What about Romans 13?

The purpose of this web site is to focus on end times prophecy and prepare people to persevere through difficult times. I didn’t want to post a long discussion about Romans 13, but it seems to be a subject that comes up often enough, I finally decided to address it. There is a mind set that is common among Christians. You are supposed to do what the government tells you, unless it specifically violates a principal in the Bible.

When it comes to discussing this topic, one of the biggest challenges is, most people already have their mind made up. My own mind is made up. The purpose of this letter is not to convince anyone, but instead it is to state a case and answer some questions. This is important, because it can be difficult to discuss important biblical subjects with people, if they think you are living in sin somehow. The important word in that last sentence is ‘think’. Their perception can be a greater barrier to discussion than reality.

When it comes to Romans 13, my stance is simple. Men do not define sin, and not every government is ordained by God. Let’s start with my first assertion. Men do not define sin. If it is not a sin absent the government, then it is not a sin because of the government. Furthermore, if it is a sin absent the government, it’s still a sin, even if the government says it is o.k. God defines sin, not men.

My second assertion is not every government is ordained by God. Verse 1 says, “…the powers that be are ordained of God.” However, most people who tell me I’m supposed to obey government stop reading at verse 2. This is because, verse 3 is very inconvenient to this argument. Verse 3 gives us a test case. “For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil.” If I may, I will add a couple of words to this discussion. The first word is “civil authority”. The reason I’m adding this word is, until we apply the test case, we don’t know if civil authority is a ruler according to Romans 13. This is where discernment is important. We should examine a civil authority in accordance to Romans 13. If the civil authority is not a terror to good works, but is instead a terror to evil works, then the civil authority passes the test and is indeed a ruler in accordance to Romans 13. Then we should heed verses 1 and 2. However, if we examine a civil authority and find that it is a terror to good works, but not a terror to evil works, then it fails the test. The civil authority is a “tyrant”. That is the second word I wanted to add. A tyrant is a civil authority that fails the Romans 13 test. If you resist the power of a tyrant, you are not resisting the ordinance of God. The founders of our country actually claimed, “Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.”

Let’s take a quick tour of the Bible. Did Moses sin when resisted Pharoah? Did Rahab sin when she hid the Hebrew spies? Did David sin when he resisted Saul? Did Nehemiah sin when he refused to quit building the wall? Did Paul sin when he refused to quit preaching the gospel? Paul spent half his ministry in jail. Did Jesus sin when he kicked over tables, scattered money, grabbed a bull whip and chased the thieves from the temple?

But they were doing God’s work. You still have to obey unless it conflicts with God’s word. Really? Are they ordained by God some of the time, but not others? I say, no! They are either ordained or they are not. They don’t toggle back and forth with each passing moment. Elijah says, “…How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.” I say, if a civil authority is a ruler, follow him, but if a civil authority is a tyrant, then resist him.

Before I continue, I do want to rehash something. Man does not define sin. I’m not saying, run around breaking every law on the books. What I am saying is, there is no moral requirement to follow a tyrant’s rule and it is not immoral to resist a tyrant. There will still be civil laws that overlap God’s laws. Don’t murder, rape, assault, steal, vandalize, etc. Still follow God’s laws. You may even choose to follow a tyrant on a case by case basis for a variety of reasons, such as keeping the peace or keeping a low profile. One might choose to obey a mafia boss out of fear. That’s the same type of authority a tyrant has. A tyrant’s authority is de facto, not de jure.

It never ceases to amaze me how, I can make this point during a conversation at church, and it changes nothing. To those, who think Romans 13 tells us to just follow the rules, I say, “I’m not convincing you, and you’re not convincing me. We are just going to have to agree to disagree… or not. I’m still not complying. …and you can some how think, that I’m simply dismissing a passage from the Bible or even that I’m not a Christian if you want. I don’t care. Tell yourself whatever makes you feel better.” Continuing…

Our political leaders place their hand on the Bible. In that Bible is the 10 commandments. One of those commandments says, “the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” Then, with their hand on the Bible they swear to uphold the Constitution “…so help me God.” Furthermore, the Constitution of the United States, says it “We the people…ordain and establish this Constitution”. Who is the civil authority here? Political leaders accept, in an oath that the Constitution is their civil authority, as part of their terms and conditions for holding public office. I assert, the Constitution is not a terror to good works, but to evil. The Constitution fits the Romans 13 definition of “ruler”. If a tyrant rises up, that resists the rightful ruler of this country, then he should examine verse 4 and article 3 section 3. “if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain” and “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.” Any tyrant that becomes the enemy of we the people, who established this constitution should be reminded that we will not bear the sword in vain in defense of the rightful ruler of this land.

Just because someone says he has authority, doesn’t mean he does. There seems to be many people, who have an incredible amount of gaul. They just show up, flash a badge, paper, or some other credential, and declare themselves in charge. There is absolutely no problem, biblically, constitutionally, morally, or legally anyone who just assumed authority to “pound sand”, when they tell you to obey. No one elected them. Many weren’t even appointed, let alone did they swear to uphold the Constitution. Of course they didn’t. They violate the constitution with nearly every act they commit. Many follow orders from foreign lands. Even if a king fits the Romans 13 definition of ruler, if he’s the ruler of another country, you’re not obligated to follow that ruler, unless you’re in his country. You do not have to obey anyone acting on behalf of the WEF, UN, WHO, or any other foreign entity. You also do not have to obey anyone not acting in pursuance of an oath of office.

Verse 5 reads, “Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.” I want to focus on the words “for conscience sake” for a moment. You should obey a ruler, because you want to, not because you have to. If you do something wrong, your conscience should tell you, you did something wrong. If you are obeying “for wrath”, then you are obeying out of fear. That’s the wrong reason to obey. If you are obeying out of fear, then that is telling you something is wrong. Either your obeying for the wrong reason, or your obeying a tyrant, not a ruler. Think about it. A good Christian, following a good ruler, should naturally want to do what the ruler says. You should never have to obey, “because I have to”, “they’ll fine me”, or “I could go to jail”. That’s not supposed to be part of your decision making process. If punishment is part of your decision making process, either you or the civil government is wrong. I’ll let you figure out which one.

Feel free to double check me on this. No tyranny was ever defeated by blind obedience. If I’m wrong on this, then I’m just going to be wrong. I have absolutely zero intention of doing anything these globalist demons tell us to do. …and I’m not even sorry for it. They are all going to hell anyway. (Revelation 19:19-21) I’m not following them. Think about it for a moment. Do you think it’s going to be legal to buy and sell when the beast comes up with his mark? I know. We’re supposed to be gone by then, but for the sake of argument… I’ll be a gleeful scofflaw in that scenario.

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