Paul gives an example of something we do when we subject ourselves to government: pay taxes. We dig into why taxes were in dispute back then.

Paul tells us that, for two reasons, we must be in "subjection." We talk about that word and how it was used in a story in Luke 2, as a way of knowing how we're to live our lives--ranked under government and each other.

Paul concludes a quartet of verses about how God uses government for good by pointing out that God works through government leaders to punish wrongdoers and protect the rest of us.

Paul further tells us that rulers are in place for a reason, for God's reason, and of course God has good reasons. We explore that through the lens of Acts 16, when Paul is jailed by rulers, which was used by God for good.

Paul continues applying the general principles from chapter 12 to the specific instance of a government authority that we may not agree with.

Paul transitions from general marks of a true Christian in the face of persecution to the specific persecutor in Rome: the government.

Paul concludes chapter 12 by giving us the one major mark of a true Christian: the ability to overcome evil with good, instead of being overcome by evil. I give three ways we modern Christians can be overcome by evil, borrowing from a John Mark Comer book I just finished.

Paul quotes Proverbs to support his argument that we should be kind to our enemies.

Paul tells us to never avenge ourselves. We talk about vengeance and why we ought to pray for our persecutors instead of taking vengeance.

Paul instructs for us to, whenever possible, live peaceably.