Must Christians Obey the Government?

Does the Bible say that Christians must obey the government?

To quote a dear friend’s answer to many questions: "Depends."

Most of my life I have heard people say, "The Bible says that Christians have to obey the government." They usually cite Romans 13:1-7 for this. Often, they will qualify that statement with, "Unless the government is telling you to do something that goes against God’s word." This exception isn’t in Romans 13, so we usually take that from Acts 5:29, which says, "We must obey God rather than men." I will come back to Acts 5:29 later.

Before we even get started good, let me say that we are really only talking about issues where government law conflicts with Biblical principles. Most laws were created to help citizens live peaceably together. For examples of these, think of traffic laws. Traffic laws prevent things from falling into chaos. Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone.” So, when possible, we should obey the laws that help us to live at peace with others.

Now let’s dig deeper. I will start by giving you some examples of how modern English translations render Romans 13.

The New International Version (NIV) says this: "(1) 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. (2) Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. (3) 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. (4) 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. (5) Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. (6) This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. (7) 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."

The Revised Standard Version (RSV) translates it this way: "(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 he who 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 him 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; he is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer. (5) Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. (6) For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. (7) Pay all of them their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due."

My preferred translation, the Christian Standard Bible, renders it this way: "(1) Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God. (2) So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves. (3) For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. (4) For government is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For government is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong. (5) Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath, but also because of your conscience. (6) And for this reason you pay taxes, since the authorities are God’s public servants, continually attending to these tasks. (7) Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor."

All three of these use the term "governing authorities" in verse 1 (but only in verse 1) and "taxes" in verses 6 and 7. For simplicity, I will refer to this as the modern interpretation.

For comparison, the King James Version (KJV) translated those verses like this; "(1) Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. (2) Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. (3) For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: (4) For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. (5) Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. (6) For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. (7) Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour."

Again, for simplicity, I will refer to the translation of "higher powers" as the classical interpretation.

I have a few basic problems with the modern interpretation of the first seven verses of Romans 13:

1) There is no qualifying statement "unless it goes against God’s word" in verse 1, though many seem to think it is there. It is very specifically stated that the governing authorities are established by God. If the governing authorities are established by God, there can be no exceptions. To disobey ANYTHING required by a governing authority that is established by God would have to be defined as sin!

2) If you go back and look, none of those modern translations use the word "obey" in verse 1. That word IS used in Ephesians 6:1, which tells children to obey their parents.

3) There is a logical conundrum. From a purely Biblical viewpoint, does the United States government even exist? The United States came about because colonists rebelled against the British government which was established by God, therefore, there is no rightful basis for its authority. Continuing that thought, one of my own ancestors was hanged in South Carolina for being loyal to the British government. Who was wrong, my ancestor who would have been following the Biblical mandate or the men who hanged him as a traitor? If the United States government lacks Biblical authority to exist, are we to obey it? Did God establish the United States government by leading the founding Fathers of America to break his own laws given in Romans 13?

4) There is also a moral conundrum. Verse four says the authorities mentioned in verse 1 are God’s servants for good. How do you reconcile that verse with the many governments that have been clearly evil? In the 20th century alone, there were more than 50 million people killed by the Chinese Communists, more than 20 million killed by the Russian Communists, more than 12 million killed by the German Nazis, more than 8 million killed in the Congo by Leopold II of Belgium, and many million more by other regimes. Verse three says that if you do what is right, you will be commended by the authorities, but history has shown that to not be true. How many people doing the right thing were killed by the regimes listed above?

Let’s now take a look at the classical interpretation of those verses in Romans 13:

1) One of the keys to good Biblical interpretation is that you always consider context. Regarding this passage, one commentator stated that Paul had been talking about how believers are to live among their fellow believers (the church), then suddenly switched gears to talk about government for 7 verses, then went back to talking about the church. Did Paul really switch gears? If the context of Romans 13:1-7 is discussion about believers and their lives within the church, then the classical interpretation seems to be more fitting. Verse 1 is then about submitting to the authorities within the body of Christ. Verses 3 and 4 make a lot more sense, though there is no getting around the fact that church leaders have not always made perfectly Biblical choices. Verse 6 fits nicely within the context of the church, especially considering Acts 6:2-4, which states, "Then the Twelve summoned the whole company of the disciples and said, ‘It would not be right for us to give up preaching about God to handle financial matters. Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the preaching ministry.’"

2) This may come as a surprise to some, but the Bible wasn’t written in English. The New Testament was written in Greek and there are seldom one-to-one translations of words. Let’s look at some of the key words in these verses:

   a) "Hupo-tasso" is the Greek word used in verse 1 to describe the relationship between the believer and the authorities. This word is usually translated "submit" or "be subject." We generally think of this as being the same thing as obedience, but it isn’t. This word literally means to be in an "orderly manner underneath." In modern thought, it might be "know your place." You can think of this as follow or accept the consequences. For comparison, Ephesians 6:1 uses the Greek word "hypakouete", which means "obey". I mentioned Acts 5:29 earlier. In that passage, the apostles had been ordered not to preach about Jesus. They chose to disobey the leaders, understanding that there would be consequences. Let me also throw in that these leaders were religious leaders, not secular leaders, and they were not telling the apostles to do anything that went against God’s word.

   b) "Exousiais" in verse 1 is a plural word for authorities. ("Exousian" or "exousia" is the singular form in verses 2 and 3.) It would be anyone who is in a higher position than you are. There is no qualifier to explain what authorities Paul refers to in these verses.  Paul did not specifically say "government."

   c) "Estin" in verse 4 is literally "he is" in English. The NIV translates it "one in authority is." The CSB translates it "government is." The RSV and KVJ both translate it "he is."

   d) "Diakonos" in verse 4 is a word that means servant or minister (think "administrator"). It describes those in authority as being servants of God. It’s hard to imagine how this thought could apply to civil government, but pretty easy to apply it to church structure.

   e) "Phorous" in verses 6 and 7 is a word which most closely translates to our English word "tribute", which Merriam-Webster defines as "something given or contributed voluntarily as due or deserved." Paul did not use "kenson", the word used when Jesus was asked if it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar.

   f) "Proskarterountes" in verse 6 means continually or perseveringly. In that verse, it refers to the authorities as continually serving God.

3) Just for fun, let me give you the CSB version again, but this time with the original Greek meanings of those words. I will make them bold so they stand out. "(1) Everyone must submit to the authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God. (2) So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves. (3) For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. (4) For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For he is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong. (5) Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath, but also because of your conscience. (6) And for this reason you pay tribute, since the authorities are God’s public servants, continually attending to these tasks. (7) Pay your obligations to everyone: tribute to those you owe tribute, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor."  When you read this translation without the modern interpretational slant, you can see how this fits into the classical interpretation.

Conclusion:

Does the Bible say that Christians must submit to God-ordained authority? Absolutely.

Does the Bible say that Christians must blindly obey secular governments? Not at all.