Romans 13: The powers in the Jewish worldview
Psalm 82 God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the “gods”: “How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Selah Defend the cause of the weak and...
View ArticleThe powers and the Power of Death
Before moving on from the topic of “the powers,” I wanted to mention a bit from the work of William Stringfellow. Stringfellow is another on my list of authors that I really need to read soon. Though...
View ArticleRomans 13: The Political Climate
Most scholars think that Paul wrote the Roman letter from Corinth. An educated guess is that it was written in the year 57 a.d., although there is always some discussion about such dates. The emperor...
View ArticleRomans 13: Textual context
It helps to remember that those big numbers in the Bible weren’t put there by the original authors. We see Romans 13 as a separate unit, but it really forms part of a larger unit in the book of Romans....
View ArticleRomans 13: Not true for everyone
Before jumping into the grammar of Romans 13, I wanted to state from the outset that I see this passage as being limited in application. And everyone else does too. Everyone? Isn’t that a bit extreme?...
View ArticleRomans 13: Submitting to the powers
OK, let’s start analyzing the text of Romans 13. The passage starts off: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.” (Romans 13:1) In an article in Direction Journal, Jon Isaak notes:...
View ArticleRomans 13: God has brought order to the powers
Things get interesting as we continue to analyze Romans 13:1-7. The next sentence says: “For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” (Romans 13:1)...
View ArticleRomans 13: The powers that are
On Thursday, Darin rightly questioned the use of “point in time” theology. I may have made it sound like I was assuming a point in time interpretation with no particular reason. Look at the phrasing at...
View ArticleRomans 13: Commended by the authorities
As we continue our analysis of Romans 13:1-7, I don’t find much remarkable to comment on in verse 2: “Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and...
View ArticleRomans 13: Rulers as God’s servants
In the verses that follow in Romans 13, Paul calls the rulers “servants” (diakonos): “For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing....
View ArticleRomans 13: Giving the government its due
OK, let’s finish off our examination of the text of Romans 13:1-7. I’ll include verse 8; even though it’s often seen as being just a bridge to the next section, it may prove relevant: “Give everyone...
View ArticleRomans 13: The rest of the chapter
Before leaving our examination of the text of Romans 13, we really should discuss the remaining verses in the chapter to round out our earlier discussion of the context. Verses 8-10 discuss the...
View ArticleRomans 13: What it doesn’t say
Some passages in the Bible take on a life of their own, living independently of their own context. As such, they can be made to say any number of things, some not even remotely related to the original...
View ArticleRomans 13: Tying up loose ends
All right, let me try and tie up the loose ends from this series: Paul begins a section of thought in Romans 12, speaking of how to offer ourselves as living sacrifices. This lifestyle is highlighted...
View ArticleMaybe the early Christians were right after all
Photo by Ove Tøpfer; from Stock Xchange Excellent discussion yesterday. I’m always hoping for a little push back. That helps me sharpen my thinking and test my ideas. I want to try and further explore...
View ArticleSpeaking up when it’s too late
Several experiences over the last few days have reminded me of some terrible injustices, both past and present. Last week, Carolina and I visited the Hermitage, Andrew Jackson’s home, and were reminded...
View ArticleQuestions about respecting the king
I’ve got questions, questions about respecting authority and respecting authorities. At what point would Christians be justified in rising up in armed revolt against an existing government? To what...
View ArticleGreg Boyd on pacifism and government
I posted a link the other day to an article by Greg Boyd discussing what he (a pacifist) would say to the president about Syria. He raised some interesting points. I’m not sure that I’m in full...
View ArticleSeparating church from state in marriage
Last week I listed which I had given in a sermon. Since then, I’ve been taking a look at each affirmation, one by one. We’re up to the fifth: Christian marriage and civil marriage are not the same This...
View ArticleHonoring those in authority
Most of us are aware that the New Testament talks about respecting authority, honoring the king, etc. Christians were not to be disrespectful to those in power. I don’t feel that that principle has...
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