Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
Romans 13:5-7
The current viral pandemic has brought with it unprecedented interruption and new government intervention in our daily lives. People in every country around the world have seen their governments act in new and swift ways. These actions have asked us to stay home, probably kept us safe, disrupted economies worldwide, released government financial aid on a massive scale, and have been the cause of consternation and political debate in all the world’s free societies. Never before have city, local, regional, and national governments had to move so quickly on such a massive scale that was not a wartime emergency. And the result, of course, has been a universally clunky experience. Now, as regions begin to reopen, it is perhaps still clunky and feels very tentative and uncertain.
Most Christians in America would benefit from a good reading of Paul’s primer on human government here in Romans thirteen. Here is a very short attempt at a summary:
1. Christians are called to obey, as an act of honor to God’s sovereign purposes and control, all human governing authorities (Romans 13:1).
2. Christians recognize such obedience is actually an act of obedience to God first (Romans 13:2).
3. Human governments at every level exist by God’s direct design to keep the peace and punish what is wrong. (Romans 13:3-4).
4. It is a matter of personal spiritual growth to trust God’s establishment of these authorities (Romans 13:5).
5. This subjection and obedience extends to the timely payment of taxes as well as obeying law, doing so with honor and respect to the appropriate authority (Romans 13:6-7)
It should be noted that Paul wrote these words while living under the rule of emperor Nero, whom history shows was a self-indulgent madman. The Christians he wrote to in Rome were at the center of a brutally efficient military empire that had brought peace to the known world by threat and massive military muscle. They also were implicit in the murder of Jesus and the oppression of Jews. Christians were starting to be persecuted by local, regional, and eventually official Roman governments. Yet God through Paul was compelled to remind us to teach and insist on these principles of respect and honor for those ruling over us.
Now is NOT the time to disobey God in this matter. It is NOT the time to be divisive as areas of human society open up around the world. It IS a time to show respect, to thank those keeping us safe and healthy, to care for our neighbors in a civil society, and to trust God’s design even in flawed leaders! The people of Jesus will do this.
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