Today we will begin digging into Romans 13. In Romans 12 we were taught how we should respond to other Christians and also how we are to respond to those who are not Christians, even those who are mean to us just because we believe in Jesus.
Now as we begin Romans 13 we are going to learn how God wants us to respond to the law of the land we are living in. This would include our school teachers, policemen, our Mayor, our Governor, all the way up to our President. This would include any place we went that had a list of rules or laws that were posted for us to follow.
Let’s begin!
Read Romans 13:1. How does this verse begin? Circle your answer.
Every person Some persons Few persons No persons
According to Romans 13:1 who is in charge of establishing all authority everywhere for every person?
__ __ __
Does that mean that God chooses who leads what countries? Including the United States?
Yes No I Don’t Know
Look up and read Daniel 2:20-21. Who did Daniel learn removed and established kings?
__ __ __
That’s right! God does. In the Old Testament and in the New Testament, God is the One who decides who rules and when they rule. He is in control of the leaders of countries and He is in control of the leaders in your state, county, and city. He is even in control of the leaders in your school, church, and home.
Read Romans 13:2. If you resist the authority over you, who are you really against? Circle your answer.
no one the Principal your Dad God
According to Romans 13:2 when you oppose the authority that God has put over you, who receives the condemnation, who gets in trouble? Draw a picture in the box below of your answer.
Read Romans 13:3-4 out loud.
If you have access to a computer type this link in the URL bar and watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqGrcTDUAe8
As you watched the video who was the authority over the driver of the car? Circle all that apply.
the kid cops the stop sign the passenger God
That’s right! The kid cops, the stop sign, and God were all in authority over the driver of that car.
Read Romans 13:3-4 again. Decide whether the statements below are True (T) of False (F).
____ Rulers make those with good behavior afraid.
____ If you do evil then the rulers will like you.
____ Authority is a minister of God for our good.
____ Authority is meant to punish those who do evil.
____ If you do good you have no reason to fear rulers.
____ You are supposed to be afraid of authority.
THINK ABOUT IT…
If the driver of the car had obeyed the stop sign and the law of the land would he have gotten a ticket? Would he have been pulled over? What did the driver do after he was pulled over?
That’s right! He lied to the kid cops! He showed he knew the right thing to do by lying. He was not ignorant of the law, he just didn’t want to obey it.
What could have happened had the driver continued in this evil behavior?
That’s right! He could have caused a wreck that killed him, his passenger, or someone else.
So was the authority(God, the kid cops, the stop sign) over the driver that gave him the ticket there for the drivers good? Yes, the authority was there for the good of the driver and the good of everyone else. As long as a driver is obeying the signs and the laws then they have no reason to be afraid that the kid cops will pull them over and give them a ticket.
Read Romans 13:5. We are to submit to authority so that we will not be punished for disobeying and also for another reason. What is it?
Use the verse to fill in the blanks with your answer.
for __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __’ sake
THINK ABOUT IT…
We learned about our conscience when we were studying in Romans 2. How does it make you feel when you know you are doing something that is against the rules?
Are you doing it in freedom or fear?
When you have disobeyed your parents do you want to be around them or do you try to stay away from them.
How do you think this compares with God? When we choose to disobey God’s Word do we want to come to church and spend time with Him reading the Bible or do we want to stay away from church and our Bibles?
Read Romans 13:6. Have you ever heard your parents talk about paying taxes?
Yes No I don’t know
Read Romans 13:6 again. What does this verse say about the rulers over us?
they are __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ of __ __ __
How do these rulers, these servants of God, get the funds they need to rule? Ask your parents how our mayors, governors, firemen, policemen, and even our teachers get paid.
That’s right. Taxes.
Read Romans 13:7. In this verse we are given pretty clear instructions to pay what we owe. Even if we don’t think we should owe it. Use the verse to fill in the blanks.
__ __ __ to whom __ __ __ is due
__ __ __ __ __ __ to whom __ __ __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __ to whom __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __ __ to whom __ __ __ __ __
Look up and read Matthew 22:15-22. What did Jesus have to say about paying taxes, even to a bad ruler? Answer True (T) or False (F) to the statements below.
___ If the ruler is mean we do not have to pay taxes
___ Give to the ruler what belongs to the ruler
___ Give to God what belongs to God
___ God doesn’t care if you pay your taxes
Read Romans 13:8. As a Christian what is the only thing we are to owe anyone?
__ __ __ __
Do we honor God by honoring the laws of our land?
Yes No I don’t know
Yes, we honor God when we honor the laws of our land. We show ourselves to be believers when we pay our taxes and respect the authority that is in place over us. That does not mean we have to agree with all the laws or the rulers, it just means we trust that God has allowed them to rule for a reason. We may not understand it, but that is okay. As long as the rulers are not asking us to commit a sin against what God has commanded in His Word we are to obey them.
Read Romans 13:8 again. What is the one thing we can do to make sure we keep the law of God and the law of our land? Circle your answer.
go to law school love our neighbor stay home
Read Romans 13:9. What did God give us so that we would know how to love our neighbor?
The Ten __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
Look up and read Exodus 20:1-17.
The first four commandments teach us how to love God. The next six commandments teach us how to love one another.
Look up and read Matthew 19:16-19. Is this list of commandments given by Jesus similar to what you read in Romans 13:9?
Yes No I don’t know
Read Romans 13:10. How is love the fulfillment of the law?
Love does no __ __ __ __ __ to a neighbor
You might be wondering right now… Who is my neighbor? Well Jesus has our answer for that question too!
Look up and read Luke 10:25-37.
If you have access to the internet type this into the URL search bar and watch one more kid cop video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yziMNt1rBk4
Was the Litterer showing love to his neighbors or was he doing wrong to his neighbors?
What would he have done differently had he been choosing to love his neighbor?
THINK ABOUT IT…
Are there things that you need to be doing doing differently?
Do you honor your parents?
Do you respect your teachers at school?
Are you kind to the other kids in class?
Do you take things from others that don’t belong to you?
If you can answer yes to questions like these, then spend some time with Jesus right now and talk to Him about it.
Read Romans 13:11-13. Why is it so important that we do the things that God has told us to do? Circle all that apply.
Jesus is coming again and we want to be ready
Each day that passes means Jesus is closer
The night is almost gone and the day is near
We don’t know what will happen tomorrow so we need to tell others about Jesus today.
If Jesus lives inside of us we should show Him to others by what we do on the outside.
Read Romans 13:14. Who are we to put on?
__ __ __ __ __
How do we put on Jesus? Look up and read Galatians 3:27, Ephesians 4:22-24, Colossians 3:12.
THINK ABOUT IT…
When we are saved it is like we have taken off dirty clothes that we have worn playing in the mud. We lay those dirty muddy clothes to the side and most likely are sprayed down with the water hose outside and then get into a shower and are bathed clean. Now after we are all clean do we bend down and climb back into those dirty muddy clothes?
No, we put on a new clean set of clothes. Now do those clothes just jump on you?
No, we have to slide our arms and legs in them. We are part of the putting on of those clothes. Just like that, we are supposed to be a part of purposely putting on Jesus. We put Him on by sliding our arms into his and our legs into His and being His hands and feet. Living our lives in and through Him.
Close your eyes now and picture yourself climbing into Him and putting Jesus on.
How would this change the choices you make? How would this change the games you play? The movies you watch? The music you listen to? The way you treat others?
Read Romans 13:14 again. What are we not to make any provisions for?
the __ __ __ __ __
Go back and read Romans 8:3-9 and Galatians 5:19-21. Why do we not want to make provision for our flesh?
the flesh is hostile to __ __ __
those who practice the things of the flesh will not inherit the __ __ __ __ __ __ __ of __ __ __
Remember that everything that we are learning in Romans 12 – 16 is hooked up to that big engine of what we learned in Romans 1 – 11.
God does not ask of us what He does not enable us to do. If God has commanded it, we can accomplish it in Him.
Look up and read Philippians 4:13. This is another good verse to memorize. Get an index card and write this verse on it and keep it with you. Maybe even see if your mom will write it on the bathroom mirror with a dry erase marker so you can see it every day.
Now what are some things that you know that Jesus has asked you to do and you keep telling Him that you can’t?
Are you talking back to your parents or teachers?
Are you in a habit of saying mean things to others?
Do you lie about things you have done wrong or blame others for it?
Talk to Jesus about these things and to your parents and ask Jesus to help you do the right things… I promise you He will help!