CHAPTER 86
INTERPRETATION OF ROMANS 13:5-7
Saint Paul finishes his speech by saying,
Therefore, one must be subject, not only to avoid God’s wrath, but also for the sake of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay all of them their dues: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, and honor to whom honor is due.[505]
These words of Saint Paul make it clear that … he is not speaking of authorities of the Christian faith but of pagans in Rome… He admonishes them to be subject not only because of wrath but also because of conscience.
First, concerning wrath, [ if the subjects disobey their lord, they shall be punished by the might of the lords through imprisonments, executions, and expropriations. Pilate punished the Jews for their rebellion,[506] and therefore Paul admonishes the faithful not to incite the anger of Emperor Nero or other pagans who shed the blood of the Christians. ]
Second, concerning conscience, [ if the governing authorities do good, to resist them would mean to scorn the law of God. For God asks us to live peaceably with all, as far as it depends on us.[507] As Christians, we live – a small minority – among pagans, and the restraining power of authority is for their good. ]
CHAPTER 87
INTERPRETATION OF ROMANS 13:5-7 (CONTINUED)
[ What does Paul mean by obedience to authority? Having once fallen away from the pure faith through the Donation of Constantine, the Christians now consider their state of fallenness as normal and as expressing the apostolic faith. The priests have adopted state authority and with it a pagan mode of living. ] Therefore, the words of Saint Paul, addressed as they were to the congregation of believers living in Rome under a pagan power, urges them to be obedient to the existing authority. [ But this obedience to authority must not go beyond the limits of passivity; a Christian must take no active part in the government. ] Christ said,
