Authority

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. Consequently, whoever 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. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 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. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.

This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 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. Romans 13:1-7

As hard as it is for us humans to always accept this principle, all authority is of God. Authority is God’s means of regulating governments and families. No individual is in a position of authority except those who have been placed or allowed there by God Himself. The individual may or may not be an honorable representative of God. It is the office that commands respect. God has His purposes for the office and for the individual filling that office at any given time in history. As offended as we may be by the persons or politics of our governing officials, they are God’s instruments of leadership for the duration of their terms.

It is a clearly defined principle of Bible Doctrine that whenever God’s chosen people have rebelled and dishonored Him, and rejected His authority, He has allowed them to be thoroughly humiliated by a foreign invader or even an evil ruler of their own nation. This is spelled out step-by-step in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28-30. God disciplines His own (Hebrews 12).

Faithful believers know that If God has placed or allowed someone in authority over us, our duty as representatives of Jesus Christ is to submit to that authority. The only exception is if our submission to the government authority puts us in direct disobedience to the Word of God; and even then, the believer who defies the government on doctrinal principles must be willing to accept the consequences of that defiance (fine, imprisonment or public reprimand). We have such historical examples as Daniel and Joseph as references for this. Jesus, Himself, openly confronted the false religious system of Israel over which He IS the authority, but He did not defy the Roman government. Governments keep order. When governments become oppressive, God deals with them, also.

Nations have to be supported, so there are taxes. It is not honorable to refuse that responsibility. If taxes are owed, they should be paid. The people whose job it is to govern have to have income, too. If we’ve borrowed from a lender or bought on credit, those obligations should be paid. Jesus and His disciples paid for services and paid taxes when they were due. His only command regarding this was recorded in three of the gospels: Matthew 22:21, Mark 12:17 and Luke 12:25 “…give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

Nobody likes this obligation. It is not something we tend to do joyfully, and want to give more. It is one of the necessities of an orderly government. We often do not agree with how the elected officials are handling our nation’s resources, but that does not change our personal responsibility to pay our percentage.

This passage in Romans deals with mundane details of life that we do not always find pleasant or uplifting. The Christian Way of Life is filled with mundane details. As long as we live physically in the devil’s world, we will have some unpleasance to deal with. Sometimes it will be full-blown undeserved suffering. God knows all about it. He has provided for us in it. When we are on the other side of it, it will seem as nothing, compared to the glory in which we will spend eternity.