Excerpt #3 of “Analysis of Romans 13:1-7 in Light of the Analogy of Scripture”

               Given the length of the full paper I recently published on this site, I am posting excerpts which emphasize specific principles within the paper.  Hopefully, these excerpts will not only encourage you to read the actual paper, but also think more deeply about the role of Romans 13:1-7 in our response to both Godly and ungodly civil government in our day and time.  A proper understanding and obedience to Scripture is critical today as always.  This particular Scripture has been mishandled in so many ways that a methodical approach to its exegesis is needed to avoid further error by both individual Christians and the broader church.  The pressures being exerted upon true Christianity by the contemporary civil government demand a Biblical response informed by Romans 13:1-7 and the other Scriptures addressed within this paper.

               (These excerpts are posted in the order as found in the paper, but do not include the entirety of the paper which combined.  Only the PDF contains all sections of the paper.)

Jurisdictional Spheres

               Within each jurisdictional sphere, the responsibilities of the respective jurisdiction are governed by the Law of God as set forth in the Scripture.  God’s Law defines the extent of their authority and their responsibility.  The assumed division between “sacred” responsibility and “secular” responsibility is a false dichotomy . God’s law governs all people and all areas.  Romans 3:23’s explicit declaration that all have sinned and fallen short implies that all were under some form of law in order to sin, so God’s law is for all people.  Several examples demonstrate that all jurisdictions are under God’s law without distinct or complete separation between sacred and secular (Grant, 18-20).  Under Israel’s theocratic government both the appointed judges of Deuteronomy 16:18 and the Levites of Deuteronomy 17:8-9 were addressed as judging the people in regards to both religious and civil matters. Both areas were ultimately under God’s Law (Hoffecker, 164).  In the subsequent theocratic monarchy described in Deuteronomy 17:15, Israel’s king was to have both civil and religious duties.  In I Corinthians 6:1-7, Paul admonishes fellow Christians to take their disputes before other believers in the Church body rather than before the civil authorities.  In the New Testament, church members were therefore to judge civil matters between themselves.

               The Scriptures then give explicit principles within various jurisdictions, which show that God’s law applies to each of these areas.  Ephesians 6:5-9 and Colossians 4:22-5:1 address it at the occupational level.  The family is delegated educational responsibility in Deuteronomy 6:6-9 and Ephesians 6:1-4 while disciplinary authority is explicit in Proverbs 23:13-14 as well as other verses.  The property owner or farmer is given responsibility for charity in Leviticus 19:9 and the church shares some of that charitable responsibility for widows in I Timothy chapter 5.  At the civil authority level, it is also expressed.  In Numbers 10, Moses as head of the people was responsible for using the silver trumpets to summons or alarm the people to different purposes.  Jesus’ response to the paying of taxes also exhibits the rightful authority of civil government within its jurisdiction (Grant 24).  The apostles’ testimony before the Sanhedrin in Acts demonstrates a recognition of civil and religious authority combined.

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