Romans 13:1, commentary and pictures

Every soul is to be subject to the higher powers because there is no authority except from God and the powers that exist are ordained by Him. Rulers are His ministers for good, a terror not to good works but to evil, bearing the sword to punish wrongdoers and preserve order, so subjection is owed in conscience by paying tribute and rendering dues, respect and honor, and resisting their just and lawful exercise of civil power brings condemnation. That obedience is sacred within its legitimate civil sphere, but it stops where human claims conflict with God's claims, for God alone is supreme in moral and religious duty and must be obeyed rather than men. Even in such conflict loyalty requires no defiant spirit, but remaining subject while giving warm, decided and unflinching testimony for truth and continuing to speak what has been seen and heard when men forbid it. The verse therefore cannot be used to demand obedience to laws that enforce practices contrary to God's law or to condemn Sabbath keepers as contemptuous of authority and disloyal.

Nature of Ordained Authority

Every soul is to be subject to the higher powers because there is no power but of God and the powers that be are ordained of God. To resist the magistrate in the just and lawful exercise of civil power is to resist the ordinance of God and brings damnation, which is condemnation and judgment through God's disapprobation. Rulers are ministers of God for good, not a terror to good works but to evil, bearing the sword to execute wrath upon evildoers, so that doing good removes fear of the power. Subjection is owed not only for wrath but for conscience' sake, shown by paying tribute to God's ministers and rendering to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

The state is ordained of God to preserve order and to protect people from violence, its mission being solely the prevention of evil by evil-minded persons through fear of penalties. It exists because of sin and were there no sin there would be no reason for its existence, yet acting in its own sphere it is always useful and will be as long as sin exists. While Jesus is in the sanctuary God's restraining Spirit is felt by rulers and people, so that without the laws of the land, given Satan's extensive control over the great mass of the world, God's people would suffer greatly. The state is ordained in general according to the demands of the period and place of its existence and exercises proper jurisdiction only when it attends to its own affairs in a civil capacity. In meeting its highest purpose it can have no union with religion or the church, with religion finding no place in its statute books and the church no recognition, for it has nothing to do with religion.

God ordains that no nation can exist without an authoritative head but leaves each nation to determine for itself whether that head shall be emperor or king or president or democratic judge, with no divine preference shown for monarchy. The people's voice in choosing magistrates becomes God's voice, so citizens owe magistrates respect, reverence, and obedience. All earthly kingdoms and communities are under God's supervision as Supreme Ruler who made heaven and earth, with not one kingdom in all the world He created independent of Him. Knowing the laws given to govern the subjects of the Ruler of the universe yet refusing obedience places people under condemnation of the law established from the foundation of the world. The same principle extends beyond civil rulers to people placed in positions of trust over institutions, whose discipline, order, judgment, authority, and regulations are to be submitted to, respected, honored, and received as essential rather than treated lightly. Even those who bear a most solemn message to the world and suppose they have authority are themselves under authority, subject to a power higher than that of any earthly potentate, and that higher power is to rule them.

Limits of Obedient Submission

Obedience to human government is a sacred duty within its legitimate sphere and civil relations, where Caesar is supreme, but within moral and religious duties God alone is supreme. Conformity to the laws of the State is required in all things with the single limit that it must stop where obedience would conflict with the law of God and duty to Him. Human government is appointed by God and living under its protection calls for peaceful support of civil authority, yet that obedience does not replace obedience to God whose claims must always be answered.

When human claims conflict with divine claims, God's Word must stand supreme above all human legislation whether of church or state. Christ's crown remains above the crowns and diadems of earthly rulers, and a Thus saith the Lord is not to be set aside for a Thus saith the church or a Thus saith the state. God's loyal servants must obey Him rather than men when earthly rulers forbid what He commands or command what He forbids. Ruling power is given by God to be exercised only in harmony with divine law. A king may retain the position and authority given by God even when departed from God and for the time an agent of Satan, yet that position gives no claim to obedience that would imperil the soul of him who yields it. It becomes sin to obey a command contrary to God's law, and leaders are to be followed only as they follow Christ.

Reverence and obedience are owed to rulers but do not require subjects to adopt their rulers' religion. Religious authority comes from God and not from princes, so people must follow what God teaches in His Word rather than change faith to suit a ruler's wishes when religious demands conflict with it. Daniel models the limit by obeying earthly rulers in matters not conflicting with duty to God and remaining firm when their requirements did conflict, unmoved by selfish interests or pressure from authority to abandon duty. A law requiring the return of an enslaved person to a master must not be obeyed, because the person belongs to God and not to another human being. Obedience to God instead of such a human law requires accepting the consequences, while civil rulers and laws still have their place under God to restrain disorder.

Subjection to the higher powers has a limit set by loyalty to God that becomes plain when those who honor Him are singled out as not law-abiding citizens. The choice then is to obey the powers and dishonor God or to disobey the powers and honor God. Those who obey God hold to the fourth commandment exactly as written by the finger of God on stone without any change, meet opposition not with personal assertions but with Scripture, have His Holy Spirit resting on them, love truth because it is truth, and trusting Christ's presence with them when summoned to courts can stand on Christ Jesus though the whole world is arrayed against them. Appealing to subjection to the powers to excuse breaking the seventh-day Sabbath for fear of being regarded as singular and losing influence does not make disobedience sinless or genuine sanctification, for God's law remains binding and the sanctified heart is in harmony with all its precepts. Children likewise are exhorted to be obedient to higher powers but not without exception, for when the course of those powers is against right and truth and right principles God leads a man to stand stiffly against them and not obey them, and standing firm in that disobedience for right makes him a strong man.

Faithful Conduct Under Authority

Full surrender to God leaves no room for a defiant spirit, so subjection to the higher powers is from conscience and does nothing in defiance, with the eye fixed on Christ the Captain of salvation who did all with an eye single to His Father's glory and will. Civil authority is established by God, and the surrendered heart submits because there is no power but of God. To resist the power is to resist the ordinance of God and bring damnation, while doing good removes fear of the power because rulers are not a terror to good works but to evil. The ruler is God's minister for good, bearing the sword to execute wrath upon evildoers, and subjection is owed not only for wrath but for conscience sake by paying tribute and rendering to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

When the law of God is made void the emergency calls for zeal to rise, and the true and loyal are to give more warm, decided, positive and unflinching testimony for truth while still remaining subject and doing nothing in defiance. Loyalty in such a time does not become defiance, but clear and unwavering witness under lawful authority and obedience from conscience. Faithfulness requires no defiance and no words spoken or written that appear antagonistic to law and order or needlessly close the way, but going forward in Christ's name advocating committed truth, and if forbidden by men continuing to speak what has been seen and heard. God's Word stands supreme above all human legislation of church or state, so that a Thus saith the Lord is not to be set aside for a Thus saith the church or a Thus saith the state, with Christ's crown lifted above earthly diadems, yet this supremacy is exercised without defiance.

Believers are to remain subject and not separate from governing authorities while the worldwide proclamation of the last message of mercy depends on them for passage from one end of the world to another. Even as new laws calculated to oppress are enacted and old laws that had become of none effect are resurrected, the work is to move forward understandingly and in faith under Jesus Christ, going quietly and speaking Bible truth that does not set opposing influences at work. When the way is blocked in one direction no condemnation of authorities is to be made, because condemning them teaches other authorities how to hedge up the way and stirs up opposing elements and provokes retaliation and revenge, while the climax of oppression will come soon enough on its own. Submission includes testifying in a lawful manner when called upon, and solemnly taking God to witness that what is said is the truth and nothing but the truth when actually necessary is no violation of God's Word. God still has to do with the laws of the land to restrain evil, and while Jesus is in the sanctuary His restraining Spirit is felt by rulers and people, so that without the laws of the land, given Satan's extensive control of the world, God's people would suffer greatly.

The command rebukes the churches of today for becoming converted to the customs and practices of the world instead of remaining peculiar, holy representatives of Jesus Christ. The verse is misapplied when invoked to demand obedience to human laws that enforce practices contrary to God's law. Ministers so misuse it to condemn those who keep the Bible Sabbath and refuse Sunday observance, to demand compliance with Sunday laws, to portray conscientious obedience to God as contempt for authority and disloyalty to government, and to move authorities to enforce human laws that defy God's law and violate conscience. To teach that obeying princes divides loyalty between God and evil is rebellion against civil authority, and rejecting civil authority on supposed divine sanction throws off all control. That rejection helped produce violent rebellion, sedition, strife, and bloodshed, and breaks order in public worship, whereas the verse requires subjection to princes and civil authority and the keeping of order.