ACC ~ Romans 13 v4

THE HUMAN JUDGE ACTS AS GOD’S SERVANT FOR YOUR GOOD. ORIGEN: In what sense is a judge in this world the servant of God? … It seems to me that this question is answered by that passage in the Acts of the Apostles where the decision was taken to impose only certain ritual obligations on Gentile believers. They were told to abstain from eating what had been sacrificed to idols, from blood and from fornication, but nothing was said about murder, adultery, theft, homosexuality or other crimes which are punished by both divine and human laws. Now if what was explicitly forbidden to the Gentiles was all they had to do, then it would seem as if these other things were all right. But look at how the Holy Spirit has organized everything. Because these other crimes are already punished by secular laws, it seemed superfluous to add a divine prohibition as well. All that he decreed concerned matters which seemed right from the divine point of view but which were not covered by human laws. It is in this way that a human judge acts as a servant of God. For God wants these crimes to be punished by human judges and not by representatives of the church. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

TUTORS ORDAINED. AMBROSIASTER: Since God has ordained that there will be a future judgment and he does not want anyone to perish, he has ordained rulers in this world who, by causing people to be afraid of them, act as tutors to mankind, teaching them what to do in order to avoid future punishment. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

MAKING VIRTUE EASIER. CHRYSOSTOM: The civil power makes virtue easier for the Christian by chastising the wicked, by benefiting and honoring the good and by working together with the will of God. For this reason he is even given the name of “God’s servant.” … Even when he administers punishment, it is God’s will that he is carrying out. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 23.

FOR YOUR GOOD. AUGUSTINE: When Paul says: “He is God’s servant for your good,” though it be for his own evil, this should be understood in the same way as the above. AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 73.

[PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: By saying that the ruler is “God’s servant for your good,” Paul shows that we must obey the authorities in those things which are right but not in things which are unlawful or which go against the faith. THE HOLY LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.

THAT NONE PROFIT FROM SIN. PELAGIUS: The authorities are concerned for your safety. They also have the responsibility to see to it that if you sin you do not profit thereby, because God does not love the wicked and hates all who “work iniquity.”PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

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