“Were they in violation of Romans 13? According to your logic, they didn t obey the state hard enough.”
I took nothing out of context. The argument was made that police should obey the Golden Rule. I pointed out the police are entrusted with more power in order to protect others.
The tax collectors and soldiers of Christ’s day were also given more power than anyone else. They too, were under God’s law and were not to abuse their power. They were not to extort others or abuse them or claim more taxes than they were authorized to collect.
And you did take the passage out of context. You clipped out the sections that talk about honoring the State’s law, while ignoring the context of the rest of the book of Romans *and* the history of the Roman church of the first century.
Greater power does NOT mean “less responsibility” or “waived of the expectation to Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul and might and love your neighbor as yourself.” Christ would remind us that the officer’s neighbor is the teenage girl who sat in a chair.
I notice that you ignored the fact that the State *hated* the first Century Christians because of their love for the Lord and their honorable service towards Him, while you argue that the 21st century believer should be *beloved* of the State for obedience.