Grace Church
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Burlington, WI 53105

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Do Heavenly Citizens have to pay Earthly Taxes? Luke 20:20-26 Sermon 12 October 12, 2008 A businessman on his deathbed called his friend and said, “Bill, I want you to promise me that when I die, you’ll cremate my remains.” His friend asked, “So what do you want me to do with your ashes?” The businessman replied, “Put them in an envelope, mail them to the IRS, and then write on the envelope, ‘Now, you have everything’.”   Did you know that, “All the taxes paid over a lifetime by the average American are spent by the government in less than a second.” According to Peter Ferrara, general counsel for AMERICANS FOR TAX REFORM, "Federal, state, and local taxes consume about 40 percent of the income of the average family. That is more than the average family spends on food, clothing, and shelter combined."   With a tax system that is so burdensome and often so intrusive, is it any wonder that even believers ask, "Should a believer pay taxes – particularly to a system that is often so anti-biblical and anti-God?" But the question isn’t new. Jesus' enemies asked Him the same question 2000 years ago, Luke 20:20-26 (p. 744).   Paying taxes has never been popular. They’re not a donation or a voluntary contribution. But failing to pay them or paying less than you're supposed to is a sure way to get the government's attention. You'll quickly learn how strongly the government feels about the payment of taxes.   This dialogue in Luke 20 about taxes is so important that it’s recorded in all three of the Synoptic Gospels; Matthew, Mark and Luke. It’s interesting too that this was man's question of Jesus, not Jesus' question of us. We're the ones who are consumed with politics and political questions...just look at the newspapers, listen to the nightly news, listen to those running for office today. Taxes come up in nearly every political speech.   Believers through the ages have struggled with this issue. The Jews of Jesus’ day wondered if they had to pay taxes to a pagan Roman government. As America moves further from a Judeo-Christian ethic, many Christians are wondering the same thing. Do Heavenly Citizens have to pay Earthly Taxes? If you’re taking notes… 1. Heavenly citizens have earthly responsibilities, vss. 21-22. “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” There's nothing like taxes to tempt us to fudge the truth! A cartoon showed a man sitting in front of an IRS agent who said, "Let's begin with where you claim depreciation on your wife." Now don't get any ideas, husbands!   This question asked by Jesus’ enemies is culturally rooted. Our own American heritage helps us have some appreciation of the issues involved. America was founded by English citizens who’d become discontent with the British Government and life in the old country. They set out for the new world. But when they arrived in America, the British government continued to view these people as British citizens under their authority, and thus obligated to pay taxes. This irritated the Americans, who felt that Britain was very far away, that they had no representation in that government, and thus, this taxation was unfair. All of this exploded in the American Revolution. The Declaration of Independence was a declaration of independence from British rule.   In our scene in Luke the Jews had more than irritation with the Roman government to spur thoughts of independence. God Himself founded the nation, beginning with the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant, being realized at the Exodus, and having several times been threatened by the captivity which came upon Israel due to their disobedience to God's Law. Old Testament prophets promised Israel that there would be a kingdom, based upon a new covenant, and that God would raise up Messiah to rule on the throne of David. Jesus’ introduction by John the Baptist, along with the public ministry of Jesus and His miracles, bore testimony to His identity as Messiah. His triumphal entry into Jerusalem was the high point in His public ministry. The hopes of many were greatly fueled. Many thought Jesus had come to establish the promised Kingdom and to throw off all foreign dominion. They were expecting a kind of "declaration of independence" from Rome. It’s not surprising then to have Jesus asked His opinion of taxes. As taxation was the sore point in the American Revolution, it was no different and even greater in Jesus’ day.     Taxes are a very pragmatic matter. Governments don’t run without money, tax money. But paying one's taxes is also a symbolic act, evidencing one’s submission to the one who is paid. Paying taxes is a practical acknowledgment of that government's right to rule over us and of our submission to its authority.   Specifically, Jesus is being asked whether or not a law-abiding Jew (one keeping the Law of Moses) should pay taxes to Caesar? There are greater questions at issue though. The bigger questions have to do with the relationship between heavenly citizens and earthly government. The question also has ramifications for Church and State relationships. It was a hot issue in Jesus' day and is still a hot issue today: How should one who trusts in God's Messiah to relate to pagan governments?   As Paul reminds us that though we are not of this world, God does not want us to “leave” this world. We are to be “in” the world, yet not “of” the world. Because we’re “in” the world, we have certain responsibilities, functions and obligations that we need answers for. A major concern is: What is the believer’s responsibility to human government?  This question in Luke 20 opens the door for a legitimate discussion on an important and valid issue. We are “in” this world, thus, it is imperative that we, as Heavenly people know our earthly responsibilities.   a) Each of us has responsibilities to God-ordained authority. Jesus replied, “Show me a denarius.” The image on this coin would have been of Tiberius, the reigning Emperor, though all the emperors were called Caesar. On one side of the coin would be the inscription, “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus, Augustus.” On the reverse side would be the inscription “the high priest of the Roman nation.”   Coinage is a sign of power. Whenever someone conquered a nation, the first thing he did was to issue a new coinage. It was a guarantee of governmental authority. Wherever the coin was used, the government’s power had dominion. Because a coin had the king’s head on it, it was held, in some sense, to be the property of the king and to be his personal property. By using the money of Caesar, these Jews were acknowledging his political power in Palestine. It even had Caesar’s name on it. By giving it back to him, you are giving back to him that which is rightfully his.   Jesus assumes the validity of the State and its demands, even when it’s controlled by a man who thinks he is a god. Even a poorly run state is better than no state at all. Apart from the laws of the state, life would be chaos. The state also provides many vital services, water supplies, sewage systems, roads, transportation systems, fire and police protection, military protection, etc. And while sometimes we may feel like P. J. O’Rourke when it comes to taxes, “Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys,” our feelings do not alter the Biblical truth that believers have responsibilities to human government.   This tension about what are our responsibilities are is not new. D. L. Moody was once reprimanded by an overly pious Christian, when Moody told the man he was on his way to the polls to vote. This pharisaical believer said, “Mr. Moody, do you not know that your citizenship is in heaven?” The ever practical evangelist replied, “Yes, I know that, but remember that I own property in CookCounty (Chicago).”   Warren Wiersbe shares of carrying on a brief correspondence with a man who objected to Wiersbe’s interpretation of Romans 13. This man said all government was of the devil and that Christians must not bow to the authority of “the powers that be.” Wiersbe pointed out that even this man’s use of the United State’s mail service was an acceptance of governmental authority. The money he’d spent buying the paper and stamps also come from “the powers that be.” And for that matter, the very freedom he had to express himself was a right guaranteed by – the government!   Jesus does the same thing when He asks His inquisitors for a coin. Remember the Jews were still under Mosaic Law, thus, their interpretation of the 10 Commandments and the prohibition in the 2nd commandment against “graven images” (Ex. 20:4) caused them to violently oppose, at the cost of their lives, even allowing banners with Caesar’s image to enter Jerusalem. Yet they carried it on coins in their pockets every day. Can you see one of them, without thinking, reaching into his robe to pull out a small silver denarius? There’s a touch of humor here. Jesus ends up embarrassing His challengers. It’s they, not He, who are the ones carrying the offensive coin. Any scruples against it cannot be their own. The very ones who hated Caesar’s image are willing to make an exception for coinage showing that they really valued money more than they valued the Law. They already paid a kind of tribute to Caesar just by possessing his coin.   Jesus could have stopped right there and made His point, but He didn’t. He went on to ask whose image was on the coin and what super-inscription. They replied, “Caesar's.” Jesus then answered by giving a proverbial saying that has become one of the great “sound bites” of world history, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.” Jesus says the dilemma is a “both/and” not an “either/or.” With His unique wisdom Jesus doesn’t lay down black and white rules. That’s why His teaching is timeless and never outdated. He outlays some vital principles to help us navigate between the two worlds of our civil and spiritual responsibilities.   b) It’s dishonest to accept the benefits of the State and then opt out of our responsibilities to the State. Roman government brought a sense of security the ancient world had never before known. Pirates and bandits were cleared out, civil wars settled. It was the time of the “pax Romana,” the peace of Rome. The same is true today. We can’t honorably receive all the benefits which living in the U.S. brings us, and then opt of our responsibilities of citizenship.   While these are not absolutes and there are exceptions, believers are to be submissive to governmental authority and obey it. We’re to be significantly different in that we are law-abiding, not cheat on our taxes, show respect to government officials, participate in elections and pray for those who rule over us. We are to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. Our faith should make us better citizens, not worse ones.   c) God has commanded us to pay taxes, vs. 25, Jesus “said to them, ‘Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s’.” Romans 13:5-7, “Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue.” No one likes taxes. Poor people don't like to pay taxes. When they start out with a little and have to pay taxes, they end up with even less. Rich people don't like to pay taxes because the more they have the more tax they have to pay. Everyone is negative about taxes. America was founded as a protest against taxation.     Yet in spite of our desire to be free from taxation, we, of course, are encumbered by it of necessity, and the matter of taxes faces us all the time, not just on April 15th each year but all of the time. Every time you buy gas, or clothing or any other item that you purchase in a store, every time you buy a car, purchase property, you’re paying taxes. It's a constant of our society. Every day of our lives, we spend some money that goes for taxes.   Because we resent paying taxes, we’re tempted to sin to avoid paying them. There are lots of illegal ways to avoid paying tax. I’ve known folk over the years that have gotten into serious trouble with the IRS. It’s estimated that there are more crimes committed in our country with reference to taxes than any other crime category. Our government employs thousands of people who do nothing but try to catch citizens cheating on their taxes. The estimated gap between what is paid and what ought to be paid in taxes is $93 billion. That's how much is defrauded from our government by its own citizens who cheat on their income tax, $93 billion! 20% of the people interviewed by the IRS admit to cheating and another 40% of those interviewed say they believe that everybody cheats.    We live in a society that doesn't like to pay taxes and does everything they can to avoid them, both legally and illegally. A Christian does not have that option! We’re commanded to pay our taxes whether we agree with our government's usage of our tax money, or its policies, or even think that there are many things that our government does that we don't want to support, we’re still commanded to pay our taxes! We’re to allow them to take it and use it even in ways that we don't agree with.   God’s Word is explicit. It commands us to pay our taxes. If we could rationalize today on reasons why we should not pay our taxes, the people in Paul’s day could even more so. Their government was much worse than ours. Roman government deified Caesar, making him a god. So when you paid your taxes, it was an act of worship given to the emperor and a form of idolatry. Government waste, pork, kickbacks and graft were common. The Roman government ran a welfare state and was plagued with millions of indigent people who made no contribution economically to their society. Rome supported slavery and was both cruel and abusive. It also used its money to promote pagan religion. But that was not the issue. It wasn't the issue in the time of our Lord or during the days of Paul, and it isn't the issue today. We have a simple command that says pay your taxes!   In Romans 13 we’re commanded to support government by paying our taxes because they’re serving God. Government is ordained by God for the preservation of life and property. Those who collect taxes to keep the government going, do so as ministers of God. That’s doesn’t mean they’re Christians or that they’re going to do everything they should. It does mean though that, in the design of government, they serve a divine purpose.  d) Obeying God does not mean that we make extra governmental donations. Sometimes, despite objections from the IRS, taxpayers get to write off some oddball items. Now you can’t claim a deduction for blood donations at the Red Cross, or the wedding gift for the boss's daughter as an employee business expense. But a couple who owned a junkyard were allowed to write off the cost of cat food they set out to attract wild cats. The feral felines did more than just eat. They also took care of snakes and rats on the property, making the place safer for customers. A pro bodybuilder used body oil to make his muscles glisten in the lights during his competitions and the Tax Court ruled he could deduct the cost of the oil as a business expense. Though they did frown on his deductions for buffalo meat and special vitamin supplements to enhance strength and muscle development. And you’ll be glad to know that babysitting costs which are paid to a babysitter to enable a mother to get out of the house to do volunteer work for a charity are deductible as charitable contributions.     Please remember. A tax is not a gift or a donation. If we can avoid paying taxes legitimately, we should. When the government provides deductions and means by which we can avoid paying certain taxes, we ought to be good stewards of all that we have and take advantage of that.     e) Heavenly Citizens must sometimes resist earthly authority. It’s one thing for government to require its citizens to owe taxes, it is quite another thing when a government thinks they have the right to own people. This is only the prerogative of God. The coin has the government's image stamped on it; every human being has God's image created in him/her. While governmental authority is divinely ordained, it’s also a limited authority.   As believers, we must resist authority when we’re asked to violate a command of God. Peter summed it up for us in Acts 5:29 “We must obey God rather than men!” We must also resist when we are asked to do an immoral act, whether it be sexual immorality or an unethical act. We also must not violate our consciences to obey government. Now this is for each believer’s conscience to test. It might mean refusing to fight in what you believe is an unjust war. This is why it’s so imperative that Christians immerse themselves in God's Word so that our ethics are radically Biblical.    f) God's eternal authority is superior to temporary governmental authority. We are also to "give to...God what is God's." I wonder if Jesus flipped the denarius over where it said, "the high priest of the Roman nation" when He uttered that phrase, giving a powerful object lesson. The State tends to overreach its authority, dominating the family and the Church. By this inscription Caesar was encroaching on God's sphere, the spiritual sphere. When the State moves from the sphere God has assigned to it, it becomes demonic, as we see at the end of the age in the book of the Revelation (chapter 13). Just a few days later this would be demonstrated as Caesar's authority was used to crucify Christ. Their very question was part of the Jews’ hellish plot to use the state to destroy God's Son.   The denarius was Caesar's coinage, Man is God's coinage. We bear His image and we owe God what belongs to Him, our lives and our allegiance. This, to Jesus, was the crucial issue. When they produced the forbidden coin, Jesus asked them whose image was stamped on it. The Greek word used here for image is eikon. It was a code word for the Jews, because it carried with it the rich meaning inherent in the Creation account, where it says God created human beings in His own image, His own eikon. Literally, we are eikons of God. When Jesus referred to the eikon on the coin, He was alluding to Creation. Because we bear His image, there’s not a secular arena beyond the interest of God. Everything we are reflects on God, the One to which all things are ultimately accountable. For God there is no graven image…there’s only you and me. While emperors have their coins, God has us. And we know that regardless of whose image is on the coin temporarily, even the coin ultimately belongs to God. What we do with the coin, therefore, is not governed by the emperor alone, but by God. Whether we pay taxes or not does not depend on our relationship with the emperor, but on our relationship with God.   Much harm has been done by people who have tried to divide life into two parts–the sacred/spiritual part about which God truly cares and the secular/worldly part about which God doesn't care as much. For example, a young adult is choosing a life career either as a politician or a pastor. Most believers, without any hesitation would say, "Be a pastor." But why would they say that? Because they think that being a pastor is a holier calling than being a politician. They're wrong!   Martin Luther rightly taught that every calling in life can render service to God. He said there is no higher or lower calling, but all callings are equal in the sight of God. The issue is not the calling but the faithfulness one renders to God as a bearer of His image in whatever calling one follows.   Christians are "dual citizens" of both heaven and earth – but our foremost responsibility is to "Give to...God what is God's." It’s His image we bear. 2. Tax exemption is an American privilege, not a Biblical right. One of the oft-cited criticisms of Christians is that they attend churches that should be forced to pay their fair share of taxes. But when the United States was founded, the framers of the constitution wanted to protect churches from governmental influence. The 1st amendment specifically states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This protected the churches from the intrusive hand of the state.   Critics argue that exemptions are given as a legislative grace in return for specified public services which government would have to provide. But the Supreme Court held in a 1970 case that traditional property-tax exemptions for churches are constitutional, rejecting the notion that exemptions are a legislative grace. That argument may have its merits in reference to colleges, hospitals, or libraries, but it’s not applicable to churches, since government could not constitutionally set up or operate a church to provide the religious services churches provide. Churches don’t pay taxes because they don’t have any net income. When they do make a profit in an unrelated business enterprise, they pay taxes on it. The rest of the time, churches should be tax exempt. The concept behind tax exemption for non-profits is that entities such as the Red Cross are going to do more good in the community than the taxes that might be collected from them would provide. But while it may be an American right, Biblically, it is a privilege, not a right. There is no Biblical command for a church to be tax exempt.   Personally, I believe it’s likely that churches like ours will lose their tax exemption in the future. Sadly, though, I fear some Christians will stop giving if their church should lose its tax exemption and they no longer receive tax credit for their gift. In coming days tax exemption could become a millstone around our necks. Many churches and Christians will shrink in fear from taking a stand on Biblical and moral issues in order to protect their “tax exemption.”   Pastors from the founding of our country, like John Leland, would be appalled at this modern surrender of religious freedom of speech. These men of God were willing to be jailed or even hung before they were willing to be licensed or muzzled by Caesar, who had no authority over when, where or what they could preach. As recently as 1920, George Truett, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Dallas went on the steps of the US Capitol and demanded that Caesar keep his millstone off the church’s neck.   I’m glad that we have tax exemption in this country but we must not let a dread of losing it intimidate the Church into silence about Biblical positions on public policy issues. We dare not surrender our Biblical responsibility birthright in exchange for a bowl of tax-exemption pottage. Conclusion: As believers, we must pay our taxes willingly, for we know it’s not the nature of government that we are endorsing, it’s the will of God! Since the will of God is that we give to Caesar, then the activity becomes more than just a compulsory duty, it’s an act of obedience, worship and praise to God. In his commentary on Romans, Charles Cranfield, wrote, “Whereas the pagan fulfills his obligation to the state…for fear of punishment and perhaps also because he realizes that the state is, on the whole, beneficial to society, the Christian has a further, and all-important, reason for fulfilling his obligation to it, namely, his knowledge of the secret of the relation in which it stands to God and to Christ.”   Taxes are also a blessing in that they are reminder of the goodness of God. You see, in many ways, paying taxes is symbol of victory.   Let me illustrate. For more than three decades, as director of the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants, Theodore Flynn had never come across someone actually eager to pay taxes. People just don't like to write checks to the government. But then Theodore Flynn met Stephen Webb. Unlike the vast majority who dread paying taxes, Stephen Webb savored the moment. You see, at 50 years of age, Stephen Webb wrote a check to the government for the very first time in his life. It wasn’t much - $326.58 - but he was proud finally to be giving something back.   For years, Stephen Webb has been on the opposite end, receiving instead of contributing cash to the nation's treasury. But like a growing number of welfare recipients coaxed off federal and state aid in recent years, Webb managed to find a decent job. After years of living in homeless shelters and fighting alcoholism, he completed a training program at Boston's St. Francis House and found several jobs doing data entry.   We are to pay taxes because God command us to. And taxes are a blessing in that they remind us that we have something to be taxed. They remind us that God has not only supplied our needs but most of our wants. So when you send that check in to the IRS, take a moment and thank God that you have something that He has given you for which you can be taxed!