Romans 13:1-7 is a well known and challenging passage about how we are to relate to government. While it does not cover everything the Bible has to say about human government, Paul does put forth a couple of essential principles clearly taught elsewhere in the scriptures. He first calls his listeners to respect and honor the government, explaining that each and every government is established by God to uphold justice, rewarding good and punishing evil. As a result, they are worthy of honor and respect, for they are God’s ministers, and though many do not recognize or acknowledge this, it is true regardless. As Christians, we are citizens of two kingdoms, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of man. In the kingdom of God, we are called to give honor and respect to Christ who is the head and the clergy who are his ministers in the church. Likewise, we ought to give honor in the kingdom of man to Christ, who is the true and eternal king, as well as the governments he establishes to be ministers of his common grace.