Taxes, Tithes, & Trust
April 22, 2018 Morning Service
Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK
Rick Boyne
Message Point: We must obediently trust God with our finances and other assets & resources.
Focus Passage: Matthew 22:15-22
Supplemental Passage: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33 NASB)
Introduction: There’s a story told about a fitness center. This fitness center owner was offering $1,000 to anyone who could prove that they were stronger than he was. Here’s how it worked: the owner of the fitness center was a real muscle man, and he would take a lemon and squeeze it until all the juice had run into a glass. He’d then hand the lemon to the challenger. Anyone who could squeeze just one more drop of juice out, would win the money. Many people tried overtime - weight lifters, construction workers - even professional wrestlers but no-one could get another drop of juice out of that lemon. One day a short, skinny guy came in and signed up for the contest. Amid the laughs and snickers of the crowd, the owner grabbed a lemon and squeezed the juice out of it and handed it to the scrawny looking man. The man clenched his fist around the lemon, squeezed, and six more drops of juice fell into the glass. Everybody went silent, the owner paid out the money and then asked him, “Are you a lumberjack, a weightlifter, or what?” The man picked up his money, walked to the door and said, “No. None of those. I work for Internal Revenue.” (Sermon Central)
The whole scenario is the Pharisees trying to set up Jesus so that they can condemn Him. He answers in such a way that there are no grounds on which to allege blasphemy or treason. They come to Him with flattery and kind words, appealing, to a natural man’s pride. They were hoping to catch an errant word to run to the Temple leaders or to Herod or even to Caesar with evidence of sedition or subversion. For most, this would have a been a lose-lose proposition, but they seriously didn’t know Who they were dealing with! He first calls them hypocrites, then beats them at their own game.
I. Taxes
a. Jesus gives a biblical mandate to pay taxes
b. A previous encounter regarding taxes is in Matthew 17:24-47
i. When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?" He *said, "Yes." And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?" When Peter said, "From strangers," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are exempt. "However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me." (Matthew 17:24-27 NASB)
c. Paul tells us in Romans 13 regarding taxes:
i. Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience' sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. (Romans 13:1-7 NASB)
II. Tithes
a. Jesus gives a New Testament reason to honor God with tithes and offerings
b. The only time Jesus spoke directly about tithing was in condemnation of Pharasees
c. Tithing is an Old Testament law regarding grain, animals, and other products. Every Jew was required by the Levitical law to pay three tithes of his property
i. one tithe for the Levites;
ii. one for the use of the temple and the great feasts;
iii. one for the poor of the land.
d. We see Jesus remarking about the widow giving all she had in Mark 12:41-44
e. A tithe is 10%. But remember! Graces ALWAYS exceeds the Law. 10% is a good place to start, but should go beyond that.
III. Trust God
a. In any case, we are to trust God with our finances and ALL of our resources
b. There are many people who feel they cannot give a proper tithe because they have too many bills to pay. God addresses this in Malachi 3:
i. "Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. "You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. "Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes," says the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 3:8-11 NASB)
c. Jesus said, ““…render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's." (Matthew 22:21) So, what “things” are God’s? The answer is EVERYthing. Everything belongs to God. All that you claim as your own actually is God’s own. Your talents. Your time. Your home. Your car. Your computer. Your new cell phone. Your big screen TV. Your savings account. Your paycheck. Your retirement account. It ALL belongs to God.
Application/Invitation: How can you trust God with your salvation, which is eternal, if you can’t trust Him with your finances, which are temporary?
