God and Government

“God and Government”

.

I know that many believers seek to keep their distance from politics. There are a number of people that believe God and government should never mix; but that is impossible, because every public policy expresses a moral judgment about what is good, or bad.

So the questions is; “Should a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, obey the government, or get involved in government, or should we keep our convictions and beliefs to ourselves and let the unbelievers run the government”?

Does Jesus or the Bible have anything to say about our responsibilities to our Country?

Right here in these verses Jesus speaks about our responsibilities to our government, and to God.

V:20, The Pharisee’s sent spies, to Jesus, we are told why they came, V:20-“take hold of his words”-Means to trap Jesus, trip Jesus up.

They start by flattering Jesus, V:21, they are buttering him up for the kill. Then they ask the question, V: 22-Read. Should we pay taxes are not, Yes or No? They think they have Jesus trapped: If Jesus said, yes pay taxes the people would turn on Him as a traitor and He would be finished.

If Jesus said, No don’t pay taxes to Rome, He could be arrested by the Romans for Insurrection.

They think they have Jesus trapped, we know that is impossible, but they have not learned that yet!

Jesus knew they motive was evil, V:23-read.

What will Jesus say? I imagine that all eyes were on Him, they held their breath to hear what He would say. Jesus asked for a coin,V:24, the coin was a denarius, the required tax money, a day’s wage. Then Jesus ask them, V:24-“Whose image and inscription is this”? They said, Caesar’s,

V:25-“Jesus said unto them, give to Caesar the things which are Caesar’s: and give to God the things that are God’s”.

In His amazing reply Jesus answers two questions; 1st question:

1. What do I Owe My Government?

Jesus says, V:25-“Give unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s.”

Jesus made it clear that people owed certain things to their Government. This still stands true today; Christians have certain responsibilities to their country. Some people don’t understand this or agree with this. They have a false view of government and Christian involvement in politics.

In his book Politics According to the Bible,

Wayne Grudem listed five false views about Christians and government:

1. Government Should Compel Religion.

This view suggests that governments should force people to be religious. The problem is that people cannot be forced to become Christians.

They cannot be forced to place their faith in Christ; it must be voluntary. Jesus never forced people to become Christians. In , Jesus sent the disciples into a town of Samaritans, but the people wouldn’t receive Him. The disciples said, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” If this would have happened, I guarantee the people at the next village would have received Jesus!!! Jesus did not force religion.

2. Government Should Exclude Religion.

Another false view is the idea that government should exclude religion. This view basically says that religion and religious beliefs should be completely excluded from governments or politics.

This view is held by many people in our country today, and our religious liberty is being threated.

3. All Government is Evil and Demonic.

This view basically views all governments as evil and demonic. It basically says, “Government is bad.”

It doesn’t matter if it is democratic or totalitarian or communistic…it is bad. People who believe this often criticize Christians who are involved in politics or who are supportive of their country. This view has NO biblical base whatsoever. There are numerous verses that talk about God establishing kingdoms and nations, as well as numerous verses that talk about God casting down kingdoms and judging nations. There are also verses that talk about God establishing civil government and governing authorities.

: “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”

This verse doesn’t say that government is evil or wicked; it says that government is established by God!

Sure, some governments (including our government at times) do evil things and act in immoral ways, but this does not mean that all governments are evil and wicked. Government itself is not evil, but it can be used for evil.

It is similar to a gun. Guns are not evil, but they can be used for evil (kill someone or intimidate someone in order to rob them). They can also be used for good (to protect your family or to kill an animal for food). This view is simply not biblical.

4. Do Evangelism, Not Politics.

This view says that Christians should just focus on the gospel and not discuss politics. The problem is that Christians are responsible to listen to and obey the teachings of the Bible on all subjects, including politics. The Bible talks about governments and political issues, and Christians cannot simply ignore these passages. Faithful, biblical Christians must become involved in politics in ways that are consistent with the biblical teaching concerning civil government and moral issues.

5. Do Politics, Not Evangelism.

This view says that Christians should focus on politics to the exclusion of evangelism. It focuses on the present, earthly kingdom instead of the eternal kingdom.

While we should try to influence earthly kingdoms in a positive way, our focus should not be on America or any other country.

Our focus should be on Jesus Christ!

We cannot allow politics to sidetrack us from the main task of taking Jesus Christ to the nations. The “do politics, not evangelism” view is dangerous and must be avoided. Each of these views is inaccurate or incomplete. Scripture is very clear that God has established governments and that government is not evil or “off-limits” for Christians. God and Christians are involved in national affairs all throughout the Bible. Listen to these verses:

-“The kings heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes”

-“The most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whoever he will.”

-“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

-“Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good”

God has established the government and governing authorities, and there are certain things we owe them. We should:

a. Pay our taxes.

In this passage, Jesus tells the people to pay taxes to the government. Jesus said, it is right to pay taxes, Paul followed up on Jesus teaching and said in

-Read.

. Jesus paid taxes. . Now, of course, we all love to stand-up against over- taxation.

Somebody said “a nation is on its last legs when half the people get the idea they don't have to work because the government will take care of them, and the other half get the idea it does no good to work because the government takes everything away from them.

A Frenchman said “France fell when the people began to think of the government as a cow to be milked rather than a watchdog to be fed”.

Our founding fathers said that government is to provide for the common defense and promote the general welfare. They did not say that the government is to provide the general welfare. The government is here to provide the common defense. You and I can't raise an army; we can't go around like a bunch of vigilantes, taking vengeance on people. We need a common defense and that’s what government is for. But we are to promote the general welfare, we are to work and earn a living, we are not supposed to be taken care of by the government.

The Bible says if a man will not work, neither should he eat. We're to pay taxes. And, yes, we grumble and gripe. And try to keep taxes as low as we can. But we benefit from the goods and services that our taxes pay for.

We have the greatest military force in the world and the finest young men and women serving in it. We have law enforcement, roads, schools, libraries, and parks. So pay your taxes but hold your elected officials accountable for how they spend them.

We should:

b. Participate in public life.

If you don't participate in your government, you are disobeying the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said we're to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesars.

Our Caesar is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people; if you do not participate, you are not giving to Caesar what is due. A wise man said that the tragedy of our time is the bad citizenship of good people.

You don’t believe that God ordained human government and then told His people to stay out of

it. Now, if that is true, who does that leave to make the laws and to run the nation? Christians are to participate, but our focus is not on parties, persons, or politics, but on principles. I've heard for years about the Christian Right, the Christian Right. I am not interested in choosing between the right and left. I want to choose between right and wrong.

There are many ways to participate in government, one of the greatest ways is to vote.

The most basic form of participation is voting, selecting our government. -“But select capable men from all the people men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain and appoint them as officials…”

Don't believe for one second that because you're a Bible-believing Christian you can’t speak up or get involved? I realize there are many opinions among Bible believing people when it comes to issues such as the economy, national security, energy independence, immigration, race relationships, etc. All of these are very important issues facing us today. But as Christians there are three things that we ought to all agree on, because they are crystal clear in the bible:

1. The value of human life.

Life is precious, miraculous, sacred, and starts at conception.

2. The value of traditional family.

That marriage is between one man and one woman.

While we love the person who is living in a Homosexual lifestyle we cannot approve of it; it is a sin against God’s design, it is destructive to the people involved, and it undermines our society.

3. The value of religious freedom.

The first Amendment says “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…

Our country does not value human life; our country no longer accepts the biblical definition of the family. Religious freedom is the freedom to speak about Jesus, and the bible, and live those believes out in your life! Religious freedom is not just freedom to express and live biblical truth out in your heart and behind the doors of the church and your home. It is the freedom to live for Jesus and biblical truth in all of life!

True religion/salvation affects a person outwardly; it touches all that a person is and does. True salvation, a life under the Lordship of Jesus Christ shapes a person’s core values.

A relationship with Jesus Christ changes our beliefs, values and actions; and because that is true it affects our political views and public interactions! Freedom of religion cannot be restricted to freedom of inner worship it must and will extend beyond private beliefs and local worship services. Christianity orients a person’s heart toward Jesus, a heart orientation that affects the entirety of life, including a person’s actions and interactions in the public square.

The central claim of Christianity is that Jesus Christ is the king of heaven and earth; and the gospel is public truth! Christianity is not a set of opinions you keep to yourself. Christianity is a worldview that affects what a person believes about every spear of life!

Jesus Christ is Lord over every spear of life; and when He is Lord of your life he directs your thoughts, beliefs and values in every area of life.

I know that as soon as a Christian says anything, about the Bible, God or Jesus, morals, or marriage someone will cry: ”Separation of church and state”.

The phrase "separation of church and state" is not even found in the Constitution of the United States of America!

There is no restriction placed on the church; all the limitations are placed upon the government.

The phrase "separation of church and state came eleven years after the Constitution was adopted and ratified. It came from Thomas Jefferson, who, in some correspondence, used that phrase, "a wall of separation between church and state."

And he was not using that phrase to say that the church should stay out of government, but that the government should stay out of the church.

What does the First Amendment mean, when it says that Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion?

It means that we will have no national church. Our national church will not be an Episcopal Church, are a Baptist Church, or a Methodist Church.

But our Constitution is not hostile to religion, and our Constitution is not hostile to the Christian faith. John Adams said "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

The church is here to Minister God's grace; the government is here to Minister God's justice.

The church is to expose evil; the state is to restrain evil.

The church is to carry out the Great Commission; the state is to preserve peace so it is possible for us to carry out the Great Commission in liberty and peace.

The government is national; the church is international. It is rooted in the kingdom of God. We are to participate in public life. And don't let anybody try to stop you because we're Christian.

We should:

c. Pray for Our Leaders.

: "I exhort, therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings, and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

Do you pray for your Country? If you don't pray and you don't vote, you shouldn’t complain. We're to pray for our leaders even if they're wicked, if they're wicked, pray all the more.

-"The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as rivers of water He turns it whithersoever He will." We've often heard it said that wicked rulers are God's reward for wicked people. God's people in the wilderness wanted something that was not best for them. The Bible says, God gave them the desire of their heart and sent leanness into their souls. That is what is happening in America!

We owe our government our prayers, the only hope for America is a mighty revival, and that will come about by prayer, -Read!

Revival will not start in the White House nor in the State House, but in the church house and your house and my house when we pray.

We must pray for our President, congress, Senate, Supreme Court, we must pray for our Governor, and our city mayor. The Bible says we're to pray for those in authority, whether we agree with their politics are not. America needs our prayers.

Abraham Lincoln said, I believe that it is the duty of nations, as well as men, to recognize their dependence upon the overruling power of God.

When we recognize our dependence upon God we will pray! We pray our leaders will have wisdom to lead our nation according to the Judeo-Christian principles this nation was founded upon.

We pray that they will be saved, that is the only way the nation can be changed, one person at a time! We need to cry out to the Lord on behalf of our nation and its leadership, and get desperate before the Lord.

We should:

d. Preach to our Country.

God told the prophet Isaiah to preach to his nation,

-“Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

All throughout the bible God calls His preachers to preach His truth to the nations they lived in:

· Moses was a man of God and he spoke to Pharaoh and warned Pharaoh.

· Nathan was a prophet of God and he spoke to King David and told him where he was wrong.

· Elijah was a prophet of God and he spoke to King Ahab and told him where he was wrong.

· Daniel was a man of God and he preached and spoke and prophesied to King Nebuchadnezzar.

We're to preach to our nation, and to our government! We are the salt of the earth, not the salt of the church!

Salt is no good in the shaker; Salt must get out of the shaker; Salt is meant to penetrate, irritate, cleanses, heal and persevere!

We are the light of the WORLD, and then He said you don't light a candle and put it under a bushel. And Jesus said a city on a hill cannot be hid. We are to shine the light and speak the truth, we must not be silent!

Killing babies in a mother’s womb is wrong! Redefining marriage to include homosexuals is wrong!

Taking away our religious heritage is wrong!

I don’t hate you because I tell you the truth; I am not a bigot because I disagree with your lifestyle.

America’s greatest hope is its churches, when the church loses its voice; the country loses its conscience. It’s a sad day for the church in America when the church supports and promotes sinful behavior, The Presbyterian Church (USA) voted overwhelmingly to allow their clergy to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies. They are rejecting the absolute truth of the inerrant word of God which clearly states that marriage is between a man and a woman () and condemns homosexual behavior ().

We are to preach to our government, stand up against the sin that is being pushed down our throat. We need to be informed and vocal about Religious Liberty. -“Righteousness exalts a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.

The word for nation in that verse is the Hebrew word-go’ee, and it refers to a foreign nation; a Gentile, heathen, nation.

In that verse we have a warning and a promise.

The warning- Sin is a disgrace to a nation.

The promise- righteousness exalts a nation.

We owe our Country- we are to pay, Participate, pray, and preach to our Country.

Jesus answers a second question:

2. What do I Owe God?

V:25-“ Render unto God the things that are God’s”

Jesus held up the coin with the image of Caesar and said, give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s. You say what is God’s?

If you look in the mirror you will see that God’s image is stamped on you; you are to give to God what is rightfully His –yourself! We owe God far more than we owe the government; the early Christian would not give to Caesar what belonged to God. They would not give to Caesar their worship, they refused to say Caesar is Lord, and because of that many of them died.

They would not give their worship, loyalty, tithe, or themselves to the government; those things belong to God alone!

Pastor what if it comes down to having to choose between God and government?

What if the government asks you to do something unbiblical or immoral? The Bible answers that, too.

-“They commanded them not to speak, nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

-“But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.

We must obey God rather than men. There may come a time when you and I must practice civil disobedient. When, the little babies were being killed in the time of wicked Pharaoh, the midwives would not obey the command of the Pharaoh and kill the babies. There may be a time when they will say to me, "Eddie you cannot preach the Bible." I'm going to preach it anyway. And I am not going to marry or ordain homosexuals; and I am not going to lower the standard of God's Word!

My first responsibility is to God! Uncle Sam may be my uncle, but he will never be my heavenly Father. I must give to God what is God! The government is not the solution to man’s problem, the glorious gospel is! We owe God our life, love, and loyalty; He is to be #1 in our life!

Give to your Country the things that are the Country’s, and give to God what is His. The God who demands that we give everything to him has already given everything to us…everything, including his own blood!

Will you give to God what is rightfully His today? Give Him yourself, your worship, time, talents, and your money!