Resistance to Tyrants: Romans 13 and the Christian Duty to Oppose Wicked Rulers

by Gordan E. Runyan

Hayek spoke of nations travelling a road to serfdom: This book points to the only real exit ramp.
If you're like most Evangelicals, you've been taught that Romans 13:1-7 gives you, the Christian citizen, a blanket duty to "render unto Caesar" an unqualified obedience. Modern teachings on the sticky relationship between God and government, church and state, seem to be little more than restatements of what any dictator would want you to believe. It hasn't always been that way within Christianity.
Does even an antichrist government have a right to command your meticulous fidelity? Did you sin against God when you broke the speed limit? Or is it possible that Thomas Jefferson got it right when he said, "Resistance to Tyrants is Obedience to God?"
American society is sliding into political ideologies like socialism and raw democracy. The Bill of Rights is under assault, both in the court of public opinion, and through nightmarish government maneuvers like domestic drones, NDAA indefinite detention, a Presidential "kill list," ever-increasing assaults on Second Amendment rights through gun control, and attacks on religious liberty inherent in Obamacare. It's more important than ever that those who claim to be sent into the world as salt and light have a solid foundation in Scripture.
And, let's be honest, the over-reaching big government bullies, the would-be icons of Orwell's Big Brother, could have no greater friends among the citizenry than supposedly Bible-believing pastors who urge their flocks to comply, and submit, and stand for nothing. But, thankfully, there is always a remnant that has not yet bowed the knee.
In this 79 page book, Christian pastor, author, and patriot, Gordan Runyan brings his conversational, often humorous style and characteristic clarity to bear on these issues. The reader will feel both challenged and encouraged to stand up for true liberty.
The first section of the book is a close examination of the controversial text of Romans 13:1-7, which many have used to teach unconditional obedience to tyrants and despots. Is that what it really says? This commentary on Romans may surprise you.
In the next section, common objections to the concept of resisting wicked government are answered. (e.g. Shouldn't we give Caesar what is Caesar's? Shouldn't Christians avoid entanglement in politics?)
Finally, "Resistance to Tyrants: Romans 13 and the Christian Duty to Oppose Wicked Rulers" concludes that Christian resistance ought to be recognizably Christian in nature. Not bloodthirsty, or vicious, etc. He gives some suggestions for Christians who want to fight wicked government in the here-and-now, which a lot of Romans 13 commentaries are content to avoid discussing. This book is a joyful volley against the walls of the God-hating establishment, from Happy Siege. Arm yourself with the truth of the Word of God. Join the Resistance.

Genres: Politics, Theology, Nonfiction, Christian Living, Christian

80 pages, Paperback

First published August 24, 2012

About the author

Gordan Runyan is a husband, father, Christian, Reformed Baptist, pastor, war veteran (having served in the Navy's nuclear submarine fleet during the first Persian Gulf war,) author, teacher, and Paleo-Patriot.

He has been married to the former Miss Joyce Martinez for 27 years, since the day she reluctantly agreed to the arrangement in exchange for his daring rescue of her life, which included grand heroics he's too modest to relate in public (although a dungeon in an enchanted sea-side castle is rumored to have been involved.)

They have three lovely and talented daughters who survived homeschooling with only slight nervous disorders.

Reviews

[Elijah Beltz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled with rating this book. Ask me another day, and I might rate it higher. It certainly made me think, so that should get it more stars. I don't agree with his exegesis of Romans 13, namely that Paul does not address wicked ruler in this passage, only ones that are being God's "deacons." (It's an exegetical fallacy to call them "deacons"). In Romans 13.1 Paul says there are no authorities except of God, so that seems to include good and wicked authorities alike.

The point that made me think the most was the idea that "render unto Caesar" in the United States of America would mean "Render to the Constitution" since that's the supreme ruler of our land. I've got to chew on that one for a while.

Runyan is definitely in that Doug Wilson, Reconstructionism/Rushdoony camp, and I've known some like them, so I may have built up walls in giving the book a fair read. One tyrannical evil these guys never address is the evil of greedy White Capitalists. Tyrants are only the Marxists, Socialists or Communists, but we need to admit human depravity is across the political spectrum.

In the end, I'm a Libertarian, but I've been questioning if I think it's objectively right, or if I'm a Libertarian because my heart hates authority. So this review is more a journal of my personal thoughts and heart struggles than it is an objective look at this book, so take it with a grain of salt.

[Caleb Falbo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is possibly the best exposé of Romans 13 in laymen's terms that I've seen. I give a 4 star instead of a 5 star for 3 reasons: 1) I believe the author could've lent much more credibility to his book by citing his sources in an organized fashion. 2) I believe the author could have been more charitable to well meaning Christians who don't come to the same conclusion as he does (but I understand his frustration). 3) At times, his writing style becomes a bit sensational, which is another aspect of his writing that can diminish his credibility.

With those criticisms being stated, I find his argumentation and exegesis wholly satisfactory. (That is the primary reason for my slight dissatisfaction of the points mentioned above). He breaks the book into three main sections: 1) Exposition of Romans 13:1-7. 2) Answering common objections to his exposition. 3) Applying his exposition to modern times, particularly in the USA.

The reader will come away from reading this having much on which to think and better for having thought through it.

[Jared Abbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book thoroughly demolishes the popular interpretation of Romans 13, which encourages Christians to unquestionably submit to all earthly authorities, and its corollary "Stay out of politics and just preach the gospel." The writing style is pastoral rather than scholarly, and short, and therefore easily understood by the average layman. I intend to buy more copies to hand out, and I encourage other readers sympathetic to its message to do the same.

My favorite quote from the book:

"Humor needs to sit right beside Truth in your quiver of arrows."

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gordan Runyan purposed to demonstrate that the often misquoted/misunderstood text of Romans 13 is not an excuse for Christians to position themselves as sheep for the slaughter, but rather as exhortations for leaders to submit themselves to God's authority and then for His people to submit themselves to them as part of God's design for government or if the leader is in rebellion to God's authority and become tyrants then His people are called to resist as Christians. Which means disobey while accepting the consequences of that disobedience.
He accomplished this with a proper interpretation of the Scriptures as a whole and his resistance and battle plans as well as recommended reading to deepen understanding is very practical. It was very worthwhile for him to write this because we are living in times that demand that Christians can no longer go along to get along. We must "Direct Gov't to Its Duty" as currently jailed pastor James Coates recently preached. That is our mandate.
I am grateful for this treatise to assist in our learning of how we must now live, to the glory of God.

[Bryan Kuranaga · Rating 5 out of 5]

My biggest takeaway from this book is the call to live in peace, resist with joy, and know what the Bible says. The closest thing we have to a Caesar in America is the U.S. Constitution. We ought to be people who know the Constitution and obey it inasmuch as it accords with God's law-word. We seek change, but we have a long term view in mind. We focus on the gospel and how it changes people who change cultures who change government.

[Scott Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful walk through exposition of Romans 13 showing that it is not supporting the common evangelical position that we ought not to oppose governments because God has put them in place. This was a massive issue through the COVD years, and this book should be on every Christian's reading list given how badly we failed that test.

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I have not completed my personal study of Romans 13, so take this review with that in mind. I enjoyed this book and felt he made a good exegetical point. Now is he correct? From what I can tell I think so, but time will tell. Definitely worth the read

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent little book working through Romans 13 and how believers are to engage with government - particularly rulers who have stepped outside of God's mandate. Highly Recommended.

[Timothy Decker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simplistic and too light hearted for such a serious subject.

[John Cummins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book that sets clear the often misinterpreted Romans 13 scripture.

[Tim Wilder]

Very brief book written for basic readers, based on James Wilson's book.

[Dustin Ranem · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book on properly understanding the relationship between Romans 13 and tyranny.

[Richard Bacon · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have read James M. Willson's Civil Government: An Exposition of Romans XIII:1-7 you will find Runyan's thesis quite familiar. Willson's book was reprinted in 2009 by American Vision as The Establishment And Limits of Civil Government. While Willson was a Reformed Presbyterian, complete with their testimony against voting in uncovenanted nations, Runyan as a Reformed Baptist presents a slightly different perspective in that regard.

However, both Willson and Runyan claim an interpretation of Romans 13:1-7 that is not in keeping with the general evangelical view of the passage. Many, or perhaps most, evangelical believers today regard Romans 13:1-2 without taking into account the remainder of the passage. The admonition in Romans 13:1 states, "Let 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." The KJV translates "governing authorities" as "powers that be," and so it is common to hear evangelicals today speak of civil government as the "powers that be" and claim that obedience to such powers that be is nearly absolute. However, it is Runyan's view that such thinking can hide Paul's true intention in the passage.

The alternative view to the modern evangelical exposition runs as follows: There is a general duty of obedience to civil authorities (verse 1), and there are some general considerations which enforce such obedience (verses 1-2). Additionally, however, there are particular designs and purposes behind civil government (verse 3) and these principles apply in different ways to the case of good and bad citizens (verses 3-4). Verses 5 through 7 deal with specific topics, especially that of "tribute" or "taxes."

Where Runyan's point of view differs from much of modern evangelical thinking is that he claims the Apostle Paul is not writing a blank check to de facto rulers, but is enjoining subjection only to such governments as are responsive to the ends of the institution of civil government, namely that they are the ministers of God. The key thing to remember, according to Runyan, is that the whole tenor of verses 3 and 4 set the stage for us to say that civil rulers must be God-fearing men. This follows.

If a ruler must be a terror to evil works and a praise to them who do well, then there must be an objective standard of good and evil. If the magistrate is to be a minister of God, then it is necessary to determine which God he serves. Thus, contrary to much modern thinking, and perhaps all secular thinking, the character of the civil ruler matters very much. He should be a man of principle and integrity. Willson went so far in his book as to claim there is "something monstrous in the idea of committing the administration of an eminent divine institution to the hands of the immoral and irreligious: and, if this can be done by the vote of the people, can it be otherwise than offensive to the supreme moral Governor?"

It is refreshing to read a work such as Runyan's. He is not calling for a revolution EXCEPT a revolution in the way we understand the passage. Yet, his call is one that has both an honorable history and a good bit of common sense exposition behind it. One of the "catch phrases" that came out of the American war for Independence (which was not a revolution in the strictest sense) was "Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God." The point of that phrase is similar to the point of Runyan's book. When the civil magistrate has over-stepped his God-given jurisdiction, he is no longer a ruler to whom God calls us to obedience; he is a tyrant who has no legitimacy at all.

[David Westerveld · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's funny. I agree with the premise of this book, that Christians ought to oppose wickedness, even in civil authorities. Yet there are some pretty bad things about this book.

1. The tone. There is a lot of mocking and absolutist assumptions that aren't helpful. To give an example:

"it's a question that is answered once it's asked, by everyone with a functioning brain in their heads."
Saying that those that don't agree with you do not have functioning brains in their heads, isn't helpful. It's harmful. It leads to higher levels of antagonism and entrenchment.

2. I have some exegetical problems with taking Romans 13 as only applying to some kind of abstract "purpose" of government and saying that it in no way has the Roman government of the time in mind. (Incidently, this view apparently means I have no functioning brain - I shall need to visit the doctor and see what's up with that). It seems to me that if I wrote a letter to some friends in another country, with this kind of paragraph in it, they would most naturally assume that I was talking about the actual rulers of their country and not some abstract view of government.

I think there is a real tension in trying to figure out how that idea fits in with the idea that Paul says if you do good you will receive the ruler's approval, which isn't what happens for those Roman Christians. However, that tension can be resolved in other ways besides saying that it is impossible for this passage to refer to the Roman government of the time.

3. I think that calling our governments tyrannical and wicked as a blanket statement it going way to far. Overall our governments in the West are blessings that we should be thankful for even though they certainly do promote wickedness in some ways. I am under no illusions as to which direction our governments are moving in (i.e. towards increasing wickedness), but along with the wrong, our governments have also done much good. We should be happy to resist wickedness in the government, but it a pretty big stretch to call the governments that we have tyrannical. It might be helpful to talk to those who have had to live under actual tyrnannies for some perspective on this.

[Jared Lovell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderful little book that dispels the faulty interpretation of Romans 13 that Christians are called to submit to every despot and tyrant as a "minister of God." Runyan exegetes Romans 13 with a proper context and arrives at a conclusion much more consistent with the rest of Scripture. He also deals with Jesus' statement in Matthew 22 and challenge the reader to think about what really belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God. The book is very accessible, inexpensive, and is not very long. I would highly recommend it to every Christian layman, even if reading is not your thing. On the flip side, that is my criticism as well. I would have preferred the book to be a little longer and to go into more detail. Also, some endnotes would have been fitting as well. So for that reason I give it three stars. Still well worth the read! Can not recommend it enough!

[Adam T. Calvert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great work on the Christian life in regard to tyrannical governments. Gordon Runyan does a superb job of showing the textual context of Romans 13 and the theological implication of what it means to submit to the governing authorities (and what it means for them to carry out God's wrath - not their own).

Highly recommended for anyone wanting a short, but insightful and clear book on a timely passage of Scripture.

[Dennis Beery · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reformed Baptist pastor Gordan Runyan has produced an excellent book detailing what the Christian's approach should be toward evil rulers. His exegesis of Romans 13:1-7 is very thought-provoking. A helpful guide for a Christian as he considers how to deal with a government (American) that is increasingly ungodly and anti-liberty.

[Jason Garwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, concise, excellent.