Romans 13:1-3

Romans 13:1-3 (WEB) Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God. Therefore he who resists the authority, withstands the ordinance of God; and those who withstand will receive to themselves judgment. For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the same,

🔑 Key Points

1. Every Authority Is Ordained by God

Paul grounds civil government not in human consent or raw power but in divine appointment. “There is no authority except from God” — the ruler who sits in office sits there because God has ordained it. Government is not an accident of history; it is an institution of God.

2. Resistance Is Not Merely Political

Because authority is ordained by God, to resist it is to withstand “the ordinance of God.” Sproul presses that rebellion against lawful authority is finally rebellion against God's own ordering of the world, and it brings judgment on itself.

3. Government's Purpose: Restrain Evil, Praise Good

Rulers are “not a terror to the good work, but to the evil.” God gives the state the sword to restrain wickedness and to commend what is good. Fear of authority is God's mercy to a fallen world — the reason you can walk home safely at night.

4. Submission for Conscience, Not Just Fear

Christians obey not merely because the officer carries a weapon but because they reverence the God who appointed him. That makes the believer a model citizen — quiet, lawful, respectful — even under rulers who are corrupt or ungrateful.

5. Submission Has a Limit: Obey God Rather Than Men

Sproul insists this is not blanket obedience. When the state commands what God forbids or forbids what God commands, the Christian must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29) — and must do so with patience, ready to bear the cost rather than to seize the sword.

💬 Discussion Questions

Paul says all existing authority is “ordained by God.” How does that change the way you speak about leaders you dislike or distrust?
Where is the line for you between submitting to a government and disobeying God? Are you clear on it before the conflict comes?
Sproul calls Christians to be model citizens. What would that look like in your neighborhood, your workplace, and online?

God is not absent from the halls of power — He is the One who set the rulers in place, and He is faithful to His people under every one of them.

📖 The Passage