1 Let every person *Titus 3:1;1 Pet. 2:13be subject to the governing authorities. For *[John 19:11]; See Dan. 2:21there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you *1 Pet. 2:14will receive his approval, 4 for *2 Chr. 19:6he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, *1 Thess. 4:6an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also *1 Pet. 2:19;[Eccles. 8:2]for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 *Matt. 17:25;22:21;Mark 12:17Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

8 *[Lev. 19:13;Prov. 3:27,28] Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for *ver. 10;[Matt. 22:40;Col. 3:14]; See John 13:34the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, *Matt. 19:18;Cited fromEx. 20:13-17;Deut. 5:17-21"You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: *Cited from Lev. 19:18"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore *[John 14:15]; See ver. 8love is the fulfilling of the law.

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you *1 Cor. 15:34;Eph. 5:14;1 Thess. 5:6to wake from sleep. *[Isa. 56:1;Luke 21:28]For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 *[John 9:4] The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us *Col. 3:8cast off *Eph. 5:11;[John 3:20] the works of darkness and *2 Cor. 6:7;Eph. 6:11,13;1 Thess. 5:8put on the armor of light. 13 *1 Thess. 4:12Let us walk properly as in the daytime, *Luke 21:34;Gal. 5:21;1 Pet. 4:3not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, *James 3:14,16not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But *Gal. 3:27;[Job 29:14;Ps. 132:9;Luke 24:49;Eph. 4:24;Col. 3:10] put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, *Gal. 5:16;1 Pet. 2:11to gratify its desires.