Tertullian, Antidote for the Scorpion's Sting 14

Tertullian bluntly warns the Romans to submit to every governing authority, since no power exists except by God's decree, the sword is not borne without reason, and the ruler serves as God's minister (Romans 13:1-7). Yet that ministry has teeth: the ruler is also an avenger who executes wrath on the evildoer. After all, Scripture had already said rulers are not a terror to good conduct but to evil. Do you want to live without fear of authority? Then do what is right, and you will win its approval. So the ruler is God's servant for your benefit. But if you do wrong, be afraid. Therefore, this command to submit is not given to frustrate martyrdom, but to provoke upright living even under the rulers' gaze, treating them as allies of justice and ministers of divine judgment who even now pass preliminary sentence on wrongdoers. Next Paul spells out what that submission looks like: pay what is owed — tribute to whom tribute is due, tax to whom tax is due (Romans 13:7). In other words, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's (Matthew 22:21); the human being belongs to God alone. Peter, too, had agreed that the king deserves honor — but only when the king stays in his lane, keeping his distance from divine honors, just as father and mother are loved precisely when they are not equated with God. Beyond that, nothing — not even one's own soul — may be loved above God.