Develop God's Heart For OthersPrøve

Pay Your Taxes! Last time we learned from Romans 13:1-3 that we need to submit ourselves to the laws of the land if we want to live lives free from fear. I want to focus your attention today on the remainder of that passage, Romans 13:4-7, For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. What I want to address today is the need to pay our taxes with honesty, not trying to dodge our responsibility. It is a critical part of obeying the laws of the land as we discussed last time. While I do not like working hard and in the end sending a large portion of every dollar to support the government, it is the right thing to do. I am absolutely amazed when I learn of Christians who try to dodge their responsibility to pay taxes. Friend, you must be honest and pay your taxes. Certainly take advantage of all that the law allows, and do not pay more than you need to, but don’t hide anything. You need to make sure you do this because when you do, you are being obedient to God. And there are always blessings tied to obedience—even if it is obeying God by paying your taxes!