Resonating Harmony (Romans 13)

Have you ever noticed how easy harmony feels in this room?

Here we are different, having different upbringings, different talents, different opportunities, different opinions. But we are the same. We are striving to be good for Jesus’ sake. We believe the same and love the same person. We are striving for righteousness based on the same text.

But then Monday comes.

And suddenly we’re not in a choir anymore. We’re in traffic. We’re at work. We’re dealing with bosses, officials, leaders, neighbors, and strangers who don’t care about our song. Harmony in here feels like singing. Harmony out there feels a lot more like walking into a corral with wild mustangs.

You don’t tame a mustang by yelling at it. You don’t win it with threats or force. You earn its trust with patience, steadiness, and a calm hand. You stay gentle when it kicks. You stay present when it bolts. And little by little, that wild heart starts to match your rhythm.

That’s the picture I want you to have in mind as we open Romans 13.

Last week we looked at harmony inside the body of Christ in Romans 12. We saw how we’re called to live in peace with one another, to outdo one another in showing honor, to overcome evil with good. That’s the music we make in here.

Today, Paul shows us that harmony inside the church is just the beginning. The beauty of the harmony we create here is that it strengthens us to go outside these walls and spread Christ to the world around us. The church learns harmony here so we can sing Christ’s song out there—through submission, love, and holiness.

We don’t go out to dominate, to crush, or to force people to bow to our way of life. We go out to sing a different song. A song of humble submission, costly love, and holy living in a dark world.

And Paul starts with the place most of us least want to sing: our relationship with the governing authorities.

Harmony That Resonates (13:1-7)

After telling us not to retaliate against those who wrong us in Chapter 12, Paul tells us to submit to the governing authorities in Chapter 13.

Romans 13:1–7 (ESV) — 1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Consider what this means. These Christians, living in Rome, are supposed to submit themselves to the wicked, corrupt, powers that be. Their lives are supposed to be lived in harmony with the authorities. They aren’t there to overthrow them by rebelling against them. God wants them to give respect and honor, even when leaders show themselves unworthy of it. They are not to retaliate against a brother or sister in Christ, nor should they retaliate against someone who is outside of the body of Christ. Paul wants them to let the worldly powers rule over them because God rules over those powers.

Doesn’t that sound weak and pathetic? We live in a culture that rebels against unjust rulers. We said, “No taxation without representation.” That notion is engrained in our society. But in these seven verses, we read that those who are in authority over us are being controlled by God. He is the one who puts them in their position. His purpose is for them to keep order and justice. So, our choice to rebel against them is tantamount to rebelling against God.

When a president comes to power who is against our Christian viewpoint, we honor him. When congressmen, governors, mayors, or employers come to power and take away our freedoms or promote ungodly behaviors (crude words, spite, malice, rage, self-exaltation, etc), we do not blindly follow in obedience. We do not stay silent in injustice. But we calmly, respectfully refuse to imitate worldly rage. We submit to their commands as much as is possible while obeying God’s will.

This is the more difficult harmony. We have to play by the rules even when no one else does. Being in harmony with the authorities sets the example of righteousness for everyone to see. The government is meant to be a terror to those who do evil. If they are a terror to those who do good, they break the system. But Paul tells us that God will give them what they are owed. This harmonious way of life might seem weak to those who are truly weak. But it takes more strength to sacrifice yourself for a greater cause than to selfishly resist the government’s laws.

Think of Jesus. Think of how this one act of submitting to the governing authorities can sink into the minds and hearts of those in power. It makes a statement. When the innocent have faith in God’s working while they suffer, everyone considers. That harmony with Christ resonates.

Love Is The Key (8-10)

Verses 1-7 start something important. They tell us to give to those who are in authority what is due. Give them money, respect, and honor where it is due. This is not always easy. Imagine having Nero as your emperor. Imagine vile, hateful, corrupt politicians who are power hungry throwing you in prison and holding you there to make people happy. You miss out on years of your life because of their wickedness. Are you supposed to just go down without a fight? No. But your fight is spiritual. The weapons of our warfare are not physical. We win that fight by remaining faithful. That’s what Paul is saying.

How are we going to do this? What words can Paul give us to help us pursue harmony in a society that is wicked and selfish? The next words from Paul hit deeper. He wants us to think about every relationship we have with people outside these walls and inside them. Our goal is not to take from them what we can take from them, but to give them something only we can give: our hearts.

Romans 13:8–10 (ESV) — 8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Those who follow Christ, those who have received the bountiful grace they do not deserve, are supposed to be men and women who give love to those who do not deserve it. We fulfill the purpose of the Old Testament Law even though we have been set free from it. We do not lust, seeking sexual gratification. We do not murder, seeking vengeance and self-exaltation. We do not steal or even covet because God has given us everything we could ever desire in the spiritual realm. Instead of taking, we choose to turn and serve others with love, and, in doing so, we fulfill the purpose of the law from the beginning.

It will be difficult, but we are called upon to give love and never wrong our neighbor. We go above and beyond to serve them with love. This is in harmony with Christ. We do not become like those who are around us. We stand out. Everything they seek is meaningless and temporary. We have a higher calling.

Wake Up (11-14)

When we learn the gospel, we don’t yet understand who or what we are supposed to become. We know that Jesus is greater than we could imagine. He has done something amazing on our behalf. We have received it, but what are we supposed to become? We submit our lives to Him, and we wish to pay Him back. We will never be able to, but this is how we show our love for Him.

This is not just a good idea, or an ideal thought. This is our higher calling. You and I were saved for this purpose. We aren’t here to serve ourselves and enjoy the wealth of a wealthy nation. We aren’t here to eat, drink, and be merry all the live long day. We are here to rise up and shine a light for all to see.

Romans 13:11–14 (ESV) — 11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

What is Paul talking about here? “You know the time,” he says. “The hour has come for you to wake from sleep.” He’s talking about spiritual apathy and drowsiness. He’s talking about Christians that are ignoring the spiritual realities. Christians everywhere are asleep at the wheel. They aren’t doing anything other than enjoying the comforts and pleasures of this world. This figurative language tells us this is not a time to relax and enjoy the rest God has promised us. We have rest coming.

Notice the words, “Salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.” He is not talking about salvation from sin, but salvation from this vain life with all its pain and suffering. Salvation from this mortal body and the weakness of the flesh. Every day we live after obeying the truth is a day closer to our eternal reward. Now is not the time to sleep. It is the time to act with all our might.

He says the night is far gone so we need to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. All of the difficult actions he has been discussing in this chapter are not just possible, they are expected of us. We have everything we need at our disposal to overcome sin and resonate the glorious harmony of Jesus Christ. We put Him on like a suit of armor that projects light, and we live a life that resembles his.

The words of this passage are a battle cry. Paul is telling us to go to war with the spiritual forces of darkness. We don’t do that by playing the games of war that men play, deceiving, killing, stealing, and preserving our own vain glory. We stand in truth, refusing to yield to sin, loving our enemies, and honoring those who might slaughter us.

Conclusion

Paul has just painted a picture of a very different kind of life.

We live under authorities we don’t always like, and we submit anyway because we trust the God who stands over them. We walk into a selfish world, and instead of taking, we choose to love. We feel the pull of comfort and pleasure, and instead of going back to sleep, we wake up, cast off the darkness, and put on the Lord Jesus Christ.

That is harmony that doesn’t stay trapped in a church building. That’s harmony that spills out into neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, and governments. That’s the song of Christ.

Think again about those two images.

In here, we sound like a choir. We stand together and sing. We hear each other’s voices. We’re reminded we’re not alone. This is rehearsal.

Out there, it’s not a choir loft. It’s a dusty corral.

The world around us is like a wild mustang—wounded, scared, suspicious, kicking at anything that gets too close. If we storm in with force, yanking and jerking, we only prove their fears right. But Christ sends us out with a calm hand and a steady heart.

We harmonize with a wild, wicked world not by agreeing with its sin, but by submitting where we can, loving when it hurts, and walking in the light when everyone else prefers the dark. We show respect when others spew contempt. We pay what we owe. We refuse to wrong our neighbor. We wake up and live as people who know the day is coming.

Over time, that kind of life starts to do something. It stands out. It exposes what’s false. It makes people wonder. It softens hard hearts. It tames what once seemed untamable—not by our power, but by the power of Christ living in us.

And here’s the thing: that is exactly what God saved us for.

We were not rescued by Jesus so we could blend in, chase comfort, and sing only when we’re in the building. We were saved to present our whole lives to God as an offering, to be transformed in how we think and live, so that the world can hear, in us, a different kind of music.

Listen to how Paul already said it:

Romans 12:1–2 (ESV) — 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.