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Romans Commentary Chapters 9-16  /  Romans 13:1-7 Submit to the Governing Authorities Part Two  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 10
When addressing conscription and war, the lesson treats killing enemies as a direct violation of “love your enemies” and “we do not wage war according to the flesh,” citing early Christians who refused the sword and claimed prayer as their “special army”; what assumptions about God’s power and the church’s mission make that stance possible, and what changes would be required in our discipleship if we embraced that as normative rather than exceptional?
Another way to ask: The lesson says killing in war breaks “love your enemies,” and points to early Christians who refused the sword and fought by prayer. What beliefs about God’s power and the church’s mission make that possible, and what would need to change in our discipleship if we treated this as normal for Christians?

Direct Answer Based on the transcript, the stance is possible because the church trusts that obedience to Jesus (loving enemies) is non-negotiable and believes Christians “fight” by prayer as an “army of godliness,” not by killing. Embracing it as normal would require discipling believers to refuse the sword even under government demand, accepting suffering, and viewing the church’s mission as spiritual warfare rather than national defense.

Support from Transcript:

  • Bercot asks: “What if Caesar wants us to go to war?” and answers from Jesus: “love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you.”
  • He cites Paul: “Though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh.”
  • He concludes: for early Christians this was “one more situation where Caesar was commanding them to violate Christ’s law,” so “they refused to take up the sword even when ordered.”
  • Tertullian’s principle: give Caesar his due, but “man is the property of God alone… our bodies are not the property of the state.”
  • Origen: “Indeed, we do not fight under the king even if he demands it.”
  • Yet Christians still “fight on his behalf… by offering our prayers to God,” forming “a special army… of godliness.”
Discussion Follow-ups What training would believers need to prepare for refusing conscription without hatred or panic? If prayer is our “army,” how would that reshape how churches talk about security, enemies, and what it means to protect others?

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