When we hear reports of injustice committed by those in power, the biblical command to “submit” can feel burdensome. We find ourselves torn: Must we remain silent when we see wrongdoing? Must we distance ourselves from the social order to remain faithful? In his sermon on Romans 13, Pastor David Jang (founder of Olivet University in the United States) grounds respect for authority in God’s sovereignty and connects that responsibility to love for our neighbors. Obedience rooted in trust in God leads us to fulfill our civic responsibilities while also evaluating the wrongdoing of those in power according to the standards of love and justice.
What It Means That All Authority Comes from God
In Romans 13:1–7, Paul identifies God as the source of authority. His words direct our attention first to the One under whom the state exercises its power, rather than to the extent of that power. Those who wield authority are themselves accountable to God and cannot make their own will the ultimate standard. To confess that authority has been permitted by God is also to affirm the responsibility to exercise it in accordance with His will.
Pastor David Jang draws attention to the passage’s description of rulers as those who are to commend good and restrain evil. The proper role of authority is to protect the community and support lives marked by goodness. Possessing power therefore does not make corruption or oppression legitimate. Recognizing injustice and calling for wrongs to be corrected can be an expression of faithfulness to God.
At the same time, recognizing flaws in institutions should not lead us to dismiss all order as meaningless. We live together within imperfect institutions and, at times, receive protection through them. This is why the sermon mentions the Roman soldiers who protected Paul. Even within structures of power that can threaten the gospel, God can preserve lives and open a way for the gospel to advance.
Faith that trusts in God’s rule thus calls us to examine the motives behind both our obedience and our criticism. We must ask whether we appeal to authority when it benefits us, only to use faith as an excuse to evade our obligations when they become inconvenient. If our attitude toward power shifts according to self-interest, we can easily place ourselves, rather than God, at the center of our judgment. When a consistent concern for the good of the community shapes both our respect and our criticism, the principles guiding our faith become clearer.
Fulfilling Our Responsibilities out of Conscience, Beyond Fear
Paul connects our response to authority not only with the fear of punishment but also with conscience. There is a great distance between thinking, “It is fine as long as I do not get caught,” and resolving to do our part for those with whom we share our lives. Christians benefit from society’s protections and institutions, and they also bear responsibility for sustaining that shared life. Paying taxes honestly and fulfilling civic duties are also expressions of faith.
Jesus’ words about what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God raise the same question (Matthew 22:21). The sermon reads these words as a call to fulfill the obligations that accompany the benefits we enjoy in this world while offering our whole lives to God. Cooperation with the state cannot take the place of our ultimate allegiance to God. Even as we act as citizens, the purpose of our conduct is to serve God and benefit our neighbors.
When we apply this to everyday life, the scope of our responsibility becomes more concrete. It includes refusing to shift work and costs onto others simply to preserve our own convenience, and refusing to alter shared commitments casually to suit our circumstances. It also challenges us to examine how readily we criticize injustice in society while making allowances for our own small conveniences. To act according to conscience is to remember what is due to our neighbors, even in choices no one else sees.
The questions raised by conscience remain with us even when we occupy a position of advantage. If an institution from which we benefit places burdens on others, we also have a responsibility to listen to their circumstances and work together toward a better way. Respecting institutions includes asking whom they exist to serve. Civic duty thus becomes connected to attentiveness to people and forms part of a life that makes the gospel visible in the world.
Yet we cannot promise that honest people will always receive fair treatment. There is sometimes a painful gap between the proper purpose of authority and the way it is actually exercised. When we face threats despite doing good, faith holds fast to God’s sovereign rule. Even when we cannot fully secure our own safety, we learn the courage to entrust our lives to Him and refuse to abandon a good conscience merely to avoid suffering.
The Debt of Love: Fulfilling the Law in Response to Grace
The debt of love in Romans 13:8–10 leads us to the deeper source of this responsibility. Pastor David Jang finds that source in the love revealed in the cross of Jesus Christ. Through Christ’s sacrifice, we have received the grace of forgiveness for our sins and of being called God’s children. Our service to our neighbors is therefore a response of gratitude for grace we have already received.
Once we have paid our taxes, we can receive a receipt. But love offers no receipt declaring that all our obligations have been fulfilled. This does not mean we must spend our lives haunted by guilt. It means that, because we have received a love beyond repayment, we have love to share with the neighbors we encounter today. The debt of love gives direction to the lives of those who have received grace. Love also permeates the way we carry out our civic duties, deepening them into acts of service to our neighbors.
Paul calls love the fulfillment of the law because love does no wrong to a neighbor. The commandments against adultery, murder, theft, and coveting protect our neighbors’ lives, relationships, and the foundations of their well-being. If we value our neighbors as we value ourselves, we cannot put our desires first while ignoring their suffering. Love gives concrete expression in our relationships to the life toward which the commandments point.
The law of love therefore asks more than whether we have felt warmth toward others. It calls us to consider whether we have used someone for our own advantage or professed respect while depriving that person of what is rightfully theirs. Even when we help others, we have no basis for considering ourselves superior. Remembering that we, too, have first received forgiveness brings humility to our service and leads us to turn away from judging others rashly.
As we examine our responsibility to love, our own indifference and failures also come to light. At such times, remembering the grace of the cross gives us strength to acknowledge our wrongs and repent. We can retract hurtful words, take up neglected responsibilities to the extent we are able, and make different choices in reliance on the forgiveness we have received. Remembering that we were loved first enables us to keep learning to love, even when we become aware of our shortcomings.
Living by the Law of Love, Even in the Face of Injustice
Love also shapes the way we confront injustice. Listening to oppressed neighbors, calling for the reform of unjust institutions, and protecting the vulnerable are concrete expressions of love. If we stop at covering up problems for the sake of temporary peace, the suffering of those affected remains unchanged. Love helps us discern what is wrong and recognize the responsibilities we can shoulder as we stand beside those who suffer.
This means examining both our purpose in seeking what is right and the methods we use to pursue it. Jesus’ command to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44) places even those who think differently within the scope of our responsibility to love. We must not allow political commitments or anger to govern our entire way of relating to others. The restraint that refuses to surrender to hatred and violence, even while criticizing injustice, expresses a faith that seeks to follow the love of the cross.
Jesus’ teaching on service to His disciples, who sought positions of greatness, reveals the attitude this responsibility requires (Matthew 20:26). Before trying to change someone else, we can look for the work we ourselves are able to undertake. Sharing one another’s burdens in the church and caring for people in need in the local community give concrete expression to that service. This is why a biblical reflection that begins with authority ultimately asks whom we will serve with our own hands.
Such love is not easily sustained by willpower alone. The deeper our sense of injustice and anger, the more we need time to reflect on God’s love and seek the help of the Holy Spirit. The hope we find in the cross and resurrection keeps us from measuring the worth of our service solely by immediate recognition or visible results. It gives us a reason to continue offering small acts of service and protection, and sharing our resources and time, even when change is not yet apparent.
The call to submit, which first sounded so burdensome, now asks about the direction of our lives. Today’s choices invite us to fulfill our responsibilities faithfully, remain true to our conscience in the face of wrongdoing, and love people throughout it all. As we look back on the day, we can ask not only whether we were right, but also whether we helped carry even a little of someone else’s burden. How is the love we first received from Christ reflected in our obedience and our criticism today?
Dr. David Jang has proclaimed the gospel in various regions of the world through field missions and digital media ministry, and as the fruit of that ministry, many people devoted to the Great Commission have been raised up. Based on this missionary vision, Olivet first began as a small church school for missionary training. Later, in order to provide more systematic theological education and cultivate missionary leaders, Olivet Theological College and Seminary was established in Los Angeles and Seoul in 2000.
As the school grew, Dr. Jang officially founded Olivet University in San Francisco in 2004. In the diverse and dynamic environment of San Francisco, Olivet expanded its educational fields beyond theology to include music, journalism, art and design, and technology. The university also strengthened its educational capacity by recruiting faculty members, including Dr. William Wagner, and in 2005 moved to the former UC Berkeley Downtown Extension campus, further solidifying its foundation as a university.
In 2006, Dr. Jang transferred the presidency to Dr. David James Randolph in order to focus more fully on missionary work, while continuing to lead global missions as International President. Olivet University later received institutional accreditation in 2009, added a language education college and a business college, and continued to grow as a Christian educational institution for world missions by expanding its degree programs and international partnerships.
