Doesn’t the Bible say that governments are established by God?
Question 5 in Faith Seeking Freedom: Updated & Expanded
This question is from Faith Seeking Freedom: Updated & Expanded, launching June 2026 in paperback, PDF, and Kindle. Subscribe to this Substack so you don’t miss updates, previews, and the launch announcement.
Paul does tell the church in Rome that the authorities that exist are “established by God” (Rom 13:1, NIV), but Romans 13 is definitely not a prooftext for justifying state power.
True, Paul proceeds to caution against rebellion and to encourage doing “what is right” in the eyes of the ruler to protect oneself. But these words were written to Christians in Rome who were constantly at risk of persecution, even unto death, from the Roman Empire. Paul’s encouragement to them, and likewise to us, is that our interactions with state power are on a prudential basis. Our greater priorities are to live out the gospel and support our family and community, and we should not put ourselves into a compromising position against the state unless it is specifically for the cause of Christ and his message.
Therefore, we pay our taxes not because the government has a divine right to tax us, but rather because if we don’t, we might end up in prison and unable to fulfill our true calling to protect our families and spread the gospel. Ultimately, we should also turn to other scriptures to get a full view of what the Bible has to say about the state instead of only reading Romans 13 and thinking that we fully understand God’s intention for government.
Some libertarian Christians take different interpretive approaches to Romans 13 (provided in Additional Resources below), but the common thread is that the passage does not give special permission to governments to commit aggression against others.