that God’s mandate to the state authorities (who are “servants of God”) was to do justice, punish wickedness and reward goodness (Rom 13:1–7). They accepted that political authorities were there by God’s appointment, but they would not have forgotten the words of the prophets, who declared that governments that perverted justice stood under God’s ultimate judgment (e.g., Jer 22:1–5). And they were reminded, in true prophetic style, by James not only that faith without practical action of love and