Romans Chapter 13
IN THIS LESSON
This is where Paul loses a lot of fans. He seems so compliant—almost submissive—to worldly powers when he says, “Every person must be subject to the governing authorities” (v. 1). Even the evil ones? Nero was on the throne when Paul wrote this letter. Was Paul out of his mind? Was he afraid of Nero—or simply unaware of what Nero would later do to him and other Christians? The truth is, Nero had no idea who Paul was at the time. So, what was really at stake for Paul and for Christians living under Roman rule?
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N. T. Wright, Romans for Everyone: Part 2, Chapters 9-16 (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2023), 51-55.