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>*“Governments are just small groups of people who claim the right to rule their neighbors, and The State is the mythology woven to justify this claim.”* <BR>[**- Jacob Tothe**](https://peakd.com/christianity/@jacobtothe/the-church-in-crisis-and-a-solution)

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<H3>What *is* Romans 13 talking about?</H3>

Your knee-jerk reaction is, of course, *"I know what Romans 13 is about; **God wants us to obey the government.**"*

<H3>*Really?*</H3>

Let's take a look at the facts.

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[![PrayInPrison.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/creatr/EqBceDcvnfTDsecnFqtun6BnDNfYM97QqQFDdXSXo5p4gafAVy9ekY37UhpCJjPo3Fp.jpg)](https://hive.blog/a/@creatr/b)<H6>Praying in Prison&nbsp;[(*source*)](https://pixabay.com/photos/man-pray-prayer-praising-praise-6354820/)</H6>

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<center><H3>This Is *NOT* That - *A Comment On Romans 13*</H3><H6>by Duncan Cary Palmer</H6></center>


For decades I've been bludgeoned from the pulpit by preachers [***wielding the club*** of ***Romans 13.***](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+13&version=NASB1995) ***"Obey the government!"*** is the universal cry.

But have you ever stopped to examine those preachers' underlying assumptions? Can Paul *possibly* be talking about [the **state**?](https://zeroaggressionproject.org/mental-lever/the-state/)

Perhaps it takes a simple, child-like mind to see that [Romans 13](https://peakd.com/christianity/@creatr/the-curmudgeon-s-bible-what-are-the-governing-authorities-of-romans-13-1) can't conceivably be describing anything remotely like the governments we have known all of our lives.

We'll start by looking at what Paul *actually says:*

>*"For rulers ([Greek **ἄρχων**](https://peakd.com/conspiracy/@creatr/political-power-and-the-connotation-conspiracy)) [**are not**](https://ugg.readthedocs.io/en/latest/mood_indicative.html) a cause of fear for **good behavior,** but for **evil.** Do you want to have no fear of authority? **Do what is good** and **you will have praise** from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But **if you do what is evil,** be **afraid;** for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings **wrath on the one who practices evil.**"*
\- [Romans 13:3-4](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+13%3A3-4&version=NASB1995), *emphasis added*

Now, let's compare this description to just a few clear-cut, virtually universal *cases in point,* examples that (*for any thinking person*) should dispel the myth that Paul is speaking about the governments we live under:

* Surely, **building a house** to [shelter your family](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Timothy+5%3A8&version=NASB1995) is *"good behavior,"* is it not? Do state rulers praise you for doing so? ***No!*** Instead, they make it as difficult as possible, requiring endless [permits and fees](https://www.cotta.ge/resources/adu-costs). When you've completed the herculean task, they [force you to pay—again and again, year after year—](https://mises.org/wire/evil-residential-property-tax)to remain in your house with your family, under threat of stealing it from you and selling it to someone else.

* **Is supporting your family** *good* or *evil behavior?* When you work hard, the better you do at [providing for your family](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Timothy+5%3A8&version=NASB1995), the more praise ought to be due you from the "rulers" described in Romans 13. Instead, *the harder you work,* [the more the state takes](https://1889institute.org/why-the-income-tax-is-just-plain-evil/) away from you.
* What about [**saving money**](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+13%3A22&version=NASB1995) for your family's future? Surely that is good behavior, is it not? What does the state do? It punishes you for saving by printing more money, [inflating the money supply](https://mises.org/library/many-evils-inflation) and making every dollar you earn worth less.

What about *"the one who practices evil?"* Are they punished? Consider:

* Criminals at times walk free on a technicality, and even when convicted, they are rarely if ever required [to pay restitution](https://journalistsresource.org/criminal-justice/criminal-restitution-debt-victims/) to those they have injured or robbed.
* Instead, after committing a crime, these evildoers are ***furnished free room and board***. They become *guests* in a "hotel" maintained and run by the state, [paid for by *taxing*](https://www.vera.org/publications/price-of-prisons-what-incarceration-costs-taxpayers) honest, hard-working citizens—including their victims.
* The biggest criminals of all (*politicians*) pass "laws" that favor those who contribute to their campaigns. Their handsome salaries are extracted from your pockets, and [they can retire](https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/080416/how-congress-retirement-pay-compares-overall-average.asp) after short careers [with a huge net worth](https://ballotpedia.org/Personal_Gain_Index_(U.S._Congress)) from insider knowledge and deals made with those who benefitted from their "legislation."

These are but a few possible examples. I'm sure you've heard of others.

### What's my conclusion?

***Open your eyes.*** The claim that Romans 13 describes existing governments flies in the face of all observable evidence. What Paul is *actually* talking about is *good* government, God's preferred form of 100% voluntary local government, [***the ecclesia***](https://peakd.com/kingdom/@creatr/the-state-or-god-s-kingdom-a-comparison-chart).

Nation states and all other "governments" that do not explicitly recognize Jesus as King and Lord over the entirety of their structure and operation are illegitimate, *renegade* organizations that are—in all truth—**anti-Christ.**

God is in the process of [**destroying** and **replacing**](https://peakd.com/christianity/@creatr/lunch-with-a-friend-the-outcome) all forms of government that do not explicitly recognize Jesus as King and Lord. The sooner we recognize this, the better off we all will be.

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<center><H1>~*FIN*~</H1></center>

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[![hand-4495562_1920.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/creatr/23wC2xxegDEcP8496UK7GJPHLcdng5mvXs6Sd2v1ZX1bJFK79mnfTTLELYyHdxHQaWDqq.jpg)](https://hive.blog/a/@creatr/b)<H6>This Is NOT Romans 13...&nbsp;[(*source*)](https://pixabay.com/photos/hand-handcuffs-tied-up-chain-4495562/)</H6>

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<center><H6>***NOTE:*** Don't miss the enlightening [***hyperlinks***](https://hive.blog/a/@creatr/b) in my posts.<BR>*IMAGES* are my own, open source, by permission, or fair use.</H6></center>

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