Глава XIII

On obedience to authorities as the first duty of a person in civil life (1–6). About giving everyone their due and about love (7–12). On the sanctity of the private life of a Christian (12a-14). Rom.13:1. Let every soul be submissive to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God; the existing authorities have been established by God. In civil life a Christian must show his reverence for God by obeying the authorities ordained by God. It is very likely that the Apostle already knew something about the disobedience of Roman Christians to the authorities. This could be an echo of the excitement that the Jews at that time showed in relation to Roman power; at the same time, the expectation of the imminent arrival of the end of the world should have made Christians somewhat cold to correct the duties that they were obliged to bear as citizens of Rome. Finally, the cult of emperors also encouraged Christians to protest against the orders of the Roman authorities, who did not tolerate Roman citizens refusing to burn incense in front of the statues of emperors. "Every soul". The Apostle speaks here of a Christian as a citizen of the state; If every citizen must obey the authorities, then the Christian is obliged to do this even more. - “There is no power not from God.” This is the first incentive to obey. Power in general, in its idea, is a creation or discretion of the Divine. - “The existing authorities.” This is the second incentive to obey. Forms of authority (cf. v. 3 - rulers and Rom. 4:6-7) are also Divine decrees in each individual case. The Apostle does not go into the details of this issue here (it is not clear, for example, what a Christian should do when there is a change of authorities after a bloody struggle between them). It establishes only the principle of civil life. – Based on these words of the Apostle, Christian sovereigns (from the time of Louis the Pious) began to designate themselves as rulers “by the Grace of God.” – The Apostle’s thought is partly similar to the teaching of the book. Wisdom (Wisdom 6:1–4). Rom.13:2. Therefore, he who resists authority resists God's institution. And those who resist will bring condemnation upon themselves. Christians who disobey the authorities are rightly subjected to trial and condemnation. This condemnation, according to the Apostle, is pronounced against the disobedient by the Lord Himself, and is carried out by the rulers (v. 3). Thus, we are talking not about eternal punishment, but about temporary one. Rom.13:3. For those in authority are not a terror to good deeds, but to evil deeds. Do you want to not be afraid of power? Do good and you will receive praise from her, Rom.13:4. for the ruler is God's servant, for your good. If you do evil, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain: he is God's servant, an avenger to punish those who do evil. Here the Apostle substantiates the idea he has just expressed, that he who disobeys authority harms himself. He invites punishment against himself, instead of receiving encouragement from the authorities. - “For good deeds.” Good deeds, as well as evil ones, belong to Ap. Paul is presented here as if he were a living person. It should be noted that when the Apostle wrote his letter to Rome, Nero was not yet raging against Christians there - these were the first three or four years after his accession to the throne - the best days of his reign. Moreover, the Apostle here again speaks of power from the point of view of the ideal. - “He does not bear the sword in vain,” that is, it was not in vain that the sword was worn before a judge in Rome and Greece. The Apostle admits the possibility and considers it natural that a judge or ruler would use a sword to execute a criminal. Especially this right of the sword - Jus gladii - to use it in necessary cases was granted to the rulers of the Roman provinces (Upiani Digest. II1-3). Rom.13:5. And therefore one must obey not only out of fear of punishment, but also out of conscience. In view of the moral nature of the service of rulers, they must also be obeyed not only out of fear of punishment, but also for moral reasons - “according to conscience” - or, as Ap puts it. Peter, “for the Lord’s sake” (1 Peter 2:13). From here it is clear that if the Christian conscience, meaning the clearly expressed will of Christ, resists fulfilling the demands of the authorities that go against this conscience, then the Christian is obliged to obey the voice of conscience more than the demands of the authorities. That is, the Apostle establishes here a certain right of judgment about the actions of the authorities. He himself showed an example of such an attitude towards the actions of the authorities (see, for example, Acts 16:36–37, 22:25). But here again it must be repeated that the right to disobey the commands of the authorities is granted by the Apostle only and exclusively in matters of religion, when the state authorities begin to eradicate the true faith through despotic measures. Here, indeed, a Christian is obliged to stand for the faith, without yielding a single step, but his protest cannot, in this case, cover all relations of life. A Christian must fulfill his civic duties under all circumstances and always remain a faithful servant of the government in civil terms, even if this government takes strict measures to eradicate the Christian faith. This is what the Christians of the Roman Empire did during the most severe persecutions instituted against them by the Roman emperors. Rom.13:6. This is why you pay taxes, for they are God’s servants, constantly busy with this. “For this purpose,” i.e., due to the fact that the leaders had great importance in the life of the state. - “Pay taxes.” This means that the very payment of taxes established by the government indicates that Christians consider themselves morally obligated to obey the authorities in general, in everything, and in addition to paying taxes. - “For they are God’s servants.” The apostle repeats the thought of verse 4 (God's servant) to further encourage Christians to obey the authorities. The Greeks called servants (λειτουργοί) citizens who served the state or people in some way, mainly with their wealth (from λαός people and έργον business). The Apostle wants to say by this name that rulers must serve the good of the people, take care of their well-being, and that for this they are appointed by God (cf. Luke 22:25-27), and Christians must pay them taxes, as if in compensation for the expenses they incurred for the benefit of the state. - “By this very thing,” that is, by collecting taxes that go to public needs. This was indeed the main occupation of the various governors of the provinces (some interpreters attribute this expression to the ministry of the chiefs, but service is not found ahead of this term). Rom.13:7. So give everyone their due: give to whom, give; to whom quitrent, quitrent; to whom fear, fear; to whom honor, honor. An equally important civic duty of a Christian is the duty to give everyone their due. Only Christian love, of course, is such that a person is never able to fulfill its demands properly... In order to encourage Christians to a virtuous life, the Apostle reminds them of the proximity of the final glorification of believers, which must coincide with the second coming of Christ the Savior into the world. The Apostle speaks of legal relations, especially those established by law (cf. Mt XXII:21). – “To give” (φόρος) – these are direct taxes (land, per capita); "Obrok" ​​(τέλος) – indirect or trade duties. – “Fear” – not only of officials, but also of masters, if it concerns slaves. “Honor” is respect for every citizen. Rom.13:8. Do not owe anyone anything except mutual love; For he who loves another has fulfilled the law. Rom.13:9. For the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not covet someone else’s, and all the others are contained in this word: love your neighbor as yourself. Love, or the commandment of love, is so inexhaustible that a person will always remain in debt to it, no matter how hard he tries to fulfill it. - "Law" . Here, of course, in the context of speech, the law is civil. In fact, love for one's neighbor could not be designated by the Apostle as the fulfillment of God's law in its entirety. It cannot even be said that Paul saw the fulfillment of the second table of the Mosaic Law in the obligation not to do anything bad to one’s neighbor. Meanwhile, the purpose and content of civil law are best determined by such a requirement of a purely negative nature (not to do anything to another citizen that would be a violation of his rights). – It may be objected that in the 9th Art. individual paragraphs of the law are taken from the Decalogue. But the same clauses exist in civil law. Even desire, in the sense of malicious intent, an attempt to take possession of someone else's property, is defined in civil law as a crime. If the Apostle characterizes the content of the civil law with the words of the Decalogue, he does this for the purpose of showing that the state, the government with its laws is doing God’s work, and therefore obedience to the laws is a religious duty. Rom.13:10. Love does not harm one's neighbor; So love is the fulfillment of the law. "Execution of the Law". Having love for his neighbor, a Christian cannot do evil to his neighbor and thus fulfills everything that the law wants from him. Rom.13:11. Do this, knowing the time that the hour has already come for us to awaken from sleep. For salvation is closer to us now than when we believed. “Knowing the time,” that is, because you know the sign of the times (τόν καιρόν), you yourself understand that this time has been given to you in order to awaken from sleep. The Apostle wants to say: “You should be motivated in a virtuous life by the consideration that the remaining time of your life is given to you to prepare for the second coming of Christ. By this day you must pay off all your debts.” – “Salvation”, i.e. glorification, which the righteous will receive at the judgment of Christ (Matthew 25:34). Ap. Paul, along with all Christians, believed that the coming of the Lord was near (cf. Phil 4:5; 1 Pet 4:7). “Than when we believed.” The Apostle takes into account the rather long time that elapsed from the conversion of the Romans to Christ until the moment at which he wrote his epistle (twenty-five years). For such, one might say, long-time Christians, it is a shame to remain so long in a state of drowsiness. They could only have been in this state at the very beginning of their conversion to Christ, but now it’s time for them to shake off their sleep, especially in view of the proximity of the second coming of Christ. “At the door,” says the Apostle, “the time of judgment stands” (Zlat.). Rom.13:12. The night is past and the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and put on the weapons of light. The time before the second coming is the time when people sleep in a sinful sleep, the Apostle designates it as night, while from the moment of the second coming a clear day will shine (cf. Heb. 10:25). - “The night has passed” - more precisely: it has gone forward, there is not much of it left (προέκοψεν). In view of the proximity of the second coming of Christ, we must take care of improving our private lives and remain in strict abstinence. “Let us reject”, that is, we will throw off ourselves like a night veil. – “Works of darkness”, i.e. sinful habits. - “Weapons of Light”. The armor was partly worn as clothing (cf. Eph 6:11; 1 Sol. 5:8). The Christian is thought of here as a fighter of Christ against the kingdom of darkness. Rom.13:13. As during the day, let us behave decently, not indulging in feasting and drunkenness, nor in sensuality and debauchery, nor in quarrels and envy; Rom.13:14. But put on our Lord Jesus Christ, and do not turn the cares of the flesh into lusts. “Put on our Lord Jesus Christ,” that is, unite yourself most closely with Christ, so that your life is the life of Christ (Gal. 2:20). Although believers put on Christ already in baptism (Gal. 3:27), this putting on in baptism is, strictly speaking, only the beginning. Then the whole life of the believer represents the continuation of the work begun. - “Do not turn cares for the flesh into lusts.” A Christian cannot live outside the flesh 40: it remains the organ of our activity (cf. Eph. 5:29; Col. 2:23; 1 Tim. 5:23, etc.) while we live on earth. Next, we need to take care of her, but let these worries not serve as food for strengthening our lusts. Although the flesh or the sensory-bodily side of a Christian has ceased to be the source and seat of sin, since sin in it is fundamentally destroyed (Rom. 8:3), it is only destroyed in principle. His strength can be reborn - he is only waiting for a favorable moment for this. Flesh here means the same thing as body. The Apostle uses the word flesh in order to show the weakness of the body and, therefore, the need to take care of it, and also to show that the body has sinful (carnal) desires that need to be fought (cf. Rom 8:13). You might be interested in: