The Meaning of Romans 13:5 Explained

Romans 13:5

KJV: Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

YLT: Wherefore it is necessary to be subject, not only because of the wrath, but also because of the conscience,

Darby: Wherefore it is necessary to be subject, not only on account of wrath, but also on account of conscience.

ASV: Wherefore ye must needs be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience'sake.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Wherefore  [ye] must needs  be subject,  not  only  for  wrath,  but  also  for conscience  sake. 

What does Romans 13:5 Mean?

Verse Meaning

There are two reasons a Christian needs to be submissive to his government. One is that the government may punish him if he is not submissive. The other is that God may punish him. God"s punishment may be during the Christian"s lifetime or after that at the judgment seat of Christ. In this case the punishment might involve the loss of some reward that the believer would have received had he or she been submissive. "Conscience" refers to the believer"s knowledge of God"s will and purposes. [1]
"The United States Government maintains a "Conscience Fund" for people who want to pay their debts to the Government and yet remain anonymous. Some city governments have a similar fund. I read about a city that had investigated some tax frauds and announced that several citizens were going to be indicted. They did not release the names of the culprits. That week, a number of people visited the City Hall to "straighten out their taxes"-and many of them were not on the indictment list. When conscience begins to work, we cannot live with ourselves until we have made things right." [2]

Context Summary

Romans 13:1-7 - Rendering "to All Their Dues"
Human government, like the existence of the family relationship, is a divine institution. It is part of the order of the world and rooted in the original conception of the race. It was never intended that we should live as individual units, but as members of family and state. It is evident, therefore, that the authority which is wielded by the ruler expresses, generally speaking, a divine principle. The comfort and well-being of society are better attained in that way than in any other, and the recognition of this principle carries with it the assent of our intuitive convictions. We must render therefore to all their dues.
But it must be acknowledged, also, that there are limits beyond which imperial or legislative authority may not go. When Nero, according to tradition, bade the Apostle to abandon his faith as the condition of liberty, Paul did not hesitate to say that the emperor was intruding on a province to which he had no claim, and that he must obey God rather than man. So far as our life in a community goes, there must be some form of government, which may be modeled according to the varying opinions of men, whether monarchical or republican, autocratic or socialistic; but when once it has been agreed upon, it must be obeyed, unless it forfeits confidence, in which case a new order becomes necessary. [source]

Chapter Summary: Romans 13

1  Subjection, and many other duties, we owe to the authorities
8  Love is the fulfillment of the law
11  The acts of darkness are out of season in the time of the Gospel

Greek Commentary for Romans 13:5

Ye must needs [αναγκη]
“There is necessity,” both because of the law and because of conscience, because it is right (Romans 2:15; Romans 9:1). [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Romans 13:5

1 Thessalonians 1:10 Whom he raised from the dead [ον ηγειρεν εκ των νεκρων]
Paul gloried in the fact of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead of which fact he was himself a personal witness. This fact is the foundation stone for all his theology and it comes out in this first chapter. Jesus which delivereth us from the wrath to come (Ιησουν τον ρυομενον ημας εκ της οργης της ερχομενης — Iēsoun ton ruomenon hēmās ek tēs orgēs tēs erchomenēs). It is the historic, crucified, risen, and ascended Jesus Christ, God‘s Son, who delivers from the coming wrath. He is our Saviour (Matthew 1:21) true to his name Jesus. He is our Rescuer (Romans 11:26, ο ρυομενος — ho ruomenos from Isaiah 59:20). It is eschatological language, this coming wrath of God for sin (1 Thessalonians 2:16; Romans 3:5; Romans 5:9; Romans 9:22; Romans 13:5). It was Paul‘s allusion to the day of judgment with Jesus as Judge whom God had raised from the dead that made the Athenians mock and leave him (Acts 17:31.). But Paul did not change his belief or his preaching because of the conduct of the Athenians. He is certain that God‘s wrath in due time will punish sin. Surely this is a needed lesson for our day. It was coming then and it is coming now. [source]
1 Thessalonians 1:10 Jesus which delivereth us from the wrath to come [Ιησουν τον ρυομενον ημας εκ της οργης της ερχομενης]
It is the historic, crucified, risen, and ascended Jesus Christ, God‘s Son, who delivers from the coming wrath. He is our Saviour (Matthew 1:21) true to his name Jesus. He is our Rescuer (Romans 11:26, ο ρυομενος — ho ruomenos from Isaiah 59:20). It is eschatological language, this coming wrath of God for sin (1 Thessalonians 2:16; Romans 3:5; Romans 5:9; Romans 9:22; Romans 13:5). It was Paul‘s allusion to the day of judgment with Jesus as Judge whom God had raised from the dead that made the Athenians mock and leave him (Acts 17:31.). But Paul did not change his belief or his preaching because of the conduct of the Athenians. He is certain that God‘s wrath in due time will punish sin. Surely this is a needed lesson for our day. It was coming then and it is coming now. [source]

What do the individual words in Romans 13:5 mean?

Therefore necessary [it is] to be subject not only on account of the wrath but also conscience
Διὸ ἀνάγκη ὑποτάσσεσθαι οὐ μόνον διὰ τὴν ὀργὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ συνείδησιν

ἀνάγκη  necessary  [it  is] 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: ἀνάγκη  
Sense: necessity, imposed either by the circumstances, or by law of duty regarding to one’s advantage, custom, argument.
ὑποτάσσεσθαι  to  be  subject 
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Passive
Root: ὑποτάσσω  
Sense: to arrange under, to subordinate.
μόνον  only 
Parse: Adverb
Root: μόνον  
Sense: only, alone, but.
διὰ  on  account  of 
Parse: Preposition
Root: διά  
Sense: through.
ὀργὴν  wrath 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: ὀργή  
Sense: anger, the natural disposition, temper, character.
καὶ  also 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: καί  
Sense: and, also, even, indeed, but.
συνείδησιν  conscience 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: συνείδησις  
Sense: the consciousness of anything.