Hi! 'RobertW'
I suppose I should have posed the question more clearly; I was meaning to ask about Christians owning a firearm which is not suitable nor intended for sport or hunting.
Concerning your reference to Romans 13:3,4 :
My own opinion is that the all-encompassing command is: "We must obey God rather than men!", (Acts 5:29).
Earthly governance is formed by what Paul named as 'elemental spirits'. As such, they are weak and beggarly and prone to "repay evil with evil"; also, simultaneously reaping what they sow.
So, for the sake of this discussion, let's lay out the underlying parameters:
While we are citizens of a heavenly kingdom, we also live in the natural world. Therefore, the disciple of Jesus is also a good citizen of the emperor, an orderly citizen of his town, a punctual taxpayer and respectful towards the representatives of the government and of the authority. This is why the early Christians were not rebels against the state. They submitted to the government; despite the fact that oftentimes their leaders invited disgust and contempt.
We know that in the Kingdom of God there are both principalities and powers. This confirms that not all spirits in the unseen world are equal. In addition, there are throne angels, cherubs, governments, angel of the church, messengers, and there is also the angel of the Lord. Further, there are also tens of thousands of angels who stand under their own princes.
The devils also know a similar hierarchy. They have their principalities, powers, rulers and their legions of evil spirits too which are subject to their leaders.
The human spirit too belongs to God's hierarchical order. Mankind shares a hierarchy; king and subject, state government and federal government, parent and child, master and servant, employer and employee. The hierarchical formation of human spirits are what constitute our social and political order.
It is this hierarchical order which makes known the reigning "elements of the world" which cause life to be possible on earth. While all these hierarchical power relationships are God ordained, this doesn't mean to say that the authorities are directly appointed by God.
So it is that we are living in a world which is ruled by innate hierarchical laws. As a side thought: this same hierarchy role and structure can also be found in the animal world. In the animal world too we find leadership roles and relations between creature parents and the obedience of their offspring.
Therefore, we also see how the Law of Sinai made use of some sort ordering and structure and therefore it too is directly associated with the "elements of the world", (Gal 4:3,9 and Col 2:8 & 20).
The Bible describes these "elements of the world", (or, "elementary spirits"), as being weak and beggarly because they are human spirits which are without the power of the Holy Spirit and therefore unable to oppose the lawless forces originating from the kingdom of darkness.
So, it is that these weak and beggarly spirits can only resist and maintain their authority by natural remedies and penalties; unable to overcome the powers of evil, they are left with no alternative but to exterminate its manifestation.
Without observing the social and political relationships, life on earth would be impossible; everything would soon tumble into a chaotic and undisciplined mob. Not surprisingly, anarchy is said to be a special sign of the end times.
The Apostle Paul fully knew that the Christian is no longer subject to "the law". Rather, the Christian is free and no longer a slave, a king and a priest, an heir of God and joint-heir with Christ.
However, he also knew that in the natural world the Christian remained subject to the requirements of the 'elementary spirits'. A slave was to remain obedient to his master, (both the good and the bad), a child to his parents, (both the believer and unbeliever), and also the citizen must remain obedient to an often unreasonable and immoral government.
So, member 'RobertW', the Scriptures about submission to authority which you referenced are (needless to be said by me) clear and straightforward truth.
It was a lying, false accusation, when the Jews accused Jesus before Pilate against Caesar, saying that He forbade to give tribute to Caesar, (John 19:12, and Luke 23:2). Our Lord Himself paid both the Synagogue taxes and secular government taxes, (Matt 17:24-27). He also subjected Himself to the world spirits during His natural life. He remained submissive to the hierarchical order; example: subservient to his parents, recognizing that Pilate had power over Him, (having received such power from above), (John 19:11).
An incompetent and unwise government is still better than no government. For times of bad government, the Lord says, "Be not afraid of those who kill the body but can not kill the soul", (Matt 10:28). It's not for nothing that the Bible says, "I exhort first of all supplications, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all men, for kings and all in authority, that we may lead quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity", (1Tim 2:1,2).
Anyways 'RobertW', I said all the above to clearly state that I don't wish to be found twisting the Word "to their own destruction, (2Pet 3:16).
The word "sword" in your referenced Scripture illustrates the avenging justice on this earth; a justice which repays evil with punishment. The government bears the sword and she is the only person in the social hierarchical order on earth that has consent to punish. They repay evil with evil, and therefore speak the language of workers of wrath. [ Man can only judge "to appearance", (the outward man), but the Lord "looks at the heart", (the inner man)].
We are entering into a time when the following is being fulfilled: "And I will give children [to be] their princes, and babes shall rule over them. And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable", (Isaiah 3:4,5). Therefore it is becoming increasingly necessary to submit, not only because of fearing the workers of wrath, but also for conscience sake.
Many think a government is owed their obedience only if it matches their views and their interests. This is not scriptural. A Christian, who is truly a spiritual man, will for the sake of his conscience not engage in disorderly conduct. Both Paul and Peter lived at a time of a very tyrannical regime and yet lived victoriously. They did not speak criticism against their governments because they didn't consider this as their task. Instead, they had a positive posture about the governing authorities and obeyed. They prayed about their governments, for their good, if there was any, as well as for their evil.
