Relative Submission

14. How was increased light shed on Romans 13:1, 2 and related scriptures in 1962?

¹⁴ In 1961 the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures was completed. Its preparation had required an in-depth study of the textual language of the Scriptures. The precise translation of the words used not only in Romans chapter 13 but also in such passages as Titus 3:1, 2 and 1 Peter 2:13, 17 made it evident that the term “superior authorities” referred, not to the Supreme Authority, Jehovah, and to his Son, Jesus, but to human governmental authorities. In late 1962, articles were published in The Watchtower that gave an accurate explanation of Romans chapter 13 and also provided a clearer view than that held at the time of C. T. Russell. These articles pointed out that Christian subjection to the authorities cannot be total. It must be relative, subject to its not bringing God’s servants into conflict with God’s laws. Further articles in The Watchtower have emphasized this important point.c

15, 16. (a) What better balance did the new understanding of Romans chapter 13 lead to? (b) What questions remain to be answered?

¹⁵ This key to the correct understanding of Romans chapter 13 has enabled Jehovah’s people to balance due respect for the political authorities with an uncompromising stand on vital Scriptural principles. (Psalm 97:11; Jeremiah 3:15) It has allowed them to have a proper view of their relationship with God and their dealings with the State. It has ensured that while they pay back Caesar’s things to Caesar, they do not neglect to pay back God’s things to God.

Interestingly, in his commentary on Romans chapter 13, Professor F. F. Bruce writes: “It is plain from the immediate context, as from the general context of the apostolic writings, that the state can rightly command obedience only within the limits of the purposes for which it has been divinely instituted—in particular, the state not only may but must be resisted when it demands the allegiance due to God alone.”