Be subject to the governing authorities? Those authorities have been instituted by God? They are God’s agents to execute wrath on the wrongdoer?
We might dismiss these ideas outright if not for the fact that they come to us from scripture. Since these are Paul’s words in Romans 13, we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that perhaps he knows what he’s talking about. But we also wouldn’t be wrong to admit our discomfort with this teaching. We wouldn’t be wrong to acknowledge that when Paul also says, “rulers are a terror only to bad conduct, not good conduct,” it loudly clashes with the lived experience of so many people throughout human history who have experienced firsthand how authority can and does overstep and cause tremendous harm.
Now that we have admitted these hesitations, what is Paul doing? First, our assumption that those who govern ought to answer to the governed (aka democracy) is a newer assumption within the scope of history. In Paul’s day, the top-down structure of rulers over the ruled was a given; no one, Paul included, would have thought to question it. Second, because that top-down structure is a given, it is also a given for Paul that those rulers exist under Gods authority, and would face judgment for better and worse. Third, Paul turns his attention to the paying of taxes. The church in Rome, especially the Jewish portion of it, likely questioned whether they should pay taxes to phony rulers when the true ruler of all is God. So, Paul exhorts them to pay taxes; taxes are not worth the trouble of facing the government’s wrath. Fourth, Paul himself, like Jesus, was perceived as a threat to the Roman state. He was in and out of prison for all his ministry. Rome did not think of Paul as an easy, docile person. Quite the opposite.
As soon as Paul has said all this, he goes on: “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for the one who loves has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:8) Love. Love as the ultimate fulfillment of everything we do. A conversation about government and taxes quickly finds its conclusion in love.
This is the resistance. If we want to be rebels, here is how we fight back – by being a community that embodies God’s love on each other’s behalf at all times and in all circumstances, a community so possessed by love that dishonesty and envy and violence are nowhere to be found, a community whose loves shines an exposing light on all the places the world’s love is lacking. That’s how we shake our fist at the corrupted world around us. That’s how we resist.
God doesn’t need us to take up the sword or withhold our taxes, because God is loving, restoring, and judging this world through the love of the Christ-centered community. In Rome, in Bertram, Texas, and everywhere in between. We’re constantly frustrated with the brokenness of the world. But there’s good news – this world doesn’t belong to us. It belongs to God. So you and I are free to relinquish the world to him and instead focus our energy on loving each other and on seeing the kingdom of God sprout up right here in our midst. It’s no wonder this is how Paul leads into his discussion of table fellowship in Romans 14, the place where the church’s love manifests as the unbroken sharing of presence, fellowship, and sustenance.
Let us be aware of one another, church. Acutely aware. Where is love flowing freely? Where is more love needed? How can we be a blessing to each other? As we find the answers to these questions, we’ll uncover a blessing for the whole world.
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