1 LET every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

1Let euery soule bee subiect vnto the higher powers: For there is no power but of God. The powers that be, are ordeined of God.

2Whosoeuer therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist, shall receiue to themselues damnation.

3For rulers are not a terrour to good works, but to the euill. Wilt thou then not bee afraide of the power? doe that which is good, and thou shalt haue praise of the same.

4For hee is the minister of God to thee for good: but if thou do that which is euill, be afraid: for he beareth not the sword in vaine: for he is the minister of God, a reuenger to execute wrath vpon him that doeth euill.

5Wherfore ye must needs be subiect, not onely for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

6For, for this cause pay you tribute also: for they are Gods ministers, attending continually vpon this very thing.

7Render therfore to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute is due, custome to whome custome, feare to whome feare, honour to whom honour.

8Owe no man any thing, but to loue one another: for hee that loueth another hath fulfilled the Law.

9For this, Thou shalt not commit adulterie, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steale, Thou shalt not beare false witnesse, Thou shalt not couet: and if there be any other commandement, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt loue thy neighbour as thy selfe.

10Loue worketh no ill to his neighbour, therefore loue is the fulfilling of the Law.

11And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleepe: for now is our saluation neerer then when we beleeued.

12The night is farre spent, the day is at hand: let vs therefore cast off the workes of darkenesse, and let vs put on the armour of light.

13Let vs walke honestly as in the day, not in rioting and drunkennesse, not in chambring and wantonnes, not in strife and enuying.

14But put yee on the Lord Iesus Christ, and make not prouision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.

 

1 Let every person be subordinate to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been established by God. 2 Therefore, whoever resists authority opposes what God has appointed, and those who oppose it will bring judgment upon themselves. 3 For rulers are not a cause of fear to good conduct, but to evil. Do you wish to have no fear of authority? Then do what is good and you will receive approval from it, 4 for it is a servant of God for your good. But if you do evil, be afraid, for it does not bear the sword without purpose; it is the servant of God to inflict wrath on the evildoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to be subject not only because of the wrath but also because of conscience. 6 This is why you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7 Pay to all their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, toll to whom toll is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. 8 Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, (namely) "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law. 11 And do this because you know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; 12 the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness (and) put on the armor of light; 13 let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.

v1-7.  God instituted human government in Gen. 9:6 in capital punishment. (See also Dan. 2:21; 4:17,25, 32) Therefore, we are to be in subjection to our government. v5, Obey so we won’t get caught, and because our conscience tells us we should.   To disobey govt. is to disobey God, exceptions listed at end of v7. Without our laws, police forces etc. their would be anarchy and terror. We should pray for our leaders recognizing them as ministers of God. It takes money to provide government and we should be willing to pay taxes to support it. We should show much more respect for our elected officials and leaders than is accorded most  of them in these days.
Exceptions are when government demands immoral, anti-Christian acts. In those cases we must obey God rather than man. That line becomes fuzzy. War protesters pressured our leaders and caused us to lose in Viet Nam, and thousands of innocent people were murdered there and in Cambodia etc. because of it. Newspapers stirred up Americans to start the Spanish American War, even after Spain agreed to our major demands. The result was 4000 American soldiers killed. Political protesters are causing our constitution to be undermined today. On the other hand, Americans rebelled against English policies when we gained our independence. Many of the Loyalists thought they were doing the Biblical thing to continue to support England. The Patriots felt we had crossed the line because of the injustices. We should try to reform our government at this time, not overthrow it.
v8.  Compare Lev. 19:13. We are not to withhold any one money which is due them. A loan does not come into this category until it becomes due. But the emphasis is to love our neighbor as ourselves, v9.
v9,10. Some of the commandments are listed, but if we have true love, we will not be committing them.
v11-14.  Don’t disregard the imminence of Christ’s return, but our own lives are very short. We need to awake to that and refrain from the things which are evil. Instead put on Christ and do those things which are right while we have time. We need to provide for our lives and our families, but many people are holding down multiple jobs in order to provide for the lusts of life. It is noble to plan for retirement or for the college needs of our children etc. However we must each look at our own situation and see if our efforts to provide for future needs financially are overshadowing the spiritual and emotional needs of our families at his moment.