An old man was driving down the highway at 35mph when a highway patrol officer pulled him over. He asked the man if he knew why he pulled her over. He said, “I have no clue, officer. I’m sure I was obeying the speed limit…” The officer said, “Sir, you were traveling far too slow to drive on the highway.” With a confused look, the man pointed to a sign up ahead and said, “But officer, that sign says the speed limit is 35! I’m sure I was going the speed limit!” The officer turned to see the sign that indicated what highway they were on, Highway 35. He then turned and looked at the man’s friend, sitting next to him, eyes as big as silver dollars, and asked him what was wrong. The friend quietly replied, “We just got off Highway 160.”
Is breaking the speed limit a sin? I’ve been asked that question before. In a word, yes, according to what Paul says in Romans 13.
When do we have to obey the laws of the land, and when are we obligated to stand against those laws? If we don’t agree with the government and those in authority over us, and we don’t like the laws they pass, do we have to obey them? And what about paying taxes? If the government is using our money to fund abortions and other projects and programs that we don’t agree with, is it okay to fudge on our taxes or to cheat the government out of the money they say we owe?
If you aren’t asking these questions, I’m sure you are close to someone who is. These kinds of conversations about obeying the government as followers of Jesus seem to be at the forefront of many of our minds these days.
This is not a new topic of conversation. As long as there have been people in authority over other people, followers of Jesus have been having this conversation.
This week, we continue through our study of the Book of Romans. Our study is called: The Gospel Unveiled.
In the first half of his letter to the Romans, Paul unpacks the beauty of the Gospel message, which is the message about what God has done for us by sending Jesus to redeem us so we can be justified.
Rom 3:22-24 (CSB)—The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
The death of God’s perfect Son was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. We could not pay the price for our sins on our own, so Jesus did the work for us. His death paid the cost for our salvation; that is what it means that we were redeemed. Through that redemption, we have been justified, which means God no longer sees our sins, past, present, and future.
So, when we understand and believe that we have sinned against God, but that even though we were still sinners, God sent His Son to die for us and that He rose from the dead three days later in victory over sin and death, we are saved. When we trust God, that the price Jesus paid for us was enough, we are adopted as God’s children, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us, we have the hope of eternal life with God in a new heaven and a new earth, where God will dwell with His human family.
Once Paul describes the beauty of that message, the Gospel Message, he goes on to talk about how when we respond to that message, it begins, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to change us so we can live the life that God’s children ought to live. What does that life look like? It’s characterized by love. We learn to love God and love people. It’s that simple.
In Romans 12 and 13, Paul directs us to love people—both inside and outside the church—even the people who persecute you, hurt you, and do wrong to you. Paul says to go against your old nature and, instead of looking for revenge, bless them.
Now, in Romans 13, Paul will move on from talking about loving your enemies to describing our relationship with those in authority over us. He talks about being Good Citizens. What does loving those in authority look like? Well, here it is:
Romans 13:1-7 (CSB)—Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God. So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. For it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For it is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong. Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath but also because of your conscience. And for this reason you pay taxes, since the authorities are God’s servants, continually attending to these tasks. 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.
What I want to share with you this morning in relation to this passage is not by any means a deep dive. We are going to spend 30 minutes talking about a passage that we could spend many hours discussing. I want to give you some broad principles to carry with you when you leave today, but there is much more to this passage. Perhaps that is some motivation for you to leave here and study these verses on your own.
Let’s start with some historical context. When Paul writes this letter to the Romans, Nero is the Emperor of Rome.
We are told through church history that, after sentencing the apostle Paul to death, Nero went on a rampage, persecuting Christians, burning them alive in his garden, and feeding them to the lions. Nero was a terrible, brutal, evil ruler. Even though Nero was in power, Paul, in verse 1, says everyone is to submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God.
Who is to submit to governing authorities? Is it those who agree with the governing authorities? Is it those who are benefiting from the governing authorities? No, Everyone!
The first principle that I see Paul giving us here is:
Unconditional Responsibility
This principle applies to any and every relationship in your life. It applies to your marriage, your relationships with your kids, your friends, your boss, and even our relationship with the government.
Let’s use marriage as the example. The principle works like this:
In my marriage, I made a promise to my wife, that she never has to worry about my part of the relationship. I will be faithful, I will do my best to love her unconditionally, putting her needs above my own. I will provide for her, and care for her physically, emotionally and spiritually. Now, I don’t always do those things perfectly by any means, but I commit to doing my best to fulfill my part in our relationship. She doesn’t have to worry about my part in our relationship.
Nor does my fulfilling my part of our relationship depend on her fulfilling her part of the relationship.
We talked about this attitude in our culture last week: I will honor you if you honor me, I will be kind to you if you’re kind to me, and I will love you if you love me. That’s not how God’s Kingdom works.
Romans 5:8 says that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Even though we didn’t deserve God’s love, He loved us anyway.
Even though the government may not deserve our obedience, God says to give it. Even though the government may not be spending your tax money on things you agree with, pay your taxes. Even though you may not agree with some of the laws passed, obey them. Our part in the relationship is not dependent upon the government’s behavior.
Those in authority will have to give account for their part, and we will have to give account for our part. In verse 2, Paul tells us that resisting “authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves.”
But why would we obey laws created by a government with which we disagree? Paul says, “The authorities that exist are instituted by God” (vs. 1).
What about Hitler? Does that mean that Hitler was appointed by God?
What does history tell us? The nation of Israel would never have been born had not world sentiment, for a short period, been sympathetic toward the Jews because of Hitler’s atrocities.
As World War II came to an end, newsreels showed the bodies of Jews being bulldozed into ditches, and the mounds of glasses, false teeth, and shoes elicited horror in the hearts of people. Even though it went right down to the wire, the League of Nations voted in favor of the establishment of the nation of Israel.
That would never have happened had Hitler not risen to power. Did God ordain Hitler to do the things He did? No, and Hitler will account for his actions, but God used those events to accomplish His will and demonstrate His sovereignty over all things.
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We see only a small part of God’s plan, but God sees all of history, from beginning to end. God says, “Trust my sovereignty, trust that the plan for you is good.” Stick with the plan. It’s a good plan. That takes us to the second principle I see at work here.
Empowered Humility
We choose to trust God’s faithfulness. Trusting God’s faithfulness and His plan requires humility. It requires humility for me to admit that ultimately, I’m not the one in charge. It requires humility to acknowledge that maybe things aren’t going the way I’d like them to go, but maybe I don’t know as much as I think I know. Maybe God’s plan is better than my plan.
Pride, on the other hand, is what leads us to worry and not trust God.
Most of us think we know better than God, how our lives should go. If I don’t like the way God is managing my life, the lives of the people around me, and even the actions of the government that He has put in place, it’s because I think I know better. Pride says I know how my life should go and I’m afraid God won’t get it right.
A couple of times in Romans 12, Paul warns us against pride.
When we choose to submit and obey, this is empowered humility. This is the attitude of Jesus that Paul describes in Philippians chapter 2.
Phil 2:5-8 (CSB)—Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.
Jesus chose to set aside His qualities as God and submit to His own creation. This is Jesus’s empowered humility.
When Jesus is arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter steps up to defend him by pulling out his sword and cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant. Look at what happens next:
Matt 26:52-54 (CSB)—Then Jesus told him, “Put your sword back in its place because all who take up the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot call on my Father, and he will provide me here and now with more than twelve legions of angels? How, then, would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?”
Jesus chose to allow those events to happen and to submit to the Father’s plan for the redemption and justification of His human family. This is empowered humility.
In the same way, we choose to obey those in authority over us, not because we always approve of their governance but because we humbly trust God.
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Trusting God and His sovereignty should affect our priorities and how we order our lives.. This is our third principle.
Focused Priorities
Trusting God’s plan helps me not lose sleep over politics. Even though I pray for those in authority over us and want to see salt and light affect our culture, I know God says all power is ordained by Him.
As believers, we know that at some point, all of society will fall apart. In Matthew 24:37, Jesus said it is inevitable. There are people who will say that kind of thinking is just a cop-out.
I disagree.
Think of it this way: If I promised you that tomorrow at this time your house would be caught up in a tornado, carried to the Pacific Ocean, and dumped between here and Hawaii, how many of you would say, “Wow, I better go home and start painting” or, “That’s not much time, I better get home and vacuum,” or “I better finish the weeding”? No one would do that.
No, we would say, “If that’s the case, forget mowing and painting, there are people to get out of the house.” And you would have an entirely different set of priorities.
I’m not saying we should not be involved in politics, but we should be very focused on our priorities. I challenge you to consider where in the New Testament you hear an exhortation or see an example of political mobilization in the church. You will not find it.
If political activism is not the ultimate answer, what should we be about? Where should I focus my priorities? Getting folks engaged with Jesus and excited about the Lord. We’re to be ministers of reconciliation rather than ministers of confrontation. I’m not asking you to agree with me. I’m saying search the Scriptures. Study the life of Jesus from beginning to end. At a time when there was government corruption, abortions taking place continually, and moral decay, what was Jesus about? Where were his priorities focused?
Read the Epistles. What did Paul encourage us to do? Study Acts. What was the focus of the early Christians? It was not the goal of Jesus, Paul, or the early church to change their world temporally. No, their focus was on the kingdom eternally.
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When do we not submit?
Do these verses mean we are never to disobey those who are in authority over us?
No. Here’s one example:
In Acts 5, the Apostles are in the temple teaching people. It says that multitudes were being added to the church as a result. The religious leaders were very upset by this, and they arrested the Apostles. But in the middle of the night, an angel opened the prison doors, and they went right back to preaching in the temple.
Imagine being the guy who arrested them. The next day, you’re walking past the temple, and there they are, right back where you found them the first time. So they are arrested again and brought before the ruling council.
Acts 5:27-29 (CSB)—After they brought them in, they had them stand before the Sanhedrin, and the high priest asked, “Didn’t we strictly order you not to teach in this name? Look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.” Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than people.
Jesus had given the Apostles the mission to share the gospel message. Those in authority said, “No, you can’t do that. ” The Apostles disobeyed the ruling council, but the issue was spiritual, not political.
So, yes, there is a time when we are not to be subject to those in authority.
When is that?
When you are told to do something that is directly contrary to the written Word of God, it is then our responsibility to obey God, not men.
But make sure that if you follow that course, you have Scripture rightly divided and are not just using it as an excuse to disobey those in authority because you don’t like their rules.
Ultimately, as is the case with so many things in the Christian life, it comes down to motivation and mindsets.
Submission to authority doesn’t have to mean agreement. This is the great thing about living in the United States. You can disagree out loud, you can demonstrate, you can lobby for change, you can vote, and you can make your voice heard. These are all rights given to us by the U.S. Constitution.
We do not live under a totalitarian form of government. Overlaying Paul’s words to the Roman church over the top of our government is a tricky task. That is why we try to see the principles Paul teaches us.
The U.S. was formed upon Biblical principles. Even though many of those principles are under attack these days, we should be grateful for the United States and the rights our Constitution gives us.
Our form of government gives us the privilege and responsibility to exercise the rights given to us by the nation’s founders. However, don’t use those rights to give those in authority the middle finger.
Look at how Paul ends this section:
Rom 12:7 (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.
Always Honor
We are to have an attitude of honor. This attitude of honor isn’t the way of our culture today. Instead, we are setting cars on fire in the streets to show defiance to those in authority. Most of us here are probably conservative in our politics, and it is easy for us to wag our fingers at those who are “peacefully” demonstrating in the streets today. Someday, the shoe will probably be on the other foot, and we will not be relishing the laws coming out of Washington, D.C. once again. How will we respond? It needs to be with honor.
What is our mission? To love God and love people. What does loving people outside the church look like? Paul says, it looks like this:
- Unconditional Responsibility
- Empowered Humility
- Focused Priorities
- Always Honor
And that is the long answer to the question: Is speeding a sin? Now you know.
Chris Hankel 
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