Romans Series 2
8 - Social Responsibility
Romans chapter 13 deals with a believer’s social responsibility – the Christian and politics. A Christian should be a faithful subject of the Emperor, a good citizen and a punctual taxpayer. Christians should be the best citizens. It is one’s Christian duty to submit to those in authority, where conscience towards God is not in question. When it is in question ‘we must obey God rather than men’ (Acts 5:29).
Civil order is not only a desirable thing, but divine. It is ‘of God’. You may recall Jesus’ words to Pilate in John 19:11: “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.” Those in authority will be imperfect. The government may be gravely distorted and oppressive to individual freedoms, but civil authority is still, in principle, a thing divine. Remember Paul wrote this when the supreme magistrate for Roman Christians in 58 AD was the dissolute Emperor Nero.
“Support the government” is not a popular slogan, but it is what Paul is saying as he describes the proper, ideal function of rulers.
Chapter 13 begins, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. 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 judgement on themselves.”
Remember that the Jews were notoriously rebellious, fanatical Zealot nationalists. Some were terrorists. Christianity was still regarded as a nefarious Jewish sect. Paul is saying Christianity is not like insurrectionist Judaism. In fact in 1 Timothy 2 verses 1 - 2 he writes, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”
In verse 4 of Romans 13 Paul explains, the ruler “is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” Here is the biblical principle of using force for the maintenance of good order. Human government is the servant of God to protect the good, to punish the evil and to collect tax.
Christians are meant to obey the laws for two reasons – to keep from being punished and to maintain a good conscience. Paul himself strove always to keep his conscience clear before God and man (Acts 24 verse 16).
Does this mean a believer should be indifferent to political wrong under, for example, a tyrannical regime? Of course not. If the government demands what God forbids, we must follow God. Paul doesn’t suggest Christians should submit to an imperial order to sacrifice to Roman gods. Christianity has caused many to stand up for truth against falsehood, to their own hurt, when even government authority has been against them. In fact, it was a student of St. Paul who declared, “Here I stand; I can do no other, so help me God” and the Pope and the Emperor found Martin Luther utterly immovable.
Christians are called to be responsible citizens. The Message paraphrases verses 7 - 10: “Fulfil your obligations as a citizen. Pay your taxes, pay your bills, respect your leaders. Don’t run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. The law code – don’t sleep with another person’s spouse, don’t take someone’s life, don’t take what isn’t yours, don’t always be wanting what you don’t have, and any other ‘don’t’ you can think of – finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself. You can’t go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love.” Someone has said, ‘Love is holiness spelt short.’
Perhaps you’ve heard of the little boy’s comment to his mummy when the clock struck fifteen. He said, ‘Mummy, it’s later than it’s ever been before!’ Truly we are living in an apocalyptic hour. Paul writes in verse 11, “Do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light.”
The Christian faith is a faith full of eternity, with a life full of common duty. The believer looks for the Saviour from the heavens, whilst getting on with the job in hand. Time is running out. Jesus is coming soon. The night of trial, temptation and the absence of our Christ ‘in nearly over’, literally ‘has made progress.’ We must stop living like pagans.
The last two verses of Romans 13 had a remarkable effect on a man called Augustine. He was an unmarried father, the constant object of his mother, Monica’s prayers, but still unsaved.
One day, at a time of great moral conflict, as he walked in the garden in Milan, he was strangely attracted by the voices of children playing next door. One called out, “Take and read.” He picked up a copy of the epistles which lay near by. He said, “I read in silence the first place on which my eyes fell.” And this is what he read: “Let us believe decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”
Augustine said, “I neither cared nor needed to read further. At the close of the sentence, as if a ray of certainty were poured into my heart, the clouds of hesitation fled at once.”
Out of His Word God had spoken to Augustine. He became one of the great church fathers and later wrote, not only his “Confessions” but also “The City of God.”
Warren Wiersbe sums up verse 12 as “wake up”, verse 13, “clean up” and verse 14 “grow up.”