Submission to
Governing Authorities
Is Romans 13 a command for unlimited
submission to any government? Absolutely
not! Find out why…
By de Andréa
April 11, 2013
Romans
13 1-7 NIV
“Let
everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which
God has established. The authorities that exist have been
established by God. 2 Consequently,
whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has
instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For
rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one
in authority? Then do what is right and
you will be commended. 4 For the
one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do
not bear the sword for no reason. They
are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore,
it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment
but also as a matter of conscience. 6 This is
also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full
time to governing. 7 Give to
everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if
respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”
But what if your government wasn’t
instituted by God… What if your’
government was instituted by the deception of Satan and the ignorance of a
Godless people… does one still obey an evil government?
Many Christians have taken this part
of scripture out of the context of the rest of Biblical truth and interpreted
Romans 13 as a command for unlimited submission to government. Many proponents of this belief have sat
passively by, in the soft pews of their places of worship, while evil has
triumphed in most areas of family and church life, moreover, our pacifistic doctrinal
smugness just may have enabled our government to replace God without us even
knowing it. This is the kind of man made
doctrinal swill that does nothing but create ignorance and deception, divide
Christians and will do nothing but lead to the enablement of the enemy and our
destruction. This is reminiscent of the ignorant
passivity of the Jews in Europe in the 1930’s
and 40’s which nearly led to their extinction.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men
to do nothing." -- Edmund Burke
Yet, when confronted with the true
meaning of Romans 13, absurd accusations are robotically shouted in the name of
religious doctrine and rhetoric toward those who would dare to break an unjust
law or even to question the almighty government. The opponents of unlimited submission to
government are deemed as rebellious, anarchists and disobedient extremists. Note…Obama’s DHS has labeled Conservative
Christian Constitutionalists as anti government domestic terrorists…
First, unlimited submission to
government is not practical. For a
philosophy to be a valid philosophy, it must be consistent. As a result, it does not make practical sense
to blindly obey a tyrant like Adolph Hitler or deem a law such as
abortion-on-demand or men laying with men a legitimate law just because one’s
government says it is public policy.
However, if we believe that Romans 13
actually does teach unlimited submission to government, then we must obey and
acknowledge all laws, good and evil, as the will of God. If all governments are of God, then all laws
are of God. This in not only not practical,
it is not the truth from any point of view and can only lead to certain
destruction.
Second, it is not historical. Our founding fathers recognized and
understood tyranny and despotism. They
perceived the ultimate end of the king’s actions. Thus, they besought George III to relent in
his persecutions and implored him to uphold his covenant agreement.
In July of 1774, our Forefathers met
in Fairfax County , Va. ,
and considered ways of forcing Great
Britain Fairfax
Ponder for a moment Resolves five and six:
#5 “Resolved that the claim lately assumed and
exercised by the British Parliament, of making all such Laws as they think fit,
to govern the people of these colonies, contrary to the first Principles of the
Constitution, and the original Compacts by which we are dependent upon the
British Crown and Government; but is totally incompatible with the privileges
of a free people, and the natural Rights of Mankind; will render our own
Legislatures merely nominal and nugatory, and is calculated to reduce us from a
state of freedom and happiness to slavery and misery.”
#6 “Resolved that Taxation and Representation are
in their nature inseparable; that the right of withholding, or of giving and
granting their own money is the only effectual security to a free people,
against the encroachments of Despotism and Tyranny; and that whenever they
yield to one they fall prey to the other.”
All of the Resolves are loaded with
bullets that explode against a tyrannical and despotic government. “The shot that was heard around the world”
on Lexington green was loaded in the “Fairfax
The “coup de grace” is plainly
stated in the 23rd Resolve:
“Resolved that it be recommended to the Deputies of
the general Congress to draw up and transmit an humble and dutiful petition and
remonstrance to his Majesty, asserting with decent firmness our just and
constitutional Rights and Privileges, lamenting the fatal necessity of being
compelled to enter into measures disgusting to his Majesty and his Parliament,
or injurious to our fellow subjects in Great Britain; declaring the strongest
terms of duty and affection to his Majesty’s person, family and government, and
our desire to continue our dependence upon Great Britain; and must humbly
beseeching his Majesty, not to reduce his faithful subjects of America to a
state of desperation, and to reflect, that from our Sovereign there can be but
one appeal.”
The defiance of tyrannical authority
In simple terms, the Resolves offered
George III two obvious choices. One was
to fulfill his covenant obligations and be the king and ruler to the American
Colonies that he had agreed to be or, second, to prepare for war. George III was asked to reflect upon the fact
that if he did not keep his end of the covenant, there could “be
but one appeal.” Last –and most
important — though it may be church doctrine or rhetoric (it is not biblical). Daniel disobeyed Darius and went
to the lions den. The three Hebrew
children broke the law for not bowing. The
parents hid baby Moses from Pharaoh. Rahab
lied to protect the Hebrew spies. The
Apostles went to prison for preaching Christ in the authority of Heaven. Paul and his followers in Acts 17 did
contrary to all the decrees of Caesar in order to make Jesus the King. Even Jesus taught in direct opposition of the
political religious leaders of his day and went to the cross for us.
Romans 13 is an idealistic treatise
by Paul and the Apostles on the institution of a model government. As we rightly divide the word of truth and
take this passage in its total context, we will discover seven truths:
1. Good government is ordained by
God.
2. Government officials are to be
good ministers who represent God.
3. We the people must obey good and
godly laws.
4. As we relate Romans 13 to America
5. Good government is not to be
feared.
6. In America
7. Government is to protect the
righteous and punish the wicked.
THE BOTTOM LINE: As a result, we have a practical,
historical and biblical mandate to fervently disobey any unconstitutional and
unbiblical laws and all government officials who cease to be good ministers of
Jesus Christ. God almighty is the only
power that deserves unlimited obedience.
I believe that God instituted America for Christians just as God instituted Israel for
Jews. The founding document of the
American philosophy called the Declaration of Independence was based on the Biblical
principals ordained by God. The
subsequent Constitutional architecture serves as the foundational support of
the freedom we inherited through Jesus Christ.
But during the course of
human events, it may have become necessary for a people to dissolve the
political bands which have long connected us with one another, and to assume among
the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of
Nature the U.S. Constitution, and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent
respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes
which impel them to be separated.
Does that sound
familiar? It should, the theme behind
it, is from the opening statement of the Declaration of Independence. Guess what?
It still applies my friend. We
now have a government that is a result of the erosion of the moral faculties of
the people of this nation. This
government has totally turned its back on the fundamental philosophy of America
There may come a time in the
not to distant future when push will come to shove, there will be uncertainty
of just what one should do. I hope in
some small way this may be a guide for you.
Thanks for listening and may God
bless you – de Andréa
Copyright © 2013
by Bottom Line Publishing - Permission to reprint in whole or in part is
gladly granted, provided full credit is given.
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