13:5
Paul gives two reasons for being subject to the authorities. One is to avoid God’s wrath. If we rebel against His chosen authority then we are rebelling against God. The second reason is for the sake of conscience. We were created in the image of God, this means there is still an innate sense within us of right and wrong. If we go against this conscience it makes things very difficult for us. At the same time we must admit that these matters can be very difficult.
13:6,7
We should also pay our taxes. We must remember that Paul was writing at the time of the Roman Empire, an empire that was not exactly a paragon of virtue, and would not have spent all the taxes wisely or virtuously. When faced with an unrighteous government (and most of them are unrighteous) we are to pay taxes, pay revenue that we owe, and give respect and honour to those to whom it is due. However, this does not mean never disobeying. Peter and John said they would continue to preach the gospel even when told not to (Acts 4:19,20).
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