Romans 13:5 - Submission for Conscience's Sake

Romans 13:5 - Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience.

Message: Be in subjection

Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome

What the Lord is Saying:

It is clear from these verses the government has a purpose and God set up government because at the moment man sinned people would need to be restrained and protected. And when his people get out of line punishment would be necessary. And as we talked about yesterday, the government are God's representatives to avenge wrongdoers. But it must be clear that as I look at these verses, my thinking should not simply be how other people are supposed to be. I am not pointing the finger at the government, wanting them to get their act together. But I am to look at myself as a citizen and how I am supposed to respond in a world that is set up with governments. The tendency often in reading anything, any sort of instruction, it to determine how that reading affects others. We are quick to self justify and we are also quick to point the finger as we often say, "the problem is not with me, but the problem is with other people." This is often our outcry: "if other people would just get their act together, then all would be fine and dandy." 

But in verse five Paul reminds us of our personal responsibility. Verse one told us that "there is no authority except from God and those which exist are established by God." In verse 2, a "resistance to authority" means then we have resisted God. Paul says in this book that "there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" and yet by resisting authority we receive condemnation ourselves. If we do good we should have nothing to fear. But if we do evil we should not be surprised at the wrath that comes from it.

And now in verse five, because of this, because of what God has established we are to be in subjection to it. This is it, first and foremost submission is to happen because God has established it. Yet, Paul reminds us that people are not just motivated because of God's authority. In verse five, Paul reminds us that we are in subjection also because of the wrath upon the individual when they do not practice what is good but instead practice evil. Bad things will happen when we disobey the law. Law disobedience often results in fines where our money that is earned is now to be paid to the government. Our job is to protect our family and to glorify God but we can't do this if we were stuck in the cell serving a sentence. And then Paul also concludes that we are to be in subjection to our authority because our conscience move us in this direction.

Man has been given a conscience. This confidence comes from God as we saw in Romans two verse 15, "their conscience bearing witness and thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them."

So again in these verses God tells us that we are to be obedient to the law because God institutes it, God chooses the penalty or the wrath that comes from being disobedient but also he has given us a conscience to know right and wrong. Is not this conscience amazing? It is tragic to see people that do not ascribe this to God but rather somehow our own personal faculties just developed this conscience or that it is through trial and error. Again, as it says in Romans one verse 25, "they exchange the truth of God for a lie." This is why I like the law and grace method of evangelism because it appeals to the conscience.

Promise: Doing good for any reason is better than doing evil, but the Lord does not find our doing good pleasing unless we are doing it for the right reasons.