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Romans 13

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📖 Romans introduction

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1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God. ✦ 2Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. ✦ 3For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval. ✦ 4For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer. ✦ 5Therefore it is necessary to submit to authority, not only to avoid punishment, but also as a matter of conscience. ✦ 6This is also why you pay taxes. For the authorities are God’s servants, who devote themselves to their work. ✦ 7Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. ✦ 8Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. ✦ 9The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ✦ 10Love does no wrong to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. ✦ 11And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ✦ 12The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. ✦ 13Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. ✦ 14Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Where this chapter connects

1 Pet 2 ·10Eph 5 ·8Gal 5 ·8Rom 13 ·7Col 3 ·5Matt 22 ·5Lev 19 ·4Mark 12 ·4

Christ at the center

Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.

How Romans 13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereVideoBibleProject — video overviews & word studiesBibleProject · 5–10 min · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overviews of every book of the Bible, plus themes and Hebrew/Greek word studies — the best visual on-ramp to any book. (Biblical-theology, broadly evangelical, not distinctly Reformed.)

  • ★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical

    A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

  • VideoMike Winger — BibleThinkerMike Winger · Free · reformed

    Free verse-by-verse studies through whole books plus careful apologetics — "learn to think biblically about everything." (Reformed-leaning, non-denominational.)

Pastoral

  • ★ Start hereSermonMLJ Trust — Martyn Lloyd-Jones sermonsMartyn Lloyd-Jones · Free · reformed

    1,600+ free sermons from "the Doctor," including landmark verse-by-verse series (Romans, John, Ephesians, Acts) — a gold standard of expository preaching.

  • SermonGrace to You — John MacArthurJohn MacArthur · Free · reformed

    Decades of careful verse-by-verse expository sermons, especially through the New Testament. (MacArthur, d. 2025; archive remains free.)

  • SermonGospel in Life — Tim KellerTim Keller · Free · reformed

    Tim Keller's gospel-centered preaching — sermons stream free (the complete downloadable archive is paid).

  • ArticleRecommended NT commentaries (9Marks / Schreiner)Thomas R. Schreiner · Free · reformed

    A trusted pastor-oriented guide to the best commentary on each New Testament book.

  • SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical

    Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

  • VideoVerse By Verse Ministry InternationalVerse By Verse Ministry Int'l · Free · evangelical

    In-depth, verse-by-verse expository teaching book-by-book — strong for working straight through a whole New Testament book.

  • VideoLook at the Book — John PiperJohn Piper · Free · reformed

    Watch Piper trace the logic of a passage phrase by phrase on screen — a model of close reading.

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Romans videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Romans 13YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — Romans 13David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on RomansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Romans 13Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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