Romans (11) Government Wrath

I have completed a detailed study of Romans 13 (see Understanding Romans 13) in which I explain that Paul was supporting the powers of government, but was confirming the continues of the system of local judges applying God’s law, which God had given to the people through Moses. However, I have noticed that Romans 13:4-6 does not fit the tone of the rest of Romans.

I am not sure about this, but I wonder if these verses are the voice of the Jewish Judger, because he is obsessed with wrath.

But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For it is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong. Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath... And for this reason, you pay taxes, since the authorities are God’s servants, continually attending to this very thing (Romans 13:4-6).

Wrath is one of the spiritual powers of evil that controls the people of the world. This verse says that human governments are avengers of wrath, which is probably true because they are dominated by powerful government-spirits that loving doing evil. However, if they are serving the spirit of wrath, they cannot be servants of God, so this passage sounds like the Jewish Judger, who insists that God loves revealing his wrath. Paul has proven over and over again, that God is revealing his rightness, not his wrath, so a government that is an avenger that brings wrath on people, it cannot be a servant of God.

Taxes were extremely punitive in Paul’s time. Roman tax collectors would take every cent they could squeeze out of poor people, even if it left them poor and hungry. If the tax collectors were instruments of wrath, this would make sense. The people pay so much tax because the servant of wrath is squeezing them.

Paul counters with a totally different message.

Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law (Rom 13:9).

This is an amazing statement totally different from the previous verses and consistent with the last verse of Romans 12. God’s law does not need wrath to be fulfilled. It can be fulfilled by love.

We owe love. We do not owe taxes to governments that are instruments of wrath, who are avenging people who have fallen into the hands of evil powers.

Paul ends the discussion about government power with an even bolder statement.

Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law (Rom 13:10).

God’s law is fulfilled by love, not by wrath. Love does not impose wrath on neighbours. The response to neighbours must not be driven by wrath.