“Give
everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue;
if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”—Romans 13:7, New
International Version.
IN THE face of escalating taxation, the above
advice may seem hard to swallow. However, those are the words of the apostle
Paul, and they are recorded in the Bible. No doubt you respect the Bible. But
you may wonder, ‘Must Christians really pay all taxes—including those
some may consider unreasonable or unjust?’
Think about the admonition Jesus gave to his
disciples. He knew that his Jewish countrymen bitterly resented the taxes
imposed by Rome. Despite this, Jesus urged: “Pay back Caesar’s things to Caesar,
but God’s things to God.” (Mark 12:17) Interestingly, Jesus advocated paying
tax to the very regime that would shortly execute him.
A few years later, Paul gave the advice
quoted at the outset. He urged the paying of taxes, in spite of the fact that
large amounts of tax money were used to fund Rome’s military and to support the
immoral and excessive life-style of the Roman emperors. Why did Paul take such
an unpopular stance?
Superior Authorities
Consider the context of Paul’s words. At
Romans 13:1, he wrote: “Let every soul be in subjection to the superior
authorities, for there is no authority except by God; the existing authorities
stand placed in their relative positions by God.” When the nation of Israel had
God-fearing rulers, it was easy to view supporting the nation financially as a
civic and religious duty. But did Christians have a similar responsibility when
the rulers were unbelieving idol worshipers? Yes, they did! Paul’s words showed
that God had granted rulers the “authority” to rule.
Governments do a great deal to maintain
order. This allows Christians to carry on their various spiritual activities.
(Matthew 24:14; Hebrews 10:24, 25) Paul thus said regarding the prevailing
governmental authority: “It is God’s minister to you for your good.” (Romans
13:4) Paul himself took advantage of the protection the Roman government
offered. For example, when he found himself the victim of a mob, he was saved
by Roman soldiers. Later he appealed to the Roman judicial system so that he
could continue serving as a missionary.—Acts 22:22-29; 25:11, 12.
Paul therefore gave three reasons for paying
taxes. First, he spoke about the “wrath” of the governments in punishing
lawbreakers. Second, he explained that a godly individual’s conscience would be
adversely affected if he cheated on his taxes. Finally, he indicated that taxes
are simply compensation for the services governments perform as “public
servants.”—Romans 13:1-6.
Did Paul’s fellow Christians take his words
to heart? Evidently so, for the second-century nominal Christian writer Justin
Martyr (about 110 to 165 C.E.) said that Christians paid their taxes “more
readily than all men.” Today, when governments require payments, be they time
or money, Christians continue to comply willingly.—Matthew 5:41.
Of course, Christians are free to take
advantage of any legal tax deductions. In some instances, they may be in a
position to avail themselves of tax advantages granted to those contributing to
religious organizations. Nevertheless, in obedience to God’s Word, true
Christians do not engage in tax evasion. They pay their taxes, letting the
authorities take full responsibility for how they use the money.
Excessive taxation is just one way in which “man
has dominated man to his injury.” (Ecclesiastes 8:9) Jehovah’s Witnesses take
comfort in the Bible’s promise that soon justice will prevail for all under God’s
government—a government that will never burden people with unjust taxes.—Psalm
72:12, 13; Isaiah 9:7.
[Footnote]
Jesus’ counsel to pay “Caesar’s things to
Caesar” was not necessarily limited to paying taxes. (Matthew 22:21) The Critical
and Exegetical Hand-Book to the Gospel of Matthew, by Heinrich Meyer,
explains: “By [Caesar’s things] . . . we are not to understand merely
the civil tax, but everything to which Caesar was entitled in virtue of
his legitimate rule.”
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