This year has been an eventful year in politics, both locally and abroad. With the political situation around us constantly changing, what better time to reflect more on what the Bible says about governments and the way we relate to them.

Paul addresses the subject in Romans 13:1-7:

¹ Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ² Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, ⁴ for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. ⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ⁷ 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 13:1-7

1. Our Government is our Neighbor

As Christians, our greatest calling is to love God with all our being and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:34-40). One important way in which we do that is by submitting to our government. It is no co-incidence that Romans 13:1-7 falls between a section describing the Christian life (Romans 12:14-21) and a section describing the Christian’s continuing duty to love others (Romans 13:8-10). By arranging his letter in this way, Paul is showing us that our duty to love others includes our responsibility to submit to the governing authorities. Submitting to the government is to be an expression of our love for God and our neighbor.

Surprisingly, nowhere does Scripture set forth as a condition for our submission that governments come into power through legitimate means. Paul asserts that there is “no authority except from God” (v1). That is, no government may come into power unless the Sovereign God allows it. That does not mean that God condones unjust claims to power. But it does means that if we recognize God’s authority over this world, we will submit to whatever human institution he has appointed over us, however imperfect they may be. Submitting to the authorities is part of the way we submit to God’s rule in this world.

Choosing not to submit to the government carries severe consequences. Paul writes in verse 2, “Whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment”. Moreover, verse 4 reminds us that our rulers “do not bear the sword in vain”. They are God’s servants, appointed as his agents of wrath on the wrongdoer (v4). If we fail to submit to the authorities God has appointed, we will incur God’s wrath. What else arouses God’s wrath? When we fail to honor him and give thanks to him (Romans 1:21). Thus, failing to submit to the governing authorities which God has set over us is one way we dishonor God and arouse his just wrath. That’s how bad it is.

2. The Basis of our Submission

Paul’s strong insistence on our submission may raise various questions. Is Paul really asking Christians to obey the government in all circumstances? What about those incidences in the Bible (such as Daniel 6) where God’s people disobeyed their ruling authorities and were vindicated?

Romans 13 doesn’t address the issue of civil disobedience directly. Such a topic requires careful study of the relevant texts from across the Scriptures, and we have insufficient time to do that here. But what Romans 13 does do is put those debates in their proper context. It reminds us that our default stance ought always to be to submit to the governing authorities.

Paul calls us to submit to our government “for the sake of conscience” (v5). Our conscience testifies to the morality or otherwise of our deeds (Romans 2:15-16; 9:1). Though our consciences are often tainted by our sin and weakness (1 Timothy 4:2; 1 Corinthians 8:7-12), the Holy Spirit works through our conscience to convict us of what is right and wrong. As we consider this passage, we can ask ourselves some important questions in relation to our consciences. Have we done our best to strive for submission in all circumstance, or are we tempted too quickly to hop onto a popular “social justice” or “protest” bandwagon? Are our consciences held captive to God’s word so that it Scripture shapes every aspect of our decision-making, or might our actions cause somebody with a weak conscience to stumble?

3. The Perfect Government

Verses 3 and 4 remind us of the role of governments: to act as servants of God, punishing evil and rewarding good. In an ideal world, the government will punish evil and reward good with perfect justice. But we know that we don’t live in an ideal world. We live in a sinful and broken world where governments may and do sometimes fail to live up to God’s standards of perfect justice. This will be the case no matter who we vote for or who comes into power.

The apostle Paul was well aware of this when he commanded our submission in these verses. After all, he lived in the time of the Emperor Nero, who murdered Christians in cruel and horrendous ways. Moreover, he would have been well acquainted with how even King David, Israel’s greatest king, murdered Uriah, so that he could cover up the affair he had with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11). The standards laid down in verses 3 and 4 are not conditions for our submission to the government – but rather statements of God’s intention for our rulers.

Deep down, we all yearn for the perfect rule of the perfect King. That’s why some of us become so easily disillusioned as we follow political affairs. Allegations of money-laundering, bribery and backstabbing arouse our anger because we know that this is not how a good government is supposed to function. But the gospel fills us with hope – for there is one King whose rule will never fail and whose rule is utterly perfect. There is one King who rules the world in perfect justice and in perfect love for his people. That King is Jesus Christ.

Christ our King humbled himself to be born in a manger. Christ our King lived the life of perfect justice and love we have not. Christ our King died on the cross, bearing our sin and the wrath that we deserve, demonstrating God’s perfect justice (Romans 3:25-26). Christ our King will come again as the judge of the living and the dead to usher in a perfect Kingdom. The ideal of verse 3-4 teaches us to yearn for the perfect rule of the perfect King.

Revelation 21:1-8 gives us a glimpse of the perfect Kingdom that Christ will bring when he returns.

¹ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.⁴ He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

⁵ And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” ⁶ And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. ⁷ The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. ⁸ But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

~ Revelation 21:1-8

One day, when God’s rule comes to its full consummation, we will see what a perfect government looks like: one that punishes evil and rewards good in all circumstances. Nobody will again have to face the pain, anger, sadness and disappointment of seeing evil go unpunished. Sin will be dealt with fully and finally and we will live in perfect joy under Christ’s perfect rule.

Whilst it’s alright to be frustrated at times by the state of affairs around us, let us continue to look to Christ and remember that he is the only ruler who will ever fulfil our longing for a perfect Kingdom of perfect justice. No matter what might happen in politics in the months and years ahead, we can and should take heart that one day we will experience the perfect rule of Christ when he returns. Come Lord Jesus!