Welcome back to our study of the book of Romans by the late Dr. RC Sproul. Today we’ll be looking at Romans 13:1-14
Romans 13
Submission to the Authorities
13 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
Fulfilling the Law Through Love
8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Romans 13 Sermons
1.Submit to Government (Part 1) Romans 13:1-3 CLICK HERE FOR ACCESS
Every authority in the universe is formed by the appointment of the Ruler of Heaven and Earth, not by referendum or democratic vote. Dr. R.C. Sproul reminds us in this sermon from his Romans series that we are commanded to submit to the authorities God has put over us.
2.Submit to Government (Part 2) Romans 13:4 CLICK HERE FOR ACCESS
The Christians living in Rome, surrounded by corruption, had every reason to disagree to Paul’s command to submit to authorities. Nonetheless, they paid attention to their Apostle. Dr. R.C. Sproul encourages us to surrender in a similar manner in this sermon from his Romans series.
3.Love Your Neighbor Romans 13:5-7 CLICK HERE FOR ACCESS
We are to render obedience to the magistrate because of God’s command to do so. But Dr. Sproul investigates two cases when we are to not obey our government: when commanded to do what God forbids and to forbid what God commands. An examination of the role of the Christian and taxes and their relation to how we should vote is presented.
4.Put on Christ Romans 13:8-14 CLICK HERE FOR ACCESS
Dr. Sproul continues his review of the law with a discussion on situational ethics and when it is acceptable to break a commandment. Who is my neighbor and is there such a thing as the “brotherhood of man?”
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PS: All the videos series from RC Sproul added to the website have been thoroughly listened to by myself. And I highly recommend them to anyone looking to deepen his/her faith in Christ. We live in the age of relativism and now more than ever understanding what we believe, and why believe what believe is not optional.
My name is Tayib Salami and I started Tayibs.com for the sole purpose of exploring difficult questions about the Christian faith that most of us shy away from. In 2017, I entered a very dark time in my life and it’s only by the grace of the Living God that I’m still alive today. It led me to really go deeper in my faith and consider a myriad of questions that I never thought about asking myself or others before. Welcome and enjoy the ride with me.