Paul emphasises the requirement that Christians obey the secular authorities. This is a little surprising, since it was presumably written at a time when resistance to Roman rule in Judaea was increasing. For that matter the civil authority that Paul cites is that of the Emperor Nero. We also discussed the possible response to this chapter from figures like George Washington and Oliver Cromwell.

Were there Jews who were vegetarians? It seems unlikely, yet Paul discusses the Christian attitudes to vegetarianism. Some claim that this is a translation problem, and Paul is actually discussing whether Christians should eat non-kosher meat.