In such a case, the Christians were prepared to suffer the consequence of their peaceful civil disobedience whether it be prison (as happened) or martyrdom. One certainly did not find the Christians plotting the violent overthrow of the Romans as one found the non-Christian Jews at various times in 1st and 2nd centuries. One certainly did not find them marching in the streets shouting, “No justice, no peace” nor did one find them marching and shouting, “Pigs in a blanket, fry ’em like bacon.” Such conduct is gross sin and should be subject to church discipline in hopes of bringing about repentance.

From 1980, when I first came into contact with Reformed theology, I also came into contact with theonomists. As a naïve evangelical I took Romans 13 to God’s Word and as part of the New Testament authoritative for believers in a way that the Mosaic ceremonial and civil laws were no longer. The theonomists with whom I talked, however, regularly dismissed Romans 13 almost as if it was not to be regarded as canonical. They did so because it was almost impossible to reconcile it with their view of the civil magistrate and the theory of the abiding validity of the Mosaic civil laws in exhaustive detail. Some of those theonomists were also Libertarians; it was from the theonomists that I first learned about Ron Paul. On the latter’s connections to the Christian Reconstruction movement see Michael J. McVicar, Christian Reconstruction: R. J. Rushdoony and American Religious Conservatism (Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 2015).

More recently, overt resistance to Romans 13 seems to be coming from what has come to be called the “social justice movement” among left-leaning evangelicals one of whom recently declared on social media, “abolish the police.” Such sentiment is flatly contrary to the Word of God and certainly as contrary to the Reformed confession of the Scriptures. That such rhetoric is being mooted by ostensibly Reformed folk reveals how profoundly some have become alienated from even the most rudimentary knowledge of Scripture.

Romans 13 says:

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, “you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Rom 13:1–9; NASB95).

1 Peter 2:13–20 also says:

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God” (NASB95) .

These are just two of the places to which one might appeal to establish what the New Testament says about how Christians are to regard the civil magistrate but they are more than sufficient for any reasonable person. Let us begin at the beginning.

Paul says literally, “Every soul (ψυχὴ) be in submission (ὑποτασσέσθω) to the authorities (ἐξουσίαις).” The form of the verb is imperative. It is not even a hortatory subjunctive, i.e., “ideally, every soul ought to be…”. No, the imperative means this is a direct command. Paul goes on to say that there are no authorities in the world which are not ordained by God. As he wrote Romans 13, young Nero was on the throne. He was an ugly little reprobate who disgusted even his fellow pagans.

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