Scripture to Read: Romans 13:6
We get into a subject today that no one likes to talk about, taxes. Well, accountants and others like them don’t mind talking about taxes, but most people do not want to have to deal with taxes at all. But even God deals with taxes in His Word, so taxes have been around for a long time. Paying taxes obviously has been a subject that people have not liked for a long time or God would not be dealing with it in His Word. As we have already learned this week, God has placed certain authorities over us, and we do not need to fear them when we are doing what is right. We learn in Romans 13:6 that another way we are to submit to the authorities in place is by paying the taxes we are supposed to pay. God, again, calls the authorities in our lives His servants as another reminder of what God taught us in Romans 13:1, that “there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.” A sobering thought is that if there were zero authorities, our lives would be a train wreck. Our flesh (Galatians 5:15–21, Ephesians 2:2–3, Romans 7:18, Romans 8:5–8) is so extremely ugly that all of us would be living simply to please ourselves and we’d be destroying the lives around us. God does not make mistakes, so we need to continually submit and even be joyful through our submission, knowing God is growing us to be more like Him.
Challenge & Application
• Why is it hard at times to obey the authorities over us, and what would our world look like if there were no authorities?
• How will you submit to God’s Truth in what He taught you today, and how will you help others to do the same?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!