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In 12:19-21 Paul advises not to take revenge but to leave matters with God, who will avenge. He does it through government. The rulers are God’s servants to execute judgment (vv.4, 6). The government is established by God for the good of all. Therefore Christians should support it with taxes and submission.
Here Paul speaks in terms of the normative, assuming that the government is fulfilling the duty assigned by God (Morris, Romans, 459-61). He does not specifically deal with abnormal conditions, such as when the government usurps the absolute authority of God. However, if Paul’s directive is carefully observed, his intent is clear. Paul exhorts submission (hupotassō), not absolute obedience. In Eph 5:21 Paul calls for Christians to submit (hupotassō) to one another. Constantly taking the lowly place over against one another is possible, but obeying one another constantly is not. Therefore, if the government no longer serves God and does what is contrary to God’s will, we should, like the apostles in Ac 4:19, follow God rather than blindly obey the government (Bruce, 237).
Vv.8-10 deal with the issue of justice, though love is mentioned first. Yet here Paul does not mention the positive things love does, only the wrongs love does not do. Paul is not treating love per se, which has been treated already in 12:9-21. Here he is treating the Christian duty of justice. This is evident from v.8, Let no debt remain outstanding. Paul sees and treats love as the means of fulfilling justice. Since love does no harm to one’s neighbor, love fulfills those negative commandments of the law. These commands have to do with justice in the society.