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Romans 13:3

(3) For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.
New King James Version Change email Bible version

Notice "unafraid" because it has much to do with where the power of government resides. In the King James Version, it reads, "Will you not be afraid of the power?" Laws are stated and have penalties, but in most cases, that does not keep people from breaking them almost with impunity as long as nobody responsible for governing is looking. The government's power largely lies in coercion. Coercion means "forcible constraint or restraint, whether moral or physical." In other words, government functions largely through force—power. Paul is saying, "Will you not be afraid of the power of the government?”

Consider this simple illustration. Most people flagrantly disobey the speed limit on freeways and interstates, especially when they are not crowded. It is easy for the mind to say, "Hey! The way is open and clear. Why don't I go faster?"—until we spot a patrol car with a trooper or two in it. Suddenly, the speed limit becomes the norm—until the police care is out of sight. What are we afraid of? The power of the police! That government employee, the policeman, has the power to pull us over to the side of the road and fine us. Because of the fear that enters our mind—because suddenly we see the government's representative—we slow down and go the posted limit. Why do we not keep the speed limit whether the trooper is around and looking or not?

It is common knowledge that the power of the law, all by itself, is not enough to motivate us to keep it, even though we know the law well. We know a penalty is connected to that law. Yet we will still flagrantly disobey it until someone from the government is watching. Then, we are very conscious of the government's power to hurt us.

So, the law on the books is not of and by itself enough to make us obey it. But what Paul is getting at is that lovetoward God and man can motivate us to do what the law says. It can make us do what the law cannot do.

Paul claims that if we do this—that is, we are motivated by love—then we will automatically keep the commandments. A somewhat different, though weaker, conclusion is that Paul is saying that if we do not break the commandments, then we are acting out of love. This is why he lists the commandments shortly after this (Romans 13:8-10). So, within this context, the apostle is explaining that we cover every facet of our responsibility to God and man if we ensure love has its proper place as the motivation for all we do.

— John W. Ritenbaugh

To learn more, see:
Love's Importance and Source