We’ve come to a tremendously relevant text for our time. We are a nation awash in political turmoil – and it is a marvelous opportunity for the church, as children of the Heavenly King, to show that we are a distinct people. Unfortunately, many Christians, on both the right and the left, are allowing themselves to become just another angry constituent group of their preferred political party – rather than being confident constituents of the kingdom of heaven. Believe it or not, the most important thing facing the church in this upcoming presidential election is not who wins, but how we live. How we behave as professing Christians.

This is not merely a discussion about how people should respond to government, it is specifically about how Christian’s should respond to governing authorities. Paul is writing this letter to the saints in Rome. He is writing this letter to people who have been justified by grace through faith, people who have been made new creations, people who are led by the Spirit of Christ, and heirs of eternal glory with Christ. It is written to people who have dual citizenship – earthly and heavenly. Their primary citizenship is in heaven – and that primary status is meant to direct their behavior on earth.

The text itself is fairly straightforward. There aren’t really any difficult words to interpret, confusing phrases to translate. The original readers would have had no difficulty understanding and applying what Paul is writing here by the inspiration of the Spirit. This is God’s will for His people while we dwell here on earth.