Romans 13
Living in Love While the Day Draws Near
Romans 13 shows how faith in Jesus shapes our public life, our care for others, and our private choices. Paul calls believers to respect governing leaders, keep loving their neighbors, and live as people who belong to the coming day.
Walking Through Romans 13
Respect Authority Under God (Romans 13:1-7)
1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God’s appointment, and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God. 2 So the person who resists such authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will incur judgment 3 (for rulers cause no fear for good conduct but for bad). Do you desire not to fear authority? Do good and you will receive its commendation 4 because it is God’s servant for your well-being. But be afraid if you do wrong because government does not bear the sword for nothing. It is God’s servant to administer punishment on the person who does wrong. 5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath of the authorities but also because of your conscience. 6 For this reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants devoted to governing. 7 Pay everyone what is owed: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.Romans 13:1-7 · NET Bible
Paul tells believers to submit to governing authorities because authority itself comes under God's rule. Government has a God-given task: to protect what is good and punish wrongdoing. The sword points to its power to enforce laws and carry out punishment. Christians should not treat public order as something beneath them.
This does not mean that every ruler is good or that every command is right. Paul describes government's proper role; he does not approve everything a government does. When human commands require disobedience to God, believers must obey God, as Acts 5:29 makes clear.
Paul also says our reason for obedience should go deeper than fear of punishment. Our conscience—our sense of right and wrong before God—matters. Paying taxes and giving proper respect are part of that responsibility. I want us to notice how ordinary this teaching is. Faith reaches into bills, laws, and our words about leaders. Respecting an office does not require calling evil good.
The Debt of Love (Romans 13:8-10)
8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “ Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet ,” (and if there is any other commandment) are summed up in this, “ Love your neighbor as yourself .” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.Romans 13:8-10 · NET Bible
After speaking about taxes and respect, Paul turns to what we owe one another. We should meet our duties rather than leave debts unpaid. His words are not a complete rulebook about borrowing money. His main point is that love remains a duty we never finish.
Paul names commands against adultery, murder, stealing, and coveting—wanting what belongs to someone else. Each protects a neighbor from harm. Loving our neighbor brings these commands together because real love seeks another person's good.
Love does not replace God's commands with warm feelings. It carries out their purpose. A loving heart will not excuse betrayal, theft, or harm by giving it a nicer name. I find this both simple and searching: our treatment of people matters to God. We cannot separate love for him from care for the people whose lives our choices touch.
Wake Up to the Coming Day (Romans 13:11-12)
11 And do this because we know the time, that it is already the hour for us to awake from sleep, for our salvation is now nearer than when we became believers. 12 The night has advanced toward dawn; the day is near. So then we must lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the weapons of light.Romans 13:11-12 · NET Bible
Paul now gives a reason for living with care: time is moving toward the full arrival of God's promised salvation. Believers already belong to Christ, but they still await his return and the complete freedom from sin and death that he will bring. That day is nearer than when they first believed.
The pictures of sleep, night, and daylight help us understand his call. Spiritual sleep means living without care for what God is doing. Darkness stands for sinful deeds. The armor of light points to a life ready to resist evil and do what is right.
Paul gives no date for Christ's return. He gives a reason to be awake. Christian hope is not meant to make us careless about today. The coming day gives today's choices lasting weight.
Let Jesus Shape Your Life (Romans 13:13-14)
13 Let us live decently as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in discord and jealousy. 14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to arouse its desires.Romans 13:13-14 · NET Bible
Paul names conduct that does not fit life in the light: wild parties, drunkenness, sexual sin, shameless behavior, fighting, and jealousy. Notice that fighting and jealousy stand beside sins people may consider more serious. Quiet bitterness also needs the light of Christ.
The answer is more than trying harder to look respectable. Paul tells believers to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. This clothing picture means living under his rule and letting his character shape our conduct. We belong to him, so our choices should reflect him.
Paul also warns against making plans that feed sinful desires. He is not calling the human body evil or forbidding proper care for it. He is warning us not to arrange our lives around sin. God's grace welcomes us into a new life, not merely a cleaner public image.
- Submission — Respecting rightful authority while keeping God as our highest authority.
- Love — Seeking another person's good in ways that do not harm them.
Where does your daily conduct most need to catch up with the love you have received from Christ?
Father, thank you for your mercy and the hope of Christ's return. Give us wisdom to honor rightful authority without accepting evil. Grow in us a love that seeks our neighbors' good, and help us live openly in your light.