Passage Research
Romans 13 — Sermon Preparation
Paul addresses submission to governing authorities, love as the fulfillment of the law, and the urgency of living in light of the coming day. Below is a research summary for Romans 13, drawn from openly licensed scholarly databases — original-language morphology, classic sermons from the church fathers through the Puritans, and ancient geography data.
- 14
- verses
- 270 / 120
- Greek words / lemmas
- 21
- classic sermon excerpts
- 8
- preachers & commentators
Romans 13 in the Greek
Distinctive vocabulary of this chapter, based on original-language morphology.
| Greek | Transliteration | Strong's | Count | KJV renderings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| κακός | kakós | G2556 | 4 | bad, evil, harm, ill |
| φόρος | phóros | G5411 | 3 | tribute |
| ἐξουσία | exousía | G1849 | 4 | authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power |
| φόβος | phóbos | G5401 | 3 | be afraid, exceedingly, fear, terror |
| ἀγαθός | agathós | G18 | 3 | benefit, good, well |
| ἀγαπάω | agapáō | G25 | 3 | love |
| ἀνθίστημι | anthístēmi | G436 | 2 | resist, withstand |
How preachers through history handled this text
21 public-domain excerpts on Romans 13, from the church fathers to the Puritans.
“Four things are here taught, as a Christian's directory for his day's work. When to awake; Now; and to awake out of the sleep of carnal security, sloth, and negligence; out of the sleep of spiritual death, and out of the sleep of spiritual deadness. Considering the time; a busy time; a perilous time. Also the salvation nigh at hand. Let us mind our way, and mend our pace, we are nearer our journey's end. Also to make ourselves ready. The night is far spent, the day is at hand; therefore it is time to dress ourselves. …”
— Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise), on Romans 13:11–30 (Public Domain)
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