and ordinances of the Lord.[452] They lived virtuously, for no one sued them and they in turn did not dispute with anyone. Therefore, nobody could bring complaint against them, unless it was done by false witness and jealousy. That is what Saint Paul means when he says, “the rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.”
CHAPTER 57
INTERPRETATION OF ROMANS 13:3-4 (CONTINUED)
[ The justice and righteousness according to Christ is an altogether different matter. The pagans do not understand it and, therefore, persecute its adherents. ] Paul could not have said, “Do good, and you shall be praised for it.” Both Christ and his apostles did good, yet they did not ingratiate themselves to the authorities. Instead, they were put to death because of their good works. Saint Paul did nothing but good, professing in Rome the name of Christ; he did not ingratiate himself to Nero nor did he win his praises, but on the contrary lost his life by his order. [ Do good, says Paul, and you shall receive the approval not of the authorities but of God. The apostle well makes a distinction between the justice of faith and that of the rulers when he says, ]
Among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glorification. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.[453]
[ They crucified him even though he brought people back to life. They hated his message and the Christians of Rome had to separate on that account from the pagan rulers. This gave them freedom to resist authorities by virtue of the same principle that made the Jews of the old days resist the compulsion of Nebuchadnezzar, Ahasuerus, and Antiochus.[454] They were morally obligated to obey the authority of God, even though that meant their death at the hands of the secular authority. ]
