Have You Paid Your Taxes?

Rom 13:1-7

I had a friend in college who was an older student. He had been working for a few years and had some very strong political and religious opinions. One of those opinions was that he refused to pay taxes on religious objections. He would tell us we need to do the same thing because our government used our tax money for things that were against Christian values. He was very passionate in his beliefs.

There continues to be many who believe exactly he does. My friend is right in saying our government uses our tax money for things that are appalling to Christians. So, should we quit paying taxes? Let’s see what Paul has to say about this issue

PRAYER

I. Let’s Rebel! … Or Not

A. Should we mix politics and religion?

1. I’m not much one for mixing politics and sermons.

2. I’m called to teach you about Christ, not a political stance.

3. If you have watched the news lately the house rep from Georgia was calling on black churches to be much more politically active.

4. Many churches are, seeing it as a civic duty.

5. And Paul spends the first 7 verses chapter 13 talking about politics.

6. However, he says some things about politics that don’t go over very well among American Christians.

B. Should we overthrow our government?

1. We need to realize something before we begin to look at this question.

a) We have a democratic government in which people can change the government by a voting process.

b) Most of the world doesn’t live under that reality and NO ONE in Biblical times lived under that reality.

c) You either accepted the government or led a rebellion against it.

2. Paul tells the Romans they were to submit to the authorities. Why? Because they were there because God put them there.

a) Wait a minute. God put a brutal repressive government in place at the start of Christianity? Yes.

b) We need to accept a government even if they take away our rights? Yes.

c) We can’t rebel and put our own better people in? NO.

d) READ vs 2

e) As much as it sounds un-American, Christians should not have participated in our fight for liberty.

f) What we have to remember, is that we need to be about teaching people the gospel, no matter who is in charge, not getting caught up in politics and forgetting our main purpose.

3. American Christians are blessed. We have a system in place where we can work WITHIN that system to affect change.

4. I am all for trying to get God centered people into our political positions.

5. However God isn’t contained in a political party or a county.

6. God isn’t American. He is God of all people.

7. Let’s not forget that very important fact.

II. God and Government

A. God uses governments

1. The Romans for all their faults were the perfect tool for God to bring Christianity into the world.

a) In “Pax Romana” or Roman Peace, there was a universal language, the ability to travel most anywhere in the world, and the freedom to express various points of view.

b) When they began to stop those things, the Roman Empire fell.

2. God used Egypt to build the nation of Israel.

3. He used several nations to punish Israel.

4. He used several nations to protect Israel.

5. Even nations that seemed to be the worst human rights violators you could imagine.

6. When a government works right, we should have no fear of them.

7. If you are doing right, you won’t have an issue with the government.

B. Why we pay taxes

1. At the beginning of the lesson I asked why we should pay taxes to a corrupt government.

2. Short answer: Because God said so!

3. Verse 6 fills in the answer a little deeper for us.

a) They are God’s servants.

b) We may not understand how or why, but we have to accept that they are.

4. Our main goal is to bring honor to the name of God.

a) If we are in opposition to our government as Christians,

b) If we are disrespectful to leaders as Christians,

c) They associate those actions with Christ.

d) How does that help the cause of Christ?

C. Christians and politics

1. I encourage Christians to be involved in politics as long as we can help promote Christ.

2. But if we forget that main mission, then we are just activists using the guise of Christianity.

3. On CNN last weekend they were talking about a very dangerous trend among British Muslims. They considered themselves Muslims first and British second.

4. God has called us to be Christians first, everything else second.

5. Don’t lose sight of that.

6. Even when you hate everything your government stands for, do what is right and proper so there is no cause given by us to think less of God and Christianity.

7. So ends my sermon on church and politics.