Ask Pastor Mike Fabarez

Speaker 1

Welcome to Focal Point. In a special edition of Ask Pastor Mike, today, Pastor Mike Favarez addresses a topic that's fast becoming a great concern for many Americans as we deal with changes in our tax laws. We're glad to have you with us today.

For Focal Point, I'm your host, Dave Drouy. Today we'll hear Pastor Mike Fabarez address a challenging question from our listening family on a controversial subject of late: obeying the government. It seems everyone's got an opinion on how they feel about our current leaders.

What are we supposed to do when we disagree with something the government's handed down right now? Let's hear from Pastor Mike about this as we enter the pastor's study with Executive Director Jay Worden.

Speaker 2

Well, thank you, Dave.

Speaker 3

I am here with Pastor Mike and Pastor Mike, I thought it would be helpful to answer this question. Should Christians pay their taxes? And should they pay them even if they don't like what the government does with their money?

Speaker 4

Well, I'd like to meet the Christians that like what the government does with their money. I haven't met those and, you know, I guess I could say, well, don't pay them and see what happens. Right. Of course you're going to get, you.

Speaker 3

Can'T be a conscientious objector to your paying taxes.

Speaker 4

I didn't find that on my tax form, so I guess not. But, you know, I understand the frustration. And it seems to be getting worse year by year. I mean, when you really do a little homework on where our tax money goes, of course, a lot of it goes to places that we certainly need. And in some ways, we're happy to contribute if we're going to have bridges and roads and things we need and libraries and all the rest.

But you look at what our government officials are doing with our tax money, and I understand the frustration. But to revolt by not paying your taxes, I think you got to open your Bible and recognize the Bible's made it very clear that we pay our taxes. We do it because God has asked us to do it. And he assumes within the context of the discussion in First Peter or in the book of Romans that they're going to be doing things with our money that we don't like, and they're going to be oppressive in many ways.

I mean, a lot of these things were written to Jewish people that were under the heavy hand of Rome and they were paying taxes to people oftentimes at multiple levels of people that weren't doing anything for them but ripping them off and abusing them. So we understand there's going to be frustration on the part of Christians paying a secular government, using their money in ways that are unbiblical.

But the bottom line is, as Jesus put it, yeah, you give to Caesar what Caesar's. And the whole point in that is, even if they took everything we had, our life is not about this material world. It's not about really ultimately keeping all of our paycheck. It's about giving our allegiance to God.

And so we give ourselves to Him. And the government's going to ask for some of their material money and we're going to pay it, and we're going to need to pay it. Doesn't mean we shouldn't vote. Doesn't mean we shouldn't try to get some of these rules changed. Doesn't mean we shouldn't write our congressmen or senators to try and deal with, you know, some kind of tax reform and, you know, making sure we allot our money in the best possible places.

But I guarantee you in this life, you're never going to be happy with how our government spends our money. So you just got to make the decision. You're going to be an obedient Christian and pay your taxes.

Speaker 3

Maybe you could talk a little bit about Old Testament taxation and perhaps how the percentages maybe are similar to what we pay today.

Speaker 4

Well, yeah, in the Bible, we do see a lot of things in the Old Testament in particular about taxes. We won't see the word there; you'll see the word tithe. But what you need to know is a lot of the tithes that were obligations of the people of God in Exodus, when they started really acting and functioning as their own nation, were required to sustain things like the worship center and the Levites. You even had a tax for the poor that took place on a triannual basis. So you were getting into 30% of your income that was required to give.

On top of that, then there was always the beck and call of the God of the Bible to bring a free will offering that you might bring as your heart moved you and as you looked at God's provision in your life, and you bring that to the Lord. So these words often overlap in the Old Testament. It's important to recognize that.

Then you look at our lives today and you realize, yeah, we've got to pay taxes. They're required. Our nation requires it. And then on top of that, even we say, okay, we're going to bring our free will offerings to God and we're going to give to God because we love him and we worship him. We recognize, as it says in Deuteronomy, that he gives us the ability to even earn a paycheck, to earn wealth.

So there's a lot of outflow of money that is not only required in terms of a specific amount in the Old Testament that looks a lot like the New Testament, but then there was this added opportunity we have to worship God through our giving because we love God.

Speaker 3

Talk a little bit about our current situation. Is it okay to try and pay as little tax as possible within the law?

Speaker 4

Well, of course, yeah. I mean, I could sound political here for a minute. Our tax codes obviously are crazy and complicated, but as long as they exist under the law, we should certainly do what we can to keep more of what we've earned under our own governance.

And then we can use the money that God allows us to earn in ways that we direct. So, yeah, any deductions or any kind of tax breaks that you can legally employ. Well, of course we should do that. That's prudent, it's wise, and it will leave more of our income to direct for charitable purposes, for God's work.

Yeah, I'm all for taking advantage of that. It would be foolish for us, certainly, based on what our government often uses our money for, to not do all we can to be judicious and thoughtful and discerning about taking the tax breaks that we can take.

Speaker 3

Pastor Mike, what about giving? I know we get some advantages for that, but maybe you could talk a little bit about that.

Speaker 4

Yeah, and I do have people often say, well, you know, I don't want to give and have the church keep track of that and give me a receipt at the end of the year and then use that as a charitable contribution tax write-off. My response to that would be really just an extension of what I just said. And that is there's nothing wrong with having a giving receipt given to you at the end of the year to lower your taxable income so that more of what you've made you can utilize and direct as a Christian in ways that should be directed.

So there's nothing wrong about that. I think sometimes people miss the benefit that we get from giving with those who would give only to get the benefit. In other words, your motive is critical here. I don't want to give just so I can get a tax write-off. I want to give because I love God. I want to give because I want to be generous to God's work. I want to give because I know that the dollars I give to my church and to maybe another Christian organization might be used for the good of the advancement of God's kingdom.

But if I get a write-off because of that and my taxes are lowered, all the better. There's nothing wrong with that. That's prudent and it's wise. I don't think we should see that as wrong. I've had some people ask me, you know, isn't that wrong? Why should I get a benefit for giving? Well, you're going to get a benefit for giving from God. God loves to bless the generous givers. And you know what? Even in our society, at least for now, we get some kind of tax benefit if we itemize our taxes. I can justify and rationalize through a giving receipt how much we gave, whether it's to your church or whether it's the focal point or wherever you give.

Speaker 3

Continuing on that particular line of thought, the government is often talking about taking away the ability to get a tax credit for giving. What would a Christian do at that point?

Speaker 4

Keep giving. I mean, I know that by God's direction, I think of Galatians, I'm supposed to share all good things with my teacher. And I know I am the teacher of my church, but I understand that even the Levites in the Old Testament who received the offerings were to give an offering from the offerings they received. So even in my case, it applies in that I'm going to give because I'm supposed to give.

I don't get a tax write off for doing evangelism. I don't get a tax write off for doing discipleship. I don't get a tax write off for praying. But I'm going to do all those things because they're the right thing to do. So if the government says, hey, no more charitable giving write off, I'm going to say, okay, well, that was nice while we had it, but I'm going to continue to give and God is going to supply.

And I have no doubt that God will even step up in terms of honoring those who give sacrificially. He loves that kind of sacrificial giving. And to add another layer of that in the New Testament, the book of 1 Corinthians, and he loves it when we give cheerfully. So I will give cheerfully whether I get a tax write off or not.

Speaker 3

Well, thank you, Pastor Mike. That is a helpful discussion and a good one, especially during this tax season. And we're going to continue on this topic with a message you gave called Obedience, Honor and April 15th.

Speaker 2

Parents question. When you ask your kids to clear the table after dinner and they do it, do you call them a legalist? How about when they come home with a report card? Report card's a good one. It's got an A, A. And then it says down there at the bottom, the teacher says, "Oh, what a joy to have in class. So attentive and responsive to classroom instructions."

You pull them aside and say, "Kid, listen, I really see a tendency here of real rigid legalism at school. I'm concerned that you don't understand grace, son." No, parents don't do that. Parents don't do that. When parents ask their kids to do something and the kids actually do it, parents are happy. Parents give rewards. Parents say, "That's great." Parents encourage and say, "That's wonderful."

Do you know who doesn't like it when kids are obedient? The kid that doesn't clean the table after it's done and the brother who goofs off. The brother in the classroom gets bad grades. The teacher says, "Not a joy to have in class." The disobedient sibling looks at the obedient sibling and will use lots of pejorative terms.

Speaker 4

To describe that sibling.

Speaker 2

And if you are in a Christian setting, I assure you one of the verbal slams that we Christians love is the term legalist.

Speaker 4

You legalist.

Speaker 2

But I hope in just thinking through a couple simple scenarios that from a parent's perspective, when a kid does what a parent asks, the parent is happy. Even though the sibling may call you names, I hope you can recognize that if that happens in your Christian life, it's no big deal. Because you and I will stand before the judgment seat of our Heavenly Father, not our sibling. And what matters is what God thinks.

Even if your snotty-nosed Christian sibling thinks you're a bit of a goody two shoes, I would like to hear "well done, good and faithful servant" from my Father in heaven.

Oh, by the way, isn't legalism bad? Oh, it is if you use it in its proper theological context, which I find rarely, if ever, happens in the church lobby.

Speaker 4

Rarely.

Speaker 2

I mean, it's not a word found in the Bible, but the concept, I guess. And theologians have used this phrase to describe people like the people in the Church of Galatia who are trying to use the Mosaic Law to earn their place into the family of God. Now, if that's why you keep any of the Father's rules, then absolutely that's legalism. But that is not how well-taught Christians go about doing what God says. They recognize that when we do what the Father asks, we're doing it because we'd like to please him, because we actually love him. See, when we do what the Father says, that's not legalism. That's called obedience. And God's happy with that.

When it comes to the authorities under which we live, that is the civil governmental authorities that we live under, the Bible makes it very clear. And that's what Romans 13 is all about. Let's just review with the first four verses, which start this way: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. Hey Christians, be subject to the governing authorities. Why? Well, the first argument was this: There's no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted from God. We look all through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, and we see that this is consistently true. God, in his sovereignty, has put people in positions of authority, not just the good ones, but also the bad ones. Wow. And that's a hard, that's a brain twister. But that's what the Bible teaches.

Even Nero, the first-century emperor who was on the throne when Paul writes this letter, who would end up killing the apostle Paul, is still in a very non-naive way, a realist. He realizes that our responsibility is to submit to them because they're from God and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. He says, therefore one must be in subjection not only to avoid God's wrath, which comes through those mediated authorities, but also, here's a different motive now, for the sake of conscience.

For because of this, that is your conscience, you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God. Aren't we tired of this already? Man alive. Okay. I mean, you really got them high up on a pedestal here, God attending to this very thing. What thing? Ministering on God's behalf for our good. Verse 7: Pay to all what is owed them, taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, and honor to whom honor is owed. Well, that is definitely a big list of things as it relates to our response in being subject to the government and all of its rules and laws.

But verse five, let's go back to this shift in motive, and it's a significant shift where he says, not only because of God's wrath, which we've already seen in verse number four, but he shifts it and says there's a better motive for Christians. Here it is: But also for the sake of conscience. For Christians, the Holy Spirit is said to invade our lives to such an extent that my conscience now isn't just concerned with arbitrary right and wrong. I'm concerned with what pleases God and with what honors Christ. And that becomes the cry of the Christian's heart. We want to honor Christ.

Now, if you look at the context here, I know we're talking about the government, but here's the statement we need to make. Number one on your outline, there needs to be a move in our hearts, a move from "don't get caught" to "you need to honor Christ." Honor Christ.

Speaker 4

Well, you know, no one's going to see the cash deals that we do.

Speaker 2

I mean, come on, taxes are so high anyway. Why would I want to. Hey, just. Let's just do.

Speaker 4

Let's just do cash.

Speaker 2

No way to track that. So do the under the table deal. That's fine as long as your motive is. I just don't want to get caught.

But if your motive is conscience now, and you know the law has to do with income tax, and that's something that you can't rightly avoid.

If God is your auditor, well, then you wouldn't do that. If conscience is all about for a Christian honoring Christ, I'm going to follow.

Speaker 4

The dictates of this passage. I got to do.

Speaker 2

Oh, legalist, legalist. It's not legalism for doing what the Heavenly Father has asked us to. It's what God expects from us. I'd be remiss if I didn't at least turn you to Matthew 22 really, really quickly and show you Jesus being confronted with this under all the leadership and heavy hand and heavy taxation of Rome. There was a lot of debate between several factions within the Jewish people in the first century that had different views of the political oversight of Rome. Some accepted it, some didn't.

And you know, as you turn to Matthew 22, that they're always trying to catch Jesus. The Pharisees always want to trap him somehow and get him in trouble. And one time, you might remember this one. He's got the Pharisees in verse 15, and in verse 16, he has the Herodians. And if that doesn't give you a hint of which side of the argument they're on about the government, then you just need to read the word slowly. Right, Herod, the Herodians. So you got the Pharisees. And they did not see the legitimacy of the Roman occupation, and they did not give allegiance to the Roman leaders. The Herodians, on the other hand, did. They were in their camp.

So what question do you ask when you have those two parties in front of you and you got the rabbi teacher Jesus sitting there? They got a great question for him. Bottom of verse 16. Hey, teacher, we know you're true. You teach the way of God truthfully. You don't care about anybody's opinion. You got powerful dressed Herodians and powerfully dressed Pharisees. We know you're not swayed by appearances. So then tell us what you think then. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar? Simple question. What do you think about taxes to Caesar?

Jesus responds. Verse 18. Aware of their malice, he said, "Why do you put me to the test, you hypocrites?" Great start to the answer, right? But here's the real ingenious part. Verse 19. "Show me the coin for the tax." And they brought a Bednarius that was the day's wage of a low laborer. And it's just one little coin. And on the front side, it's got Tiberius' picture on it. The backside, they believe it was Tiberius' mother dressed in regalia on the back. And Jesus said, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said, "Well, it's Caesar's," verse 21. Specifically, Tiberius, the leader of the day. "Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's." And when they heard it, they marveled and they left him and went away.

Now that was a great answer because here you had him disconnecting people from their money, which is a very hard thing to do philosophically, and saying, "Let's look at the money for a second. This whole monetary system, this whole thing that's so important to you, this whole Roman coinage and all that it can buy for you, that has the inscription of the emperor on it. Now let's think about you made in the image of God, with the image of God stamped on you. You and everything you are belongs to God. Oh, and all that earthly stuff, the money. Oh, yeah. If the government's asking for some of that money out of your pocket, give it to them. That shouldn't be important."

You do understand the one reason most people are evading their taxes or cheating on their taxes is because they don't want to part with that. Their lives are so enmeshed with the money of this world, they can't separate the two. Jesus has said earlier in Luke's gospel, it was recorded that he said, "Be on guard against every form of greed." And I know that some people pound their fist on the table. They say, "Mike, you don't understand. The reason I have to take these cash tips or whatever it might be and not claim them is because I can't afford to pay the taxes on it." My response to that? You've heard this in other settings. Let me just say it this way. You can't afford not to.

How's that? Let me illustrate it. We pass out allowance to our kids, right? Occasionally, when we're feeling benevolent, we'll add a little bonus just so we can feel like really good parents, right? Yeah, you've been good this week. Here's an extra few bucks. I just want to ask you, how inclined do you think we feel come allowance time to pass out any bonuses, let alone the allowance at all? If just before we gave the allowance, we looked down the hall and the bedroom door is open and the kid is looking at his richer brother going through his wallet and stealing a ten dollar bill, do you think I'm inclined to give any bonuses to a thief? Not interested in that.

See now, if it's just between you and the IRS, great. They never know. God knows it all. His eyes are in every place. Think about Isaiah. God is not a God that's just nearby and not far away. God is everywhere. He fills heaven and earth. He sees all that you do. And when you don't pay your taxes, the God who controls the cattle on a thousand hills, I just wonder how interested he is in giving you more to relieve your struggle with money. When you're over here doing the opposite of what he told you to do, which is to pay what you owe, God is not interested.

So when you say, "I can't afford to pay all my taxes, Mike," I'm telling you, you can't afford not to. Can you trust God and recognize that when we give even our taxes, we're giving not only to God, but before.

Speaker 4

God and He sees it all. I dare you.

Speaker 2

There's two more words in our context here, though. Respect and honor. It ends with respect and honor. Respect to whom respect is owed and honor to whom honor is owed. And people say, well, I don't owe them any respect or honor because they're dishonorable people. That's not the context. I'm not asking you to pretend that they're virtuous people when they're not. I'm just saying by virtue of their position, that is sovereignly granted in government, even for a time, you better grant them honor and you better grant them respect.

Oh, that's going to take a lot of... I mean, that's just risky. I mean, giving them respect when they don't seem to deserve it. Well, that's when we trust God. We have to trust God. And then we need to, number three on your outline, trust God and cultivate civility. Cultivate civility. That's a great summation of the two words here: respect and honor. You got to trust God. Even when they're scoundrels, God will hold them to an account. God will judge leaders more harshly and severely. They're not going to get away with anything whether they get caught in this life or not. So we trust God.

And here's the great thing. You can flip this on its head. If you have a respect and an honor for people in positions of authority, you know what happens? Keeping the rules becomes a little bit easier. It does. Your political comrades say, well, you're just goody two shoes. Call me whatever you want. What I want to hear is, well done, good and faithful servant. I want God's approval, not my disobedient siblings' approval.

Time for me to get back to saying what I care about is doing what God asks. And what God asks in our text is that we need to recognize it's about conscience. As a Christian, paying my taxes as though I'm paying it to God and making sure that in my heart there's a kind of trust, even when our leaders are bad, to cultivate a kind of civility, a courteous, respectful response. That's God's prescription for, as he calls it, their his bond servants. May that be true of us.

Speaker 1

Another timely discussion with Pastor Mike Fabarez today. Focal Point. The message is called "Obedience, Honor, and April 15," and you can hear the complete unedited version when you go to focalpointradio.org. Focal Point is passionate about delivering excellent expository studies to give you confidence in how you handle scripture. It's a vital part of maturing in Christ, and we're counting on every listener to help make this teaching available all across the country. It starts when listeners like you step up and say, "I'm listening." That's it.

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I'm Dave Drouehe wishing you a restorative weekend ahead. Come back again on Monday when we'll continue our study in Luke. That's Monday. On Friday. Focal Point. Today's program was produced and sponsored by Focal Point Ministries.

Speaker 2

Sam.