Romans 13 and Obedience to Government
We read in Romans 13:1-7
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval, for it is God’s agent for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the agent of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s agents, busy with this very thing. Pay to all what is due them: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. (NRSVue)
When I think of this passage, I remember once watching a documentary about the English Reformation and the host entered a church where, during the reign of Edward VI, some paintings of Mary and Jesus had been washed away and replaced with the words of Rom 13:1-7 about obedience to government authorities. The message was clear, “Stop all that Marian devotion, and obey the Protestant government of England!”
It also brings to mind, the time that US Attorney General Jeff Sessions quoted Rom 13:1-2 to justify Trump’s policies at the southern border (I won’t go into immigration, that’s a different topic). It did have a grim vibe to it.
There is also the danger that Romans 13 gets used and abused by governments when they want their Christian constituency to tow the line to whatever they are saying.
Just it’s not just leaders abusing Holy Scripture that is the problem. The sad reality is that when a party or leader we like is in power, we don’t mind them quoting Romans 13 (“Yes, we should obey the divinely ordained government”). But when a party or leader we don’t like is in power, then we tend to prefer Revelation 13 (“Please God, judge them into oblivion”). So we have to check our own biases when we discuss this text.
I’m glad to say that my co-author in Jesus and the Powers has a good little 3-minute segment on Romans 13, what it is affirming, and how it can be abused.
But what do you think? Feel free to share your thoughts on Romans 13, civil government, and Christian obligations to obey.
And we are now getting close to your last chance to pre-order Jesus and the Powers!
I enjoyed your chapter on Romans in the Scott McKnight edited Jesus Is Lord, Caesar Is Not. One possibility that few seem to consider about Romans 13 but which I grow in respect for over time is T. L. Carter's suggestion that Paul may have been writing ironically. This makes the most sense when you consider Paul's claim that one had nothing to fear from the magistrate if he does right--a claim which Paul knew full well was absolutely false. As you yourself correctly noted, Paul's quotation of Deuteronomy 32 actually subverts the authoritarian reading of Romans 12-13 (which in truth is the surface reading).
I was somewhat dissatisfied with the reading of Jesus' rejoinder to Pilate offered by Wright in the video. Jesus tells Pilate that he had been given authority from above, THEREFORE he that delivered Jesus over to Pilate bears the greater sin. The assumption Wright and others make is that the one who gave Pilate his authority is God; but in light of the consistent witness of the NT that political authority derives from Satan, not to mention the fact that Jesus' "therefore" makes little sense if God is the one who is giving Pilate authority, the more likely candidate for the one who gives Pilate his authority is Satan.
It was frustrating as an American Christian to watch Romans 13 get used as a club to wield against racial minorities then during COVID get cast aside as inconvenient. We love to use Bible verses when they fit with out preconceived ideological views then minimize them when they become inconvenient. It's part of why I'm a terrible American because I don't think there was any Biblical justification for the American Revolution, contrary to centuries of hagiography.
Thinking about the context of Romans 13, the Roman Empire was pretty brutal. Much more brutal than 18th century Britain or 2020 America. Yet Paul still said to obey a capricious, unjust ruler, even unto death. Why should we be any different?