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Romans 13

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📖 Romans introduction

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1Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. ✦ 2Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. ✦ 3For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. ✦ 4For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. ✦ 5Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. ✦ 6For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. ✦ 7Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. ✦ 8Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. ✦ 9For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ✦ 10Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. ✦ 11And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. ✦ 12The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. ✦ 13Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. ✦ 14But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. ✦

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

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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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