Week 5 in Review

Over the last week we have read through all of Romans and what a blessing it’s been! Paul packed so much wisdom and truth into this book of the Bible.

One section that seemed especially relevant is Romans 13:1-7, which is talking about a christian’s duty to government. It’s easy for us to lose sight of this teaching, especially when we’re looking at corrupt leaders in our own nation. Recent scandals and the responses to those scandals have made it abundantly clear that the party in power in Canada is not concerned with moral integrity. So how should we react? Lucky for us, Paul gives us some great teaching on this subject!

Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God. - Romans 13:1

The governing authorities are put in place by God, which means that it is His plan to have them leading us. Did you notice that there are no qualifications included as to which authorities are good or bad to submit to? That’s because whether they are good or bad does not change how we should respond. God put them in power and so we need to submit to them. Keep in mind that he’s writing this during the height of the Roman Empire; those were not godly leaders at that time! We submit to government not because it is our ultimate authority but because God is our ultimate authority, and he commands us to do so! What then does submitting to the governing authorities look like? Paul says this:

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. - Romans 13:7

Unless the authority is requiring us to break God’s commands, we need to comply with their laws. This looks like paying our income tax and not twisting the truth to pay less, and it sounds like speaking with honour and respect about our authorities and their decision to impose a carbon tax. This applies to all levels of authority in our lives including our bosses at work, the leaders at church or the head of our household.

We shouldn’t just stop there either, let’s pray and ask the Lord to give our authorities wisdom. Let’s pray that He who can do all things would change their hearts. Let’s pray that Canada would be turned to the Father to repent, because if we have ungodly leaders it’s because we’re an ungodly nation, and christian, if you and I aren’t submitting to authority we’re a part of the problem.