Introductory remarks:
Chapter thirteen continues Paul teaching practical living doctrine to the church. "Obey rulers because God gave rulers their place. This includes paying taxes and showing respect. Loving one another results in not breaking any of God's Commandments. Wake from sleep and live life focused on Jesus and you will not be tempted to sin" (A survey of Romans - by Brenda). This chapter may be outlined as follows: Obedience to rulers vv. 1-7; Brotherly love vv. 8-10; the Approach of the Day of Christ vv. 11-14
Obedience to Rulers
Verse 1, "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God."
LGT "Let every soul be subject to authorities above [him]. For there is no authority except from God; and those that are authorities have been appointed by God."
Let every soul: this is a Hebraism for "every man." Be subject to authorities above him. For there is no authority except from God: this includes kings as well as magistrates; and in our day, presidents. These men could never come to power without God's notice; and they will inevitably serve His purpose. We should not get so involved that we demonstrate against these men, for if they stray too far a field from God's will he will certainly remove them. As long as we personally worship God in the proper manner, He will take care of us and not let these tyrants go further than His will. Today the democrats in both houses of congress are running the government; and even this will not last, unless God permits. I believe our president is a Muslim terrorist, and he is selling America down the river; this president will not stop until America joins the global union of one world-ism. Glenda and I are reading a book entitled Obama nation. This book is a critical analysis of the book Barrack Hussein Obama wrote, which was his autobiography. In this book it demonstrates that Obama is the biggest liar since FDR. Every part of the book was researched and proven that Obama does not know how to tell the truth. We now are saddled with a lying president that should never serve two terms, for I believe the American people will wake up to this lying scoundrel. And those that are authorities have been appointed by God: "Paul is not arguing for the divine right of kings or for any special form of government, but for government and order. Nor does he oppose here revolution for a change of government, but he does oppose all lawlessness and disorder" (Robertson).
Verse 2, "Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation."
LGT "So that the one who sets himself against the authority, resists the ordinance of God, and they that resist, shall receive judgment to themselves."
So that the one who sets himself against the authority: the one who lines himself against the government. Resists the ordinance of God: Christ told His disciples to render unto Caesar the things belonging to Caesar. It is not the Christian's service to reform governments, and I believe Paul is stating that it is not wrong to oppose corrupt government, but that we should attempt to live orderly under whatever governments we are living; but we are not to yield to the government if it opposes what we know to be right; as long as a government acknowledges God it is ordained of God; however, even if the government opposes God, they will only remain as long as God wills. And they that resist: these are the ones who choose lawlessness. Shall receive judgment to themselves: to live lawless will not only bring down judgment from the government, but also discipline in time from God.
Verse 3, "For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:"
LGT "For the rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil [ones]. Do you desire not to be afraid of the authority? Practice the good, and you will have praise from it:"
For the rulers are not a terror to good works: Paul is not saying that he approves of all that rulers do; he is simply saying that when rulers rule well they are not to be feared. The original plan of God is that rulers rule justly But to evil ones: remember some of the kings of Israel were unjust, and some did that which was right in the eyes of God; and remember also, that God took care of the ones who did not rule justly. Do you desire not to be afraid of the authority: if the reader lives by the law, that is, not lawless, there is no reason to fear. Practice the good, and you will have praise from it: do what is legally and morally good. Receiving praise means that the Christian will be unmolested by the law by doing what is right. A Christian should be proud of being thought of as yielding to authority. The first and foremost step that leads to juvenile delinquency is when a young person refuses to yield to authority; and this usually happens in the home. When the authority in the home breaks down there is nothing left but anarchy.
Verse 4, "For he is a minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil."
LGT "For it is to thee a servant of God unto good. But if thou practice evil, fear: for it wears not the sword in vain: for it is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to the one who practices evil."
Let me remind you that Paul is speaking of good and proper rule, and not wicked dictatorships as we see in North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, Cuba, and other third world countries. For it is to thee a servant of God unto good: even these dictatorships remain only as long as God wills, even though it is hard for our human minds to comprehend God's ways. But if thou practice evil, fear: only when the individual does that which is contrary to the government that is ruling well is he or she to fear. We in the U.S. are under a democracy that is fading fast; and as long as the laws are just, we should obey them; but as soon as the law forbids our serving God, then and only then are we to revolt, and not to fear. For it wears not the sword in vain: a strong military is the crux of all liberty and justice. As long as the government uses arms to protect its own people, it can rely on God's support; but when the government turns on the people, and uses its military to subjugate the people under its tyranny, should the people revolt; we see that happening at this very moment in Iran. For it is a servant of God: as long as the government serves God, "And the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God" (Psalm 9:17). An avenger for wrath to the one who practices evil: this is how God planned government; but here in the U.S. the criminal now has more rights than the law-abiding citizen. The law was set up to protect the rights of the people, but under the Obama Nation we are heading toward socialism and our destruction as a free society. This Muslim president will not stop until he rules the world; he is fast changing all the rules our constitution was first intended; he is rushing through congress all of his destructive plans before any right thinking person has a chance to scrutinize them. The only thing we Christians can take heart in is that God is still our care-taker, and He will not allow anything to come upon us from this Terrorist regime that He does not will. The only support he has in congress is from the democrats, who are led by fascists like Palosi, Reed, and that fagot Barney Frank. Even some of the democrats are starting to wake up to their evil.
Verse 5, "Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake."
LGT "Wherefore [it is] necessary to be subject, not only on account of wrath, but also on account of conscience."
It is necessary for us to be law abiding not only on account of wrath: that is, because if we don't we will be caught and forced to pay the fine set by the government, but also on account of conscience: it is God's will that we be law abiding and not lawless.
Verse 6, "For this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing."
LGT "For on this account also pay ye tribute: for they are ministers of God, attending continually on this same thing."
For on this account: what he had just said. Also pay ye tribute: pay the taxes charged whether you think they are just or not. For they are ministers of God: the ones in authority would not be in office if God did not want them to be. We don't always know what God's plans are; however, we do know by the authority of the Word of God, His overall plan that the world will eventually be a one-world government, and that He will send His Son back to earth again to set up His earthly kingdom. We hear on the nightly news how the commentators refer to the Arab nations as a theocracy; this is so far from the truth they could not be more wrong; a theocracy is what Christ will set up for one thousand years; I believe what these fools mean by theocracy is a government run by their religious ideologies. Attending continually on this same thing: the government spends all their time on the work of keeping law and order. I believe the meaning of this verse is that we should be thankful we live in a land with laws rather than anarchy where everyone does that, which is right in his own eyes. We still have elections to keep the people involved in how our governors rule.
Verse 7, "Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor."
LGT "Render to all their dues: to whom tribute, tribute; to whom custom, custom; to whom fear, fear; to whom honor, honor."
Render to all their dues: pay all your debts. To whom tribute, tribute, to whom custom, custom: "The distinction commonly made between the two words is this, - tribute, is a tax on person or on lands, and custom, is what is levied on merchandise" (Beveridge). To whom fear, fear: fear the punishment for disobedience to the laws. To whom honor, honor: we are to give the proper respect to the office appointed by God. The ruler must deserve our respect by the righteousness of his or her rule.
Brotherly Love
Verse 8, "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law."
LGT "To no one owe ye anything, except the loving one another: for he that loves the other, has fulfilled the law."
To no one owe ye anything: pay your debts. Now this does not mean that we are not to have credit cards; however, it does mean that we need to pay our debts, and this means not to over extend ourselves in charging what we know we cannot possibly pay back. Except the loving one another: this is a continual debt we all owe within the brotherhood, for it is impossible to love someone outside Christianity. For he that loves the other, has fulfilled the law: Paul had in mind the Lord's words in Matt. 22:37-40: "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
Verse 9, "For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
LGT "For, thou shall not commit adultery, thou shall not murder, thou shall not steal, thou shall not lust, and if there be any other commandment, it is summed up in this word, [it is this], thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself."
Paul did not intend them to understand that he was placing them back under the law; what his intention was, was to teach them that love for the brotherhood is God's entire purpose of giving of the Law in the first place. If the law of love were fulfilled, we would have no need to break any of these commands.
Verse 10, "Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."
LGT "Love to the neighbor, does not work evil: love [is] therefore fullness of [the] law."
If we recognize in our brother or sister their relationship to our Lord Jesus Christ, we must love them; and if we truly love them, we could not possibly do them harm. Love is the complete result of keeping the law, or love is the means of keeping the law.
The Approach of the Day of Christ
Verse 11, "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is your salvation nearer than when we believed."
LGT "Also this, knowing the time, that [it is] already [the] hour you should be aroused out of sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed."
Also this, knowing the time: with the general reference to love working out, or fulfilling the law of God, that is, that all the requirements of the law are met by their love for one another, and the nearness of the return of Christ to earth to set up His thousand year Messianic Reign. That it is already the hour you should be aroused out of sleep: it is time for you to awake at once. Paul is telling them they must immediately awake from their indifference now that they have the gospel of grace to share. For now is nearer to us than when we believed: the reference is to the second coming of Christ, rather than their future glory in heaven. Every day we spend on this earth we are closer to our redemption than ever before; this should be our hope and assurance to live righteous lives. There is also the encouraging thought given here that we are closer to shedding this body of sin when we no longer will have these daily battles with the flesh.
Verse 12, "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light."
LGT "The night is advanced, and the day has drawn near. We should cast of therefore the works of darkness, and we should put on the armor of light."
The night is advanced: sleepy time is over. They are saved and have a better life to live. And the day has drawn near: the day when Christ will return. We should cast of therefore the works of darkness: anything they are doing that is tied to this world. Think about it: if we seek to be rich in the goods of this world, and we tie ourselves to this world, we are still asleep, and have no hope. It is so difficult to not be conformed to this world, but that is exactly what Paul is trying to teach the Church at Rome, and to us also, that we need to be renewed daily by applying Bible Doctrine each step of the way. Paul says cast off the works of darkness, as if we are wearing nightclothes when we live conformed to this world. And we should put on the armor of light: this of course is Bible Doctrine. The one and only way we can put off the darkness of this world that haunts us, is by daily Bible study and applying Doctrine to our lives. There are several Scripture references to the Word of God as our armor:1 Thess. 5:8; 2 Cor. 6:7; Rom. 6:13; Eph. 6:13ff.
Verse 13, "Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying."
LGT "As in [the] day, we should walk becomingly, not in revels and drinking, not chambering and wantonness, not in strife and jealousy."
As in the day: most of mans evil deeds are done in the night. Paul is saying walk as in the daytime where you cannot hide your deeds. We should walk becomingly: Paul uses the term walk for all our outward actions. Not in revels: this is carousing, and riotous behavior. And drinking: drinking to excess. And wantonness: this is lewd immodest behavior. If even unbelievers are ashamed before men to behave this way, how should we, who are children of light, be ashamed? Not in strife: do not live in contention with one another; this includes litigation, which is, taking one another to court. And jealousy: don't be covetous of other people's possessions or talents. Be satisfied with what you have and whatever state you are in, that is, as long as you are walking in the light.
Verse 14, "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof."
LGT "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not take consideration for desires of the flesh."
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ: here Paul shows us how we are to accomplish the true Christian life. We put on Christ by walking in fellowship with Him. This is accomplished by confessing known sin, studying the Word of God, and applying the Word of God to our lives. We have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit who gives us the power, and urges us to follow His lead. And do not take consideration: repel all the urges of the flesh to sin. Do not even consider sin for a second. Whenever we allow our flesh to take control we are responding to the consideration our minds devising to sin. For desires of the flesh: the threefold basis of appeal has been in effect since the Garden of Eden; the lust of the eyes; the lust of the flesh; and the pride of life. To recognize these things is to know what they are and do not allow then to control us. Our joy is only made full when we walk in the Light of God's Word. When we know the Truth and do not the Truth we are poor wretches indeed.
Share freely but cite the source: http://bbbiblehelps.epizy.com