THE CHRISTIAN LIFE – RESPONSIBILITY TOWARD GOVERNMENT – PART 3 (Romans 13:6-7)
INTRODUCTION:
Beginning two weeks ago on the first Sunday of February we began looking at two principles given in the first 7 verses of Romans 13. The first principle that Paul gave us in the form of a command was as Christians we have a responsibility to be in subjection to the governing authorities. This responsibility is so important to God that through Paul He gave seven reasons for us to obey and follow this command. That is what we have been looking at the last two weeks. This morning we come to the second principle that also concerns the Christian’s responsibility to government, the principle that Paul will lay out for us in verses 6-7 concerns the Christian’s responsibility to pay taxes. Benjamin Franklin said, “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” For the Christian not even death can be said to be certain, some who are still living at the rapture of the church will not even taste death, and even those who have died in Christ will be resurrected at the rapture. So, in this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except taxes. Let’s pray and see what Paul has to say about the Christian’s responsibility to pay taxes.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to Romans 13:1-7, I am going to read this whole passage but this morning we will be focusing on verses 6-7. Please stand, if you are able, in respect and honor of the reading of God’s Word. Follow along as I read.
Romans 13:1-7,
“Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.” (Romans 13:1–7, NASB95)[1]
YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO PAY TAXES (Romans 13:6-7)
Taxes are a part of life, we pay them every time we buy goods and services, we pay them to the federal government either through deductions by our employer or in the form of self-employment taxes. I am considered self-employed by the IRS, so I pay taxes quarterly to the government. No one likes paying taxes, but it is a part of life and as citizens it is appropriate to pay them, it is also appropriate for citizens, including Christians, to take advantage of deductions and other benefits that the law provides.
Many taxes that we pay may seem to be overly high, some may even be unjust. Even if taxes are justly collected, they may not be justly spent by the governing body. The only truly and completely just tax system that the world has ever known was the one that was embodied in the Mosaic law for ancient Israel, and it was completely just because it was designed by God for the people of Israel. Just as Paul did not make any qualifications on the governing authorities to which we are to be subject but includes them all no matter what kind of government they are, so Paul makes no exceptions in Romans 13:6-7 for the Christian to pay the taxes he is assessed.
Remember Paul was writing to the Christians in Rome, and the government that existed at that time was pagan, cruel, and dictatorial. Taxes were high, in nations that the empire had conquered, like Israel, nationals were appointed as the local IRS. Zacchaeus was such a man, an Israelite appointed to collect taxes for Rome. Matthew, the apostle, was a tax collector also until Jesus called him to be one of his disciples. These tax collectors were told each year how much they were to collect for Rome that year. They could charge any rate that they wanted and collect the tax as often as they wanted with the protection of Roman soldiers. Anything that they collected above the amount that was required by Rome that year they could keep for themselves. Because of this there was much abuse and tax collectors in Israel were more hated and despised then the Roman officials because they were fellow countrymen and were looked on as traitors working for the Romans. This is the situation and the culture for Paul’s teaching on the Christian’s responsibility to pay taxes.
The Principle Stated (Romans 13:6a)
Paul begins this section by simply stating the principle, he writes, “For because of this you also pay taxes…” (Romans 13:6a, NASB95)[2] This phrase “For because of this” refers back to the first 5 verses of this chapter, showing that just as it is a Christian’s obligation to submit to human authority, it is also the Christian’s obligation to pay taxes.
The Greek term translated “taxes” most often referred to taxes paid by an individual, this term was used frequently to refer to the taxes paid by citizens of a nation that had been conquered by another nation, a tax paid to their foreign conquerors. This tax was usually a combination of income and property tax. It was a term that could refer to any tax that was to be paid and in the context that is how Paul uses it here, it is to represent any tax that the Christian is obligated to pay, whether sales tax, property tax, or income tax.
This was not the first time that Israel had come under a tax to a foreign ruler, when they had gone into exile and then returned to rebuild the temple and the city walls, they were required to pay taxes to the Persian king in power who had given permission and made it possible for them to rebuild the temple and the walls. In Nehemiah 5:4 the people complained about the heavy taxation levied on them by Persia. Nehemiah writes, “Also there were those who said, ‘We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards.’” (Nehemiah 5:4, NASB95)[3]
Before any of this had taken place, God had through the Mosaic covenant given the nation of Israel a specific and detailed system of taxation. It consisted of 6 different taxes, 4 were collected annually, 1 was collected every third year and one every seven years. Two taxes were more indirect in nature. The first two collected annually were a tithe or a tenth. The first tenth was to support the priestly tribe of Levi, the priests, the chief priests, the high priest, and the Levites who worked at the temple as guards or singers or assistants to the priests. The second tenth was an annual festival tithe that provided the animals for the sacrifices. The third annual tax was to be paid by every male 20 years of age and older and it was a half-shekel yearly for the upkeep of the temple. The fourth tax which was collected every third year was a tithe that was to be gathered into your city and it was to feed the Levites in your town, the aliens, orphans, and widows. The fifth and sixth taxes were indirect taxes. The fifth tax was when you harvested you were to not harvest to the corner of your fields, nor pick up the gleanings from your fields, nor were you to go over the vines of your vineyards a second time or pick up any fallen fruit from vineyard or fruit trees, these were to be left for the poor, alien, orphan, and widow. The second indirect tax, or the sixth tax, was that a cultivated field was to lie fallow every seventh year. Anything that grew on it voluntarily was for the poor and what was left was for livestock to eat. If these 6 taxes were calculated they came to about 24 percent annually.
In the New Testament under Rome rule the tax system was different. However, the Romans did allow Israel to collect certain religious taxes. We have an interesting event during Jesus’ ministry, recorded in Matthew 17:24-27, tax collectors in Capernaum demanded the two-drachma temple tax from Jesus. He willingly paid it and the money was provided when Peter went to the sea of Galilee and threw in a fishing line, the first fish he caught had a coin in its mouth, a stater, which was worth four drachma, the amount needed to pay the tax for Jesus and Peter. Jesus used this to teach Peter that as the Son of God He was not obligated to pay a tax to support God’s own house, because it is not from sons that kings exact tax, but from subjects. But as the Son of Man, He did pay it so as not to offend the civil authorities and as an example to His disciples. This tax would go into the temple treasury where later the thirty pieces of silver would be taken from it to bribe Judas to betray Jesus.
This morning our Scripture reading was from another event during Jesus life. During the week following Jesus’ triumphal entry, often called the Passion week, the final week leading up to the crucifixion, during that week the Pharisees were determined to convict Jesus of a capital offense. From our Scripture reading this morning it says, “Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said. And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, ‘Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?’” (Matthew 22:15–17, NASB95)[4] Understand that the Pharisees were very pro-Israel, and they hated the Romans and the Roman occupation of Israel, so they knew that if they brought a charge of treason against Jesus that it would not be taken very seriously by the Roman authorities. This is most likely why they joined forces with the Herodians, a group they usually had nothing to do with. The Herodians were pro-Roman and as their name implies they supported the Herod kings, who were not only vassals of Rome, but were not even Jewish, but despised Idumeans. But if the Herodians brought a charge of treason it would be listened to and would lead to the conviction and execution of Jesus. Matthew goes on to write in verses 18-21, “But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, ‘Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax.’ And they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, ‘Whose likeness and inscription is this?’ They said to Him, ‘Caesar’s.’ Then He said to them, ‘Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.’” (Matthew 22:18–21, NASB95)[5] Now remember that this was the final week leading up to the death of Christ. Jesus knew that this week would end in His crucifixion so this answer that He gives was not given to protect His life, this is the same answer He would have given at any time during His earthly ministry. The point that Jesus is making is that paying taxes to the governing authorities, whoever they may be, is a God-ordained obligation. Jesus made this statement even though the Roman government was ruled by pagan, tyrannical, often unjust, cruel, and ruthless Caesars. The Caesar depicted on the coin given to Jesus was Caesar Augustus, who proclaimed himself the son of god, not even this fact did away with the obligation to pay taxes.
The Purpose For Paying Taxes (Romans 13:6b)
Paul after giving us the principle, that as Christians we have a responsibility, an obligation to pay taxes, then goes on to give us the purpose for paying taxes. Paul writes in the second half of verse 6, “… for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.” (Romans 13:6b, NASB95)[6] Paul uses the term rulers to refer to those who are the governing authorities. More than the rulers realize, and more than even the rest of unbelievers realize, as rulers, as governing authorities, they have a great responsibility. This responsibility does not concern itself with political rank, your qualification for the office, not even your moral, spiritual condition, or even your awareness of God. Paul writes here that those who receive the taxes that we pay are servants of God. The governing authorities, Paul said earlier, are ministers of God for good (Romans 13:4) and for this reason we pay taxes. Paul’s point again is that all those who are in positions of power and authority exist in those positions because God has put them there and therefore, they are His servants devoting themselves to His service. Most politicians and authorities would disagree with this, but Paul is clear that they serve as God’s servants in His service to see His purpose fulfilled on the earth, and as His servants we are to pay taxes to support their service.
Because the governing authorities are servants of God they should understand and realize that they serve only because God has put them in the positions they are in and as such they will be held accountable by God for serving responsibly for the good of society. Just a few of the things that the governing authorities will be accountable for will be to govern with justice, mercy, and compassion, to maintain order by just and firm enforcement of the law, punishing evil doers and commending those who do good, to not serve for their own benefit at the expense of their subjects, they are to sympathize with the needs of the people, to be truthful and they will be held accountable for enforcing public morality and decency. As Christians we need to pray for our governing authorities that they would realize they are accountable to God and as such they have a responsibility to govern for the good of the people to whom they serve.
The Particulars of Your Responsibility (Romans 13:7)
Paul in this final verse of this section of Romans 13 mentions some particulars that have to do both with paying taxes and being in subjection to governing authorities. He does this to tie all seven of these verses together. He writes, “Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.” (Romans 13:7, NASB95)[7] The word translated “render” is a word that means in part to pay back what is owed, or it implies the payment of an incurred obligation, Paul then reinforces this word by adding the phrase, “to all what is due them.” In other words, Paul is stating that taxes are not voluntary, they are not optional gifts that we might give to support our governing authorities. They are no more optional than the required tithes were under the mosaic covenant. Taxes are the obligation of every citizen, no matter the type of government. For Christians this is not just a moral obligation, but also a spiritual obligation because we know from this passage and from the teaching of Jesus that God requires us to pay taxes.
The word that Paul uses here for taxes is the same one mentioned in verse 6. Frequently, this tax was a combination of an income and property tax that was paid by individuals to their foreign rulers. This was the tax Jews had to pay to Rome. Paul is clear when he says that Christians are to pay tax to everyone to whom tax is due. The term “custom” referred to a goods tax that was paid directly to the foreign official or their vassals in your country of origin. So, if you lived in southern Israel it would be paid to the governor or procurator, if you lived in one of the regions ruled by the Herods your payment would go to them. These taxes are to be paid without grumbling to whom they are legally due.
Paul in the next two obligations is not speaking directly about paying taxes but rather what the Christian’s attitude should be to those governing authorities who are receiving our tax payments. In other words, what are we to render to the public official, Paul tells us, what is due them. First, he tells us to render fear to whom fear is due. This word that is translated “fear” is a broad word that can refer to everything from reverence and awe to absolute terror. Paul had already spoken of the need to fear governing authorities if your behavior was bad, but here I believe Paul is more referring to a respect for the office that these officials hold and the responsibility they have in their position. Show them respect in how we speak about them, not slandering them or belittling them with derogatory remarks. Second, Paul writes that we are to render honor to whom honor is due. The word translated “honor” here as to do with the value of something, it speaks of high esteem, this honor must be genuine, it is not something that we fake, we honor those officials for the positions they hold and in doing so we show that we honor God who established the officials in those positions of power and authority.
CONCLUSION:
This concludes Paul’s teaching on the Christian’s responsibility to human government. Paul’s teaching on this was without regard to the kind of government under which you live. Paul laid out for us two principles that we are responsible to carry out in regard to government. The first principle is that we are to be in subjection to the governing authorities. Paul gave us this principle as a command from the Lord and then seven reasons that we are to obey this command. We spent two weeks covering the first principle and the reasons to obey it. Paul wants us to understand that as Christians we should seek to live peaceful lives in our society and one of the ways we do this is by obeying the laws, mandates, and restrictions given to us by our governing authorities, and when I say we are to obey them, this means when we are in public and in our private life as well. This means even when you think that the laws, mandates, and restrictions are senseless and meaningless. We are not called to make sense of it, we are called by God to obey.
The second principle which is the Christian’s responsibility or obligation is to pay taxes. This is our duty as Christians as Christ gave us the example of rendering to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. This is how we practically live out all that Paul taught us about salvation and justification, and sanctification and glorification in the first 11 chapters of this book. When we live the Christian life in the practical ways that Paul teaches here it is so that we are an example and a witness to the evil society around us of the power of God to save sinners and then to show by our changed life what a disciplined, obedient, Spirit-controlled Christian looks like as we wait for the return of our Savior and Lord to take us to our true home where we will enjoy our true citizenship in His kingdom for eternity.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.