Do Not Give Caesar What Is Not His.

Opening:

Good morning Connection Church. I am so glad that you have come out to worship God with us. It is a vital thing to gather together on the Lord’s Day. This morning, we are going to be tackling a very hot topic. Much has been said about this topic, and everyone has opinions about it. Most people have very strong opinions on this topic. So what topic are we covering? How do God and government relate? What is the relation between church and state? Thankfully, God has not left us in the dark on this subject. Remember, the Scriptures are our rule for all of faith and life. This means that Scripture is sufficient to speak to every aspect of life.

Just a reminder, we will have a time where you can ask your questions about how God and government relate.

Introduction of the Text:

So why are we covering this topic? We are covering this topic because Jesus addresses it in our next set of verses in Matthew. We are in Matthew 22:15-22 this morning. Just a reminder of where we are at in our study of the gospel of Matthew. We have entered into Holy Week. This is the week leading up to the cross and the resurrection. We recently have covered the triumphal entry and Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple. These were incredible events. In the triumphal entry, Jesus was declaring Himself to be the prophesied King. In cleansing the Temple Jesus was declaring Himself to be the Lord of the Temple. Jesus then began to proclaim judgement on the religious leaders and all of Israel through parable. The religious leaders knew what Jesus was saying, and they hated Him for it. We are now seeing the first of three attempts on their part to discredit and entrap the Lord.

With this in mind, I would ask the congregation to stand with me for the reading of God’s Word.

Reading of the Text:

TAXES TO CAESAR

15 Then the Pharisees went and took counsel together about how they might trap Him in what He said.16 And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any.17 Therefore, tell us, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a tax to Caesar, or not?”18 But Jesus, knowing their wickedness, said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites?19 Show Me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. 20 And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Therefore, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.”22 And hearing this, they marveled, and leaving Him, they went away.

Behold, the Word of God. Let’s pray.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we come before you humbly and ask for wisdom. The meaning of this text is much disputed. So Lord, we ask that you would give us wisdom to handle it well. The topic of the authority of civil government can be a greatly heated issue. Many fights and divisions have broken out in the church over this. Many are passionate to the point of sin over this topic. Help us to be humble and seek out what you have said. May we submit to you, the Lord of all. May our allegiance be to you, the King of kings. Humble us before you, Lord. Speak to us through your Word. We ask this, knowing you hear our cry, in Jesus name. Amen.

Transition:

This is a text that most people are familiar with. If they are not familiar with the whole passage, they at least recognize the phrase “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar and to God the things that are God’s.” What could be a more clear text? Clearly we are to give Caesar the things that are his, and we are to give God the things that are his. But is that so clear? What does it mean to give Caesar the things that are Caesar’s? How do we know what is Caesar’s? Many live their lives like whatever Caesar says is his, is his. If Caesar says that something is due him, we ought to submit without question. Bow down and hail Caesar because he is lord. If you question this style of submission, it does not take long for someone to quote, “Jesus told us to render unto Caesar.” Clearly we ought to do exactly as Jesus commanded. So is that it? Is the case closed? Well, before we dive into blind obedience to what we think is meant by this passage, we should make sure we understand it. Always seek to understand what is being said before you apply it. If you jump to application before doing the work of coming to the understanding of the text, you will fall easily into error.

Explanation:

So what does this text mean? Well, remember, the three most important rules to understanding the meaning of a text are context, context, and context. So let us examine what is happening in this text. Let us set the context.

The first thing we see is the Pharisees plot to trap Jesus.

The Pharisees Plot to Trap Jesus.

The Pharisees went and plotted how to trap Jesus. They wanted to catch Him in some mistake so that they could accuse Him. They were doing this because they hated Jesus. Jesus’ entire ministry was full of criticism of the religious leaders, including the Pharisees. Remember, the Pharisees were the ones who were adding their own commands into the Law of God. They thought they were so holy that they could correct where God had gotten it wrong. They thought God was not speaking enough about certain things, so they thought they would help God out and add in some new commands.

Calvin is credited with saying “Where God stops speaking about something, so should we.”

I think this is probably the best advice to avoid being a Pharisee. God has given us the full rule of faith and life in His word. We do not need to add new commands into it. We need to strive to obey the commands God has given. And this was the downfall of the Pharisees. By adding their own commands into the perfect Law of God, they disobeyed the Law. Jesus called them out harshly for this. And they hated Him for it. The Pharisees, and now the other religious leaders were plotting how to kill Jesus.

In this latest plot, the Pharisees sent their disciples along with a group known as the Herodians to entrap Jesus. Who were the Herodians? They were a sect who were loyal to the Roman appointed Herod. This is why they were called “Herod-ians.” This also meant that they were loyal to Rome. Rome had appointed Herod and the king. Most of the Jews greatly resented this because Herod was not a Jew. So these were odd bed fellows. But they had united against the common enemy of our Lord. In the end, sinners unite over their hatred of God.

How did this strange group of men plan to entrap Jesus? They started with flattery and then planned to entrap Jesus in a heated political discussion. But this did not work, because as John says, Jesus knows what is in man.

Jesus Knows What is in Man.

Jesus was not deceived. They came to Him with flattery. They came and called Him a truthful teacher who taught the way of God in truth. They said that Jesus was not partial. It is worth noting that while they were attempting to speak flattering lies, they actually spoke the truth about Christ. Jesus is a true teacher who teaches the way of God in truth. They were attempting to lure Jesus in with flattering lies. Instead they condemned themselves by admitting who Jesus really is.

They flatter Him and then ask Him if it is lawful to pay the poll tax to Caesar. This was a census tax that Caesar had demanded. The Jews hated this for multiple reasons that we will get into more, but one of these reasons is that they did not want to be identified with Rome at all. To pay a census tax cemented their status as a conquered people.

Jesus is not bated. He perceived their malice and asks them, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites?” These are harsh words, but these men deserved them.

Jesus then asks them to bring Him a denarius, which is used for the poll tax. He then asks them who’s likeness and inscription are on the coin?

Who’s Likeness and Inscription are on the Coin?

The men answered that it was Caesar’s likeness on the coin. They likely felt that Jesus was falling right into their trap. There is much history on the denarius. It was a coin minted by Caesar. On the front was the image of the face of the current Caesar. In this case it was Tiberius. On the back was Tiberius seated on a throne. The Jews had many issues with this. They felt that this constituted a graven image.

The Jews and the Romans had an interesting relationship. When the Romans marched into Jerusalem, the Jews forbid banners of Caesar. They would not allow these images into the city. They attempted to ban the denarius from use as well. However, this did not work. The Romans allowed the Jews much religious freedom, but not total. Rome allowed the Jews to maintain the worship of their God and even their own religious governmental structure. Rome meddled in it and forced it to be subject to it’s own system, but it was still more than they gave most people. They did this because they knew the Jews would never surrender their religious rights. The Jews would all die before they surrendered those things. But Rome did subjugate them.

And Rome exercised this power in many ways. The establishing of a non Jewish King in Herod was a large way. The Darius was a smaller way. But the Jews still hated it. But what is the big deal? Why did they care about a coin so much? What was their reasoning for calling it idolatry? Well, honestly, they were right. Emperor worship was a rising practice. People were encouraged to worship Caesar as a god. To prove this, one must simply look at the inscriptions that Jesus was speaking of.

On the back of the coin, paired with the image of Tiberius on a throne was the inscription “Pontifex Maximus.” What does that mean? It means that Tiberius was claiming to be the chief priest, or the religious ruler. However, even more blasphemous was the inscription on the front of the coin. On the front of the coin read, “TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS,” an abbreviation of “TIBERIVS CAESAR DIVI AVGVSTI FILIVS AVGVSTVS” — “Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus, Augustus.” Caesar was claiming to the son of the god, Caesar Augustus. He was claiming to a god.

It is obviously clear why the Jews hated this. They had a legitimate point when they said those coins were idolatry. They were a direct reminder of the paganism of their rulers. And while the people were split in some ways, they were mostly against Roman rule. There were radical groups known as the zealots who wished to overthrow Roman rule, and most people were at least sympathetic to them. And yet, there were some, including the Herodians, who were supportive of Rome. Jesus had a Zealot and a tax collector among His disciples. Simon the zealot was a revolutionary who would have supported the overthrow of Rome and Matthew the former tax collector made his living from Rome.

This reflects the groups who had come to accuse Jesus. If Jesus said a simple yes to the question on the tax, He would have been alienated from the people and it would have been easy to insight a revolt against Him. If He said a simple no to not pay the tax, the Herodians would have been witnesses against Him and claimed Him as a rebel against Rome. So how does Jesus answer this tricky question? What side does He chose? Jesus says “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” And here is where we see the genius of Christ. Many get this totally wrong. They claim Jesus gives a neutral answer. Make no mistake, this was not neutral. Jesus may not have taken a specific side, but what Jesus said would have baffled everyone and made everyone mad.

Let’s think about that first part. “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s.”

Render to Caesar What is Caesar’s.

Jesus, holding the denarius with Caesar’s face on it, says to give Caesar what is rightfully Caesar’s. Jesus says that Caesar has real authority and deserves real tribute. What does this entail? They were to pay the tax. Jesus denies the anarchist position of defying Caesar just to deny Caesar. Jesus acknowledges the legitimate authority of the emperor. This on it’s own would have made the zealots and their supporters angry. But Jesus does not stop there. He continues on and says, Render to God what is God’s.

Render to God What is God’s.

This next statement from Jesus is even more radical. Jesus, holding the denarius that held the inscriptions claiming Caesar to be the son of a god and the high priest, denies Caesar’s deity. Jesus acknowledges the real authority of the emperor while denying the idolatry of the emperor. There are things reserved for God that Caesar has no claim to. So what were the people to make of this statement? They were amazed and left in awe. Who could say anything against that? The Pharisees and Herodians came to entrap Jesus and left with their tongues sealed behind their teeth.

Argumentation:

And this is where we must dive into study. We have seen the explanation of what happened and the surrounding context, but what does this mean? What are the implications of this? How do we balance out what Jesus is saying? That has been a struggle throughout church history. How do we reconcile this? How do we understand Caesar vs God.

[Write “Caesar vs. God” on white board]

Caesar Vs. God.

J.C. Ryle says this, “The subject unquestionably is one of great difficulty and delicacy. It is certain that the church must not swallow up the state. It is no less certain that the state must not swallow up the church. On no point, perhaps, have conscientious men been so much tried. On no point have good men disagreed so much, as in solving the problem, “where the things of Caesar end, and the things of God begin.” The civil power, on the one side, has often encroached terribly on the rights of conscience—as the English puritans found to their cost in the unhappy time of the Stuarts. The spiritual power, on the other side, has often pushed its claims to an extravagant extent, so as to take Caesar’s sceptre out of his hands—as it did when the church of Rome trampled on our own English king John. In order to have a right judgment in all questions of this kind, every true Christian should constantly pray for wisdom from above. The man whose eye is single, and who daily seeks for grace, and practical common sense, will never be allowed greatly to err.”

This statement is well done. Ryle hits the nail on the head. We can see clear examples in history of where this was handled wrong. We can see where the civil authority clearly overstepped. We can also see where the church, in the name of God, attempted to overthrow the civil government. So how do we handle this? How do we determine where the things of Caesar end and the things of God begin? Well, we must do as we do in all things. We look to the only sure rule of life and faith. What does Scripture say? What does Scripture say is given to Caesar? What is Caesar’s?

[Draw a circle around “Caesar’s”]

What Is Caesar’s?

The three most important rules for understanding Scripture are context, context, and context. But there is another rule I have given you for understanding difficult topics in Scripture. That rule is, “The clear passages govern the unclear.” This means that we do not go to the most confusing passages on a topic to understand them. We try to find the clearest passage that addresses the topic at hand. On the subject of the church and government, Romans 13 is most often turned to. It has become almost a phrase in itself. “How should I handle the government?” one person asks. “Romans 13!” says the other person. So what does Romans 13 say? Let’s look at Romans 13:1-7.

Romans 13:1-7 says this, “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist have been appointed by God.2 Therefore whoever resists that authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of that authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same;4 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 in vain, for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of that wrath, but also because of conscience.6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.7 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.

There it is. Clearly we are to blindly submit to everyone who claims to be an authority. No, of course there is more depth to it than that. So what is being said? Well, Paul tells the Romans that every person is to be subject to the ruling authorities. Why? Because they are given their authority from God.

[Write “Given authority from God” on white board]

Therefore, whoever resists them is resisting the ordinance of God. Then Paul begins to explain what it means that human governments are an ordinance from God. He says, “for.” that shows that He is now explaining his previous statement. For, rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior but for evil. If you do what is good, they will praise you. Now hang on. Clearly there are many many many examples of governments that have praised the evil and punished the good. So is Paul wrong? No, of course not. Paul is giving the definition of what the ruling authorities OUGHT to be. Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is saying that God establishes the governing authorities and God has the authority to tell them how they ought to be. So Paul is clearly not saying that every government to ever exist always rewarded the good and punished the evil. No, Paul is saying that governing authorities ought to reward the good and punish the evil.

[Write “Ought to reward good and punish evil.]

Likewise, Paul continues and says that governments are ministers of God for good. Literally, they are deacons for good. Now who gets to define that word good? Obviously, God does. God defines this, and the rulers are to obey God. They are ministers of God, and these ministers are given a tool. They are given the Sword. Why? To punish evil and reward good. What does this mean? It means the government is given the sword, the right to violence, to protect it’s people and to punish the wicked.

[Write “Sword to protect the good and punish the wicked.”]

Paul also says that we are to render to them what they are due. We pay taxes because they are servants of God, who are to devote themselves to those things. So the government has the right to tax it’s people in order to accomplish the commands of God.

[Write “taxes”]

Paul openly subjugates all rulers under the authority of God. And this is the consistent testimony of Scripture. Scripture is filled with examples of kings disobeying God and being punished for it. It is also filled with examples of God raising up wicked kings to punish the people. But all of them are subject to God. They all are to obey and submit to God and rule how He commands them to. God has given Caesar real authority, but God is the one who defines that authority. God has given the governing authorities the right to wield the sword and to tax people. And they are to use those two things in the way God has commanded. This is why Jesus tells the people render to Caesar that which is Caesar’s. It is the same language Paul uses. Pay your taxes.

That is what is Caesar’s, but what is God’s?

[Draw a Circle around “God’s”]

What Is God’s?

At this point it may appear like the diagram I have drawn. It may look like Jesus is creating a dichotomy between God’s authority and Caesar’s authority. It may look like there are two circles, one is God’s and one is Caesar’s. But think about this, who is it that is saying we ought to give Caesar what is Caesar’s? Jesus is the one saying. God in the flesh is commanding that we give Caesar his due. Where did Paul say the authority of rulers comes from? It is established and given by God. God is the one who establishes all rulers. So it ought to look like this.

[Erase circle around “God’s” and draw large circle around everything and label it “God’s”]

Caesar would have no authority were it not given to Him by God. No ruler would have any authority were it not given to them by God. That is what Paul teaches in Romans 13, and it is the testimony of Jesus to Pilate during His trial. Jesus says; “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above...” John 19:11.

There is no authority established except that which is established by God. God establishes every king and every dog catcher. And every authority ultimately answers to Him. And this does not mean that we do not submit to these authorities. We must submit to them. However, it means that we submit first and foremost to God. We are forbidden to be anarchists. If we defy government itself, we are defying what God has established and are in truth warring against God. What it does mean is that God is our primary authority. This is why the Bible is full of commands to submit to authorities while also being filled with examples of righteously disobeying those same authorities.

The disciples were commanded by the Jewish leaders to stop speaking about Jesus on multiple occasions. How did they respond?

Acts 4:19-20 says “But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to hear you rather than God, you be the judge;20 for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

Or:

Acts 5:29 says “But Peter and the apostles answered and said, “We must obey God rather than men.”

The first time, the disciples asked them a pointed question. The second time, they told them the answer. We must obey God rather than men. Period. End of story. Our primary allegiance is to God.

If those two are not enough examples, look to the Hebrew midwives disobeying Pharaoh. Pharaoh commanded them to have the male Hebrew children killed. They disobeyed and were commended by God. Look at Jonathan disobeying his father, the King’s orders. Look at David refusing to surrender himself at the command of the King. Look at almost all the prophets openly disobeying the wicked kings. Look at Jesus in this passage openly denying Caesar the worship he demanded. Or how about the fact that Paul, who wrote Romans 13 was executed for disobeying Caesar. Or Peter who was executed at the same time for the same thing. Or Matthew, the author of this gospel, who was thrown from the temple walls by the Jewish authority and then stoned and clubbed to death for disobeying them. Or Simon who was crucified for refusing to worship Caesar. Or John who was boiled in oil and exiled to prison for disobeying Caesar. Or the endless lists of other Christian martyrs who were executed in horrific ways for disobeying governments. All of them taught that you ought to obey the king. But our primary responsibility is to obey God.

Illustration:

It would be like if we lived in olden times. If were ruled by the just and righteous King Arthur. Arthur is the sovereign, the king, the highest authority. If Arthur issued a command, it ought to obeyed. Now let’s say that some local regent gave a command that was different to what Arthur commanded. Who ought you to obey? When the two orders are in conflict, you will end up committing treason against one of the two authorities. You must be wise in who you commit treason against. Will you commit treason against King Arthur or the lesser magistrate?

This is the same situation that we are faced with. When the orders align, you can freely obey both. But when God has a standing command and Caesar issues a command that is in conflict, you must choose whom you will commit treason against.

J.C. Ryle says this, “But he must never fly in the face of unmistakable requirements of Scripture. If Cæsar coins a new Gospel, he is not to be obeyed. We must “render to God the things that are God’s.”

And this brings us right back into the idea of Sphere Sovereignty.

[write “Sphere Sovereignty” off to the side.]

Sphere Sovereignty.

You have likely heard me use this term before. But I will explain it again. God has established all authorities. There is no authority that is not divinely decreed by God. Therefore all authorities are subject to Him. These are all real authorities. But all authorities are subject to God. For ease of understanding and clarity, these authorities are often referred to as governments. God has established three main governments.

There is the Civil government that I have referred to as Caesar. We have already discussed the genuine authority this government has. It has the sword and taxation. [Point to “Caesar” on board]

Next, we have the church government. It has authority to give the ordinances. (communion, baptism, the Word.) It has the authority to enact church discipline. And it has been given what is commonly called the prophetic voice. This means the church is to speak the Word of God into every area of life and every sphere of government. [Write “Church” and under write “Ordinances, Discipline, and Prophetic voice.”]

Finally we see the base government God has established. This is the ground level. And that is the family government. In this government we see education happen. We also see this is where work is done. It is also where medical decisions are made. [Write “family” and under write “education, work, and medical.”]

We do not have time to cover all of these and reference Scripture on them. But these are generically what you see God establishing in Scripture. They are all established by and subject to Him. And they are all legitimate authorities with legitimate limits.

Legitimate Authority With Legitimate Limits.

God has given limits to every authority He has established. The church cannot be the civil, the civil cannot be the church, the family cannot be the church, and so on. They all have real authority within their sphere. They ought not to overstep their authorities. If God establishes all authority, then God can limit it.

On this subject, Calvin says this, “But this doctrine extends still farther, that every man, according to his calling, ought to perform the duty which he owes to men; that children ought willingly to submit to their parents, and servants to their masters; that they ought to be courteous and obliging towards each other, according to the law of charity, provided that God always retain the highest authority, to which every thing that can be due to men is, as we say, subordinate. The amount of it therefore is, that those who destroy political order are rebellious against God, and therefore, that obedience to princes and magistrates is always joined to the worship and fear of God; but that, on the other hand, if princes claim any part of the authority of God, we ought not to obey them any farther than can be done without offending God.”

We are specifically addressing how God and Caesar relate. We will encounter other passages that address the other governments, but not today. So, specifically, in regards to how God and Caesar relate, God has given Caesar his authority so God is the one who defines it. Caesar has no right to overstep this authority.

Application:

So how do we apply it? How do we determine the practical side of determining how to obey? We ought to submit and obey our ruling authorities. And yet, we ought to submit and obey God first. Christ is King over Caesar. Caesar has real authority, but Christ has ALL Authority. So how do we determine what to do? Render unto Caesar what it Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. Or to put it slightly differently, Do not give Caesar what is not his.

Do Not Give Caesar What Is Not His.

If I am to be blatantly honest, I do not believe the temptation right now is deny the civil government it’s authority. I believe we are in a time where we are willfully giving Caesar things that God has not relegated to them. We are giving Caesar authority that is not his. And this is dangerous because the civil government has the tendency to believe itself to be gods. Just look at history. We ought not to help them on the way to blasphemy.

But maybe our time is different. Maybe we live in a utopian time where the civil authority is in no way attempting to overstep it’s bounds. I think we all know that is patently false. If you don’t believe it’s false, just look at the rise of secularism. We live in a secular culture that openly denies the God above them. They may tolerate the idea of people believing in God, but they must not acknowledge God. Any mention of God in the civil sphere is rapidly moving to being stricken out all together. We must be inclusive of all religions. And who regulates this? Who is to regulate the inclusivity of all the gods of our nation? The civil authority. We are living in a time where the civil government has openly claimed to be in the place of judging the gods.

“But Pastor Jonathan, what about the separation of church and state? It seems like Jesus and Paul were teaching there should be a separation of church and state.” To that I would say you are dead on. Jesus and Paul and Peter all teach that the state should not govern the church and the church should not govern the state. For example, I am a pastor. I am to govern this church. But that does not give me the right to execute murderers. God has not given me the sword and I have no right to take it. On the same note, the civil government has no right to rule the church. They cannot make religious commands.

But this is not what we see in our day. R.C. Sproul masterfully phrased it that the civil government does not want a separation of church and state. They want a separation of God and state.

What does that mean? It means that the civil government wants to be a god unto itself. They want to govern over all. And honestly, they do not have the right to do so. They want God’s meddling hand out of their way. And to this, the objection is raised that they don’t believe in God. I agree, they do not. They do not believe there is a God above them who rules over all, whom they ought to obey, and to whom they will give an answer and then face judgement. But let me ask you this, does believing in something make it true or untrue? Neither. Stalin didn’t believe in God. But Stalin’s actions were wicked and evil because they were against God and His holy Law. Is Stalin somehow justified because he rejected God? No, of course not. Right is right even if it is rejected. Beyond this, Romans 1 tells us that everyone does believe in God, they just suppress this truth in unrighteousness. And this is true for the civil rulers as well.

Many of our leaders reject God. They claim to reject believing in Him. But that does not change the fact that they are to be subject to Him. This does not change the fact that the way they rule is to be as God commands it.

Closing: The Lordship of Christ is Inherently Political.

The civil government is vastly overstepping their authority. They are declaring things God has commanded are non essential. They are passing laws that are in direct contradiction to God’s command. Over the past couple years in many places the civil government has openly declared churches as non essential. They denied Christians the right to gather together. They denied them the right to take the Lord’s Supper. They have denied them the right to sing. Regardless of weather you agree or disagree with these actions, Caesar does not have that authority from God. They have ignored God and done whatever they pleased.

In Canada, last week a law was passed named Bill C 4. This bill makes preaching that God made mankind male and female a criminal offence punishable by up to five years in prison. In the preamble of the bill they state that claiming that it is better to live God’s design for gender and sexuality is a damaging myth. They claim that it is a myth that man is male and female. And if you disagree with them and teach the truth, you could be arrested and face prison time. They are claiming to be gods.

You may hear these things and be angry at me for saying them. You may be thinking that there is no place for political talk in the church. And depending on what you mean, you may be right. Let me be very clear. Jesus does not affiliate with a political party. Jesus is not republican or democrat. No candidate is “Jesus’ candidate.” Donald Trump was not “God’s candidate.” Joe Biden is not “God’s candidate.” Each were appointed in their time by God to be in the office of president. Each will be judged by their actions and how they submitted to Christ. In that sense, there is no place for political talk in the church. We are forbidden to worship any candidate..

However, the gospel is inherently political. Politics cannot be avoided. The fact is that Jesus is King. Jesus is King. Christ is Lord. That is a political statement. Joe Biden is not the highest authority. Christ is. Christ is King over every single ruler. In the early church, the apostles were not executed simply because they were Christians. They were executed as political dissidents. They were executed because they openly proclaimed a higher King than Caesar. The early Christians were executed for refusing to say Caesar is Lord and instead saying, “Christ is Lord.” They said, “We will submit to Caesar, we will pray for Caesar, but we cannot say Caesar is Lord.”

In the same way, the pastor’s in Canada who will be arrested for breaking this law, will not be arrested for simply being Christians. They will be arrested for refusing to say Caesar is Lord. The Canadian government does not get to define gender. God does. Christ is Lord. When a law like that is passed here, I pray that I will have the courage to do what the faithful pastors there are now doing. When we are faced with the command to say “Caesar is Lord” may we respond as the early church did. “We will pay our taxes. We will pray for Caesar. We will submit to Caesar. But Christ is Lord.”

In short, Caesar can tax the people, But Caesar cannot claim what God has not given him.

Obey God in all things. Obey Caesar where God commands. Amen.

Prayer:

Communion:

As long as we are alive on this earth, we will obey Christ. We will submit to the authorities He has placed over us where we can. But we will primarily submit to God. Christ is our King. We obey the authorities over us because of His command. One area where we must not disobey Christ is in the gathering around His table. He instituted this table as a physical reminder of the gospel. So before we break for our time of fellowship and question answering, may the first bread we break and the first cup we drink be that which Christ has commanded us.

Closing Doxology:

Question and Answers:

Now let us set up the tables again and eat!