Death and Taxes, Part 3

In the Gospel according to Matthew, we find a wealth of wisdom from the lips of Jesus. Through stories, parables, and pearls of wisdom, Jesus provides insightful lessons on life. There are moments, however, when His stories make us scratch our heads in confusion. And today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll points to one of those puzzling moments when Jesus brought up the politically charged subjects of death and taxes. To unravel the mystery, turn with us to Matthew chapter 17. We're looking at verses 22 through 27. Chuck titled his message, Death and Taxes. So Peter is confronted with the tax collector, asked about Jesus paying taxes.

Look at the response. Peter replied, yes, he does. He pays those taxes. And then Peter went into the house. Before Peter can open his mouth, Jesus addresses him. He asks him two questions.

First, he said, Peter, what do you think? Then he asks, do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered? When you have a king who rules over a country, does he tax his own people?

It can be taken one of two ways. Does he tax his own family? Could also mean, does he tax those who were citizens in his country as opposed to those he has conquered and brought into his country? In other words, who would be exempt when kings tax in these days?

Peter's answer is in verse 26. They tax the people they have conquered. Peter replied, if it were a reference to the king's own family, his answer would be they tax those who were not in the royal family. Wouldn't make sense for a king to tax his own family. He taxes others.

He taxes those who are strangers in the land and have been brought in to live there. Well then, said Jesus, the citizens are free. In other words, if you're a part of the kingdom, you're free, you're exempt. Or to use the other analogy, if you're a part of the family of the king, if you're a member of the royal family, you're exempt.

You don't have to pay taxes. Think about it, Peter. Going back to the temple tax, I'm the son of God. If anyone was to be worshiped, Jesus is to be worshiped. And so naturally one would wonder why would he pay taxes?

He's the Lord of the universe. All who would be a part of his family would be free. And I'm sure Peter would think, well I'm as close as your own family to you.

In fact, we are like family. I could be exempt. Now the turning point, if you follow the thought, comes at the beginning of verse 27. However, we don't want to offend them.

Even though I have every right to be exempt, as you do being my close follower. Or let's face it, those who lived in that temple were not men of holy character. Those who carried on the business within the temple were the very ones who were a part of the betrayal. They are the ones who hired Judas and paid him the 30 pieces of silver.

So these are evil men who run the temple. Nevertheless, so that we don't offend them, we need to pay and we need to pay now. So he tells Peter to throw a lion in the lake and the first fish he catches will have a coin in its mouth. Take the coin, it will represent that four drachma that are required. Take that coin and use it to pay the temple tax. Take it, he says at the end, pay the tax for both of us.

It would equal twice what would be paid by one man. But the main reason he says this is that there not be an offense. He's saying that we are to fulfill our obligation regardless of the lack of character among those who take our taxes, who spend those tax monies. Regardless of that, we are required to pay those taxes.

Here's a way to look at it. We are all possessors of dual citizenship if we know Christ. First and foremost, we are citizens of heaven. He is our master.

He is our Lord. We are obligated to obey him. We are expected to hold up his reputation and magnify his name because we serve him. We are a part of his citizenry, if you will. We must never forget we are also citizens of this planet, of this government, of this country. We are to honor that citizenship and not give an offense by not obeying those rules and laws. Now, with that in mind, turn back to Romans chapter 13. We are not only citizens of heaven, we are also citizens of this country. We are obligated to submit to governmental authorities. This includes paying taxes as we're going to read. 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. How easy to forget that.

People often do forget it. Paul goes further. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted and they will be punished and the implication is they should be. Break the laws of the land. Punishment will occur. Now move ahead to verse 6.

He says it directly. Pay your taxes for these same reasons, for government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do.

Look at that. Give to everyone you owe 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. Very clearly set forth, honor to whom honor is due, tax to whom tax is due. Now, as difficult as it was to pay the temple taxes, knowing the lifestyle of those who operated the temple, can you imagine how difficult it was to pay taxes to Caesar's household and to Caesar's rule? You think the life in the temple was corrupt? Trust me, life in Caesar's court was far more corrupt. Nevertheless, he makes the statement we are not to refuse to pay those taxes. Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, but render unto God the things that are God's.

Let me add this. According to Acts 4 19, there is a higher law than the law of the land, and that's God's law. Whenever the law of the land supersedes God's law, we are to obey God and not man. They did in the first century.

We are to do that in the 21st century. Clearly, the higher of the two is the living God, and he gets our first priority. They refused to offer incense to Caesar. They refused to call Caesar their Lord. They paid for it, some of them with their lives.

Great persecution came because they were held accountable for not worshiping Caesar. Now, how does all of this apply to us? I've boiled it down to several very pointed questions, and I realized when I wrote the questions how pointed they are. They are so personal, I'm not able to answer them for you. Only you can answer for yourself. They're made to make you think, and ultimately to change where change is necessary.

There are four of them. First, are you a good citizen of this country, or the country where you are a citizen? Are you a good citizen of your country? A part of that question, or do you take secret delight in breaking some of its laws, taking advantage of others without their knowing about it?

May I get even more specific? Do you drive the speed limit? Do you stop at the stop signs? Do you stop at the stop signs? Do you drive carefully? Do you keep yourself under control?

Do you mess with your handheld device? You knew I'd get to that while you're driving, like those who sit through red light, green light, red light, green light, until you want until you want to run into the rear of their car. Are you a good citizen? You behave as you should. Second, do you willingly and appropriately pay your taxes? Admittedly, there are ways that you are immune from having to pay some of them, and those are to be observed, no question about it.

That's part of the law. Or do you do your best to hide the truth in various ways, to find loopholes that would be offensive, in fact illegal, if they became known? Do you willingly and appropriately pay your taxes as a good Christian, as a good citizen?

Here's a third that's a little broader. What is your understanding of freedom? I don't know how often I've asked that to different individuals, and how often I've heard in return, it means I can do whatever I please. Freedom never meant that. Freedom does not mean that. That's anarchy. Freedom means, in the Christian world, I am now freed from the domination of sin so that I can obey Christ and follow his teachings.

When I'm lost, I can't, because sin dominates my life. I'm not free. But when I'm free in Christ, I'm out from under the Mosaic law, but I'm now under the law of Christ, and I'm free to obey him. I would ask under this same question, do you push your freedom too far and then rationalize your way around a selfish lifestyle?

Only you can answer that. You call it freedom when it isn't freedom. As Paul put it, when I'm with the weak, I'm careful around the weak. I don't rub his nose in my freedom. When I'm with those who don't march to the same drumbeat, I'm careful to walk with that drumbeat so as not to give an offense. In other words, I am the same in private that I am in public, and I'm the same in public as I am in private.

Final question ties into that. Is Christ the Lord only of your public life? Would others be shocked if they knew you are Christian? Several years ago, I came across a searching book titled The Day America Told the Truth by James Patterson and Peter Kim. It's based on an extensive opinion survey, which guaranteed the anonymity of those who participated in the survey. The truth was shocking.

Let me give you a brief sampling of what they found out. Only 13 percent of Americans see all Ten Commandments as binding and relevant. Ninety-one percent of the Americans lie regularly, both at work and at home, by their own admission. Most American workers, that is, over half, admit to goofing off for an average of seven hours. That's almost one whole day of work every week. And half of our workforce admits they regularly call in sick when they feel perfectly well.

But that wasn't the one that put the chilled on my back. It was this question that did. The question is asked in the book, in the survey, what are you willing to do for 10 million dollars? Twenty-five percent said they would immediately abandon their families. Twenty-three percent said they would become a prostitute for a week. Seven percent would murder a stranger.

Did you hear that? Seven out of every 100 would take someone's life that they don't know. Now before you feel smug inside your Christian cloak and think, well, thank the Lord, I'm a child of God, I would never do such a thing, let me tell you about another book. This one is even more convicting because it's written by two Christians, Doug Sherman and William Hendricks, son of the late Howie Hendricks. The book is titled Keeping Your Ethical Edge Sharp, written by Christians about Christians. And so their survey was taken among Christians. Among Christians, they discovered, listen to this, the general ethical conduct of Christians varies only slightly from non-Christians. With some grand exceptions, of course, believers, they said, are almost as likely as unbelievers to do such things as falsify their income tax returns, steal from the workplace, and selectively obey the laws of the land. Non-Christians and Christians alike lie, cheat, and steal. They break their marriage vows through unfaithful affairs, hideous sins they participate in like gossip, prejudice, incest, idolatry, greed, sloth, deception, abuse, and manipulation. To make matters worse, they are practiced under a hypocritical cloak of secrecy.

Why? Because inauthenticity has become an art form in this generation. Is Christ the Lord only of your public life? What's going on in private that would embarrass you if all the people in your family knew about it, or those sitting around you in this place of worship? That's why I don't dodge passages like this.

Just as a temple tax not being paid would be an offense, the things I've just named are terrible offenses carried out every day by those who claim to be Christians. Is it any wonder we have a difficult time getting the attention of those who are lost? I'd like you to bow your heads, please.

Just sit right there. I realize how convicting this is. I search my own heart. You need to come to terms with some things that have been drifting along too loosely. Have you fallen into habits that you've rationalized around because, after all, you're free in Christ? But that freedom has nothing to do with doing what you please. It has to do with being free enough to do what Christ pleases. Is it time to tighten up some things as it relates to your ethical life? The way you pay your bills or don't pay your bills or handle your taxes? It just may be that you have thought all along you belong to Christ but realize, you know, I don't believe there's ever been a time when I invited Jesus Christ to take over my life.

No wonder these things are out of control. If that's true of you today, this is the moment and that's why you've come to this place of worship. Trust in the Lord Jesus. Lay your life before him. He will forgive you. He will give you a whole new start, a brand new slate, a new beginning.

He's a God of all grace, which is the foundation of his dying for you and for me. If we can help you in that journey, we're here for that purpose. Talk with us. We're available.

We're available. Connect with us. Lord, the silence of this place is deafening. Conviction is deep and we acknowledge that you have spoken and you've addressed specific areas that we realize we have no business trafficking in. As you catch us up short, bring us to decisions that are necessary for there to be change, permanent change, so that we represent your son without surprising anyone and we do so free of offense.

With the glory of Christ and it's in his name we pray and all God's people said, amen. This is Insight for Living and you're listening to the Bible teaching of Chuck Swindoll. To learn more about this ministry or to see what resources are available for today's topic, please visit us online at insightworld.org. Just a moment ago you heard Chuck say that we want to help you succeed in your spiritual journey.

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