Romans 13
(1) Obey Government Authorities Because God Put Them There
Everyone should obey their governing authorities. Authority doesn’t even exist apart from God, and all the authorities that exist were set up by God. So if you resist those in authority, you’re actually resisting God’s decree and will be put on trial. You don’t have to be scared of the authorities if you’re well-behaved, but you do if you behave poorly. Wouldn’t you rather be unafraid of the authorities? Then do things that are good, so they speak highly of you. People in authority are God’s servants who were put there for your own benefit. But if you cause problems, you should be afraid—after all, the authorities carry weapons for a reason. They are avengers who pass out anger to people who cause problems. That’s why you should submit yourselves to them—and not just to avoid their fury, but also for your own conscience's sake. And that’s why we pay taxes: because the authorities are constantly serving God. Pay everyone what you owe them: taxes where taxes are due, tolls where tolls are due, respect where respect is due, and honor where honor is due.
(8) Love Carries Out the Law
Don’t owe anyone anything—except for love toward each other. If you love the people around you, then you’ve carried out the law to its fullest extent. The law says:
“Don’t cheat on your spouse.
Don’t murder.
Don’t steal.
Don’t desire what you don’t have.”—Exodus 20:13–17
And if there’s one other command, it can be summarized as:
“Treat the people around you as lovingly as you treat yourself.”
—Matthew 19:19
Love doesn’t harm the people around it, which means it carries out the law to its fullest extent.
(11) Drop the darkness and wield weapons of light
When you do this, realize that this is the moment for you to wake up from your sleep, because the rescue is closer now than when we first entrusted God. The night is advancing and the daylight approaches. Let’s strip off the doings of darkness and clothe ourselves with the weapons of light. Let’s live our lives flatteringly like we do during the day—not in binging and drunkenness or sleeping around or animosity or jealousy. Clothe yourself with Commander Jesus, the Chosen One, and don’t make any provision for the body’s longings.
This was probably written to Christians who were being heavily persecuted by Roman leaders like Nero.