Should Christians Pay Taxes to a Pagan Government?
Romans 13:6-7, Matthew 22:21
Despite all ethical challenges, Christians should pay taxes as an act of submission to God. As the various levels of government in America continue to veer more and more aggressively away from biblical standards of righteousness, it becomes more and more challenging for Christians to pay taxes with a clear conscience. We become aware that the Federal government uses some of our tax money to fund abortions or sex reassignment surgeries for people suffering from gender dysphoria. Similarly, we know that local taxes pay for programs in government schools that actively promote the LGBTQ agenda or textbooks that indulge in overt historical revisionism.
the Bible is very clear that Christians must pay the taxes the government charges and not think tax evasion is conscionable because we disagree with this or that policy.
Yet the Bible is very clear that Christians must pay the taxes the government charges and not think tax evasion is conscionable because we disagree with this or that policy. Paul directly commands the Roman Christians to pay taxes to a pagan government. His reason is the government officials give their full time to governing and therefore must have their financial needs met by their profession. Behind that is the overall positive view that Paul has of God-ordained authority in Romans 13—government is there to do us good. It brings order to society, restrains evil and encourages good.
So it is in our day. Most of what government does every day is non-controversial: maintaining daily life through various systems—transportation, power, water, sewage, commerce, communications, natural resources, national defense, education, etc. Though these things can from time to time be hijacked for causes that Christians would repudiate, mostly they are simply part of the “common grace” that God has lavished on the entire human race. And taxes are essential to maintaining those blessings. We should pay thankfully as an act of worship, trusting God.
Jesus had to address the issue as well, since patriotic Jews felt the Romans were wicked interlopers in the “Promised Land.” God had promised to give that land to Abraham and his descendants forever. Many Jews felt the Romans were usurpers, and though not all would go as far as the revolutionary Zealots, many agreed with their basic hatred of Roman rule. The question on taxation seemed to be an overtly theological one… and a test for Jesus. His enemies thought they could get Jesus in trouble with this question, no matter what he said: “It is right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” Jesus’ answer was “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” He fundamentally upheld the right the Romans had to be there, because God had brought them as a part of his judgment on the Jewish nation for violating the Old Covenant.
However, it is also clear that God will judge all governments for what they do with the tax money and with their temporary power. If rulers use the money given by his children for wicked things, his children are not thereby guilty—the rulers are. God will judge every authority for the way they wielded that authority, down to the tiniest detail. There will be a line-item accounting.
So, dear Christian reader, pay your taxes gladly, thankful for the good things government generally gives you and the evil things government generally protects you from. And vote bad rulers out of office if you can. But know that God rules over all things and will bring about the perfect government of Christ in his due time.