Render Unto Caesar What Belongs to Caesar: Christian Citizen Involvement

 

Most of us read Jesus’ comment, “Render unto Caesar…” as a negative but it clearly is not. Jesus turned the Pharisees’ hostile trap question back on them and they walked away humiliated. The point of what Jesus said is that the commandments of God supersede or override those of any government whenever there is a conflict between the two. His comment acknowledges that the government can make legitimate claims on us. Remember that all governments are in place only with his consent.

Our compliance with and assistance to government can take many forms, including jury duty, military service, running for a place on the local school board, and paying required taxes. I know, I hate them too, but Jesus himself paid taxes.

There are many avenues for Christians to faithfully serve their government. For Americans with an interest in history, there is one very intriguing option. (I am not sure if this is restricted only to American citizens, but other countries may also have programs such as this for their own documents.)

The vast majority of the millions of original documents from the 17^th to 19^th centuries and many from the early 20th still exist only in handwritten form. These include military records, land transaction and dispute records, supply requisitions, court records, official correspondence, census books, tax records, government pension applications, and various miscellaneous documents. The United States National Archives is seeking unpaid volunteers who are able to read cursive handwriting and especially the handwriting of the 17^th to 19^th centuries. The needed skill is called paleography: the science or skill of transcribing ancient or historical documents.

The Archives need this because people have shifted through the years from handwriting, to type-setting, to typewriters, then word processors, then texting, and many now almost exclusively use talk-to-text technology. Some even tell an artificial intelligence program what they want to be in a document and then allow the AI to compose it. These people will look at the English-language handwriting of the 18^th and 19^th centuries and may be as confused as if it were written in Chinese or Arabic.

The handwriting of prior centuries is very different from what is now considered to be standard. The forms of letters are different, the language can sound stilted, flowery, or obscure, the letters may be written very close together to get more writing on one page (paper was expensive), unfamiliar or archaic words may be used, and the spelling is often very fluid, even in the same document.

The difficulties are compounded by the fact that in some modern school systems, cursive handwriting is no longer even taught. My granddaughter went to one such school and had to ask me to teach her how to read and write cursive.

Volunteers for the National Archives program may sign up online and pick any one of the over 300,000,000 currently digitized but still un-transcribed documents. There is no specified number or type of documents which the volunteer must process and no time limitations. Those who are uncomfortable reading older forms of cursive can still volunteer their efforts since the documents transcribed by others also need to “tagged” by mentioned subjects and names to make them easier to search. Information about this program can be viewed here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2025/01/15/national-archives-is-seeking-citizen-archivists-who-can-read-cursive/77717797007/ and the government website is here: https://www.archives.gov/citizen-archivist/missions/revolutionary-war-pension-files

Matthew 17: 24-27, 22:15-22; Mark 12:13-17: Luke 20:20-26; Romans 13:1-7.

Render Unto Caesar

 

 

The Pharisees tried to trap Jesus into saying something that would either violate Jewish law and anger the Sanhedrin or would alarm the Roman authorities and cause a brutal response against him. Either situation would have served their purposes.

 

They asked a simple sounding but highly loaded question. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?

 

Jesus took a coin and asked whose image was on it. His answer was that Caesar has his place and God has his place. The authorities should be honored and obeyed, even those authorities with whom we personally disagree. Caesar’s image (Man) is on the coin; we are made in God’s image.

 

This passage means many things, many deep things, but it has temporal meaning also. Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s would mean that we are expected to be good peaceful citizens who fulfil their civic responsibilities and who avail themselves of their civic privileges. Paul exercised his right as a Roman citizen to appeal his sentence directly to Caesar.

 

This blog post is for every Christian in whatever political system they find themselves to be, but, right now, it is especially relevant to Christians in the United States of America. The election for President of the United States will be held on Tuesday 5 November 2024.

 

This particular election is being hotly contested and polling data shows that it is so close that it is statistically impossible to predict which candidate will win.

 

A very disturbing truth is that, apparently, many American Christians find both of the major candidates to be objectionable and have decided not to vote. I would urge them to listen to Jesus and to Paul the Apostle in Romans 13:1-7. Paul said this, and meant it, about a government which ultimately executed him. This was not blind obedience to a government but was a statement that government authority is to be considered to be legitimate.

 

The only valid reason to disobey the government is if, in order to obey the government, we would have to dishonor our ultimate allegiance to the Lord. Not liking the candidate choices available to us in an election does not seem to rise to that level.

 

Genesis 1:27; Matthew 22:15-22; Mark 12:17; Luke 20:25; Acts 25:6-12.

Church during Social Distancing

A pastor in the State of Louisiana (USA) is defying his state's Coronavirus social distancing guidelines and holding Sunday church services attended by as many as a thousand people. The church is even bussing in people from other parishes. He says asking churches to close down while essential businesses like grocery stores may remain open is offensive.  I think he is offended to be told that church services are not essential gatherings. I think he is totally missing the point. This is not persecution of the church, it is a major health crisis and he is probably endangering members of his flock by having them gather together in such large groups.

I am not going to trash the man because I believe he is sincere. I just think he is wrong. Knowing what Jesus and Paul said on the subject I believe that the proper understanding is this: we are to respect and cooperate with the government even if we do not personally approve of the government. All leaders are in place only by the permission of God. Their duties are two-fold: to protect the people and to punish the evildoers. I believe that in the current pandemic situation the world's leaders are being forced to perform the first function.

There are ways for us to get around the forced separation under which we are currently living. This Sunday morning, the Sunday School class I attend met and discussed Acts 9 even though we were all in our own homes. We used the Zoom app.

Let me say that I have no connection to the Zoom company and receive no financial compensation from them.What we used was the basic (and free) software which allows up to 100 people to become a video group for 40 minute session. Everyone can see everyone else and everyone can hear each other talk. The company has other software for sale which can accommodate longer sessions and up to 1000 people. The software only costs about $20.00 per month, which most churches should be able to afford. Where the Church is gathered, the Spirit is there. The Bible does not say the Church must be gathered in the same room or even the same building.

This situation may even be an opportunity once the pandemic is resolved. If a member, or several members of a class,are physically unable to attend class meetings, they may still be included by using the application.

Zoom is just one of the companies offering services like this.

Complaints About Mandatory Evacuations

This should come as no surprise to you. There are many sarcastic and unreasonable people on the internet.  This was evidenced by the people who were sarcastically  complaining about the mandatory evacuations ordered in the United States by the governors of the Atlantic Coast states last week in the face of the arrival of Hurricane Matthew. The complaint was that “nothing happened!”

Actually Matthew caused massive damage in Haiti and the eastern coast of the United States. Over 800 persons were killed in Haiti, followed by five in the State of Florida and at least seventeen in the Carolinas. (Update: 12 October 2106. The United States death toll has risen to 27.) Matthew brought millions of dollars of damage in its path bringing major flooding and spinning off several tornados. People are reporting nails, screws, pieces of shredded metal, and large shards of glass all along Matthew’s path. The number of people left without electricity numbered close to two million in Florida and at lest four hundred and fifty thousand in the states North and South Carolina which suffered a direct hit instead of glancing blows along their coastlines. Only the fact that Matthew mainly stayed along the United States coastline kept the death toll as low as it was.

The mandatory evacuations ordered by the governors were proper and necessary. The governors were fulfilling one of the God- ordained functions of government: to protect the people. I say God-ordained because the Bible is quite clear that governments are in power only because God wills it and allows it. He is sovereign. Read Romans 13 and 14.

There Are Many Wolves Lurking About

Recently, we received the following phone call, pretending to be from the Internal Revenue Service, the United States taxation agency. I have replaced the phone number with X because you absolutely do not want to call this number.

"The reason of this call is to inform you that the IRS is filing lawsuit against you. To get more information about this case file, please call immediately on our department number, XXX-XXX-XXXX. I repeat XXX-XXX-XXXX, Thank you."

There are so many things obviously wrong with this phone call. So many RED FLAGS flapping in the wind!
1. The use of English is quite clumsy.
2, The caller offers no self-identification. All Internal Revenue Service agents identify themselves by name and by IRS employee identification number.
3. The IRS notifies taxpayers of potential problems by official mail and not by phone. The agency also will not ask for identification numbers, credit card numbers, social security numbers, etc, over the phone.
4. The IRS does not issue vague threats of legal action if there is not immediate payment. The IRS will be quite specific with dates, case numbers, contact information, etc.
5. Any IRS contact of any kind with a taxpayer will clearly identify upfront the intended recipient of the contact.
6. The female caller on the phone had a very strong vocal accent which sounded as if it were possibly Eastern European.

The phone calls of this particular scam use stolen cloned cell phone numbers with Washington, District of Columbia area codes so that if you check the number it will appear to be authentic. The Merriam -Webster online dictionary defines a scam as "a dishonest way to make money by deceiving people."

The Internal Revenue Service reports that they have received over 90,000 complaints about this fraud scheme. About 1500 people have complied with the scam and have been tricked into losing a minimum of $5,000,000 to the criminals. If you should receive a phone call like this, the IRS phone number to report the incident is 1-800-366-4484, a free phone call. This particular fraudulent activity is happening in the United States, but similar scams are probably also happening in numerous other countries as well.

Do not be deceived. This is just another confirmation that we live in a totally fallen world in need of the redemption offered by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Some of those listed may surprise you.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff: (b. 1912, England - d. 2005) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1976 - 1979. Baptist, converted to Atheist.

Margaret Hilda Roberts Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher: (b. 1925, England - d. 2013) 

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1979 - 1990. Methodist, converted to Anglican.

Sir John Major: (b 1943, England) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1990 - 1997, Anglican

Anthony Charles Lynton Blair: (b 1953, England) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1997 - 2007, Anglican, converted to Roman Catholic

James  Gordon Brown: (b. 1951, England) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 2007 - 2010, Church of Scotland

Messianic Prophecies From the Bible: A Jew Will be Born Who Will be the King of the Jews. He Will be Called God, the Father, and The Prince of Peace.

Jews and Christians disagree on whether or  not Isaiah 9:6 is a reference to The Messiah.  Christians see this verse as clearly pointing to Jesus.  Jews insist that we are taking the verse out of context.  They say the verse refers to the birth of Hezekiah (740? – 692? BC/BCE), King of Judah.  Hezekiah cleaned and reopened the Temple.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”  Isaiah 9:6

Jews number the verse differently (as Isaiah 9:5) and say that the verse should be translated as “For a child has been born to us, a son given to us,  and the authority is upon his shoulder, and the wondrous advisor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, called his name, “the prince of peace.”

A literal word for word translation of the Hebrew words of the verse: “For to us a child is born to us a son is given to and shall be the government on his shoulder and called his name Wonderful Counselor the God mighty the everlasting the Prince of Peace.”  Written ancient Hebrew contains no punctuation marks and all the letters are run together with no spaces between words.

Just Another Thing to Argue About

For those who live in other countries and may not know, the United States is currently sharply divided along ideological and political lines.  Many people, on both sides of the divide, are primed to be offended at the drop of a hat, even by a television program about the Bible.

The History Channel is broadcasting a ten hour minseries entitled The Bible.  Some have criticized the miniseries for its sporadically episodic nature, for its omissions, for its sometimes less than state of the art special effects, for its uneven acting, etc.  The USA Today newspaper ignored all of these to report that the “History Channel opens the gates of Hell.”

What the newspaper was talking about was the appearance of Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni as Satan.  Twitter and the internet are buzzing about the fact that some people are convinced that Ouazanni as Satan looks like an evil dark version of United States President Barack Obama.

Mark Burnett and his actress wife, Roma Downey, are the executive producers of the series.  Burnett had this to say, “This is utter nonsense.  The actor who played Satan (is) a highly acclaimed Moroccan actor.  He has previously played parts in several Biblical epics – including Satanic characters long before Barack Obama was elected as our President.”

Downey added, “Both Mark and I have nothing but respect, and love our President, who is a fellow Christian.”   She was expressing the biblical view of government, that it is ordained by and put into place by God.

Book Comment: Trusting God Even When Life Hurts

In Trusting God Even When Life Hurts (NavPress, 1988), Jerry Bridges makes some very startling assertions.  All of them are biblically sound and all of them are true.

Basically, Bridges’ point is that God can be trusted because of His absolute sovereignty in every instance, in every moment, in every detail, no matter how small.  Bridges quotes hundreds of verses of scripture which make the point that God has absolute control over who is in political power and over the decisions which they make.  He is in control of the weather, including tornadoes and tsunamis.  He is in control of illness and disease.  He is in control of the forces which hold a molecule together and which move gibberellins through a plant.  (Matthew 10:29)

God uses His people and also people who utterly reject Him; everyone serves His plan, which He established at the moment of Creation.  All things move as God purposes and everything works together (even bad things and bad people) for the good of those who love the Lord.  That is what the Bible says.  We do not always understand how that could be so.

Pastor bridges in his book is very careful to stress that God's sovereignty does not obviate human responsibility.  We are not God's puppets or chess pieces, but are free moral agents who are held accountable for our decisions and actions.  As the Bible declares "... they have no excuse."   (Romans 1:20)

Some Christians believe as does Rabbi Harold Kushner that God is loving but not all powerful. Kushner challenges the idea of the omnipotence of God.  God grieves with us over bad things which happen but is unable to do anything.  This is nothing more than Deism; a God who creates the world and then essentially walks away.

 Jesus in Matthew 10:29-31 declared that God is able and willing to sustain us and bring good to His people.  He can use miracles or other people (good or bad), or situations and events (good or bad) to work out everything to our good.

Firestorm: The Contraception Mandate

As I have stated repeatedly, this is not, never has been, and never will be a political blog.  That will not stop me from speaking on matters of religion which touch upon politics.  There is currently in the United States a political firestorm begun when the Obama administration mandated that employee health plans must cover contraception, including the abortifacient "morning after pill."  While churches, synagogues, and mosques are exempt, any affiliated entities such as hospitals and social services are not.  The response did not take long, and it shouldn't have.

Some suggest, as I have in the past, that Christian organizations should renounce their tax exempt status, refuse federal funding for "faith-based initiatives," and take no federal or state funds for any reason.

One commenter on the LifeSiteNews.com listing below says that the mandate applies even for employers who take no federal funds.  Does anyone know if that is true?  Even if it is, I still think separation is a good idea.  Jesus said to render to Caesar what was Caesars and then he handed the coin back.

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/southern-baptist-leader-obama-contraception-mandate-is-not-only-a-catholic

http://www.christianpost.com/news/catholic-bishop-blasts-obama-admin-for-contraception-mandate-68039/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2094206/Catholic-Church-showdown-Obama-U-S-faith-leaders-denounce-contraception-mandate.html

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/02/01/health-reform-preventive-services-and-religious-institutions

The website of the National Abortion Rights League
http://www.naral.org/ 

If You Don't Do It ...

Mordecai, a Benjamite who was one of the Jews of the Diaspora, deported during the reign of Jehoichin (Esther 2:5-6) was one of those brilliant and capable men who rise to positions of prominence wherever they end up.  He ended up as a trusted Persian official.

He raised, as his own daughter, Hadassah, a cousin whose parents had died when she was a child.  Her Persian name of Esther is probably from the Akkadian goddess named Ishtar, the equivalent of Venus.

After the Persian king, Xerxes, divorced his wife Vashti, he sent out an order to collect up all the beautiful young virgins in his kingdom for what is best described as a "tryout."  Esther was the clear "winner," and won the king's favor, but even she did not dare to just walk in to the king and say "Hi."

Esther was secretly Jewish at the instruction of her adopted father.  Then, when Xerxes was manipulated into issuing an order to exterminate the Jews, Mordecai asked Esther to do something which terrified her.

"When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.  But he went only as far as the king’s gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it. In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

When Esther’s maids and eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. Then Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why.

So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate. Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to urge her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.

Hathach went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that he be put to death. The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”

When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions." Esther 4:1-17

God's will cannot and will not be thwarted.  When you are called to act, you must choose to act or to step aside and someone else will step up to answer their call from God.  When you step out of God's plan, you are not promised protection from what may happen.

Usama bin Laden is Dead

Usama bin Laden, the head of al-Qaida, is dead, killed in a American commando raid and his body is in the hands of American forces.  This can only be seen as a good thing.  At the same time, I am troubled.

Some of the network news people seemed almost giddy, giggling, exulting.  The death of a person, even Usama bin Laden, should not be a cause for celebration.  It was necessary.

Romans 13: 1-7 tells us that government's function is to protect the people and punish the wrongdoer and this situation certainly fits that description.  The commandos who carried out this action, as agents of the state, bear no personal responsibility for bin Laden's death.

The soldiers mentioned in the Bible, when carrying out the legitimate functions of the state, are spoken of favorably.  They are respected persons.

Kagawa Toyohiko to Hirohito, Emperor of Japan, 1946

"Whosoever will be great among you ... shall be the servant of all.  A ruler's sovereignty, Your Majesty, is in the hearts of the people.  Only by service to others can a man, or a nation, be godlike." Kagawa Toyohiko to Hirohito, Emperor of Japan, 1946, in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

Today, 29 April, is the birthday of Emperor Hirohito (1901-1989).  In Shinto, the official state religion of Japan, Emperor Hirohito was regarded to be a deity, a lineal descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu omikami.

"Whosover shall compel thee ..."

The Cubs just played one of their patented "Wait! Let me roll over so you can kick me in the face" games. Some people think that that was the point of Jesus' admonition in Matthew 5:41. To be weak, to just let someone else take what they want from you. To turn the other cheek so they can hit you again.

"And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain." Matthew 5:41. A Roman soldier could legally force any non-citizen (such as the Jews) to carry his pack and weapons for up to a mile. He was in control of the situation.

"... go with him twain." The soldier could insist on one mile. By going two, the answer was, "You do not control me."

Something to Think About: Render Unto Caesar

As tempers flare in the escalating confrontation between the Tea Party Movement and the Obama Administration, here is something to think about. "The Christian's Responsibility to Government."
http:www.biblebb.com/files/mac/sg45-97.htm

Separation

I am a firm believer that Christians should clearly be "different" from other people. We are a separated, called-out, people, still citizens of our home countries but owing our ultimate allegiance to the Kingdom of God. Any conflict between the two should be easy to resolve: our duty is with the Kingdom.

Any activity which detracts from one's allegiance to the Kingdom should be modified or dropped altogether. This could include political associations, social activities, sports, or hobbies; none of which are, by themselves, wrong or forbidden.

The Bible recognizes the validity of the State and acknowledges that it has important functions. The State has been placed in power by God. The caveat is that the State also has its limitations. The State establishes censuses, registrations, laws, fees, taxes, and even calls for legitimate civil and military service. The State can not, however, demand unquestioning obedience or the right to dictate belief. For the Christian, there can be no ,"My country, right or wrong."

Atheists Sue Catholic Bishop

In a strange coalition, a group of atheists and Catholic activists have sued Nicholas DiMarzio, the Bishop of Brooklyn; a politician, Assemblyman Vito Lopez; and the Brooklyn Catholic Diocese over their involvement in recorded phone messages by DiMarzio to voters in Lopez' district before a City Council election.

I hate to agree with the atheists but they are probably correct. A major tenet of non-profit status is non-involvement in elections. Churches have skirted around this issue for years with many stepping across the line. The church may, and should speak about issues, but must not support a particular candidate. The only legitimate political involvement for the church is non-partisan voter registration and encouragement of civic participation by voting.

Evangelicals have come dangerously close to stepping across the line with their increasing identification with the Republican Party. Our allegiance must be to Christ, not to organizations. We should be holding ourselves separate from their worldly pursuit of power and influence so they will not feel that they have any right to dictate or attempt to influence our policies, actions, or beliefs.

One of my "Common Sense Predictions for the Next Ten Years" (4 October 2009) was "Numerous churches will renounce their tax-exempt status in order to prevent governmental interference in their affairs."

News: Chinese Christian Pastors Given Prison Time

In Linfen City, Shanxi Province, China, on 25 November 2009, Yang Rongli and four other house church pastors were sentenced to multiple years of prison time for "illegally occupying farming land" and "disturbing transportation order by gathering masses." Thier real crime was refusing to register their churches and accept governmental control of their worship services and other activities.

Who Owns Church Property?

The members of St. Luke’s of the Mountains Church in La Crescenta, California have received an eviction notice from the Episcopal Church and the local Episcopal diocese. Their offense was to vote to leave the Episcopal Church over its recent liberal moves such as the ordination of openly practicing homosexual and lesbian bishops. The church members contended that they paid for and owned the church property while the national denomination also claimed ownership. The civil courts sided with the denomination.

Property disputes of this type (in a hierarchical structure) will be handled differently by the courts than would be those arising in the congregational denominations because of the differences in traditional church governance.

The real issue here is whether or not the dispute should have gone before the civil authorities at all. Traditionalists would say that 1 Corinthians 6:1-7 says no. Some would go so far as to say that Christians are required to not defend themselves at all in civil or church courts.

A review of the relevant scriptures shows that Paul, in Acts, defended himself in court and insisted on his legal rights. Jesus defended Himself before the civil authorities, “according to the Law.” (Exodus 23:1, Deuteronomy 1:16, 17:6, 19:15, John 5:51, 18:33-37.}

A balanced interpretation of the issue recognizes that the civil authorities are ordained by God to handle legal matters and civic issues (Romans 13:1-4) and that we are to respect and honor them (1 Peter 2:14).

Doctrinal issues and personal matters between believers should not be judged by unbelievers but by faithful church leaders as defined in each church tradition.

Another consideration: if pursuing the issue will produce negative effects on the church, Christians can choose not to assert their legal rights. (1 Corinthians 6:7).