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The Book of Romans Chapter Thirteen
Preface
The first part of this chapter contains a particularly difficult “practical” application of righteousness, which centers on the Christian’s responsibility to local government. It is difficult from the standpoint that the government of these United States was born in rebellion; and doubtless many who led this rebellion and changed the course of history were Christians. Two of the goals they so vigorously strived for were (1) fair taxation and (2) freedom to follow one’s religion. In the mind of this commentator their cause was just and the greatest government of the world, a republic based on democratic principles, was established in July of 1776. And due to the nature of this newly established government, which over time defined its freedoms and rights (i.e., Bill of Rights) along with its deployment of “free enterprise,” “open markets,” and “capitalism;” it quickly rose to the status of the world’s greatest “super power,” a position that it continues to hold today.
How to satisfactorily reconcile what this commentator deemed to be appropriate opposition to local government, as in the American Revolution, and the teachings of Paul in this chapter to be submissive to local government, may not be possible. The key may possibly be seen in verse eighteen of the previous chapter (12), in which Paul states, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” For with the believer in Jesus Christ, there will always be a conflict. He is both a citizen of heaven (Ephesians 2:19; Philippians 3:20) and of a government immersed in this “world system,” to which he is not to be conformed (Romans 12:2). And with this spiritual conflict ever present, it may not always be “possible . . . [to] live peaceably with all men,” as Peter, in regards to spiritual matters, admitted when he said to the high priest in Jerusalem, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29b).
Nevertheless, in every ordered society there must be authority and submission to that authority. Otherwise one will have a state of anarchy, and continuous anarchy eventually will destroy any society. In most every instance, Paul practical advice for the Christian to live within the laws and order of the society in which he finds himself will both honor God and establish his life in relatively peaceful existence, even though it will never eliminate spiritual suffering and degradation from the hands of unbelievers and even other believers (Matthew 5:12; Acts 5:41; Romans 5:3; 8:17; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 1:29; 2 Timothy 2:12; 1 Thessalonians 2:15; James 1:2, 3;1 Peter 4:13, 16) .
Romans 13:1-3 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.
The establishment of the government during Paul’s day, as with all governments, came about within the “will of God,” either directive or permissive. It is certain that nothing can take place in the sphere of time upon this earth unless God permits it. Even though Satan is presently the “prince and god of this world” (John 14:30; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2) and presently rules from the heavens over the earth (Ephesians 6:12), it is only by the permissive will of God that Satan, his angelic followers, and any person on earth enjoy position and/or power (Proverbs 8:15, 16; Daniel 2:21; Luke 4:6; John 19:11).
Christians who choose to live contrary to the laws of government (i.e., nation, state, or local) run the risk of being penalized by government. In so doing they must understand that they oppose a system that God has allowed to be established, and that they will be subject to the judgment and judicial sentencing of that governmental establishment. On the other hand, compliance with governmental administrators and the laws of the land will normally bring favorable recognition from governmental entities.
Romans 13:4, 5 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake.
God established human government by His “permissive will” after the Flood (because it was obvious that man had rejected the divine theocracy originally ordained of God) when He decreed, “Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed” (Genesis 9:6a). As previously stated, in every ordered society there must be authority and submission to that authority; otherwise, there can be only anarchy. In that sense, those who are government leaders are “ministers for good.”
The mention of bearing “the sword” refers to the government’s authority to rule, judge, and administer punishment on those that “practices evil.” Therefore it is appropriate for Christians to submit to this authority; not only to avoid judicial punishment, but because it will keep one’s conscience clear from fear of guilt, apprehension, and punishment.
Romans 13:6, 7 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
Even though there are “Christians” who attempt to avoid governmental taxes on “religious grounds,” it is clear that believers are to finically support their secular governments through taxation. When the question of taxation to government was posed to Christ, here is how He answered the question:
“Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?
Show Me the tax money.” So they brought Him a denarius.
And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”
They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:17-21)
Frankly, and although it may be legal in America for “religious organizations” to escape the payment of governmental taxes, it appears that there is no concrete basis for this in God’s Word.
Christians are to pay their taxes, they are to support custom duties on merchandise being transported from country to country (another form of taxation), and they are to render proper respect (fear and honor) to those who must administer such governmental collections.
Romans 13:8-10 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Although by using the first part of this passage a case could possibly be made that Christians should never go into debt, the stronger argument is that a Christian should never allow himself to become “in arrears” (overdue accounts) in his financial obligations. One always owes financial reimbursement for goods and services rendered, and a Christian must always pay such obligations in a timely fashion, either on-the-spot or in accordance with legal contractual terms.
But the truth of this passage transcends the secular, even though it uses it to transition to the spiritual. Paul reminds his Christian readers that in their relationship with society, both believers and non-believers, there is only one “true debt” levied on them by God. They are to “love one another.” For in so doing, they fulfill the “spirit of the law,” which will insure that the “letter of the law” will be honored. Paul emphasizes that all the commandments are summed up in the saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” He knew that such love could only come from a foundation of loving God, as Jesus so stated:
Jesus said to him, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)
Paul instinctively knew that such love can only come from God, which love is “perfected” in the hearts of believers who are in the will of God; yet, it is unfortunate that a believer can exist in a world of spiritual darkness outside of God’s will and without God’s love and light being manifested in and through him (1 John 2:5, 9-11).
Finally, the following quotation taken from the NIV Bible Commentary, Volume 2: New Testament, Hodder & Stoughton, 1994 is most appropriate regarding this passage:
In saying that the one who loves has fulfilled the law, Paul presents a truth that parallels his statement in 8:4 about the righteous requirement of the law being fulfilled in those who live in accordance with the Spirit. The connecting link between these two passages is provided by Galatians 5:22, 23, where first place in the enumeration of the fruit of the Spirit is given to love and the list is followed by the observation that against such fruit there is no law. So the Spirit produces in believers a love to which the law can offer no objection, since love fulfills what the law requires. . . .
What, then, is the relationship between love and law? In Christ the two concepts that seem to have so little in common come together. To love others with the love that Christ exhibited is His new commandment (John 13:34). And if this love is present, it will make possible the keeping of all His other commandments (John 14:15). Love promotes obedience, and the two together constitute the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).
Romans 13:11-14 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
The committed Arminian takes the first part of this passage to mean what he believes concerning salvation, which is that one can lose his eternal salvation and therefore can never be certain that he is eternally saved during this lifetime. To the Arminian, eternal salvation is a product of Christ’s sacrifice plus a life of good works. In his mind Paul’s expression, “now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed,” confirms this conclusion. If, after “trusting Christ,” the believer then goes on to “cast off the works of darkness” and “put on the armor of light,” which will allow him to “walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy” and thereby insures that he “make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts,” and he continue in this way until death, he only then will be eternally saved.
And if every time the word “salvation” is used in the New Testament it means “eternal salvation,” the Arminian would have a case; because many of the passages of scripture within the New Testament indicate that salvation is an on-going process. But then there would also be a direct conflict with other passages that clearly indicate that salvation cannot possibly have anything to do with works but only with God’s grace, which is a finished and permanent transaction, and which can only be achieved (obtained) by faith alone in Christ alone.
The fact is that salvation is a tripartite doctrine. A Christian has been saved, is being saved, and will be saved. This three-part doctrine is often partitioned and described as justification, sanctification, and glorification. Each has to do with a different part of tripartite (body, soul, and spirit) man (1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 4:12). It is unfortunate that these aspects of salvation are often ignored, misinterpreted, and/or misapplied, birthing doctrinal error.
Justification—Past Tense Salvation—Salvation of the Spirit
On the cross of Calvary Jesus Christ took upon Himself the sins of mankind for a 3-hour period, being made this sin, which caused a spiritual separation from God the Father (Matthew 27:45, 46; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24). This grace-gift vicarious (substitional) sacrifice satisfied the holiness and justice of God for man’s disobedience and was therefore the penalty-price payment for his sin, the foundation for his salvation. Once the penalty-price was paid Jesus voluntarily gave up physical and temporal life (John 19:30), was buried, but rose from the grave on the third day according to Scripture (1 Corinthians 15:3, 4); all which verified His claim to deity, His completely effectual (efficacious) sacrifice on the cross, and His salvation message (John 3:14-18).
The means by which man may appropriate this portion of God’s grace-gift of salvation, which was paid for by the sacrifice of His Son on Calvary, is amply expressed by the following two verses of scripture:
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8, 9)
The Greek perfect tense utilized in this verse indicates that this salvation, which is “by grace . . . through faith,” is a past completed action with its finished results extending into present time. Thus, these verses portray a salvation that was totally accomplished on the cross by Jesus Christ and which extends into the present in a finished state for all those who appropriate it through faith. This is the salvation of the spirit, and it is for the purpose of saving man from the penalty of his sin and giving him eternal life (body, soul, and spirit) in heaven.
It is a salvation totally effected by the finished work of Christ Jesus on the cross, and to which no one can add thereto with any works. It is a grace-gift given by God freely to all (John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:9; Revelation 22:17). Once a person who has come to the realization that he is indeed an egregious sinner before God and that Christ is the only way to eternal life, a work of the Holy Spirit (John 16:8), he needs only to make the firm decision to place his faith (trust, confidence) in Christ alone for his eternal salvation—an unmeritorious act on his part (John 3:14-18; Acts 16:30, 31; Ephesians 2:8, 9). It is then that the Holy Spirit instantaneously “breathes spiritual life” into him, a person who was “dead in trespasses and sin,” which permanently secures for him a homeland in heaven.
Sanctification—Present Tense Salvation—Salvation of the Soul
Even though a person who by faith in Jesus Christ is saved from the penalty of sin, he remains in a corrupted body that contains his soul. The soul is the seat of man’s intellect, will, and emotions. To further understand this, Scripture speaks of the soul or life of man (“soul” and “life” in the New Testament are both translated from the same Greek word, psuche) in three aspects:
It is this “life quality of man” that is in the present continuous tense when the scriptures speak of the salvation of the soul. It is amply portrayed in the following verses:
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)
For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved . . . . (2 Corinthians 2:15)
Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved [Gk. being kept safe], if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:1, 2)
This is a different kind of salvation (from that of the “spirit”) that operates in the present continuous tense. Unlike the completed past tense salvation, this salvation reveals a present and continuous work, which begins at the moment the spirit is saved and continues until it ends at the Judgment Seat of Christ. In Scripture this salvation is the salvation of the soul (1 Peter 1:9). And since the words “soul” and “life” come from the same Greek word, this salvation is also known as the “salvation of the life.” Moreover, this present continuous salvation of the soul has nothing to do with eternal life, as does the past tense salvation, but rather, the saving of a believer that will have eventual consequences in the millennial kingdom of Christ.
This is the sanctification process of the believer that evolves either in a positive or negative manner throughout his physical life, depending upon whether or not he lives for himself (gains his soul/life) during his temporal existence, or lives for Christ (loses his soul/life). If he “gains his soul” here, he will lose it there. If he “loses his soul” for Christ’s sake here, he will gain/find it there (Matthew 16:24-27). Depending on his choices in this life, a believer will either gain great power and ability to produce great (divine) works, or he will lose his ability and power to accomplish any such works (Matthew 25:28).
A Christian who loses his soul at the Judgment Seat of Christ because of waywardness in this life will lose his rewards, which will be manifested in loss of his future quality of life during the millennial reign of Christ upon earth. He will either be chosen to rule and reign with Christ in the coming kingdom, or be excluded from ruling in it by the side of Christ (Romans 8:16-18; 2 Timothy 2:11, 12; 1 Peter 4:13).
Salvation of the “soul” then, is dependent on the quality of life a believer chooses while on earth. If he allows his old nature to rule his life, he will produce works of wood, hay, and stubble. These will be burned up at the Judgment Seat of Christ, with the results being loss of his “soul” (future life quality without rewards). If however, through the Word of God, he permits his new nature (the Holy Spirit in him) to rule over his life, he will produce works of gold, silver, and precious stones (1 Corinthians 3:11-15). Since these works cannot be burned up, the results of this testing will be the saving of his “soul” (future life quality with rewards).
When one fails to learn the difference between the new birth (salvation of the spirit) and life in the coming kingdom (salvation of the soul), he will become confused over many passages of scripture that speak of these two salvations. As an example: Whereas, salvation of the spirit is mostly taught in the epistle to the Romans [commentator’s note: this book too teaches mostly the “salvation of the soul”], salvation of the soul is taught in Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Hebrews, James, and First and Second Peter. (Shock & Surprise Beyond the Rapture by Gary T. Whipple, Th.M., Schoettle Publishing Co., Inc., 1992)
There are vast differences between these two salvations, as follows:
Spirit-filled/living faith life: John 15:4, 5; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 5:18; Colossians 2:6; 1 Peter 4:2
God has supplied all that is necessary for the Christian to achieve success in both life and godliness through His Word and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit:
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Peter 1:2-4)
Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. . . . And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. (John 17:17, 19)
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? . . . Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19)
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. (John 16:13-15)
But even though all provisions are made available to the believer for spiritual success in this life, it is contingent upon him to receive and avail himself of them. This is accomplished by faith, by submission to the Holy Spirit (achieved by confession of known sin), and by achieving maturity in and obedience to the Word of God (specifically the “Word of the Kingdom”).
As you have therefore received [by faith] Christ Jesus the Lord, so [in like manner—by faith] walk in Him. (Colossians 2:6)
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
. . . be filled with [controlled by] the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18)
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
That He [Christ] might sanctify and cleanse her [the Church—all believers] with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:26, 27)
Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. (1 John 3:24)
And even while the believer struggles throughout this life, facing both success and failure, God exercises His parental and husbandry qualities toward His children in order to encourage them on to success. He does this by administering loving discipline and careful pruning (Hebrews 12:5-11; John 15:2).
Therefore and unlike the past tense salvation (of the spirit) accomplished by Christ on the cross and appropriated solely by faith without works and which can never be lost, the present tense salvation (of the soul/life) of the believer is achieved by works; and, if not, then can be lost.
If gained, i.e., the Christian continues faithfully in service to His Lord, it will result in approval at the Judgment Seat of Christ and rewards (rulership) during the millennial kingdom upon earth. If lost and even though the Christian will remain eternally saved with access to heaven, it will mean shame at the Judgment Seat of Christ and loss of rewards (i.e., rulership with Christ) during the millennial kingdom upon earth.
Glorification—Future Tense Salvation—Salvation of the Body
Having considered the past and present tenses of salvation of the nonphysical portions of tripartite man, the third aspect of salvation is future tense and involves the physical body, i.e., the saving of it from the results and presence of sin.
This salvation of the body will occur at the Rapture of the Church (John 14:1-3), both facts amply described by the following passages of scripture:
So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. . . . And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. (1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 49)
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. (Philippians 3:20, 21)
But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 13-17)
Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. (1 John 3:2)
According to the scriptures, all of the Church, i.e., those believers living in the period from the cross to the Rapture, will be raised from the dead or translated in order to appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ (Romans 2:6; 14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Ephesians 6:8; Colossians 3:24, 24; Revelation 22:12).
The question has been asked many times, why should God raise up the body when man could live in his spirit forever? The answer lies in God’s total redemption of man. Since sin puts the body into the grave (Romans 5:12), God, then must redeem it. If He were to allow it to stay, then He would suffer defeat to Satan by default, since Satan is the author of death. Another reason is that the body is not a prison of the spirit and soul, but is part of the very essence of the man. Without the body, man could do no works, i.e.., serve the Lord in the coming ages. Finally, the believer must appear before the Judgment Seat in the very body that he lived this present life in order to give an account for the deeds done in that body…whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10). (Shock & Surprise Beyond the Rapture by Gary T. Whipple, Th.M., Schoettle Publishing Co., Inc., 1992)
It is then that Paul is speaking of two aspects of man’s salvation, that of the soul and of the body. Then indeed, as each day passes, his salvation is nearer than on the day that he believed. But due to the ramifications of the salvation of the soul, Paul stresses that “the night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”
The judgment seat of Christ was very real to the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 3:12-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10, 11; Romans 14:10) and throughout the New Testament, as with this passage, he urged believers to be prepared for it. And to be prepared, just as with man’s initial step in obtaining eternal salvation, which could only be by faith, he also strongly urged every believer to take the step of faith of putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, which simply meant that the believer can never rely upon himself in any way to live the spiritual life. It could only be achieved by complete dependence (faith) upon God in the form of the Holy Spirit (Colossians 2:2; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 5:18). Only in this way can a Christian hope to live a life truly pleasing to God, a life that will shine at his coming judgment before His Savior and Lord.
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