Mga kapatid, naabuso ang paggamit ng Romans 13:1-2. Sa halip na ipakita na ang principal point ni Paul ay ang pag-promote ng Christ-like love sa chapter 13:9, nagamit ang twisted interpretation ng Romans 13:1-2 to promote evil.

God has empowered Christians in a democratic society to stop their government from promoting evil. How? It is a basic rule in a democracy that sovereignty belongs to the people and all authority emanates from them (Article II, section 1, Constitution), so there are mechanisms the people can use, to replace evil leaders, end their misdeeds, and/or put them in jail.

Kaya when any public official, including the President, does evil, both the Bible (Isaiah 1:17 and Proverbs 31:8-9) and the Constitution command Christians to do what is in their power to stop evil.

So Romans 13:1-2 should never be used to prevent Christians from doing what is right.

Ang application ng 2 verses nito sa isang democratic society ay doon lamang sa mga tipong gustong magpabagsak ng democratic government na naitayo under the Constitution. Dahil misused natin ang Romans 13, Filipino Christians have failed to sanctify our democracy kaya many question our authenticity. We say we love Christ but we have allowed the President to say “Kill! Kill! Kill!” and thousands have died.

Many pastors have not expounded on the many dominant biblical passages about justice, including Jesus’ own declaration that Justice, Mercy and Faithfulness are the weightier matters of the law (Matthew 23:23). As members of the flock who love our pastors, let’s care for the condition of our hearts and mind as the Berean Christians, who were commended as “noble” by Paul for always checking the consistency of everything Paul was saying with the Old Testament (Acts 17:10-12).

The Word of God would have built up our nation in justice and righteousness as God wants in Psalm 89:14. Instead, we misused 2 verses of Paul Romans 13 to destroy our role as accountability-keepers in our country. Yun naman pala, some of our pastors might have actually just wanted to convey a different message. Nakakalungkot.

Let’s start a genuine conversation within our churches now. God would be very pleased with that.