"Render Unto Caesar..."
If we are sincere in our desire to honor and obey God we must ask ourselves what God requires of us on this issue of taxes. If you have not wrestled with this question, studied scripture and the law ( and I think history as well ) you should before you take OR continue on any particular course of action. One thing is clear, as Christians we must pay every tax we are REQUIRED to BY LAW. On that point there appears to be no question. I have taken the time to study the scripture and the law and can say in good conscience I pay EVERY tax I am REQUIRED by law to pay. Have you? If not, let me invite you to look more closely and see if we can gain a clearer understanding.
Before we look at the related passages we must first understand some basics. (If you wish to go directly to the biblical passages related to this question click here). Unlike Biblical times our form of government does not include a Caesar, King, dictator or the like. At least not at this time. (though based on their actions, recent administrations have appeared to think so). The founders of our country however did come from a form of government that included a King. They well understood and experienced the pitfalls of this type of government first hand. Therefore history indicates after much thought and struggle, they decided to create a new form of government. This was a primary reason they broke off from British rule. Ultimately the American Revolution was the result of that decision. Eventually the founders set up a government "by the people and for the people" where citizens were the sovereigns instead of any one man. And that God was the ultimate authority and ruler of them as individuals and of their government. Our government was not set up to be a Kingdom or a dictatorship, not a democracy as commonly put forth, but a Republic, governed BY LAW under God.
Built into our form of government is what is referred to as "separation of powers." This involves three branches of government, the executive (President and friends), the legislative (The lawmakers. Congress, consisting of the Senate and the House of representatives), and the judicial (Our Federal Court system with the Supreme Court at the top). This is what is meant by the expression, "checks and balances." Our form of government does not allow power to be "centralized," i.e. lie with any one body of persons much less with any one person. Why? The old saying goes, "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Our founders understood the true condition of fallen human nature not only from Holy Scripture but first hand experience under British rule and therefore designed our government accordingly.
So in our system of government, who or what is Caesar? In other words where or in what does the governing authority lie? To whom or what are the citizens to give their allegiance to? In a Republic it is the written law, **NOT the policies, opinions or whims of any man or group of men. In the case of our country that "law of the land" is The Constitution of the United States. All those who serve in our government derive their authority from the people. And the people via representative government wrote up this one document called The Constitution of the United States. Those who govern must swear under oath to uphold The Constitution of the United States. If they do not they are to be considered traders and have committed treason against the citizens of this country. So if "the law of the land" is OUR Caesar here in Northern America, we must render to The Constitution what IT requires of us if we wish to obey God and His word. To do that we must first find out what our "Caesar" says belongs to "him." Not what some government agency SAYS, the courts, (remember the **Congress MAKES the law, NOT the courts. They are for the administration of justice or the application of the law) a CPA, or an attorney and so on. As a Republic, the law as written is the final authority. But something appears to have gone seriously awry.
** Congress has been given the authority by the Constitution [and therefore by the people who created the Constitution via representation] to make laws but all laws must be in agreement with the Constitution. This is why we will hear from time to time that some law is "Unconstitutional." Laws are not just created out of thin air. If they are not in agreement, they are considered repugnant to the Constitution and therefore void. The Constitution is the highest authority and the final "acid test" for the validity of any and all laws. Even our various State Constitutions must be in agreement with the US Constitution.
Our country and it's form of government have been referred to as "the great experiment." Do you know why? In 1787, after leaving the only Constitutional Convention in our history Benjamin Franklin was asked what form of government was decided on. (The people were eagerly waiting to know because they understood that we had broken away from England in part due to its oppressive form of government i.e. the oppression of the King. Remember, prior to the American Revolution, we were a British Colony. Most came to America for freedom. FREEDOM of religion/worship being a primary dream.) Franklin's reply was, "a Republic, if we can keep it." What did he mean? What is it we need to do to keep it?
We are told that Thomas Jefferson once said, "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." Because we were set up as a government of law by and for the people through representation, it was necessary for the citizenry to take an active role in order for our form of government to work. The founders clearly understood this and made the above statements for that very reason. They knew our form of government, a Republic, would only work as long as the people/citizens/sovereigns did what was necessary to maintain freedom. At one time in our history virtually every household had a copy of the Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, a law dictionary as well as a Bible. And these didn't sit collecting dust, the people were vigilant and KNEW them. ( Their primary form of education and recreation was reading, not TV). Because of these things our country went on to become the greatest example of a free society in the world. This in turn allowed us to become the greatest economic power in the world as well. So much so that thousands left the familiarity of their home land to come to this country in search of the "Great American Dream." French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi even honored us with the Statue of Liberty in 1886 because of the beacon of freedom we had become. Freedom was highly appreciated and valued then. But, is that still true today? Or have we substituted the love of freedom with the love of personal comfort and affluence instead?
We the people of this still great country have been entrusted with this precious thing called freedom. But we must realize the less responsibility we take for our God given freedoms, the more someone else is willing to step in and "take responsibility" for us. When this happens freedoms are lost. Today we are in the mess we are in large part because the people and more particularly the church, ( universal, not a particular denomination ) have fallen asleep at the switch and taken our freedoms for granted. I think this is due in great part to a kind of "last days madness" promoted by prominent leaders in the church and even a very popular series of books addressing "the last days" that has sweep through the majority of conservative Christian churches. As a result many believe this world is destined for destruction so why bother to advance God's Kingdom and righteousness. As someone once said, "why polish the brass on a sinking ship?" This was a similar attitude within the Thessalonian church, which Paul rebuked. This also flies in the face of Christ's clear teaching that we are to put our talents to work until He returns or that we are to be salt and light in the world or that the gates of hell will not stand up to the advancement of God's Kingdom via the church. The advancement of God's Kingdom is not automatic however. We must trust and obey Him in order for His Kingdom to advance. The question is will it advance with you and without you.
The irony of freedom is it is never free or easy to keep or to come by. As the quote in a previous paragraph suggests, there is a price. We may not have paid it, but someone did. And if we are to keep our freedom there must be continued diligence. Because we have lived in freedom for so long in this country we think it is "a given." IT IS NOT NOW AND NEVER HAS BEEN. Many in our past made huge sacrifices to the point of giving up their very lives so you and I might be free. ( For a good refresher on these things I highly recommend the movie, "The Patriot" or "Braveheart" starring Mel Gibson ). If we the people will not resume our God given responsibility of being good stewards of what He has entrusted to us, what residual freedoms we still have will in time disappear. If you have been paying attention you know they have already been disappearing ever faster as time moves on. That includes the freedom of religion, the freedom of speech and certainly freedom of the press along with all the others. That means sites like this or anything or anyone else that questions the actions of those in government may be censored and the persons speaking up could possibly be imprisoned. (I had a visit from the Department of the Treasury over a dozen times, not to mention visits by the Department of Justice and FINCIN on several occasions. In all those visits I have NEVER once received a reply to my request for input on the disclaimer page if my site has errors in it. Apparently they are visiting to increase their understanding of the law and truth.) And if you think you have real freedom today, try speaking out about any law that is contrary to God's law and see what happens.
If you wish to worship God as your conscience dictates you may not be able to do so publicly in time. If you don't believe that is possible you have not studied history very closely or looked at the world today or the direction our own country has been going since "9 11." The conditions I have just described exist at this present time in many countries and many are dying today because of the lack of freedom. If things are going to turn back to government "by the people and for the people" I personally believe it will have to start with those who profess to know the God of the Bible. Thankfully, the founding of our country and it's freedom came about through a very active minority and by God's grace freedom will be restored and maintained in the same way again. But if "the people" and particularly the church don't wake up, we will find ourselves on the outside looking in. If safety is more important then freedom, we may in time lose both. As Samuel Adams so prophetically stated, "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen."
Some have argued that it is pointless to go back to a Constitutional form of government. The masses are ignorant and apathetic. But does that mean we do nothing and just watch our freedoms evaporate? Thomas Jefferson stated, "I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of society but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their indiscretion".
Remember when the people of Israel wanted a King. Samuel warned them in I Sam. 8:6 But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. ( emphasis added ) 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do." 10 Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day." 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles." 21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king." Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Everyone go back to his town." (NIV)
Are we no better then the Israelites in this instance? Have we also forgotten and rejected God and His gift of freedom? Are we trading our freedom for convenience? Do we love our comfort and tranquility more then obedience to God? Do we no longer want the responsibility of doing what is right and necessary but instead are willing to let the government make decisions for us? To be King over us and make decisions contrary to His Law? Decisions God has entrusted us to make ourselves under His direction? Is the government our Savior or is God Almighty Himself? These are searching questions we must ask ourselves. If we do not, we may wake up finding we can no longer worship God freely.
So what of this question of taxes. What does the Constitution say regarding this subject? Until you can answer that question in an informed and intelligent manner, you can not determine what is required of you as a citizen much less as a Christian. Are you the person by law required to file and pay the 1040 tax? The rest of this site will address the question of what the law actually says. But for a summary you will find the pages, "Tax Basics 101," "The law says WHAT?!" and "10,000 Reward page" a good start.
Now lets take a closer look at some bible passages on the question of taxes along with the passage regarding "render to Caesar..."
Matt. 17:24 and following says,24 "After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?" 25 "Yes, he does," he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. ( other translations and particularly "The Message" give a better sense of the original and render it, "But as soon as they were in the house, Jesus confronted him...") "What do you think, Simon?" he asked. "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes--from their own sons or from others?" 26 "From others," Peter answered. "Then the sons are exempt," Jesus said to him. 27 "But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours." (NIV)
It is interesting to note a few of things in this passage.
1. Christ's quick querying of Peter was a mild rebuke to Peter for speaking before thinking. (A common characteristic of Peter). Christ used this as an opportunity to instruct Peter.
2. Kings do not collect taxes from their own but others and therefore the sons are exempt. Most Christians simply read right over this and only see the next sentence. What Christ is saying is both Christ and Peter, "sons" of Israel, are not obligated to pay but are exempt from this tax. Which raises the question, why did Christ instruct Peter to pay it. We will address that shortly.(It just so happens the son's being exempt is also the case in our system when you study what the law REALLY says. It is the foreigner, the non-resident alien, the "other" who are required to file and not the sons (Not literal sons but the offspring of the country if you will, i.e. its citizens). It makes one wonder how aware the founders were of this passage when writing the Constitution. You could make the argument that they patterned our tax system after it)
3. Christ did not use his or Peters own money or even money from the disciples "treasury" but Peter got it out of the mouth of a fish. (As a humorous aside could we say from this passage that it takes nothing short of a miracle to pay taxes. Just a thought.) Why not their own money and why didn't Christ have Peter pay for all the rest of the disciples and not just for Himself and Peter? How Christ handled this whole event as well as his querying Peter and then accepting his reply, indicates paying the tax was not a requirement. Christ's reason for instructing Peter to pay the tax appears to be for other reasons.
First, Christ used Peter's error as an opportunity to teach Peter an important lesson. As he often did, Peter spoke without thinking, creating a problem, so Peter needed to resolve it as well, therefore Christ's unusual instructions for Peter to get the money out of the mouth of a fish and pay it. Secondly, since Peter had already committed the Lord to paying this tax by saying, "yes he pays it" obligating both himself and Peter, Christ had Peter pay it to avoid offending someone for the sack of the gospel. (have you ever had someone volunteer you for something without getting your permission?) This makes even more sense when you consider Jesus said earlier in Matt 5:37 "But let your "yes" be "yes" and your "no" be "no". I think it's fair to say, if Peter had instead said, "you will have to ask my Lord", rather then speaking for Christ, Christ would have responded to the inquirers the same as he did Peter by asking them, "From who do the kings of the earth collect..." If their response was correct, as was Peter's, by their own reply they would have acknowledged the tax wasn't required ( the sons are exempt ) and therefore neither Christ or Peter would have paid the tax. But for the reasons mentioned above Christ did instruct Peter to pay it, but not because it was required.
In a different passage, Luke 19:2-10 it is also interesting to note that Zacchaeus the tax collector was hated by all and referred to as a sinner. Christ's response was that he had come to save those who were lost, i.e. sinners. This suggests that Zacchaeus was a better then average example. Instead of refuting the crowds view of Zacchaeus he confirmed it by his reply.
There is not anything necessarily or inherently wrong with taxes or those who collect them, but it is interesting that even in Christ's day the tax system seemed to be a receptacle for the despised and unethical. Zacchaeus was said to be a wealthy man yet his sole source of earnings was the collecting of taxes. He later acknowledged, by his willingness to pay back to those he had collected from, that he had illegally stolen from others, using tax collection as a guise. Is there a pattern we can learn from here?
Now to sum up the issue of rendering unto Caesar what is Caesar's.Analysis of this passage, and whether taxes should be paid, appears to consistently rely upon the superficial words rather than the context of the setting. It is written that a trap was set for Jesus.
Mark 12:
13Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15Should we pay or shouldn't we?"
16But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. "Why are you trying to trap me?" he asked. "Bring me a denarius and let me look at it." They brought the coin, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?"
"Caesar's," they replied.
17Then Jesus said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's."
And they were amazed at him.
To be a trap, the intent was that any answer would result in a desired outcome by the "trappers." If the answer to not pay Caesar the tax (as probably anticipated by the questioners), Jesus would have convicted himself of a capital crime and the questioners would now have reason to bring him before Pilot. To protest the tax in that day was punishable by crucifixion. The fact that Caiaphas raised this later ( Lk 23:2 "We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king." ) before Pilot to persuade him to crucify Christ supports this. If on the other hand, Christ had said it was right to pay Caesar, they would likely have tried to accuse him of being disloyal to God and therefore he couldn't be the Son of God as he claimed. Either way, they thought they had him. It seems that Jesus must have been suspected by his questioners of leading a group of tax rebels who would have disapproved of their leader advocating the payment of taxes? If nothing else, getting Christ to admit this was certainly a strong case in their mind to persuade Pilot to do away with Christ.However the response by Jesus amazed them. Why? Because they were sure that "had" him no matter how he answered. But Christ did not give them either response they were hoping to trap him by but actually eluded their question and therefore the trap also. Christ instead turned the table and simply put the problem back on them. "Whose portrait is this...?" In essense he was saying to them, you figure out what belongs to who and if a tax is due, then pay it. His answer was not in itself an admission of a requirement much less a command to pay taxes as some often suggest by this passage. To just look at the statement, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's" without looking at the whole context this statement was made in is the miss why he made the statement.
All of us come to passages with preset ideas and have to always be on guard not to read into the passages what we have predetermined but instead prayerfully seek to see what any given passage is actually saying. Our goal should be extracting from the context as well as the text the meaning, not reading meaning into it. As my Hermeneutics professor was fond of telling us, "a text without a context is a pretext."
In addition there is still the matter of WHO is Caesar and WHAT belongs to "him?" At the fellowship we are not opposed to Government or the necessity of raising revenue under specific conditions that are laid out in the Constitution but we are opposed to those in Government violating the law and raising revenues outside of what the law allows. When they do, this is theft, not unlike Zacchaeus. When those in government overstep the law, whether it be the law of that Government and certainly the law of God, are we to comply? Peter did not think so when asked to disobey God's law in favor of civil law. He was instructed not to preach in the name of Jesus and his reply was "I must obey God rather then man".
( It should be noted that if we are to be civilly disobedient out of obedience to God, we are not necessarily protected from persecution. Peter was locked up and even flogged for his civil disobedience. But an angel sent from God also delivered Peter.)
In the case of income tax are we being civilly disobedient by not paying the income tax? Or is it even more clear then that? You will have to study the Constitution and laws in accordance with it to make that determination. Again the following pages "Tax Basics 101," "The law says WHAT?!" and "10,000 Reward page" will help you get started. If in fact the law does not require citizens living and working in any of the several states to pay the income tax what do we do? Again, remember it is the LAW that we are to obey. Not the opinions and policies of those in government, the financial community or the legal community.
But some will now ask what about "obey the authorities" referenced in Romans. 13? The authority for the US citizen is The Constitution. When those who govern disobey that law, the law they have sworn to uphold, this is tyranny and exactly why the American Revolution occurred in the first place. If you haven't recently, read the Declaration of Independence again. You will be amazed at what it says. Below is a key and pertinent excerpt from the Declaration of Independence. If you wish to read it in full, click on the link immediately above.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness... when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security." ( emphasis added )
Are we obligated to comply with the misapplication of the law and obey those who misrepresent what OUR Caesar says? You must decide and your decision must be based on fact. But to do nothing is to go along with tyranny. As Edmund Burke once said, "The true danger is when liberty is nibbled away, for expedients, and by parts... the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
Once you know what The Constitution says you will better understand how far astray those in Government have lead us. We were set up to be a Government by law, not men i.e. a Republic (remember the pledge of allegiance.) We do not pledge allegiance to the flag and to the DEMOCRACY for which it stands. We are not a democracy. There is a big difference. My site will help you determine what the law says and what those differences are. All the sections of the code and court rulings cited are a matter of public record for you to check out for yourself.
The saying "truth is often stranger then fiction" is particularly applicable in this area of taxes. When you see what the law really says you will probably be shocked, then depressed, and then angry at the extent to which we the citizenry, have been deceived. I realize those are strong words but check it for yourself. Don't take my word for it. Do your homework and draw your own conclusions. But as a fair warning, if you are an honest, upright, and trusting person, what you will learn will be very upsetting to the point you may refuse to believe it at first. Again do your homework, determine what the law actually says, and then prayerfully ask what God would have you do.
Jim
If you wish to email me, click here.p.s. As a Graduate of Columbia Bible College, Columbia S.C. with a major in Bible and a minor emphasis in Psychology and Philosophy, I have been studying this issue of a Christians responsibility on the question of taxes off and on for several years now. I also took the time to address this somewhat at length because it comes up with Christians often and rightly so and therefore have taken the time to address it here.
There is some debate as to whether the founders of our country were Christians in the biblical sense. One thing we do know, some certainly were and the majority at least appeared to recognize the Bible as God's special revelation and the ultimate law for mankind. They believed they owed their allegiance to God as their Creator, that He was the ultimate authority over them and not the King of England or any other king. They believed they were accountable to God first and then to their fellow man. Our historical records indicate none in leadership openly defied any of these basic truths. This was the common thinking of the day. Therefore they recognized and sought to honor God and His truth in establishing this once great country of ours.
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