Romans 13:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

NIV: Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

NASB: Pay to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; respect to whom respect; honor to whom honor.

CSB: Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor.

NLT: Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority.

KJV: Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

NKJV: Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

Paul concludes this section on submitting to government authorities with a broader statement about paying what is owed in every sense of the word. In short, Paul describes Christians as people who pay what is owed in all cases. This includes taxes, as described in the previous verse, revenue—meaning money—as well as respect and honor. While we're obligated to disobey openly ungodly commands (Acts 5:27–29), Christians are to live lives, in general, of lawful obedience.

Within the context of this section, adding the words respect and honor to what believers owe government may make Paul's teaching even more difficult. Peter's letters go even further when he instructs that we must honor the emperor (1 Peter 2:13–17). It's important to note the difference between giving respect and honor versus having a high opinion of, or voicing praise for someone. Paul does not command living-sacrifice Christians to have positive thoughts for every authority figure. Nor does he command believers to advocate or defend them when they are wrong. Instead, Paul eliminates the option for us to speak and act in ways that are disrespectful and dishonoring.

As other Scriptures make clear, this also does not mean believers are to be unquestioningly obedient. Beginning with Jesus and Paul and the other apostles, Christianity has a long history of civil disobedience to those in authority. Most famously, Peter and the other apostles continued to preach the gospel when ordered not to. They said, "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). Most of them paid for that position with their lives: that's "submission" in contrast to "obedience."

Even in those circumstances, though, those martyred believers did not refuse to be respectful or honoring toward those in positions of what they believed to be God-given authority. Paul's larger point is that Christians should never be known as people who defy and disrespect authority, especially in matters not related to obeying God. In addition, he insists that our acts of respect, honor, and submission to human authorities are, in truth, acts of faith in the God who provides for us.

Romans 13:1–7 describes the responsibility for Christians to live in submission to the human authorities in government. The reason given is that every government leader has ultimately been established by God for His own purposes. Generally speaking, human government serves to rein in and punish those who do evil. Governments do this on God's behalf. Christians must pay their taxes to support this work God is doing. In addition, those in Christ owe respect and honor to the authorities that God has put in place. Other Scriptures, such as Acts 5:27–29, distinguish between ''submission'' and ''obedience.''

Romans 13 tackles three big areas that living-sacrifice Christians must address. First, since God puts every human authority in place to serve His purposes, Christians must submit to them; this idea comes with a particular context. Second, we must love our neighbors as ourselves. Third, we are called to live as people of the light and throw off works of darkness like drunkenness, sexual immorality, and jealousy. We are to take on the armor of light against the darkness and, in fact, take on Christ Himself instead of serving our own desires.

The prior chapter described the ideas of becoming a living sacrifice for Christ and being transformed by that relationship. In chapter 12, Paul gives certain applications of what this looks like for Christians who have received God's great mercy. Paul instructs believers to live in submission to human authorities in government because God has put them there for His purposes. Loving our neighbors as we love ourselves is the ongoing obligation of every Christian. Finally, we must throw off any works of darkness we have been taking part in and take defensive positions against the darkness in spiritual armor of light. The time has come to take on Christ and stop arranging our lives to serve our own desires.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.