The Christians Response to Government part 2: Paying Taxes
Notes
Transcript
Last week we looked at the example we should show others by submitting and following those who are over us by law.
We talked about how we cant have a good rep-ore with them or be a good example if we are law breakers ourselves.
This morning what we are looking at is what the Bible says about paying taxes.
The Principle of Paying Taxes (13:6a)
The Principle of Paying Taxes (13:6a)
It is because of our example that we should set in submitting to the government that we are also called to pay what we owe in taxes.
Paying them is part of the general obligation that we talked about last week.
Paying taxes was just something that was set up by the government.
God issued taxes to the children of Israel long before they ever had a king.
There were four overt taxes and two indirect taxes that the Lord leveled for the people.
The Tithe or tenth tax (Lev 27:30)
30 “Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord.
b. The Festival Tithe Deut 12:11
11 then to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, and all your finest vow offerings that you vow to the Lord.
c. The widows and orphans Tithe every third year. Deut 14:29
29 And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.
d. The half-shekel tax Ex 30:14
14 Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the Lord’s offering.
Indirect Taxes
a. To leave some of their crops unharvested for the poor.
b. every seventh year you had to let your fields go fallow and what ever grew that year was allowed to be harvested by the poor.
In all total this would have been about 24% of a households income.
This shows that taxes are meant to be used for good and for the care of the people.
God put these taxes in place to take care of the men of God, the places of God, and the people of God.
We even see Jesus pay a temple tax in the NT, He did not need to pay it as the Son of God but as the Son of man He did.
Jesus paid the tax so He did not break the law and set a good example for His followers.Matt 17:27
27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”
Jesus knew that paying a tax to the government is a God-ordained obligation. we must do what it says in Matt 22:18-21
18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
The Purpose of Taxes (13:6b)
The Purpose of Taxes (13:6b)
Government authorities have a much greater responsibility than they and the rest of the unbelieving world realize.
Regardless of their political rank, personal qualification, or even their morality, spirituality, or personal awareness, officials who collect taxes are servants of God.
If we look at the word servant here it is not translated Doulos which is the word for servant throughout the NT but here the word is leitourgos which means a person who serves at their own expense.
Human rulers are held to high standards when it comes to God using them to rule.
4 Thus says the Lord:
“For three transgressions of Judah,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they have rejected the law of the Lord,
and have not kept his statutes,
but their lies have led them astray,
those after which their fathers walked.
2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”
Although Christians are to be submissive to civil leaders, they also are compelled, like the prophets to speak out against authority that is unrighteous.
The Particulars of Taxes (13:7)
The Particulars of Taxes (13:7)
In his last statement about our submission to government Paul mentions several particulars about paying taxes.
We are to render to all what is due them. In taxes.
The word here for render is the word Apodidomi which carries the idea of paying back something that is owed, and that meaning is reinforced by the phrase “what is due them.”
The Tax that we owe is rightfully the governments from the beginning.
Next is Customs.
This is a tax on goods or tolls that allow the government to maintain and build new systems that the people use.
The next 2 things are not things we owe to the government but are about our attitude towards public officials.
The first is to render fear or respect to those that it is due.
We must show respect for those people who’s job it is to collect and levee taxes.
The second is Honor
Which is to say that if we deal with them honorably then they will also show us honor.
We must remember that we are also servants of Christ and how we conduct ourselves is what people see of Him.
He paid the temple tax to the ones who hung with on the cross, and the 30 pieces of silver that was used to betray Him were also temple money.