Render to Caesar the Things that are Caesar's, and to God the Things that are God's
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1 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.
2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.
4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.
5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake.
6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing.
7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
Many may find this passage to be hard to receive. Paul tells us to submit to governmental authorities. These are the same authorities that Christ spoke of in
16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
17 But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues.
18 You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.
The Psalmist wrote of them in..
1 Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.”
Paul told us that these governors are ministers of God for our good. How can they be?
Outside of God being completely in control we cannot comprehend evil governments being servants of God for our good.
Certianty we can see that there are evil authorities who are enemies of God. Yet the God who has every hair of our head numbered, the God who is not only aware every time a sparrow falls to the ground it can only happen if He wills it. That God has not relinquished His power and He sits on His throne.
As the Psalm goes on to say...
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision.
5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure:
I believe this to be one of the most important things about God that we can come to understand. Because I don’t trust governmental authorities I trust God. Be wise as serpents but harmless as doves. But whatever Satan and worldly governments mean for harm God ordains for our good.
So a Christian who recognises that our governors authority and ministry comes from God must do more than just tolerate their rule as a necessary evil, we must submit to its authority and encourage our leaders to fulfil their God ordained role by reminding them that they are indeed God’s servants. And as we will look at this morning we must honour the governmental representatives and be actively involved in supporting the government with our finances.
Render Unto Caesar That Which is Caesar’s
Render Unto Caesar That Which is Caesar’s
Paul says
6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing.
7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
Not only does Paul tell us here to pay taxes but he tells us the reason is because they are ministers of God attending continually to this very thing. What very thing? For your good they punish evil doers and praise those who do good. They continue in this continually which is a cost to them and they should be compensated but also there is a cost to running the government. The point is we should not reluctantly pay taxes rather we should do so with gratitude for what our government is for us.
Why we may ask does Paul focus in on this particular aspect of citizenship?
Taxes were an issue for Jews and Christians alike. To understand why we need to go back to the Old Testament Law concerning tithes. Tithes were mandatory for the Israelites. It was their form of taxes. there were at least three different tithes that they payed not only as fulfilling their civil duty but also as a part of there worship to God. So when Israel was occupied by Rome they were also forced to pay taxes to Rome. Because of their resentment of the Roman occupation and the cultural and spiritual implication they resented paying taxes. This is also why the tax collectors were considered the scum of the earth because these were Jewish traders who were helping Rome collect taxes from their own people.
This is why Paul address this issue particularly. But His teaching here does not stand on its own rather it is firmly grounded in the teaching of Christ.
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.
16 And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
These rulers took counsel together on how they might entangle Jesus in His words. These where the Pharisees who themselves strongly objected to the taxes of Rome and the Herodians who were nationalist that supported paying taxes to Rome because Rome gave Herod authority to rule. Yet these two groups united together in their attack on Christ. Through deception they attempt to disarm Jesus through flattery
17 Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
They presented Christ with this question in order to trap Him. If Jesus answered no it is not lawful then He could be arrested and if Jesus answered yes then He would lose popularity with the people. He also had the Herodians in support of taxes and the Pharisees who were against taxes both watching every word in order to exploit it. If Jesus had been a slimy politician He would have found a way to avoid giving any definitive answer. But Christ was not afraid of arrest and He was not afraid of losing popularity. So instead He takes the opportunity to teach truth and He gives a strong answer.
When we are faced with difficult questions we should not think of what answer will make us look good or be popular we should think what is truth. Then be bold enough to speak truth.
18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?
19 Show Me the tax money.” So they brought Him a denarius.
20 And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”
21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
22 When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.
In His infinite wisdom Jesus says Whose image and inscription is this” to which the crowd responds “Caesar’s”. Christ Immediately exposing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees who although the resent paying taxes to Rome happily use the Roman currency. We can learn so much from Christ in His response. We should not be so quick to answer the challenging question but rather ask the questions that cause those around to think.
Then He says “render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s”
The use of Caesar’s currency acknowledges Caesar’s authority and therefore the obligation to pay taxes. We cannot benefit expect to receive the benifits of our government (roads, education, protection, infrastructure etc.) without making contribution. If we enjoy Caesar’s benifits then we should pay Caesar’s taxes.
And yet there is more to what Christ says.
Render to God the Things that are God’s
Render to God the Things that are God’s
Here Jesus cuts to the very heart of the issue. Christ condoned paying taxes to Caesar but not to worship him. The tithes of the Israelites was not only a tax but an act of worship. And Caesar also demanded that he the people call him lord. But Jesus says, this coin is obviously Caesar’s because it carries his image so give it to him. So by the same reasoning render to God what is God’s
So what is it that Christ is saying belongs to God and should be rendered to Him?
Some may say tithe. He was saying that the taxes belong to Caesar and tithes belong to God. There is no doubt that tithes are included in this but i think that if we limit it to tithe only then we miss the bigger point that Christ is making here.
The coin bears Caesars images and so belongs to him, but what bears the image of God? I believe that Jesus is saying pay your taxes but yield your body unto God, worship God with all your being. If we should pay taxes because of the benifits that we enjoy from our government what should we give to God for the benifits we receive from Him.
This was the teaching of Christ and it is the same message we have received from Paul in Romans.
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
So we should
7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
Rather than paying taxes with resentment, Let’s recognise that we are just giving money back to Caesar that belongs to him. And rather than putting our tithe in the offering and thinking that we’ve paid our dues, let us realise that God has given us everything and the only offering worthy of Christ is for me to yield all to Him.