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.

What I Believe

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6543677145883318479#editor/target=post;postID=3277589869921366139

Since Wednesday, I have been responding to “What They Think of Us: God Blames Us for His Mistakes.”  I disagree completely with Gene Roddenberry’s criticism.  Here is what I believe to be a scriptural rebuttal.

1.     God did not make a mistake.  He intentionally made us as we are. (Genesis 1:1-31)

2.     He made us in His image. (1:27)

3.     He made us as we are because we must be free to choose.  God does not purpose to have the mindless obedience of robots or machines.

4.     God knew that the vast majority would reject Him.  He has declared that the few are worth the costs: a. the billions lost (Romans 1:20), and b. the life of Christ. (Luke 15:10)

5.     Those who chose God are invested with the Mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16)

6.     He is perfecting us into creatures, not Divine, but like Himself.  Our ultimate destiny is one of sinless perfection, able to judge angels (1 Corinthians 6:3), and able to exist in the presence of the perfectly Holy God.  We are being perfected (sanctified) into holiness. (Hebrews 7:25)

Using Labels to Search This Blog

This post will help you to get more value from this blog by showing you how to search for specific subjects.  This is a very eclectic blog which can touch on almost any subject, from Star Trek ; to the Lakota war-chief Sitting Bull ; to NASCAR ; to what is probably the world’s best-known hymn, Amazing Grace ; to comic books ; and doctrinal subjects like sanctification and obedience .

The labels follow the posts in a separate section.  To search for a subject, all you need to do is select a label (keyword) and click on it.  All the posts which mention the subject will come up as group.

The True Meaning of Success

At the 2012 London Olympics in the men’s 1600 meter relay race, Manteo Mitchell ran the first 400 meters, slowly.  The internet erupted in criticism with angry Twitter tweets at his poor performance.  Here is what really happened.  As Mitchell started to run, he heard a loud pop and felt a sudden pain as his left fibula snapped.  He finished his portion of the relay race to make sure that the United States would qualify for the next round.  The event rivals the historical importance of what Kerri Strug did at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in her Gold Medal winning vault.

(Some videos will not play properly when you click on the triangle.  Instead,  click on the title line in the picture and the video will begin .  When the video is completed, close the You Tube pop-up window to return to this blog.)

  

What Mitchell had to say: “I felt I upheld the Olympic standard to the highest degree.  It’s not finishing first or second, it’s doing your best.”  He explained that he felt that he had to “do what I was called in to do.”

Christians are called to be witnesses (the Greek word is  μάρτυρας "martyrs."), even if sometimes doing so is uncomfortable or even dangerous, even if no one seems to be listening. 

In his book, Share Jesus Without Fear, William Fay points out that, for Christians, "success is sharing your faith and living your life for Jesus Christ.  It has nothing whatsoever to do with bringing anyone to the Lord.  It has everything to do with obedience."  Obedience , not results, is success for a Christian.  Results come from the work of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit indwells every believer.  "... we have the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, living in us ..."  

Active for Jesus

"... when churches focus on keeping young people active for Jesus, we may forget to teach them how to be present with Jesus."  Kenda Creasy Dean, youth pastor, university professor, Presbyterian.

It is possible to become so busy for the church or even "for Jesus" that one becomes fixated on the business of being busy.  The activity can become an idol,  distracting us from God.  We cannot earn God's favor,  it is a freely given gift.  The activities are not wrong, and may even be productive, but more pleasing to God is obedience and what the simple Brother Lawrence called "the practice of the presence of God."

Obedience

"... salvation apart from obedience is unknown in the sacred scriptures."  A.W. Tozer

Little Things Done for God

"There are many of us that are willing to do great things for the Lord, but few are willing to do little things." Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899)

I have said before that I don't think God cares about our results; any results of our Spirit-led actions belong to God.  What He wants from us is our obedience.  We may never even know the results of our actions and we really don't know which actions God considers to be "great" and which He considers to be "little."

"But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching." Mark 6:4-6.  Jesus did not consider a few miraculous healings to be a great work. 

Film Comment: God Told me To

God Told Me To (1976), directed by the prolific director, Larry Cohen, was originally titled Demon, but the better known title is more representative of the film's content. A police detective (Tony LoBianco) investigates what appear to be random savage murders by seemingly mundane individuals who all give as the reason for their rampages the phrase, "God told me to."

This is Larry Cohen's most incoherent film and has the weakest ending, but it may be the best known besides The Stuff, Phonebooth, and It's Alive! Cult status was achieved for the film by the appearance of the bizarre comedian, Andy Kaufman, as one of the killers. Deborah Raffin and Sandy Dennis also appear.

The film raises an interesting question. What should be our response to persons who claim to have personally met God, or that they speak directly for God, or that they are God? What if they show evidence of possessing supernatural powers? Remember that God told Abraham to kill his son as a sacrifice. The difference between YHWH (our God) and the "god" of this film is that God never intended for Abraham to actually do it.

Genesis 22; Matthew 24:5,11; 23:25; Mark 13:6,21-23; Luke 21:8.