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Romanos 13

VBL · Chapter 13/16

1Todos deben obedecer a las autoridades de gobierno, porque nadie tiene el poder de gobernar a menos que Dios se lo permita. Estas autoridades han sido puestas allí por Dios.

2Y quien quiera que se resista a estas autoridades, se opone a lo que Dios ha establecido, y los que lo hacen recibirán el merecido juicio por esto.

3Porque los gobernantes no producen temor a los que hacen el bien, sino a los que hacen el mal. De modo que si ustedes no quieren vivir temerosos de las autoridades, entonces hagan lo recto, y tendrán su aceptación.

4Los que están en el poder son siervos de Dios, que han sido puestos allí para el propio bien de ustedes. De modo que si ustedes hacen mal, deben tener temor, ¡no en vano las autoridades tienen el poder para castigar! Ellos son siervos de Dios, que castigan a los infractores.

5Por eso es importante que ustedes hagan lo que se les dice, no por la amenaza de castigo, sino por lo que sus propias conciencias les dicen.

6Por ello es que ustedes tienen que pagar impuestos, porque las autoridades son siervos de Dios que se ocupan de estas cosas.

7Paguen todo lo que deban: los impuestos a las autoridades de impuestos; muestren respeto a los que deben recibir respeto, y rindan honra a los que deban recibir honra.

8No le deban nada a nadie, excepto amor unos a otros, porque los que aman a su prójimo están cumpliendo la ley.

9“No cometan adulterio, no maten, no roben, no deseen para ustedes las cosas con envidia”—los demás mandamientos están resumidos en esta declaración: “Ama a tu prójimo como a ti mismo”.

10El amor no hace daño a nadie, y de esta manera el amor cumple la ley.

11Ustedes deben hacer esto porque pueden darse cuenta de cuán urgente es este tiempo, que ha llegado la hora de que despierten de su sueño. Porque la salvación está más cerca de nosotros ahora que cuando por primera vez creímos en Dios.

12¡La noche casi termina, el día casi está aquí! Así que despojémonos de nuestras malas obras y vistámonos de la armadura de la luz.

13Tengamos una conducta apropiada, demostrando que somos personas que vivimos en la luz. No debemos perder el tiempo yendo a fiestas y embriagándonos, o teniendo amoríos y actuando de manera inmoral, o metiéndonos en peleas y andar con celos.

14Por el contrario, vístanse del Señor Jesucristo y olvídense de seguir sus deseos pecaminosos.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Paul instructs Christians to submit to governing authorities, since they were established by God to maintain order. He sums up the whole law in the command to love one's neighbor and calls believers to live honestly, as those already living in the new day that is drawing near.

Explanation

This chapter has sparked much debate throughout history over just how absolute submission to authorities really is (other biblical texts, such as Acts 5:29, show limits when authority demands disobedience to God). The historical context helps here: Paul was writing to Christians in Rome, the capital of an empire that could easily crush them if they were seen as subversive, so part of his instruction is also about wise public witness. The summary of the law in 'love your neighbor as yourself' connects directly with Jesus' teaching, showing that practical ethics and genuine love are inseparable from the Christian faith.

Fun facts

  • This letter was likely written around A.D. 57, still during the relatively stable early years of Nero's reign — before the violent persecutions the emperor himself would later launch against Christians just a few years afterward, possibly including Paul's own death.
  • The image of 'putting on the armor of light' and 'casting off the works of darkness' draws on common Roman military vocabulary (armor, weapons), a metaphor that readers in Rome, surrounded by the imperial military presence, would easily understand.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Romanos 13:1The “higher powers” are the authorities in charge, in this case Rome, the emperor and the local governors. Paul writes this for a community living under Roman rule, in a specific historical context of coexisting with that power, without passing judgment on governments of other eras.
  2. Romanos 13:2He continues the reasoning of verse 1: if the authorities were ordained by God, resisting them amounts to resisting that ordinance, bringing consequences for whoever does so.
  3. Romanos 13:3He explains the practical logic behind submission: rulers normally punish evil, not good, so whoever acts rightly should have no real reason to fear public authority.
  4. Romanos 13:4The “sword” was the visible symbol of a Roman magistrate's authority to impose punishment, including death. Paul describes this function as part of an order that exists to restrain evil, without going into detail about its limits.
  5. Romanos 13:5He adds a second reason to submit to the authorities, beyond fear of punishment: conscience itself recognizes that submission as right.
  6. Romanos 13:6He links the theme of submission to the paying of taxes: Paul sees them as part of the same system, since he considers rulers “God's ministers” devoted to keeping order.
  7. Romanos 13:7“Tribute” and “custom” were real charges of the Roman government, the first generally a direct tax on people or land, the second indirect trade duties. Paying tax to Rome was a sensitive matter for Jews of that time, and Paul treats it as a normal obligation of coexistence.
  8. Romanos 13:8He shifts subjects, from authority to personal relationships: the only permanent debt among Christians should be mutual love, because that love already fulfills every requirement of the law.
  9. Romanos 13:9He lists several of the Ten Commandments related to how we treat our neighbor (adultery, theft, etc.) to show that all of them fit within a single principle: love your neighbor as yourself.
  10. Romanos 13:10He concludes the reasoning of the previous verse: whoever truly loves causes no harm to anyone, and so love already fulfills, in practice, everything the law requires.
  11. Romanos 13:11He changes tone, introducing urgency: Paul compares the present situation to someone who needs to wake up, because the time of final salvation is nearer now than when the readers first believed.
  12. Romanos 13:12The image is of a soldier arming himself for battle at dawn, trading his sleeping clothes for the armor of light. Paul uses this scene to speak of turning the page from one way of living to another.
  13. Romanos 13:13He details what it means to “walk honestly, as in the day,” as opposed to a life “of the night”: avoiding excesses like drunkenness, sexual immorality, and quarrels, behaviors associated with a life out of control.
  14. Romanos 13:14He closes the chapter with an image of changing clothes: “putting on” Christ means no longer feeding the body's uncontrolled desires, replacing that concern with the character of Jesus.

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