VERSE OF THE DAY.Romans 13:1 (New Living Translation).Share Audio.Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.VERSE OF THE DAY.Romans 13:1 (The Message).Share Audio.Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it’s God’s order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you’re irresponsible to the state, then you’re irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you’re trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear. Do you want to be on good terms with the government? Be a responsible citizen and you’ll get on just fine, the government working to your advantage. But if you’re breaking the rules right and left, watch out. The police aren’t there just to be admired in their uniforms. God also has an interest in keeping order, and he uses them to do it. That’s why you must live responsibly—not just to avoid punishment but also because it’s the right way to live.Each one of us are citizens of the world as citizens of God those who are citizens of governments have been chosen by God and assigned as citizens of a government they have been chosen leaders chosen under leadership of God. All authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.Romans 13 1.The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong.DEC 10, 2019.SHARE.“ 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 .” (Romans 13:1).Christians have long used Romans 13 as a way to promote their preferred brand of political idolatry. But being “subject to the governing authorities” isn’t a free pass to accept and condone anything the government — or the president — says or does. Often weaponized as a way to propagate partisan agendas while simultaneously shut down criticisms, this passage is commonly misunderstood by many Christians.Partisans use Romans 13 to baptize their politics as being “ordained by God.” But Christians who reference Romans 13 typically do so using an us vs. government relationship. But unlike the first century when Roman rulers were mainly determined by heredity, lineage, or brute force, today we are the government. There is no us vs. them because we play an active role in how our government works and is run.THE GOSPEL IS ULTIMATELY A MESSAGE OF FOLLOWING JESUS, NOT PASSIVELY COWING TO A GOVERNMENT.We the people vote, support, and help decide who our leaders will be. We can’t disassociate ourselves from being responsible for a government we directly influence, control, and put into power.Suggesting that God put the government in place and President Trump should be exempt from any sort of religious criticism is usually a partisan ploy to excuse the words, actions, legislation, and executive orders that are often callous and cruel.Christians who think President Trump is sovereignly chosen by God but shouldn’t be judged according to Christ’s standards of truth and holiness are succumbing to both moral relativism and cognitive dissonance. If you believe in the constitutional legality of having a separation between the church and state while also propping up a president as being a divinely appointed servant of God, you are embracing a theocracy. For Trump-supporting Christians, his perceived status as both a president and pseudo high priest who they believe is faithfully carrying out God’s plan provides immunity from any type of legal, spiritual, or moral accountability.If you use Romans 13 to support Trump, then you must also use Romans 13 to divinely sanction the support of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, who were both elected as government officials. But usually, the people who are the most adamant that Trump is ordained by God are also the most adamant that his critics aren’t. If you believe God sovereignly ordains governments, you must accept this truth across whatever political spectrum comes into power — something virtually impossible to do.For example, when Obama was president, Trump’s supporters warned that the government was morally indefensible and evil. If you believe the government is a sovereignly divinely appointed institution, then why lambast past presidents who disagreed with you, or current politicians who get elected in place of your preferred party? Could it be that one’s interpretation of whether they should “submit to governing authorities” is largely dependent on their political opinions, and whether their preferred brand of government is currently in power?READ: Pray for the President?Of course it is, which is why Trump’s policies and actions are glorified as being “godly” while same sex marriage and abortion are demonized as being wicked, even though same sex marriage and abortion are completely legal and were legalized through the government.WHEN YOUR DESIRE TO “RESPECT GOVERNING AUTHORITIES” DIRECTLY OPPOSES GOD’S GREAT COMMAND TO “LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,” WHAT WILL YOU DO?Christians also fail to consider governments beyond their own when referencing Romans 13. There are countless institutions and leaders throughout the world, and besides the problem of trying to decipher which God-ordained authorities are favored by God and which ones aren’t — especially when governments oppose, battle, and contradict one another. Are we supposed to respect authorities who are dictators, war criminals, and brutal regimes as being divinely appointed by God? How can we fault citizens living in enemy states who wage war against the U. S.? Aren’t they just following a biblical command and submitting to their rulers and governing authorities, too?The gospel is ultimately a message of following Jesus, not passively cowing to a government. Peter boldly tells the apostles, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29) and Jesus himself warns that “no one can serve two masters” (Matt. 6:24). We often miss the simplest messages of the Bible even when they’re right in front of us. For example, when the Bible says to “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s…” (Matthew 22), it is a basic statement that claims the things of Caesar and those of God are not the same thing. The moral of the story: don’t mistake the government and its leaders as always being aligned with God — they aren’t. Followers of Jesus should always pledge allegiance to God over any carnal power.Christians should recognize that Jesus and his earliest followers were arrested, persecuted, and killed by the government of their day — often defying Roman orders and being viewed as treasonous.Theologian Greg Boyd notes :.It was never God’s goal to have humans rule other people. Governments are God’s concession to human sin. They are now a practical necessity in the world, and God uses them to further his purposes (Rom. 13:1-6). But this doesn’t mean that God approves of them … The Kingdom of God, on the other hand, is based on people trusting God as their sole ruler. Kingdom people are therefore to place no more trust or confidence in governments than Jesus did – which is none. If a government’s laws happen to be consistent with the rule of God, we obey them. If they’re not, we follow the example of Jesus and disobey them (cf. Ac. 5:39). But either way, it’s clear that our behavior isn’t dictated by what government says, but by what God says.Christians must choose which kingdom they will serve: a kingdom of this world or the Kingdom of God. Because eventually, you’ll be forced to choose which one has the highest priority in your life. When your desire to “respect governing authorities” directly opposes God’s great command to “love your neighbor as yourself,” what will you do? God has already told us which directive is more important, but Christians too often prefer listening to their partisan politicians over their Prince of Peace. God help us.Stephen Mattson.Stephen Mattson is the author of the forthcoming social justice devotional On Love and Mercy: A Social Justice Devotional. You can follow him on Twitter (@mikta) or on Facebook.What Does Romans 13:1 Mean? ►.Let every soul be subject to the higher powers. For there is no power but from God: the powers that are, are ordained by God.Romans 13:1(WBS).Verse Thoughts.We sometimes feel that we are surrounded by evil leaders who seem to have an anti-God agenda and we find it difficult to understand why. Sometimes we can be tempted to wonder if God has lost the plot, as we see evil men triumphing, while the children of God are in the midst of distress, and we wonder if Satan is winning. NEVER!! Whether it was the cities of Babylon, Rome, Greece, or the nation into which we ourselves have been born, God is in control, “for there is no power but of God and the powers that be, are ordained by God.”.Whatever the circumstances of your life or the decisions made in the global corridors of earthly rule, God is firmly and eternally in control, both of your life and over the governments of the world, and He has scheduled a time when He will put all principalities and powers under His feet. Despite the polices of politicians, the regulations of religious leaders, and the dictates of both national and international dignitaries under whom we are currently placed, we have an assurance from the authoritative Word of God, that He is in control and has authorised every authority to carry out His eternal plan and purpose – so that CHRIST is ALL, and CHRIST will be ALL and in ALL.The Lord God established a number of divine institutions at the beginning including marriage, the family, nationalism, and governmental authority, and down through history, we see that basest of men are often those the Lord sets in positions of authority. Let us never forget that it is the Lord Most High Who remains ruler over the realm of mankind… and He uses each one to forward His perfect purpose and plan.There are those that object, often justifiably, to Paul’s clear directive to be subject to the ruling authorities and higher powers, both in secular governments and the hierarchy of the church, but the apostle Peter clearly emphasises this teaching in his first epistle, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God.. that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond-slaves of God. Honour all men; love the brotherhood; fear God; honour the king.”.Paul’s instruction to, “Let every soul be subject to the higher powers”, can often be resisted by those who recognise the problems and corruption that is often lurking in the corridors of power, but even in those difficult times, we must never forget that, “there is no power except that which comes from God and the powers that are, are ordained by God.” However difficult we find the circumstances of life, within our family unit, or our national boundaries, we must never forget that God uses the difficulties of life to hone and strengthen our faith, and to draw us into closer fellowship with and dependence on Him.Paul was not claiming that earthly governments must be obeyed because they are good or trustworthy. Rather, he was establishing the principle that we should all be subject to the higher powers, in spite of their faults and failings, because there is no authority except that which God Himself has permitted, and the powers that exist do so by God’s sovereign appointment.We must always remember that the power of every government, whether good or ill, is delegated authority from heaven, and the Lord will often use the effectual fervent prayers of His committed saints to accomplish His plans and purposes, through the good or evil choices of human rule. And no matter what righteous or ungodly decisions are made in the elected establishment or any unelected shadow administration, God remains in sovereign control, and will only permit men to achieve their objective, when it forwards His perfect plans and purposes in His redemptive programme.The Lord Jesus was the perfect example of a Man who subjected Himself to the established earthly authorities. The road He took in His earthly walk was a lonely way of isolation, rejection, and derision. He warned that those who are called by His name will receive the same treatment from religious worldlings… for in this fallen world-system we will suffer tribulation and trials. And though He instructed His children to give unto Caesar the things that are Caesars, He never once deviated from His overriding life-principle, to give unto God the things that belong to God.We who are His children are also told to be of good cheer, for by His death and resurrection He has overcome the world, and although we will inevitably face difficulties and dangers in this fallen world, the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us – Praise His Holy Name.We are not to cherry-pick passages of which we approve and refuse to obey those we find difficult or offensive! We are to remember that good will overcome evil, Satan and sin have been defeated, Christ has won the victory, and one day every wrong in this world will be put right. Our attitude and actions are to be compliant to the higher powers without compromising the truth – we are to be as gentle as doves but as wise as serpents. We are to give unto Ceasar the things that are Ceasars and to God the things that are HIS and when we trust Him in every situation of life we will find that His grace is sufficient and that His power is perfected in our weakness.Source: https://dailyverse. knowing-jesus. com/romans-13-1.What does Romans 13:1 mean? [⇑ See verse text ⇑].In Romans 12, Paul described what it means to be a living-sacrifice Christian. In short, it mostly has to do with setting ourselves aside to serve the Lord, each other, and even our enemies in love.Now Paul turns to the issue of how Christians who are saved by God’s grace should interact with our present governments. He describes the biblical doctrine of submission to human authorities, something Peter also teaches (1 Peter 2:13–17). Again, those in Christ are called to set themselves aside and to trust God to provide what is needed through those in authority, whether good or evil.Paul is clear that this applies to every person. He calls for us to be in submission to government authorities, though he does not say that we must obey them in all cases. Paul and the other apostles refused to obey commands from people in authority to stop preaching the gospel, for instance (Acts 5:27–29). They did, however, submit to those in authority in all matters that were not in contradiction to the will of God.Why should we submit? Paul is clear: Every authority in the world was established by God. This would include, of course, good leaders, evil leaders, and everyone in-between. Paul’s instruction here, then, is not about blind nationalism or absolute obedience to men. Rather, it is a recognition that human government—in general—is a legitimate authority, and that Christians cannot use their faith as an excuse for civil lawlessness. God puts all leaders in place for the specific reasons Paul will describe in the following verses.We should remember that Paul is writing this letter to Christians in Rome. The government of Rome ruled much of the known world at the time. It was led by the Emperor Nero from AD 54–68. Nero is famous for his cruel and unfair treatment of Christians, among other groups. We must not assume that Paul is writing these words lightly. He was aware of the implications of his teaching.Context Summary.Romans 13:1–7 describes the responsibility for Christians to live in submission to the human authorities in government. The reason given is that every government leader has ultimately been established by God for His own purposes. Generally speaking, human government serves to rein in and punish those who do evil. Governments do this on God’s behalf. Christians must pay their taxes to support this work God is doing. In addition, those in Christ owe respect and honor to the authorities that God has put in place. Other Scriptures, such as Acts 5:27–29, distinguish between ”submission” and ”obedience.”.Chapter Summary.Romans 13 tackles three big areas that living-sacrifice Christians must address. First, since God puts every human authority in place to serve His purposes, Christians must submit to them; this idea comes with a particular context. Second, we must love our neighbors as ourselves. Third, we are called to live as people of the light and throw off works of darkness like drunkenness, sexual immorality, and jealousy. We are to take on the armor of light against the darkness and, in fact, take on Christ Himself instead of serving our own desires.https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Romans_13
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