In our sinful world, evil is everywhere. Evil people with evil intentions do bad things, and we are harmed by them. But we all know that our old nature is also still capable of harming others by evil words and deeds. That is why we need to learn how to follow Jesus (be a disciple) because, without the direction of Scripture, we will naturally take revenge and add to the evil around us - while we claim to be dealing with the evil.
Quite often, we see Christians separating their loyalty to God from their obligation to their government, society or workplace. It is as though they move backwards and forwards between two different realms, their obligations to worldly authorities and their duty to God. It was particularly tempting for the believers in Rome, where state-sponsored idolatry denied Jesus Christ His rightful place as the Supreme Ruler. But Paul said that all authority ultimately comes from God; so, no government can be in power without God's permission.
The Roman Empire was noted for its fair legal system and strong administration of conquered territories. It was multi-cultural and multi-ethnic, but although many religions were tolerated, Jesus Christ was not officially honoured (after all, the Romans had crucified Him). Those who followed Him were considered as belonging to an illegal religion. Practically, the military and civil leaders believed that they had absolute authority and were only answerable to Caesar (John 19:12).
Running a country costs a lot of money. Civil administration, police and military forces are expensive; so are roads, health and legal services. So as far back as records exist, governments have paid for it all by taxes. In most countries, almost everything is taxed: from income tax to death duty, from tax on products and services to tax on business profits and investments. So, Paul instructs the believers, who live at the heart of the Roman Empire, to pay their taxes with a good conscience.
Following on from Paul's instruction to pay whatever taxes the civil authorities demand (Romans 13:6-7), the Apostle now says that no debt should be left unpaid. If you owe money, pay it quickly. The Old Testament law said that debts should not be held for ever against members of God's family; they must be cancelled after seven years (Deuteronomy 15:1-3).
Naturally, we all settle into a routine of life, assuming that the work we have to do, and the people to whom we relate, will remain constant. We easily develop a false sense of security in which we plan to develop our own comfort and welfare. However, Paul instructed the believers in Rome to wake up and face reality. However good their life might have been it was certainly not heaven!
In the same way that a child has to be taught how to behave, the Christian disciple has to learn how to live in such a way that Jesus is glorified. Old habits have to go and new life patterns must be established. In 1st Century Rome, heavy drinking and sexual temptation were a powerful cocktail to numb the conscience and find temporary pleasure.
Ancient Rome was full of idol shrines and pagan worship. When people became Christians, they knew it was foolish and wrong to worship false gods. However, their temples were also the restaurants and business network centres of Rome. So the new believers had to decide if they could eat meat which had been previously offered to the idol, or eat vegetables. It was more of a dilemma for some than others.
On what basis do most of us make our decisions? It would be nice to think that we come to clear conclusions on the basis of obvious facts. But most of the time we make the same decision as we did last time, or the decision which pleases those around us. In fact, although we make many choices each day, very few of them are properly thought out. Paul encouraged the Jewish-background and Gentile believers living in cosmopolitan Rome to think carefully about the lifestyle choices they needed to make, so that their consciences were not wounded (1 Timothy 1:18-19).
While constructive criticism is a helpful part of academic discipline and business relationships, socially, criticism which is personally motivated is destructive and, in the church, it is a menace. That is not just because it hurts people, but because the critic has no understanding of the judgement seat of Christ.
