Submission to the Authorities
1 Let every person be subject uto the governing authorities. For vthere is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an wavenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of xconscience. 6 For because of this you also ypay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, zhonor to whom honor is owed.
Fulfilling the Law Through Love
8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for athe one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, b“You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: c“You shall dlove your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the efulfilling of the law.
11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to fwake from sleep. For gsalvation is hnearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 iThe night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the jworks of darkness and kput on the armor of light. 13 lLet us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But mput on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its ndesires.
