Then He said to them, "Give to Caesar
what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.
Matthew 22:21
Matthew 22:21
When some men came to try to trick
Jesus into getting into trouble with either the religious establishment or the
government of the day, Jesus merely held up a coin and stated, Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is
God's. When these men heard His answer they were amazed. They
were so amazed that they left Him and went their separate ways.
What may on the surface look like
an expedient answer, a clever compromise between two politically and religious
partisan groups, was much more than that. It reflects a divine truth which
speaks to you and me today who are analyzing our responsibilities to God and
our country. Jesus declares that each of us has a dual citizenship and infers
that there are responsibilities connected to both.
I believe that you and I are called
to intelligent and conscientious participation in the political process just as
I believe that being a part of the Kingdom of God requires individual
participation in bringing His Kingdom here on earth.
When Christians do get involved
they mistakenly try to legislate biblical morals and ethics to be the
norm. Obviously, a society would
function better if it held to biblical standards. But, again, you cannot legislate
righteousness, especially among unbelievers. We have to understand that fact and realize
that we march to a different drumbeat than does a nonbeliever. We can argue for the validity of our
Christian values but the truth has been blinded by the god of this world. They are deaf to our logic without
revelation.
The best way to help both our
earthly and heavenly countries is to live out our faith with boldness,
compassion, respect and love. A failure
in citizenship is a failure in Christian duty. Every one of us, our children,
and our children's children will ultimately be hurt by our "hands-off
attitude" when it comes to politics.
A WORD OF WARNING:
Christians are quickly learning that partisan politics is not Christian
politics. The worst fault of evangelicals in terms of politics over the last 30
years has been an incredible naiveté about politics and politicians and
parties. They invested far too much hope
in a political solution to what are trans-political issues and problems. Their view tracks with that of the Psalmist, Do not trust in princes, In mortal man, in whom there is
no salvation. Psalms 146:3
The church is
truest to its core mission when it is the farthest from the entanglements of
power. The Jesus of the Gospels resolutely refuses to use the means of this
world-either the clash of arms or the passions of politics-to further his ends.
·
The Christian patriot loves their country and
their God and serve them both as God directs.
·
The Christian patriot fights against sin that
enslaves and seeks to bring God's blessing on his land.
·
The Christian patriot prays for the leaders of
his country and submits to their authority.
·
The Christian patriot involves him/herself in
the system of government to bring peace, order and security for the next generation.
Freedom means you can hear and
choose what you will do with this message. Jesus went to a cross to pay for
your sin and then He offered freedom to us.
If we choose to follow, we will know the blessing of our freedom in
servitude to Him. We will all choose
someone or something to serve. The
question is what or who.
Scripture to Claim:
Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to
be obedient, to be ready for every good work…Titus 3:1
