“RENDER UNTO CAESAR” — WHY PAYING TAXES IS A GOSPEL-SHAPED ACT
SCRIPTURE READING:
ROMANS 13 Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. 2 So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. 3 For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. 4 The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. 5 So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.
6 Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority.
PROLOGUE
It is Tax Season again; and Tax season stirs frustration, suspicion, and sometimes resentment. God knew it would. That is why Scripture does not merely command obedience—it explains the exchange.
Jesus did not dodge the question. He answered it cleanly, publicly, and permanently.
“Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.”
— Matthew 22:21 (KJV)
That statement does not exist in isolation. The apostles—especially Paul—took that principle and opened it up, explaining why civil obligation exists and what God intends government to provide in return.
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I.) PAUL’S FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING: Taxes Are Not Random—They Fund God-Ordained Services
Paul’s clearest teaching appears in Romans 13. Notice how he grounds taxation in function, not fear.
“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”
— Romans 13:1
Government is not accidental. It is assigned.
“For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil.”
— Romans 13:3
This is not a compliment to rulers—it is a job description.
“For he is the minister of God to thee for good.”
— Romans 13:4
That phrase matters. Minister of God.
Paul uses the same word elsewhere for servants in the church.
Government, when functioning as designed, is God’s servant in the civil sphere.
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II.) WHY TAXES EXIST (According to Scripture)
Now Paul connects the dots directly to money:
“For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.”
— Romans 13:6
Taxes fund attendance.
That means continuous public service.
Paul then summarizes the obligation:
“Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.”
— Romans 13:7
Notice what Paul does not say:
• He does not say rulers are perfect
• He does not say taxes are pleasant
• He does not say corruption nullifies obligation
He says the system itself serves a God-given role.
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III.) WHAT ARE WE GETTING FOR OUR MONEY?
Paul is not vague. He lists the outcomes.
1. Restraint of Evil
“He beareth not the sword in vain.”
— Romans 13:4
Government exists to restrain violence, chaos, and lawlessness.
Police, courts, prisons—these are not pagan inventions; they are biblical functions.
Without them, society collapses into tribal vengeance.
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2. Protection of the Good
“Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same.”
— Romans 13:3
Paul assumes a baseline moral order where goodness is generally protected and recognized. That stability does not come free.
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3. Peaceful Living Conditions
Paul writes to Timothy:
“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”
— 1 Timothy 2:1–2
Quiet. Peaceable. Orderly.
That is what taxes purchase when government does its job.
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4. Infrastructure for Daily Life
Even Jesus acknowledged this practical reality.
When challenged about the temple tax, He said:
“Then are the children free.
Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea… that take, and give unto them for me and thee.”
— Matthew 17:26–27
Jesus did not argue the fairness of the tax.
He paid it, even miraculously, to preserve peace and order.
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IV.) ARE WE GETTING A GOOD DEAL?
Biblically speaking—yes.
Consider what we don’t have to fund personally:
• Private armies
• Personal judges
• Individual prisons
• Clan-based justice
• Blood-feud retaliation
God centralized these burdens so ordinary people could work, worship, raise families, and preach the gospel.
“For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.”
— 1 Corinthians 14:33
Order costs money.
Chaos costs blood.
Taxes are cheaper.
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V.) THE HEART ISSUE: TAXES AS WORSHIPFUL SUBMISSION
Peter echoes Paul:
“Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake…
For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.”
— 1 Peter 2:13–15
Paying taxes is not endorsement of every policy.
It is submission to God’s structure.
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EPILOGUE
Jesus paid taxes under Rome.
Paul paid taxes under Nero.
Neither mistook obedience for compromise.
So we pay—not grudgingly, not fearfully—but faithfully, recognizing:
“The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.”
— Psalm 24:1
Caesar only ever handles what already belongs to God.
And compared to the alternative?
We’re getting a very good deal.
INVITATION
