TO THE CIVIL AUTHORITIES

Two Jewish Tendencies

In chapters 13-15:13, Paul deals with two Jewish tendencies that converted Jews often bring with them into the Christian fellowship, which are harmful to their testimony.

First, the Jews, as a nation, were notorious for being insubordinate to the Gentile authorities that governed over them. They often had revolts against the State, which usually happened at the time of their feasts when national feeling reached its peak. This conviction came from certain Scriptures that promised that they would rule the nations as “head”. God promised them that they would not be the “tail” (Deut. 28:13; Isa. 60, etc.). With this in mind, devout Jews naturally had difficulty bowing to the Gentiles (Esther 3:2) and to the civil authorities of the Gentiles. Paul deals with this problem by bringing it under the Christian testimony in chapter 13.

Second, the Jews who had made a profession of faith in Christ had certain customs in connection with food and holy days, which they observed since their days in Judaism. Bringing these things with them into the Christian fellowship tended to create problems among the saints. Paul deals with this issue in chapter 14.

The Christian's Duty in Relation to the State

Chap. 13:1-7 – In the Jewish religion, there was biblical justification for believing that the nation of Israel should rule the nations of the earth. However, as they became Christians, these earthly hopes for the Jew were supplanted by heavenly hopes. Their citizenship was now in heaven (Phil. 3:20), and they were only pilgrims and strangers passing through this world (1 Peter 2:11). Therefore, it was not their position to resist the governments over them.

Paul says: “Let every soul be subject to the higher authorities [that are over him – JND]. For there is no authority that is not from God; and those that exist have been ordained by God” (TB). These believers needed to remember that the governments of this world were established by God and the appropriate Christian attitude toward the State is to be subject to its ordinances. It is true that if the civil powers challenged God's authority and ordered us to do something God has forbidden, they would be overstepping their bounds. The apostle Peter's answer in Acts 5:29 provides light for our conduct in such situations.

To oppose or resist a particular governor is to oppose the authority established by God. These authorities were established to restrain evil, although in many cases there is corruption among them. In general they are in positions in the governments of various countries to protect the citizens of that State (vv. 3-4). We should therefore be subject to the authorities over us for two reasons: not only to escape punishment for doing wrong – “the sentence of guilt” (v. 2 – JND), but also “for conscience's sake” (v. 5 – TB). Those in positions of authority are truly “ministers of God” because governments were established by God (v. 6). We should pay “tribute” (taxes), respect the (civil) law, and show respect and honor to those in authority (v. 7).

In being subject to the civil authorities “higher”, we should not think that these verses support the idea that Christians should get involved in politics. For example, it is not for us to question how and where tax money is spent by governments. Paul carefully avoids any idea that the Church and State should be united, as the national churches of the Reformation did. He is also careful not to go to the other extreme by placing the Church in opposition to the State, which was the tendency of the Jews.

Summarizing the Christian's responsibility in relation to the civil authorities, we should: pay, pray, and obey:

• We pay tribute – taxes (Rom. 13:6-7).

• We pray for all in authority (1 Tim. 2:2).

• We obey those in authority (Titus 3:1).

The Christian's Duty toward the Citizens of the State

Chap. 13:8-10 – Christians should not only be subject to the civil authorities, but they also have an obligation of love toward the citizens of the State, seeking their good and blessing. Paul says: “Owe no one anything, except to love” Some have taken this statement to mean that we should not have debts of any kind

• for example, mortgages, loans, etc., however, this probably

means that we should not have outstanding debts. Some debts are unavoidable in our society; we all have phone, gas, water, electricity bills, etc. In addition, there are bills that are unavoidable in business. Paul's point here is: falling behind on these debts should be avoided because it gives a bad testimony before the world.

Something we will always owe is our obligation to show “love”. The word for “love” here is agape in Greek, which is love of a disposition established toward someone because of genuine care and concern for that person. This is the kind of love God has for the lost in this world (John 3:16). Agape love is more a matter of the will than of emotions. God defines His love toward man when there is nothing in man to love (Deut. 7:7; Eph. 2:4). Expressing this toward the lost could lead them to receive Christ. Paul says that, by love, we fulfill the moral requirements of the Law. This could not mean that the Christian is under the Law, because it would contradict what Paul taught earlier in the epistle. In these verses, he mentions various commandments of the second table of the Law, which has to do with man's responsibility toward his fellow men. His point is that love will fulfill these things without being formally under the Law. Our goal is to be like Christ in all our actions and, by putting this into practice, we end up fulfilling those moral requirements of the Law. The Lord summarized the second table of the Law as: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:36-40).

The Christian's Conduct in View of the Lord's Coming

Chap. 13:11-14 – While the governments of this world become more and more corrupt – something that will mark the last days – the Christian should not get involved in trying to stop the decline or improve the moral standards of the world. Instead, the coming of the Lord is brought before us as a motive for holy living. Thus, the Christian is not called to correct the world, but he is responsible to conduct himself in a right way before God and his neighbor, with regard to his personal behavior. Paul emphasizes this in the last verses of chapter 13.

Earlier in the epistle, Paul used the figure of a Roman court, but here he uses the figure of the actions of the Roman army. The soldiers are seen as sleeping; as dawn approaches, they are called to wake from sleep, to take off their sleeping clothes and put on their shining armor and thus fulfill the responsibilities of the day.

He begins by saying: “Knowing the time”. We see from this that it is important for the Christian to have an “understanding of the times” (compare 1 Chr. 12:32). Regardless of the time in which we have been called to live in the history of the Church, the imminence of the Lord's coming should always be before our souls, for “our salvation is now nearer to us than when we believed”. The aspect of salvation that Paul is referring to here is the final aspect of our salvation, when the Lord comes and we are glorified and taken to heaven (Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Thess. 4:15-18). He explained this in chapters 5:9 and 8:18-30.

The imminence of the Lord's coming should have a practical effect on the believer. It should keep us alert and watchful, and keep us from settling down in the world. The lateness of the hour demands that all lethargy and inactivity be abandoned. It is not time for us to sleep along with the world. Paul says that if this has been our spiritual state, “it is already time for us to wake from sleep” and be busy in the Lord's service.

Christ was “the light of the world” (John 8:12, 9:5). While He was in the world, it was “day” (John 9:4, 11:9). He announced to His disciples that “the night” was coming when He would be rejected and cast out of this world (John 9:4, 11:9-10). This is the time in which we have been called to live. But the good news is that the “night” of the Lord's absence is almost over (“the night is far spent” – TB); He is about to return. Then, we will receive the final aspect of “our salvation” (at the Rapture). But not only that, Paul says: “The day is at hand” (TB), when Christ will reign in glory over the world. This will occur at His Appearing.

Three Brief Exhortations

In view of the dangers of the night through which we are passing and the imminence of the Rapture and the Appearing of Christ, Paul makes three brief exhortations which, if put into practice, will preserve us until the hour of the Lord's coming. These exhortations are characterized by being in the imperative. First, he insists on separation from the world. He says: “Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness” (v. 12b). Thus, we should rid ourselves of every worldly and questionable practice, as a man takes off a dirty garment (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1).

Second, Paul says: “Let us put on the armor [the armor – JND] of light” (v. 12c). Thus, we should put on the protective covering of a holy life, which will make us a shining light in the darkness. Third, Paul says: “Let us walk honestly [properly – JND], as in the day” (v. 13-14). He tells us how this is done: by putting off the practices of the flesh (exemplified in the six examples) and putting on “the Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 13-14). Galatians 3:27 speaks of formally putting on Christ through baptism, which has to do with our identification with the Christian testimony; here it is the practical manifestation of the life of Christ. To put on the Lord Jesus Christ is to have the attitude He had toward God, toward the saints and toward civil governments – topics that Paul has addressed in chapters 12-13. Regarding God, the Lord Jesus said: “I delight to do Your will, O My God” (Ps. 40:8). To the saints, He said: “My goodness does not reach Your presence [does not extend to You – JND], but to the saints who are on the earth, and to the excellent in whom is all My delight” (Ps. 16:2-3 – ARF). As for governments, He said: “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's” (Luke 20:25).

However, we make “provision for the flesh” (KJV) when we emphasize the physical and material side of life instead of the spiritual. This supplies what the flesh needs to rise up and assert itself in our lives.