Sermon: Romans 13:1-7 – Dual Citizenship
Romans 13:1-7 (NIV)
1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Context
In the previous passage of his letter, Paul has begun to elaborate on how we are to live in community. First, he discussed life in the Body of Christ, then he urged us to “live at peace with everyone (as far as it depends upon you).” Now Paul reflects on how civic government shapes our lives and relationships. The passage itself is straightforward and easy to understand.
But to understand what’s going on, we should also consider the context of the letter. Paul was writing to people who had just recently been allowed to return to Rome – Jews and Jewish Christians had caused such an uproar that in 49 AD, Claudius ordered them all to leave the city. This wasn’t persecution of a people because of their religious practices – it was a way for the emperor to quell a public disturbance.
Paul knows he is addressing people who have a tendency to get carried away with their opinions and demonstrations. So he is using this opportunity to give them some instructions about how they can conduct themselves in future arguments. And of course, his point is theologically tied in with everything that comes before.
It’s also important, in context, to realize that Paul is not making an entire statement here about how Christians are to relate to the government. This is not a blanket, end-all instruction for being completely submissive to government. This was written before widespread persecutions were carried out against the church. Otherwise, I imagine Paul would have been much more careful in the way he worded this section.
If you look through the ministry of Paul and the other apostles, you’ll see they don’t always simply submit to what the governing authorities tell them. Sometimes, they’re even outright law-breakers!
- In Acts 4, Peter and John tell the Sanhedrin that they will continue to speak about Jesus, even though the authorities have told them not to.
- In Acts 5, all the apostles were arrested and thrown in jail for preaching Christ. But God sent an angel to let them out, and ordered them to go back into the Temple to preach again! When they are re-arrested, Peter gives this famous response: “We must obey God rather than men.”
- In Acts 9, knowing that the Jewish authorities in Damascus meant to kill him, Paul escaped the city at night in a basket – in effect, he was “resisting arrest”
- In Acts 12, we see another “jailbreak.” Herod has killed the apostle James, and planned to kill Peter also. But again, an angel came and let Peter out.
We also find times when the Apostles use their “altercations” with the authorities to further God’s work:
- In Acts 16 we find probably the best-known miraculous jailbreak. Paul & Silas were in prison in Philippi, when an earthquake shook the building and broke the walls. But Paul and Silas stayed in the prison and cared for the other prisoners until the jailor arrived because they knew their escape would mean his death. They used the opportunity to share the Good News with the jailer, and his entire family was saved!
- In Acts 22 – and following, Paul is arrested and allows himself to go through the legal process because he knows that this is his way to reach Rome with the message of the Gospel.
Our Allegiances
So what is our relationship to government as God’s people? The United States has always been a place where the people have a voice in the government – we are free to express our opinions, and to agree or disagree with the policies and practices of our elected officials. The word “submit” stirs up all kinds of feelings here!
Is Paul saying that we must submit ourselves completely to every government? Of course not. He’s saying that we must abide by the laws of the place in which we live.
So how then can we understand what we see Paul doing in his own ministry – sometimes submitting, sometimes using, sometimes even rebelling against authority?
In order to understand Paul’s actions, and in order to understand how we must make decisions about our allegiances, we must understand one crucial point: You and I are dual citizens.
This is not an unusual concept for us. We are actually used to thinking of ourselves as being bound to more than one group. And we also understand that our allegiances are arranged in a hierarchy.
For instance, my passport shows that I am a citizen of the United States of America – that I have all the rights of a citizen, and that I am bound by its laws as well. I am also a citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia by virtue of my residence here. That means I am given the specific rights, and bound to the specific laws, of this Commonwealth… as long as they are not in conflict with the rights and laws of the US. The same holds true for the county and town in which I live – the laws and rights of each are trumped by those that are “higher.”
I’m also a member of several kinds of groups and organizations. I’m a COSTCO member. I have a Blockbuster card. I’m a contributing member of the National Geographic Society.
Membership is chosen. We can take it or leave it. If I decide tomorrow I don’t want to be a COSTCO member, then I can call and cancel my membership and I won’t owe them any more “allegiance.”
Citizenship is a reality. You can’t just cast off your US citizenship so you can print fake money in your basement. Citizenship is something that is not chosen but conferred. My highest citizenship will always take precedence over any other citizenships or memberships.
So I don’t owe equal allegiance to each of these.
- If the army called to draft me, I couldn’t say, “I’m sorry, you’ll have to wait because I have a movie from Blockbuster and I can’t do anything until I’ve watched it and returned it.”
- If I was a member of a club that decided to blow up a public building in protest, I would have a definite conflict of interest – and would find myself in violation of laws at all kinds of levels.
- If Kenbridge decided its citizens didn’t have to pay any kinds of taxes in 2009, that would be nice. But it wouldn’t stop the IRS from coming to our door next year.
You understand what I’m saying. No one owes allegiance to just one government or group. Therefore, no one has only one law or rule to consider when they are making a choice about action.
Our Highest Citizenship
Paul is showing us the order of our citizenships, and he makes reference to the fact that our highest citizenship is not that of our nation. Our greatest and highest rights and responsibilities lie in our status as citizens of the Kingdom of God.
Being a part of God’s Kingdom is not a membership we can revoke or cancel when we don’t like it anymore. It’s citizenship, conferred by the reality of who we are – God has chosen us. It is as natural and binding a citizenship as any other – but it’s higher than any other.
Generally, being a good citizen of the Kingdom will automatically mean being a good citizen of our other groups. As Paul says, we will respect those who govern over us. We’ll pay our taxes to support the work of government. We’ll strive to live within the law.
Sometimes, our duties as Kingdom citizens and as citizens from some other group may come into conflict. When they do, we can’t simply withdraw from the Kingdom for a little while. But we must remember that the Kingdom is our HIGHEST citizenship! Our obedience to God trumps all other duties we might have to perform.
