For the last year, Romans 13 has been a hot topic amongst Evangelical Christians who believe Americans are required to just obey the law. After Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by masked agents of the federal government, Evangelical influencers took to social media saying, “If she had only obeyed, she would probably still be alive.” As an aid to the argument, they will add, “Romans 13:1” to the end.
Romans 13 has long been read as a command to unquestioningly obey civil authority. It is often invoked in moments of social tension to quiet dissent, discourage protest, or sanctify the status quo. But this elementary reading is not only incomplete, it is deeply at odds with both the broader witness of Scripture and Paul’s own life.
Paul begins this chapter by acknowledging the role of government in maintaining order. Social structures matter. Chaos does not serve the common good, and Scripture does not romanticize anarchy. But Paul does not endorse every law or every ruler. He is describing how authority should function, serving justice, restraining harm, and promoting the well-being of the community.
Paul was no stranger to resistance and the brutality that unchecked authority can cause. He was imprisoned, beaten, and ultimately executed by the authorities he names. Paul also proclaimed that “we must obey God rather than human authorities” when conflicts arise (Acts 5:29). Scripture cannot be divided against itself. Any reading of Romans 13 that demands uncritical obedience ignores the larger biblical story.
Romans 13 is not about unquestioning obedience, but conscience. Paul writes that submission to authority is not motivated by fear of punishment, but by an awareness of what is right. The standard is not just what is legal, but also what is morally responsible. For followers of Jesus, authority is legitimate only if that authority aligns with God’s purpose for life.
Paul makes that purpose clear: “Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” Love, not law, is the final measure. Any civil command that violates love, any policy that harms the vulnerable, denies dignity, or embeds injustice, fails the test that Paul establishes.
Romans 13 is not black-and-white; it profoundly challenges the reader. Paul does not invite passive compliance; he calls believers to moral discernment. For the follower of Jesus to live faithfully is to ask hard questions: Does this law protect life or diminish it? Does it foster justice or reinforce inequality? Does it serve the common good, or does it give privilege to the powerful at the expense of the powerless?
There is a sense of urgency in Paul’s writing that sharpens the challenge: “You know what time it is… now is the moment to wake from sleep.” To be awake is to refuse the comfort of moral laziness. Doing nothing is easy. But Paul asks us to recognize that neutrality often sides with injustice, and silence can become a form of consent.
Throughout its complicated history, the church has used this passage not to justify obedience, but to inspire courage. Those who opposed slavery, resisted fascism, marched for civil rights, and sheltered refugees often did so in direct violation of civil law, but in faithful obedience to the law of love. These patriots understood what Paul understood: authority exists for the sake of justice, not justice for the sake of authority. And without an authority based on morality and love, there is no justice.
Romans 13 does not require followers of Jesus to sanctify every law. It demands that we take responsibility for how we live within, and sometimes against, them. Paul’s vision is not of quiet submission but of awakened lives shaped by integrity, compassion, and courage. Romans 13 demands that we ask the hard questions and hold those in authority accountable when they wield their power unjustly.
Romans 13 requires followers of Jesus to act when we see injustice, for silence equals consent.
If we are to live “as people of the day,” we must live visibly, ethically, and intentionally. It is to clothe ourselves not in fear or compliance, but in hope and responsibility. It is to trust that love is not only our calling, but our highest allegiance.
Romans 13 does not ask us to surrender our conscience or morality; it asks us to sharpen it.
And in a world where power often confuses itself with righteousness, that may be one of the most faithful acts of all.
