The governing authorities
1Everyone should submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist have been put in place by God. 2So whoever sets himself against the authority is standing against what God has arranged, and those who stand against it will bring judgment on themselves. 3Rulers are no terror to good conduct, only to bad. Do you want to live without fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will have its praise; 4it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid: the sword it carries is not for show. It is God’s servant, an agent of wrath against the wrongdoer. 5That is why you must submit—not only because of the wrath, but because of your conscience. 6It is also why you pay taxes: the authorities are God’s ministers, giving their full attention to this very work. 7Pay everyone what you owe: tax to whom tax is due, duty to whom duty is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
Love, the fullness of the law
8Owe no one anything, except to love one another. Whoever loves the other has fulfilled the law. 9For the commandments—“You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet”—and any other commandment are gathered up in this one word: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no wrong to a neighbor. So love is the law brought to its fullness. 11And do all this knowing what hour it is: the moment has come for you to wake up out of sleep. Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12The night is nearly over; the day is close. So let us put off the works of darkness and put on the weapons of light. 13Let us walk decently, as in daylight: no wild parties and drunkenness, no sleeping around and shameless living, no quarreling and jealousy. 14Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and stop making plans to satisfy the cravings of the flesh.
