Romans 13:2

ὥστε cf. Romans 7:4; Romans 7:12. The conclusion is that he who sets himself against the authorities withstands what has been instituted by God: διαταγῇ (Acts 7:53) recalls τεταγμέναι, Romans 13:1. The κρίμα, i.e., the judgment or condemnation which those who offer such resistance shall receive, is of course a Divine one that is the nerve of the whole passage; but most commentators seem to regard it as coming through the human authority resisted. This is by no means clear; even a successful defiance of authority, which involved no human κρίμα, would according to Paul ensure punishment from God. For λήψονται κρίμα cf. Mark 12:40; James 3:1 : where also God's judgment alone is in view. But to say that it is God's judgment only is not to say that it is eternal damnation. There are many ways in which God's condemnation of sin is expressed and executed.