President Obama is a liberal. He believes in and advocates for progressive political policies—policies designed to increase the size and scope of the federal government. This should come as no surprise to anyone, regardless on which side of the political stick you happen to fall. It should be no surprise then—especially in an election year—that he will take every opportunity and persuade the American people that progressive taxation is a singular good for the country—rich and poor alike.

That’s what he tried to do at the 2012 National Prayer Breakfast. Obama took the opportunity to wrap the gospel of wealth redistribution in the cloak of the Christian gospel. Quoting Jesus’s words in Luke 12:48, Obama attempted to justify the position that the rich should pay more taxes. Here’s how the President put it:

And when I talk about shared responsibility, it’s because I genuinely believe that in a time when many folks are struggling, at a time when we have enormous deficits, it’s hard for me to ask seniors on a fixed income, or young people with student loans, or middle-class families who can barely pay the bills to shoulder the burden alone. And I think to myself, if I’m willing to give something up as somebody who’s been extraordinarily blessed, and give up some of the tax breaks that I enjoy, I actually think that’s going to make economic sense.

But for me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus’s teaching that “for unto whom much is given, much shall be required.” [1]

On the surface this seems a reasonable application of Jesus’s teaching . . . that is if we chose to ignore the context, which is what Obama and his speechwriters did. The context of Jesus’s much given/much required dictum beginnings in verse 35.

A Necessary Clarification

From Luke 12:35–40 Jesus told a parable about the master of a house who was away for a wedding. The day and hour of his return are unknown to the servants of the house, so Jesus said, “Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit” (12:35). Blessings await those ready for the master’s return, but the point of the parable is found in verse 40: “You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.” In other words, God people ought to be ready for the coming of Messiah, who would usher in God’s kingdom, which could come at any moment.

Peter then asked a question: “Lord, are You addressing this parable to us [the disciples], or to everyone else as well” (12:41).

Jesus didn’t answer Peter’s question directly, but verses 42–48 make it clear that Jesus had more than the disciples in mind. The parable was addressed to the leaders of the nation—the “steward” and “slave”—who were to manage the nation as God’s representatives until the Master returned. Knowing the Master was away but would return, the rulers of Israel were under obligation to care for God’s people, not mistreat them. If they did the one they would be blessed (12:42–44), but if they did the other they would be cursed (12:45–47). Jesus’s point is clear: those who have knowledge of and believe in Messiah’s coming to establish God’s kingdom but are found unready will receive greater punishment than those who are ignorant of Messiah’s coming. In other words, knowledge of the coming kingdom and trust in preparing for it demands greater responsibility.

Jesus’s words in Luke 12:48 have nothing to do with the amount of money anyone possesses or their relative level of “shared responsibility” to pay taxes.

Obama could have, however, made the case that as a Christian, he, and every other Christian, is commanded to demonstrate their faith through open-hearted and open-handed generosity to “seniors on a fixed income, or young people with student loans, or middle-class families who can barely pay the bills” (see James 1:27; 2:15–17; 1 John 3:16–18). But he didn’t.

It would be easy then to turn a clarification of the President’s misuse (or misunderstanding) of Scripture and taxes into a political criticism. Without a doubt I’m dissatisfied with how Obama mishandled Jesus’s words, but I’m glad he raised the issue of Scripture and taxes. It’s been my (mis)fortune to speak with many Christians who are either ignorant of the biblical teaching on taxes or are confused about the Bible’s teaching. So, instead of criticizing the President, I’d like to clarify what the Bible says about taxes and our responsibility to pay taxes.

Let’s start off with an important comment about government and about the limits of government in general: the state is divinely ordained and appointed, with a divine purpose; but the state, itself, isn’t divine. Now, with this as a backdrop, the Bible makes at least three vital comments on taxes.

First, taxes are earthly and therefore temporary.

Capernaum was home base for Jesus’s ministry in Galilee. Peter made his home in that port town along the banks of the lake he knew so well; he had spent a lifetime fishing along those banks and on that lake. It was in Capernaum that the local priests came collecting the required annual temple tax of two drachmas (the half shekel tax of Exodus 30:13). Apparently, Jesus hadn’t yet paid the tax, so the priests asked Peter, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?” (Matthew 17:24). Peter assured them that Jesus was obedient to the Law and Peter went into the house either to inform Jesus that the tax collectors had come collecting or to retrieve the money and pay the amount out of his own purse (17:25).

Upon entered the house, Jesus asked Peter a question: “From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” (17:25). “From strangers,” Peter answered. “Then the sons are exempt” from paying taxes, Jesus responded (17:26).

But, so as not to give offense, Jesus instructed Peter to go fishing; take the first fish caught and pay the tax from the money found in the fish’s mouth (12:27).

The point of this little episode was to impress on Peter and all believers that there will come a day when taxes will cease, when April 15 will be a day of celebration and freedom. God doesn’t collect taxes in His kingdom there. The King and the King’s children are exempt. But on earth, the King submitted to the ruling authority and paid his taxes without dispute, and so must we.

Second, the state has the authority to tax.

The episode of the temple tax and Jesus’s submission to the Law is followed by another episode that has caused consternation among many Christians for millennia. In Matthew 22:15–22, Jesus faced another question about taxes. The circumstances of the question brought together two groups normally and naturally opposed to each other: the Pharisees, who were an anti-Roman sect and the Herodians, who were a pro-Roman sect. The purpose of this cabal was to discredit a common enemy—Jesus (22:15–16). After flattering Jesus, the Pharisees and Herodians posed a question: “It is lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?” (22:16–17).

Taxation in the Roman Empire utilized a two-pronged approach: direct taxes and indirect taxes. Roman citizens were exempt from direct taxation (property taxes or poll taxes); non-citizens bore that burden alone. These direct taxes were as high as ten to twenty percent of goods produced. As for indirect taxes, everyone in the Roman Empire was subject; these included sales taxes and tolls on roads and bridges. [2]

The poll tax imposed by Rome on every Jewish citizen was an annual tax of a denarius—the amount of one day’s wages for an average worker. The Jews hated this tax—partly because it was a direct tax against their labor and partly because it was a foreign tax that reminded them they were no longer an independent nation. But they hated this tax mostly because the Roman coin used for payment bore the image and blasphemous inscription of Caesar, as one coin of the time read: “Tiberius Caesar Augustus, son of the Divine Augustus.”

When the Pharisees and Herodians asked Jesus about the legality of the poll tax what they meant was: “Is it lawful to pay the poll tax according to the Torah, the sacred Law?” The trap in the question was ingenious. On the one hand, if God had chosen the Jews as His own people and given them the land, and if God meant for them to live in the land as a free and peaceful people, and if God accepted their sacrifices and offerings in acknowledgment of His covenant relationship with them, then how could any Law abiding Jew pay tribute to any other power, king, or god? So, if Jesus said the tax must be paid He would be a traitor to the Torah, the temple, and the people—a fact the Pharisees would use against Him. On the other hand, if Jesus denied that the Torah allowed for the paying of the tax He would be branded a rebel—a fact the Herodians would use against Him.

But Jesus saw through their ingenuity and their hypocrisy, and asked for a denarius (22:18–21). Then Jesus posed His own question: “Whose likeness and inscription is” on the coin? “Caesar’s,” they replied. Exactly! This established an enduring principle: a distinction exits between political and spiritual responsibilities. Therefore, Caesar is due his tax in rightful obedience to his authority and God is due our lives in rightful obedience to His authority (22:22).

Years later, Paul would echo Jesus’s principle: “Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear” (Romans 13:7).

Third, private property is a sacred trust.

Jesus taught that the state has the authority to tax and we have the responsibility to pay—no more, no less. What the state doesn’t have, however, is the authority to steal, because God views private property as a sacred trust.

God owns everything—the oil in the ground, the gold and diamonds in the mines, and the cattle on a thousand hills. God owns it all.

The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it,

the world, and all who live in it. (Psalm 24:1 NIV)

Or as theologian and prime minster of the Netherlands, Abraham Kuyper put it: “There is not one square inch of the entire creation about which Jesus Christ does not cry out, ‘This is mine! This belongs to me!’” [3]

Because God owns it all, He has the right to give what He owns to whomever He chooses. When David made his offering for the building of the temple, he prayed: “Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone” (1 Chronicles 29:12). And when King Hezekiah came to the throne, many years after David’s reign, it was said of the new king:

Now Hezekiah had immense riches and honor, and he made for himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields and all kinds of valuable articles, storehouses also for the produce of grain, wine and oil, pens for all kinds of cattle and sheepfolds for the flocks. And he made cities for himself and acquired flocks and herds in abundance; for God had given him very great wealth. (2 Chronicles 32:27–29, emphasis added)

Because God owns it all and gives what is His to whom He wishes to give it—to hold, to use, and to invest as private property—mere money and plain property is transformed into a sacred trust. And because God’s material gifts are sacred trusts He outlawed theft. “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15). In fact, God outlawed the attitude leading to theft: “You shall not covet . . . anything that belongs to your neighbor” (20:17). These commands apply to the individual and to the state.

A biblical illustration of state sanctioned theft of a citizen’s private property is found in 1 Kings 21:1–24.

Ahab was a wicked king. And seeing the vineyard of Naboth, which sat next to Ahab’s palace, the king asked Naboth to sell his vineyard to the king (21:1–3). Naboth refused to sell his property because the permanent transfer of title of inherited land was against Torah Law (21:4; see Leviticus 25:23–28; Numbers 36:7).

Ahab knew the Law, but returned to his palace sullen and angry. When Jezebel, the wicked queen, heard about the conversation between Ahab and Naboth, she devised a plot to kill Naboth. Then Ahab could seize the vineyard for himself (1 Kings 21:5–10). Jezebel selected two witnesses, according to the Law (Deuteronomy 17:6), to accuse Naboth, falsely, of slandering the king and blaspheming God—crimes worthy of death.

Jezebel’s plan worked to perfection. Naboth was stoned to death and Ahab seized the vineyard (1 Kings 21:11–16). Though Naboth was killed “legally,” corrupt leaders will use what is good for what is evil. In the words of Frederic Bastiat, “[Perverse laws] convert plunder into a right, in order to protect plunder.” [4] When this happens the law becomes lawlessness. Therefore, God, through the prophet Elijah, pronounced judgment on Ahab and Jezebel for abusing their power, corrupting God’s Law, and stealing another man’s property (21:17–24).

Three Timeless Truths

What does all of this teach us about the Bible’s view of taxes and taxation, especially as it relates to our present time and tax structure in the United States? Three truths come to mind: a hope, an obligation, and a warning.

For Christians we have the hope that taxes are only temporary—that a day will come when we’ll be exempt from April 15.

But, while we remain earthbound, Christians are under obligation to submit to the state’s authority to tax. Such obedience to the state is an active demonstration of faith in and obedience to Christ, who also obediently paid His taxes.

Finally, those in authority—the state—should heed this warning: private property, including one’s income, is a sacred trust from God, and while He has granted you the authority to tax you may not abuse that authority to steal. If you exceed your God-ordained authority and turn taxation into a form of state sanctioned theft then you’ve made the law lawless and you stand condemned under the justice of God.

What the Bible doesn’t prescribe is a percentage or rate of a just tax, nor does it specify which types of taxes are just or unjust (income, sales, tariffs, customs, consumption). But the Bible is clear that God is an administrator of justice and holds those in authority accountable to administer justice. And this applies to the tax policy. Without specific biblical principles on rates or types of taxes, however, we, in the American system, must determine what is just by electing representatives and appointing judges to write, pass, administer, and adjudicate laws governing tax policy. Therefore, it is “We the People” who must insure that our taxes, as representative of the sacred trust of private property, are used properly by the state, keeping the state in check from abusing its authority and turning the law in lawlessness and justice into injustice.

[1] Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President at the National Prayer Breakfast,” Washington, D.C., February 2, 2012, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/02/02/remarks-president-national-prayer-breakfast, accessed February 7, 2012.

[2] “Exacting Taxes,” in Insight’s Handbook of New Testament Backgrounds (Plano, Tex.: IFL Publishing House, 2012), 38.

[3] Abraham Kuyper, “Sphere Sovereignty,” in Abraham Kuyper: A Centennial Reader, ed. James D. Bratt (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 488.

[4] Frederic Bastiat, The Law, trans. Dean Russell, reprint (Irvington-on-Hudson, N.Y.: The Foundation for Economic Eduction, 1987), 9.