pray that, by Your Spirit, You would continue to work within us and quiet the rebellious impulses that we have as part of our fallen nature. Give us the kind of humility that seeks to honor You while honoring all of those whom You have appointed and placed in authority over us. For we ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.