Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For
there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have
been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities
resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur
judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.
Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what
is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant
for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear
the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who
carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in
subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of
conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the
authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay
to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue
to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to
whom honor is owed.
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who
loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You
shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not
steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed
up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love
does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of
the law.
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to
wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we
first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then
let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of
light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and
drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in
quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make
no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
