Christians and Government (Part 3)
September 8th, 2008
(By Nathan Wiliams)
Last time we looked at the first responsibility a Christian has to his government, submission. This time we’ll take a look at another duty believers have to the state — paying taxes.
Reports tell us that more people every year are not paying their taxes. A couple of months ago I interacted with several Christians on a blog over the issue of Christians and taxation. Their responses and anger over paying taxes to what they considered an “unjust” government shocked me. They felt Christians aren’t responsible to pay taxes to our government because the tax rate is (in their opinion) unfairly high. I strongly disagree with those sentiments and believe Scripture teaches the payment of taxes to be a biblical injunction.
We’ll find in Romans 13:6-7 that we are commanded to pay taxes for conscience sake because we live under divinely ordained authority. These verses remind us that rulers are servants of God. In verse 7 Paul uses the word render. We’ll see this word used again in a minute when we discuss what Jesus had to say about taxes. This word doesn’t mean to give as a gift. When we pay taxes we are not taking some of our money and giving it to our government against our wishes. Paul uses the word render because he wants us to understand this money belongs to the government, and we are simply rendering it back to them. Paul commands believers to “Pay to all what is owed to them.” We are stealing money from the God-ordained institution of government when we refuse to pay taxes.
Matthew 22:15-22 also addresses the issue of paying taxes. This is probably the most well known passage dealing with the Christian’s relationship with government. This story, found in these eight verses begins a section where the religious leaders ask Jesus a number of questions trying to catch him in his words.
Before they ask the question, these men, sent by the Pharisees, flatter Jesus in four different ways. They tell him He is a teacher, He is truthful, He defers to no one, and He is not partial to any person. They are trying to set Him up and boost His pride as they get ready to ask their question. They believe Jesus will give them an honest answer regardless of who He will offend. Their question sounds impossible to answer. Why? Well many of the Jewish people believed, based on Deuteronomy 17:15, it was wrong to pay taxes to ungodly leaders.
The Jews despised Roman authority and hated paying taxes to support a Roman government. If Jesus said it was lawful to pay taxes, he would be angering the Jewish people with whom He was so incredibly popular. If He said it was not lawful to pay taxes and the people should not be required to pay, he would be speaking out directly against the Roman government, which would get Him in trouble with them. It was a classic catch-22.
Christ confronted the sinfulness of their hearts in verse 18. Then He demanded to see one of the coins used to pay the tax. This denarius was equal to about a day’s wage. After confirming that Caesar’s inscription was pictured on the coin, our Lord taught that some things must be rendered to Caesar and some to God. Again, the word render is used here. This word gives us the picture of giving someone what is due to them. If I borrow $10 from a friend for lunch, then I owe him that money. When I place the money in his hand, I have not done him a favor. I have simply rendered to him what was due to him.
Christ reminded his hearers that we have obligations to the state as well as to God. Obviously, when these two obligations conflict, we obey God rather than men. However, part of obedience to God is obedience to the state through the payment of taxes, even when the government we are under is corrupt. We are still responsible to pay the government what we owe, because that is exactly what God has told us to do.
When we do so, we are not only being good citizens of earth … we are being good citizens of heaven.
Nathan,
Thank you for your article, it has made me think of something that has left me a little stumped.
Some people believe that the Federal Income Tax is unconstitutional (I may be one of them…but I do pay them), and thereby the Federal Government has not submitted to its ownself or its own laws. If indeed it is true that the Federal Income Tax is unconstitutional where does that put the law abiding Christian? Does he honor the Constitution or does he honor the unconstitutional law?
Any light you can shed would be appreciated.
In Christ,
Chris
For Christians, like myself, who believe that our tax system is unjust and overly burdensome, there are legal solutions available, which do not violate God’s Law.
1- Petition our legislators to change the law. They may not do so but it is our prerogative to ask.
2- Vote for someone else in the next election.
3- Run for office ourselves. This is the underestimated choice. Most of us treat our elected officials like they are some kind of untouchable class. We think of elected office as an unattainable position. I have run for local office myself (I lost). It’s not that difficult.
If you are turned off by party politics, run as an independent. Holding elected office is a service to the people. Christians should make themselves available for that service.
A partial reply to Chris Prang:
The 16th amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads as follows:
Amendment XVI
(Ratified February 3, 1913)
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.
As I understand U.S. law: If it is a ratified amendment, it is part of the Constitution, therefore it is constitutional.
-Bob Tempas
Chris,
The Supreme Court has ruled on these Tax Protesters who believe that the 16th Amendment was improperly Ratified. They found (not surprisingly) in favor of the government. I cannot site the case for you, but I know that that the Supreme’s did have something to say about it.
Jonathan
Nathan,
I see Romans 13 as more of a limitation upon civil government than upon Christians. One thing often lost in the tax arguments is the question of legitimate taxes. Jesus was clear that the likeness and inscription were prerequisites for taxation. Suppose they had brought him a temple shekel instead of a denarius? Would Jesus have answered that they were to pay tax on the shekel? In Romans 13, Paul states that “for because of THIS you also pay taxes.” THIS is in the singular. There is only one legitimate tax, a tax to do the only legitimate function of civil government, the punishment of evildoers. In America, government demands taxes for so many things that DON’T have their likeness and inscription. They are illegitimate taxes. Refusing to pay something that we don’t owe them in the first place isn’t stealing, but rather preventing stealing from occurring.
As to rulers being “servants” of God, I think the point of Romans 13 is often missed. Caesar was a god in the Roman system. Paul’s point was that Caesar has no authority of his own. Four times he cuts Caesar down to size by using the word for common table waiter. How many table waiters get to make their own rules? How much less all the rules of the house as it is in America?
Steve,
The “for because of THIS” (For the same reason - in ESV), appears to refer to the prior verse. The reason for paying taxes is to avoid God’s wrath. To argue that there is only one legitimate tax is reading into the text.
Verse 7 also directly contradicts your argument. Taxes and customs (toll or goods tax) are mentioned.
Your argument would seemingly lead to the position that God imposed illegitmate taxes on the Hebrews in the OT. Or that the people had the right to figure out what portion of the approximately 23% in taxes went to the punishment of evildoers and then not pay the rest. I don’t think that squares with Scripture.
Also Jesus’ point in Matthew 22 had nothing to do with the necessity of a likeness and inscription being on a coin for the payment of taxes. An obligation to fund government was due and people wer required to pay it, whether they had any Roman coins or not.
I believe one the greatest responsibilities believers have towards goverment leaders is one which is often overlooked in the discussion: that of sharing the good news of the gospel.
The account of Paul’s final years of life and ministry in Acts 22-28 is given to show how God providentially worked to give him the opportunity to share the good news of the gospel with the highest government leaders of the day.
Let us not lose sight of the priority of making disciples of all nations (people groups - including government leaders) and preaching the gospel to every creature.