You Keep Using That Verse: Reclaiming Romans 13
In the 1987 classic The Princess Bride, the character Inigo Montoya famously tells the villain Vizzini: “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
Vizzini kept saying things were “inconceivable” even while they were clearly happening right in front of him. I feel the exact same way when I hear people quote Romans 13:1 to shut down conversations about civil disobedience or social justice.
To borrow a line from Inigo: You keep using that verse. I do not think it means what you think it means.
A History of Weapons
For centuries, Romans 13:1—“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities”—has been weaponized by those in power to demand silence and subservience.
Protestant theologians used it to urge Germans to support Hitler. American slave owners used it to demand that enslaved people remain “in their place.” It has been used to justify some of the darkest chapters of human history. As Howard Zinn once noted: “Historically, the most terrible things—war, genocide, and slavery—have resulted not from disobedience, but from obedience.”
If the State perverts its God-given authority, the highest way we can “honor” it is through criticism and correction. As Karl Barth put it, the State cannot be better served than by the criticism it is due.
The Gut-Check
We all have a limit. Not one Christian I know would kill their own child just because the government commanded it. Not one person would hand over their spouse to a rogue military soldier just because a “governing authority” said so.
We know, instinctively, that there is a line where obedience becomes sin.
Context is King
We often read Romans 13 in a vacuum, but it follows immediately after the instructions in Romans 12:9-21. Paul tells us to:
Let love be genuine.
Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
Associate with the lowly.
Overcome evil with good.
You cannot “abhor evil” and “hold fast to good” while blindly following a government that demands you do the opposite. Even Paul, the writer of Romans, escaped from Damascus when King Aretas tried to seize him. Paul didn’t just sit there and say, “Well, the King said so.” He hopped in a basket and went over a wall.
Submission vs. Obedience
The confusion often lies in the Greek. The word translated as “be subject” is hypotasso. It was a military term, but in common use, it meant a voluntary attitude of cooperation and assuming responsibility.
We are told to hypotasso to one another (Ephesians 5:21). We are told wives should hypotasso to husbands. Does this mean blind, mindless obedience to every whim? No.
There is a completely different Greek word for “obey”—hypakouo. This is the word used for children obeying parents. It’s a different level of authority.
When we are told to be subject to governing authorities, it’s a call to a voluntary attitude of cooperating with the social order—not a command to follow every law that contradicts the Law of Love.
The Roll Call of the Disobedient
The Bible is actually a masterclass in “holy disobedience.” Look at the pattern:
The Hebrew Midwives refused Pharoah’s order to kill infants.
Rahab disobeyed the King of Jericho to hide the spies.
Obadiah hid 100 prophets from Queen Jezebel’s hit list.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow to the golden image.
Daniel refused the King’s order to stop praying.
Peter and John refused the Sanhedrin’s order to stop preaching Jesus.
The Wise Men refused Herod’s order to report the location of the baby Jesus.
In every single one of these cases, these believers made themselves subject to the consequences of the authority, but they did not obey the order.
Our Call Today
We must let love be genuine. We must weep with those who weep and associate with the lowly.
Being “subject” to authority doesn’t mean we check our conscience at the door. It means we honor the order of society while reserving our ultimate “Yes” for God alone. When the State demands we do evil, our submission isn’t found in following the law—it’s found in standing for the truth and being willing to pay the price for it.