Romans 13
Romans 13:1-7, annotated by Pastor Coleman
Romans 13:1a Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers...
God gave man dominion over all the earth. Each has equal rights and liberties. We are to be subject to each other's rights; i.e., respect one another's rights; or as Jesus said, “as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” That's the golden rule. When all follow the golden rule, all can have plenty of gold and rule their own lives.
We the People, who have God-given, equal dominion over our own selves and over whatever portion of earth we can honestly maintain, granted certain powers to Congress (Article I). We also vested certain powers in an executive branch (Article II) and a supreme court (Article III). Congress established inferior courts under the same grant as already mentioned.
That makes We the People the “higher powers”, not government. We do not have a Caesar in America other than that every man or head of household is his own Caesar.
13:1b For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
All power comes from God (Psalm 62:11; Matthew 28:18).
We the People are the higher powers, and our power is ordained of God (Genesis 1:26-28).
13:2a Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God:
Government officials who voluntarily subject themselves by oath or affirmation to support and defend what we ordained and established according to the rights we have from God to protect the rights He has endowed to us are public servants. To resist us by violating our rights and their oath or affirmation is to resist God.
13:2b ...and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Self-evident. Tyrants are damned by God.
13:3a For rulers...
We the People are the rulers. We rule ourselves. If we properly discipline ourselves, we will measure out righteous judgments to one another according to mutual respect for each other's God-given rights.
13:3b ...are not a terror to good works, but to the evil.
We are not a terror to those who respect us and our rights; but disrespect us, and holy terror (righteous indignation) will follow you till justice is done! (If we were men enough!)
13:3c Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power?
Government officials better be! Remember the Bastille! Remember the War for Independence!
13:3d ...do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
We should commend good public servants when they do good and protect our persons, properties and rights when others have attempted to violate them and overwhelm us.
13:4a For he is the minister of God to thee for good.
Yes, we pay their salary. That's how we minister to them; just like the Israelites gave their tithes to support the priests of God in the Old Testament. They paid their salary. Same with the kings later on.
13:4b But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain:
There's the second amendment principle in the Bible! We the People bear not the sword in vain. We ought to be ready and willing to use it against tyrannical governments or agents.
When government fears the people you have liberty. When the People fear government you have tyranny. "Behind every blade of grass..." should be applied to governments in the U.S. as well. "Enemies foreign and domestic" should also be in the forefront of their minds.
13:4c ...for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
By now this should be obvious. It is our duty to God, and to one another, to put down any government that creates a long train of abuses that evince a design to bring us into subjection to government and undermine our rights.
13:5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
Government officials: Be subject to your oaths! - for the sake of not incurring our wrath, and also for the sake of having a good conscience!
13:6a For for this cause pay ye tribute also:
The tribute government owes us is to not be dependent on us anymore than we are dependent on them. In other words, here is the reason for an income tax! The income tax is only for government employees; to require them to set aside a certain percentage of their privileged money (their salary) so they have a savings to draw from and not become dependent on the rest of society if they serve for very long.
13:6b ...for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
God uses people to exercise judgment on people who do wrong. That's why all the people of the land were to be in attendance and even participate in the execution of capital punishment (in Old Testament days that was stoning). A fit punishment for those who violate the rights of the people in an egregious manner!
13:7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
There's your "due process". Right now we mostly have process, not due process. There is a process that is due to someone who is sovereign, but has violated the rights of another sovereign. The process that is due is, first of all, to be considered innocent until proven guilty. Much of the processes that were used in olden days were very good. Now, processes favor those who have money because people are not allowed to have the assistance of counsel of their choosing, but instead lawyers and barred attorneys and judges hold sway in our court system. The judicial system is corrupt. We the People are no longer jurors, but merely sheeple following judges "instructions" (read "orders").
Most American Christians have Romans 13 all backwards. Believing that "the higher powers" are governments has done more damage to America than almost anything else. It has caused Christians to lose their influence on American culture and society because they have obeyed unconstitutional laws, rules and "policies"!
We must stand for the truth of what Romans 13 really teaches before we can start undoing the damage.
May God give His people the faith and the boldness to reclaim their inherent power.
Romans 13:1a Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers...
God gave man dominion over all the earth. Each has equal rights and liberties. We are to be subject to each other's rights; i.e., respect one another's rights; or as Jesus said, “as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” That's the golden rule. When all follow the golden rule, all can have plenty of gold and rule their own lives.
We the People, who have God-given, equal dominion over our own selves and over whatever portion of earth we can honestly maintain, granted certain powers to Congress (Article I). We also vested certain powers in an executive branch (Article II) and a supreme court (Article III). Congress established inferior courts under the same grant as already mentioned.
That makes We the People the “higher powers”, not government. We do not have a Caesar in America other than that every man or head of household is his own Caesar.
13:1b For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
All power comes from God (Psalm 62:11; Matthew 28:18).
We the People are the higher powers, and our power is ordained of God (Genesis 1:26-28).
13:2a Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God:
Government officials who voluntarily subject themselves by oath or affirmation to support and defend what we ordained and established according to the rights we have from God to protect the rights He has endowed to us are public servants. To resist us by violating our rights and their oath or affirmation is to resist God.
13:2b ...and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Self-evident. Tyrants are damned by God.
13:3a For rulers...
We the People are the rulers. We rule ourselves. If we properly discipline ourselves, we will measure out righteous judgments to one another according to mutual respect for each other's God-given rights.
13:3b ...are not a terror to good works, but to the evil.
We are not a terror to those who respect us and our rights; but disrespect us, and holy terror (righteous indignation) will follow you till justice is done! (If we were men enough!)
13:3c Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power?
Government officials better be! Remember the Bastille! Remember the War for Independence!
13:3d ...do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
We should commend good public servants when they do good and protect our persons, properties and rights when others have attempted to violate them and overwhelm us.
13:4a For he is the minister of God to thee for good.
Yes, we pay their salary. That's how we minister to them; just like the Israelites gave their tithes to support the priests of God in the Old Testament. They paid their salary. Same with the kings later on.
13:4b But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain:
There's the second amendment principle in the Bible! We the People bear not the sword in vain. We ought to be ready and willing to use it against tyrannical governments or agents.
When government fears the people you have liberty. When the People fear government you have tyranny. "Behind every blade of grass..." should be applied to governments in the U.S. as well. "Enemies foreign and domestic" should also be in the forefront of their minds.
13:4c ...for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
By now this should be obvious. It is our duty to God, and to one another, to put down any government that creates a long train of abuses that evince a design to bring us into subjection to government and undermine our rights.
13:5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
Government officials: Be subject to your oaths! - for the sake of not incurring our wrath, and also for the sake of having a good conscience!
13:6a For for this cause pay ye tribute also:
The tribute government owes us is to not be dependent on us anymore than we are dependent on them. In other words, here is the reason for an income tax! The income tax is only for government employees; to require them to set aside a certain percentage of their privileged money (their salary) so they have a savings to draw from and not become dependent on the rest of society if they serve for very long.
13:6b ...for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
God uses people to exercise judgment on people who do wrong. That's why all the people of the land were to be in attendance and even participate in the execution of capital punishment (in Old Testament days that was stoning). A fit punishment for those who violate the rights of the people in an egregious manner!
13:7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
There's your "due process". Right now we mostly have process, not due process. There is a process that is due to someone who is sovereign, but has violated the rights of another sovereign. The process that is due is, first of all, to be considered innocent until proven guilty. Much of the processes that were used in olden days were very good. Now, processes favor those who have money because people are not allowed to have the assistance of counsel of their choosing, but instead lawyers and barred attorneys and judges hold sway in our court system. The judicial system is corrupt. We the People are no longer jurors, but merely sheeple following judges "instructions" (read "orders").
Most American Christians have Romans 13 all backwards. Believing that "the higher powers" are governments has done more damage to America than almost anything else. It has caused Christians to lose their influence on American culture and society because they have obeyed unconstitutional laws, rules and "policies"!
We must stand for the truth of what Romans 13 really teaches before we can start undoing the damage.
May God give His people the faith and the boldness to reclaim their inherent power.