Subjection to the Higher Powers

Verses one through five of Romans thirteen present a bitter pill that many people find hard to swallow. It is the belief of the author that the higher powers are ordained by God and that we, as the body of believers acting in concert with each other, should in no wise resist the higher powers. There is no power but God. Does this speak only of the church? No. It also speaks of civil governments.

Those people who are over the little man at times seem to be monsters. They send our young people out to die in their wars. They tax us into poverty. They pretty much have their way in all matters and benefit at our expense. Was the author speaking of such powers as Rome? Yes. But, the Romans were cruel in their subjugation. How could Paul recommend obedience to such a government?

Paul's purpose was to unite the churches into a single body. There had to be a single standard that covered them all – a spiritual approach to worldly issues. One may not simply say that the powers should only be comprised of sympathetic souls who treat well those who are of like mind. The world is full of unlike minds. God puts them all on the playing board. God has ordained the enemies of his people as well as the friends of his people.

Let me ask a question of you. How are you to overcome the evil with goodness if there is no evil to overcome? The extended question, then, is how will you overcome evil with good if you set yourself at odds with it? Isn't that the old mind? Isn't that the way of the world? Didn't the author just instruct us in chapter twelve, rather than be conformed to, that is, to act in accordance with the standards, ways, or rules of the world, to be transformed by the renewing of our minds?

Don't get me wrong. It would be great to know that the higher powers were seeded with souls who thought and acted in concert with all other believers. At least we would be assured of love and compassion, of righteous discernment. However, we can't just go out and beat our adversaries into a mindless subservience to the new mind. The new tactic is to win them from the inside out.

Christian democracy has been a hard-won achievement and a boon to mankind but the battle is far from over. There are still powers in the world that are outdated and cruel, that seek to beat us into submission. We will win them from within. We will incorporate them into our brotherhood of the new mind.

There are two reasons why the body of Christ should submit to the higher powers. One is because of 'wrath' and two is 'conscience.' Working back toward verse one from verse five, the author tells us that there is only one cause to fear the higher powers. That one cause is if you do things that are unlawful. The higher powers are described as having a dual purpose. They are ministers of God to the doers of good for good and to the doers of evil for revenge. To those individuals who act unlawfully, the higher powers will execute the punishment of God's wrath. However, these same will praise and reward all who are in concert with the law.

The book of Romans was written by a Christian who was also a Roman citizen. He was in a position that provided a clear view of both sides of the occupation. Rome had many gods. When they conquered another culture, they incorporated that culture's god along with the people. Rome was not necessarily Christian but it did include Christianity within its parameters. Their laws were neither necessarily pro-Jew nor pro-Christian but governed them nonetheless. The author's instructions to those under the law called for subjection to that law in the spirit and practice of the Christian faith. The instructions were without regard to the type or source of the government.

We look around these days and see many meek and humble people in this world. They are faithful and kind, they are willing to put themselves out for the benefit of their fellow man. We see them in subjection to many different kinds of governments. Some of these governments are brutal in their treatment of God's people. They ban their faith and destroy their places of communal worship. They arrest, torture, and kill them. They are beheaded, stoned, or burned alive. These actions are perpetrated against them, not because their faith is wrong, but merely because their faith runs counter to the higher powers they live under. If one would flee to a more tolerant culture, there would be no wrong in doing so. It seems that just being a good person is not enough under some governments. What good does it do for a person to be in subjection only to be rewarded with such mistreatment?

All governments, even the bad ones, are composed of people and can be represented as a solid core around which is a misty penumbra that is gradually becoming less solid. That was certainly the case under the Roman occupation for Jews and Christians. There were cases where a Christian's subjection to the higher power brought him in contact with Roman officials who were persuaded to the Christian faith. They, in turn, persuaded others. I think this is an overlooked point when most of us consider the persecution of Christians under the higher powers of the Muslims or the communist Russians and Chinese. Conversion to the Christian faith is the will of God. For their conscience' sake, it is the responsibility and duty of the oppressed. 'Whosoever will' is an option that is extended to the non-Christians through the Christians. It is what Christ died to provide.