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Abstract

Not only does love for one another foster healthy Christianity, it also fosters a healthy state. Love, according to Paul, is the only thing we should owe to one another—and we should pay it out upon every opportunity. If we fail to love one another, however, and choose to do evil instead, God has instituted government authorities to enforce justice. Indeed, one of the principle purposes of government, according to Paul, is to encourage good conduct and punish wickedness. For those bent on evil, government should be an instrument of fear and act as a deterrent to immoral behavior. When it fails to do this, it fails to carry out God’s will for a nation. It fails to please God as His “servant.”