Life Under Caesar

Intro

What is the lens through which you see the world around you?

We are all influenced by our life experience. Our upbringing. We are shaped by our trials and our triumphs. We are shaped by the people we spend our time with. We are shaped by the media we consume and the voices we give ear to.

As believers, that’s our prayer, that we would be shaped by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. If we believe what Scripture has to say, we’re given a lens to accurately see the world around us.

Now, that leads us to the next important question.

Do you believe that what the Bible’s truth is objective? Or is it up for subjective interpretation?

The Bible contains within it’s pages objective truths about God, about Jesus, about us, about the world we live in. Some of these truths are easier to interpret, while others require more context, and even others are left a mystery.

As we labor in the Word along with all of those believers who have gone before us, we aren’t looking for this subjective, ever changing truth, we are seeking the one objective true interpretation of the Bible.

As I say that, I want to be expressly clear. Not one alive on this earth today has that whole objective true interpretation of all of Scripture. We won’t know until glory. But the Bible impacts how we live our life today.

All of that said, the time you spend laboring in study of the Word, listening to your favorite pastor, or reading your favorite author, is not in vein. While there are many mysteries that we still disagree on in the Church, there are so many objective truths that we can indeed learn from our study.

If you’re looking for someone to just tell you what Scripture means, I hate to tell you, you may be in the wrong Church. We will be bold in the objective truths of Scripture, but we will always put the burden on you to go back to the word, test everything that you hear from up front against Scripture.

Romans 13:1-7

I want to unpack as much of this as we can, but I want to start

“Obedience to Earthly Authority: God’s Common Grace in a Fallen World”

Romans 2, the law is written on the hearts of all humanity

What is the Moral law? 10 commandments, summarized in Jesus’ 2.

What is the purpose of the Moral Law? It’s all about God. It all points to Christ.

Within the Moral Law is the show of common grace in humanity. Everyone receives blessing when the Moral Law is obeyed. Society is better.

The Moral Law is the glue that holds a pluralistic society together.

If we help build a society that obeys the Moral Law, we help all to experience common grace, but obedience to the Moral Law alone makes you no better than the one who breaks the Moral Law in the eyes of Christ, the Judge.

Christ alone saves. Christ alone is truth. Christ alone is what makes the difference.

1 Peter 2:13–17 “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”

Mark 12:17 “Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.”

“Obedience to the Ultimate Authority: Christ’s Kingdom Above All Kingdoms”

Mark 12:17 “Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.”

“The New Testament does not call for rebellion against civil authority, but it does call for loyalty to a higher authority. The Christian is a citizen of heaven first and a citizen of the state second. Whenever the state commands what God forbids, or forbids what God commands, we must obey God rather than men.”

— R.C. Sproul

What does separation of Church and State mean? Separation of legislation. We cannot legislate Christianity, or any religion, by requiring submission or profession to Christianity.

Separation of Church and State does not mean separation of influence. We, as Christians, absolutely should vote our conscience, vote our conviction.

Our life should be seen though the lens of Scripture. Scripture alone is truth because Jesus says that He Himself is Truth. The Triune God of the Universe is Truth.

As we fight against a secular culture, who seek to spread their worldview by promoting it through law, we as Christians do not fight with the sword. We don’t use violence to bludgeon people into submission.

We fight with our words, in public forums, knowing that we represent the truth. Knowing that we represent the one way to salvation.

We cannot separate our view of the Church from our view of the State. We should be deeply involved in the politics of our country, because we are free to do so.

And we do all of this knowing that this place is not our home. We are sojourners in a foreign land. We are tent dwellers, but tent dwellers who carry the name of Jesus into the nations, teaching them all that Jesus commanded.

Our allegiance is to King Jesus alone, but in our submission to King Jesus, we are commanded to be subject under the authority of the nation we live in.

You are not defined first by your political affiliation, but you are defined first by who God says you are. A citizen of Heaven. An heir with Christ.

Now, I hear the mumblings. “What are we doing talking about politics in Church. I really like Mazevo, but I came here to talk about God, not politics.”

Well, we came here to talk about the Bible, and what the Bible makes important. If it’s important enough for Jesus, and the biblical authors to talk about, it’s important enough for us to talk about. 

Now, what I will say, is that we will never, as so many now do, and throughout history have, use the church as a weapon to mobilize for political purposes. We will never allow politics, or anything else in this world, for that matter, inform our view of Scripture. We will do just the opposite. Allow our view of Scripture to inform our view of politics. 

We have a common ground upon which we must agree is ultimate, objective truth. The Bible. 

Philippians 3:20 “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,”