Skip to content

Add your phone number?

Optional. Nothing is sent unless you choose it.
The Historic Faith
Sign in

Jumpstarter 7 of 10

Ideas to help restart your discussion
Romans Commentary Chapters 9-16  /  Romans 13:1-7 Submit to the Governing Authorities Part Two  /  Discussion Questions
All Questions
Question 7
The lesson insists Christians must show “fear” (as “great respect,” not guilty terror) and “honor” to rulers, even as public mockery of leaders grows; what practices of speech, posture, and online behavior would actually embody “rise in their presence” and “uncover their heads” today, and what inner resistance does that expose in us?
Another way to ask: The lesson says Christians should show respect and honor to rulers even when people mock leaders. What would that look like in how we talk, act, and post online today, and what does it reveal about what we don’t want to submit to inside?

Direct Answer Based on the transcript, showing “fear” and “honor” today would mean respectful speech and visible deference toward officials rather than mocking, jeering, or speaking contemptuously—especially in public and online. The resistance it exposes is our impulse to treat rulers with contempt, forgetting that disrespect for them is presented as disrespect for God’s law.

Support from Transcript:

  • Romans 13:7 is quoted: “fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.”
  • Chrysostom is cited: “By this word [fear], Paul means great respect. He does not mean the fear that comes from a bad conscience.”
  • Chrysostom describes ancient honor: people would “rise in the presence of rulers” and “uncover their heads in a ruler’s presence.”
  • Bercot laments modern culture: it’s “common…to speak disrespectfully… and even to mock and jeer.”
  • Command remains: “even if the world refuses…Christians must continue to show respect. This is what God requires of us.”
  • Strong warning: “When we show disrespect to rulers, we show disrespect for God’s laws.”
Discussion Follow-ups What would it look like to refuse sarcastic posts, insulting nicknames, and contemptuous jokes about leaders? Why do we find it emotionally satisfying to mock, and what does that say about our hearts?

Jumpstarter 7 of 10
Back Questions Next