The STATE and the Open Door: Romans 13, Civil Authority, and Christian Hospitality

St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans 13:1–7 does not present civil government as a regrettable concession to human sin, a necessary evil merely to be endured until the Parousia. The Apostle Paul assigns the ruler a positive title and a genuine function. The one in authority is διάκονος θεοῦ—God’s servant or minister—twice over (v. 4). He “does not bear the sword in vain” (τὴν μάχαιραν οὐ γὰρ εἰκῇ φορεῖ).