Romans 13
13
Christians Should Obey the Law
1All of you must obey the government rulers. No one rules unless God has given him the power to rule. And no one rules now without that power from God. 2So if anyone is against the government, he is really against what God has commanded. And so he brings punishment on himself. 3Those who do right do not have to fear the rulers. But people who do wrong must fear them. Do you want to be unafraid of the rulers? Then do what is right, and the ruler will praise you. 4He is God’s servant to help you. But if you do wrong, then be afraid. The ruler has the power to punish; he is God’s servant to punish those who do wrong. 5So you must obey the government. You must obey not only because you might be punished, but because you know it is the right thing to do.
6And this is also why you pay taxes. Rulers are working for God and give their time to their work. 7Pay everyone, then, what you owe him. If you owe any kind of tax, pay it. Show respect and honor to them all.
Loving Others
8Do not owe people anything. But you will always owe love to each other. The person who loves others has obeyed all the law. 9The law says, “You must not be guilty of adultery. You must not murder anyone. You must not steal. You must not want to take your neighbor’s things.”# Quotation from Exodus 20:13–15, 17. All these commands and all others are really only one rule: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”# Quotation from Leviticus 19:18. 10Love never hurts a neighbor. So loving is obeying all the law.
11I say this because we live in an important time. Yes, it is now time for you to wake up from your sleep. Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12The “night”# This is used as a symbol of the sinful world we live in. This world will soon end. is almost finished. The “day”# This is used as a symbol of the good time that is coming, when we will be with God. is almost here. So we should stop doing things that belong to darkness and take up the weapons used for fighting in the light. 13Let us live in a right way, as in the daytime. We should not have wild parties or get drunk. There should be no sexual immorality or evil conduct, no fighting or jealousy. 14But clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. Forget about satisfying your sinful self.
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Romans 13
13
To Be a Responsible Citizen
1-3a Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it’s God’s order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you’re irresponsible to the state, then you’re irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you’re trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear.
3b-5 Do you want to be on good terms with the government? Be a responsible citizen and you’ll get on just fine, the government working to your advantage. But if you’re breaking the rules right and left, watch out. The police aren’t there just to be admired in their uniforms. God also has an interest in keeping order, and he uses them to do it. That’s why you must live responsibly—not just to avoid punishment but also because it’s the right way to live.
6-7That’s also why you pay taxes—so that an orderly way of life can be maintained. Fulfill your obligations as a citizen. Pay your taxes, pay your bills, respect your leaders.
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8-10Don’t run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. The law code—don’t sleep with another person’s spouse, don’t take someone’s life, don’t take what isn’t yours, don’t always be wanting what you don’t have, and any other “don’t” you can think of—finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself. You can’t go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love.
11-14But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.