Romans 13

¹Let every person be subject to the governing authorities . For there is no authority except from God , and those that exist have been instituted by God .

²Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed , and those who resist will incur judgment .

³For 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 ,

⁴for 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 avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer .

⁵Therefore one must be in subjection , not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience .

⁶For because of this you also pay taxes , for the authorities are ministers of God , attending to this very thing .

⁷Pay 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 , honor to whom honor is owed .

⁸Owe no one anything , except to love each other , for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law .

⁹For the commandments, 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 : You shall love your neighbor as yourself .

¹⁰Love does no wrong to a neighbor ; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law .

¹¹Besides this you know the time , that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep . For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed .

¹²The night is far gone ; the day is at hand . So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light .

¹³Let us walk properly as in the daytime , not in orgies and drunkenness , not in sexual immorality and sensuality , not in quarreling and jealousy .

¹⁴But put on the Lord Jesus Christ , and make no provision for the flesh , to gratify its desires .