The portion of scripture that we'll read for our New Testament scripture reading today. And it came to pass when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. Now, when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see. The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk. The lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear. The dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me." And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet, for this is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women there is not risen a greater than John the Baptist. He that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John, and if you will receive it, this is Elijah, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. But where unto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced. We have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say he hath a devil. The son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold, a man gluttonous and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners, but wisdom is justified of her children. Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not. Woe unto thee, Corazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell, for if the mighty works which have been done in thee have been done had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee. At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and has revealed them unto babes. Even so, father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my father, and no man knoweth the son but the father. Neither knoweth any man the father save the son, and he to whomsoever the son will reveal him. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. We come this Lord's Day to Mark chapter 12 verses 13 through 17 in our continual series through the Gospel of Mark. Dear ones, Covenanters are not anti-government people. We are not violent revolutionaries. We do not hate lawful authority that has been appointed by God within the various spheres, whether in the family, whether in the church, or whether in the state. for all lawful authority is appointed by God is in order to promote His glory and the welfare of men who are made in His image. To the contrary, we love our country. To the contrary, we love the ordinance of civil government as established by God. To the contrary, we are peace-loving people. who seek to follow the word of God as stated in Romans chapter 12 verse 18. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. However, we do grieve over the gross perversion of this sacred office as exhibited by kings and princes by Prime Ministers and Presidents and by Parliaments and Congresses in the world today. We mourn that God's authority is flagrantly and obstinately abused to protect and defend idolatry, covenant breaking, Sabbath breaking, the murder of unborn children, immorality of every kind, and legalize theft through oppressive taxation. We humbly pray that God, by his gospel and by his Spirit, will grant faith and repentance to civil rulers that they might rule according to their lawful duties as articulated in scripture and summarized in the solemnly in covenant However, until the Lord graciously hears and answers our prayers, covenanted Presbyterians cannot own such magistrates who swear to uphold and defend the gross injustices as listed above. They cannot be owned as the ordinance of God that is spoken of by Paul. in Romans chapter 13 while upholding and defending those gross injustices. We can passively submit to such civil magistrates out of fear, but we cannot actively submit to them out of conscience. Some will no doubt consider that last statement to be absolutely treasonous. But we will stand upon God's word and the faithful witnesses of Christ from the past, like Samuel Rutherford, who was assailed with the same false allegations, but responded, truth to Christ cannot be treason to Caesar. In the last two sermons from the Gospel of Mark, The subject of authority and the abuse of authority has been the focus of our texts. We considered last Lord's Day the parable given by the Lord against the ecclesiastical tyranny of the Jewish religious leaders who coveted an absolute authority over the vineyard or over the Church of God. However, we are not yet finished with the subject of authority as we consider the text that is before us today. For we now move from a consideration of ecclesiastical authority to that of civil authority, and specifically as it is related to the question of taxes. You can't get much more relevant in the word of God than the topic that is raised in the text before us today. The main points from our text in Mark 12, verses 13-17 are these. First of all, the insincerity of the Pharisees and the Herodians. Mark 12, verses 13-14. The second main point, the question of lawful civil authority, Mark chapter 12, verses 14 and 15. And then thirdly, the principle of debt owed to lawful civil authority and to God in Mark chapter 12, verses 15 through 17. Let us consider then the first main point, the insincerity of the Pharisees and the Herodians. Look with me at Mark chapter 12, verses 13 and most of chapter 14. And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians to catch him in his words. And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true and cares for no man. for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth." Our text today continues with Christ's activities on the third day of his Passion Week, just three days before his crucifixion. You'll recall that in Mark 11, verse 27, that several of the religious leaders of the Jews had sought to lay a trap for Christ in regard to the origin of his authority. As we shall see today, they are not yet finished with all of their crafty schemes and plots. for disciples from two diametrically opposed camps conspired together to set yet another snare for the Lord. You see, when it came to the issue of Rome's domination and rule over Palestine, the Pharisees adamantly opposed it, believing it to be unlawful, while the Herodians adamantly supported it, believing it to be lawful. Such a compromise, dear ones, indicates just how much Jesus was hated by these men, that these men coming from entirely different camps joined together in a conspiracy to set this trap for the Lord. The parallel account in Luke 20, verse 20, says this, And they watched him and sent forth spies which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor." No question as to the motivation of these men, as to what they were seeking to accomplish. They were trying to catch Christ in saying something that they could use against him before the governor so as to get him out of the way. Dear ones, how important it is that we approach the scriptures with a willing mind to be taught by Christ, to be taught his will. Rather than playing the part of these Pharisees and Herodians in approaching Christ with our own minds, our own thoughts, already settled about a particular matter. and rather taking what we find in the scripture and twisting it and conforming it to our own ideas. Because you see, that was the way in which these men approached Christ. They didn't come seeking the truth. They didn't come in all sincerity. They came with a preconceived idea. They came with a settled mind as to what they were trying to accomplish. They weren't going to listen to anything that Christ said. They were going to use it against Him. You see, dear ones, we fall into the same trap if we continue to approach Christ in worship, in prayer, in reading his word while avoiding the truth of Christ or the conviction of the Holy Spirit. That's the essence of the sin that was committed by the Pharisees and the Herodians. Beloved, the truth does not fear the light of inspection and study. It is error that, in fact, runs to the darkness and avoids the light. Let the words of the Lord Jesus Christ that are found in John 7, verse 17, ever lead us into his truth. For Jesus himself said, If any man will do his will, He shall know the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself. Not if any man will know his will, but if any man will do it. See, there's the sincere man. There's the man or the woman or the child with a pure heart. One who is willing to do whatever the Lord reveals to him or her in the word of God. Not coming with a settled mind that God can't say that. Not coming with some preconceived idea that God won't reveal this or that because it's contrary to what I think is right. But going to the Word of God, comparing Scripture with Scripture, and allowing God to speak to us through His Word. If we are not willing to do it, why should God be willing to reveal it? Although these Pharisees and Herodians feigned and pretended sincerity in their approach to Christ, nevertheless it should be noted that what they said about Christ in Mark 12.14 was indeed absolutely true. Christ is, in fact, to be honored as our absolute master or teacher. He is unconditionally true and upright in all his thoughts and words and actions. He speaks the truth with supreme divine authority, and neither the fear nor the applause of man influences him in the decisions that he makes. All of those things are true of Christ. even though what they said was said completely hypocritically. They lied to themselves. The words were in truth, but the heart was far from God. Beloved, here are qualities that I just mentioned. In a finite sense, however, rather than in an infinite sense, they're true of Christ, obviously, in an infinite sense. But these qualities are qualities that ought to be true in a finite sense in all who are ministers of Jesus Christ. He should be gifted by Christ to teach and to preach his word. He should be a man of integrity, a man who honors his word and can be trusted. He should be a man committed to the truth of Jesus Christ at all costs. He should be a man that will not be bribed by fear or by success in compromising the truth of Jesus Christ. It's a very helpful summary of what we should look for in ministers. The Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 2, Verse 17, along the same lines, For we are not as many which corrupt the word of God, but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God, speak we in Christ. He also says similarly in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 2, but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God." See, a minister is not one who tries to play games with the people of God. to bend and to manipulate the people of God or the truth of God to his own ideas. He doesn't deal with God's word deceitfully. He simply tries by the help and by the work of the Spirit to declare as faithfully as he knows how what God says to his people. We come then to the second main point. Having considered the insincerity of the Pharisees and the Herodians, we now consider the question of lawful civil authority that is raised by the Pharisees and the Herodians. Look with me at Mark chapter 12, the last phrase in verse 14 and the first phrase in verse 15. Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not? Shall we give or shall we not give? Well, first they flatter Christ. And then they put to him their entrapping question. These are very sly, crafty, clever men. You see exactly how clever the world is when you begin to look at these types of entrapping questions that were presented to Christ. The world is no less crafty having had thousands of years of experience. We will face the same kinds of ensnaring questions ourselves. That's why we need God's wisdom, Christ's mind in dealing with the many questions that come our way This question about taxes actually presupposes a further underlying question, and that is this. Does Caesar have lawful authority to rule in Palestine? For if he has lawful authority to rule in Palestine, then he also has lawful authority to tax in Palestine. By the same token, if he does not have lawful authority in Palestine, he does not therefore have lawful authority to tax in Palestine. So ultimately, the question in regard to taxes is actually a question about the lawful authority of Rome to rule in Palestine, if we understand the question correctly. So in what way was this then a captious or ensnaring question? Precisely for the reason that there were two opposing views on this question held by tenacious opponents. As noted earlier, the Pharisees were those who advocated the position that Rome's domination was not by right, but rather by mere might. much like one who by mere might enslaves another human being without having any moral right to do so. Then there were the Herodians who apparently courted the political favor of Rome and seemed to be linked theologically more with the Sadducees than with the Pharisees. The Sadducees were the more liberal theological group within Judaism. We find that link, if we compare Mark 8.15 with Matthew 16.6, where in the one case the Lord says, beware of the leaven of Herod, and in the other case, exact parallel passage, beware of the leaven of the Sadducees. Thus it would appear They believe, that is the Herodians believe, that Rome had lawful authority to rule over Palestine. Or at least we might say this about the Herodians, that they were mere political opportunists who took a more pragmatic approach, in effect believing that to talk about lawful authority versus unlawful authority was really superfluous or unnecessary because the fact of the matter was that Rome did rule over Palestine and nothing anyone decided about the lawfulness or unlawfulness of the situation was going to change that fact. Thus the question put to Christ was framed in such a way that if he answered it, he would be entrapped by either the Pharisees or the Herodians. If he said it is lawful to give tribute to Caesar, he would be charged by the Pharisees with endorsing the tyranny of Rome, which would likely stir up the people against Christ. Or if he said it is unlawful to give tribute to Caesar, He would be charged by the Herodians with endorsing treason against Caesar, which would likely bring him into a direct confrontation with Rome. It's interesting that this is this was a charge in Luke 23 to us as the Lord stood before a pilot that the religious leaders did, in fact, bring against him in spite of the fact that he didn't answer their question here. that they did say that he forbids to pay taxes to Caesar. Quite interesting. There seems to be no question historically that Rome, we're going to do a little bit of historical survey just for a moment, there seems to be no question historically that Rome had unjustly conquered Palestine. In her greed for more and more territory, Rome, by her mere might, had subjugated Palestine to her rule. If the issue is as clear cut as this, it would seem to be an open and shut case. Rutherford says, quote, mere conquest by the sword without the consent of the people is not just title to the crown. The only question which might have any legitimacy in the debate as it concerns Rome's lawful rule over Palestine would be whether there was a consent, a willing consent on the part of the people, the part of the Jews, for the Romans to rule over them. Some have advocated that that was the case. Therefore, Rome was a lawful authority and power because of the willing consent of the people. But up to this point, I must say, in all honesty, I'm not persuaded by any evidence that I have yet seen to that effect. There were certainly those like the Herodians and the Sadducees that seemed to have given their willing consent to the rule of the Romans, but these were smaller factions. This was a smaller minority, it would appear, within Judaism that did not represent the greater majority of the people. It had been about a hundred years before the time of Christ that Rome had subjugated Israel, Palestine, unto herself. If it was not yet the majority opinion in Palestine at that time, which it appears it was not, it's far less likely that in the previous 100 years that it was the majority opinion. The closer you get to the event, in other words, less likely it would have been the majority opinion. More likely, the further you move away from the event, that you might find more and more people who might say that they willingly consent to the rule of Rome. You see, the passive subjection out of fear to the dominion of Rome on the part of the majority did not at all imply their active allegiance out of conscience to Rome. Furthermore, I question how a covenanted nation like Israel could ever lawfully give its willing consent to be ruled by a heathen emperor. God himself had established a firm covenant with his people as to the lawful constitution of Israel, and it did not include giving their consent, their willing consent or conscientious allegiance to a heathen emperor. passive subjection out of fear, yes, but not willing consent or conscientious allegiance. If Israel, dear ones, could lawfully break such a covenant with God, then what covenant with God could not lawfully be broken? And if covenants with God can lawfully be broken, then what covenants with man may not also be broken? Were there marital covenants? Treaties between nations? Oaths in courts of law? Or contracts in commerce? Or employment? Thus I must fall out on the side with those who understand Rome's dominion over Palestine as unlawful. which likewise infers that Caesar's authority over Palestine was unlawful. Now, realize I am not saying at this point anything about whether Rome had any authority within itself. All I'm saying with regard to this is its authority in Palestine. That's the question at this point. Whether he had the right to rule, the legitimate authority, to take taxes in Palestine. Did Rome have any authority as a nation itself? That's a different question, not one I'm going to get into today. We're just talking about with regard to Palestine though. Thus, if Rome's authority was not legitimate, lawful over Palestine's, Caesar's authority over Palestine was unlawful. And if Caesar's authority over Palestine was unlawful, he had no just right to impose taxes upon Palestine so as to pay for his future unjust conquests or domination of other nations. Of course, dear ones, these considerations have implications for us as well. For nations like individuals can covenant to be the Lord's people. Nations like individuals have a moral person which binds them to covenanted obligations. Israel may in fact be a model to other nations. Not in every particular. There are certain things about Israel that are absolutely unique that other nations cannot model or imitate. But there are moral principles by way of covenanting that do, in fact, apply to all nations. And if nations can covenant, then the posterity of those nations and churches that have covenanted to be the Lord's in perpetual covenant cannot loose or untie that covenant any more than a wife can loose the covenant from her faithful husband or vice versa. For this reason, we view those nations in England, Ireland and Scotland and their posterity to be like that wife, bound in covenant to the Lord their God, to uphold the biblical terms found in the solemn legion covenant that was sworn in 1643. The Lord will not forget his covenant, dear ones. He will not forget those who are faithful to Christ. He will not forget those who have bound themselves to him. Thus, for the same reason that Israel, during the time of Christ, could not willingly consent, even if it were every single person within Israel, were to willingly consent to the lawful authority of a pagan civil government, for the same reason we who live in nations that are covenanted cannot do so either. Honor to Christ and to the covenant made with him compels us, therefore, to dissent from giving our allegiance to a constitution that hates and despises the Lord our God, that hates and despises the laws and the commandments of God, as articulated in the word of God and summarized in the solemn legion covenant. Having looked at the question of the lawful civil government, let us move on to the final point, the principle of debt owed to lawful civil authority and to God. In Mark chapter 12, verses 15 through 17, After that question is asked at the beginning of verse 15, we find these words. But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? Bring me a penny, that I may see it. And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's. And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. and they marveled at him. Here the Lord responds to their hypocrisy in pretending to be sincere and righteous. Dear ones, let us grow by leaps and bounds, God willing, in our hatred of hypocrisy with God and with our fellow man. Let us despise mere pretense and putting on a show before the Lord. Let us seek to be sincere and truthful in all our dealings with God and with our fellow man. For nothing can, in fact, be hid from God. Hypocrisy, deception and lying will only lead us, dear ones, to blindness. and delusion to the truth. We'll not escape trouble through our hypocrisy. We'll fall headlong into trouble. And we won't be able, perhaps, to find our way out of that trouble. We will learn, dear ones, through hypocrisy to live a lie before God and man. And the truth of it all will not be hidden forever because on that final day of judgment God will reveal the secrets of our heart. We'll stand naked before him and all of our excuses, all of our rationalizations will be absolutely meaningless on that day of judgment. Let us therefore live in light of that day of judgment now because God even now sees all. that's within our heart. Let us live in total sincerity, seeking to be sincere in all that we do before the Lord. Yes, we'll fall. Yes, we'll sin in this area. None of us are perfect in this area. But let us, by God's grace, recognize it. And let us flee to Him for forgiveness and be sincere and to repent and to fall upon the grace of the Lord when we find ourselves in that situation. But the Lord here, knowing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the Herodians, asks for a coin, knowing it does in fact have the image of Caesar on the coin, and asks whose image is on the coin to which they answer, respond, Caesar's. That is, Caesar's image is upon this coin. Now, some have assumed that Christ did so in asking for this coin with Caesar's image on it in order to indicate the lawful authority of Caesar to rule over Palestine. But dear ones, since he did not say anything about Caesar's lawful authority to rule over Palestine, He may have just as much intended, or this may have been his intent, to indicate Caesar's unlawful authority and domination over Palestine. The fact that he asked for a coin with Caesar's image on it doesn't tell us anything specifically about what Christ thought with regard to Caesar's lawful authority. To build a case on that, I believe, is to build a case basically upon silence or from silence. We have to go to the rest of the scripture in order to find the principles because, as we'll see, the whole purpose of Christ in giving the response he did to the Pharisees and the Herodians was to escape entrapment, not to answer either of their questions. You see, it all depends upon trying to understand why the Lord presented the coin. It all depends upon one's view of the lawfulness or unlawfulness of Caesar's authority. Whatever assumption you bring into that particular discussion, you will see the reason why he presented or asked for the coin. But you see, that is the very genius of Christ's response here. He does not fall into either of their traps, whether that of the Pharisees and saying that Caesar did not have the authority to require taxes from those in Palestine, or falling into the trap of the Herodians and saying he did have authority, lawful authority. to tax the people in Palestine. The reason why he didn't give them a response is because they weren't really interested in knowing the truth. It's not because he didn't have an answer. It's not because there isn't an answer to the question. It's because they didn't want to know the answer. And so he didn't give them an answer. Just like he did in Mark 11, verses 28-30, where again they sought to entrap him by saying, by what authority do you do these things? He said, well, I'll tell you by what authority I do these things if you tell me by what authority John and his ministry was performed. They chose not to answer the question. and he chose not to give them an answer to their question. And so, he doesn't truly answer their question in this case either, as we shall see. Rather, the Lord says, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. Now, we know that the Lord, in giving this response, did not answer their question for the simple reason that neither the Pharisees nor the Herodians were able to bring an accusation against him for his answer. In the parallel passage in Luke chapter 20, verse 26, after he gives this response, it says, And they could not take hold of his words before the people, And they marveled at his answer and held their peace. See, in Luke chapter 20, verse 20, the very reason for bringing this question to them, it says, was so that they might take hold of his words. Now, had he given them a clear response one way or the other, they could have taken hold of his words. and used his words against him. But the fact that they concluded they could not take hold of his words and use any of his words against him means that he did not clearly answer one way or the other in the response that he gave. In effect, what the Lord says When he says, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, he is actually saying, whatever lawfully belongs to Caesar, give it to him. But he did not tell them again, dear ones, what lawfully belonged to Caesar. He would not tell them then, but in fact, if they wanted to know the answer, there was more than sufficient revelation in God's Word to find the answer out to that particular question. And in God's revealed Word, we see that even when Israel lived under the tyranny of domestic and foreign rulers, they could lawfully render passive subjection out of fear for their lives to these tyrannical rulers. They could lawfully render that to those who were tyrants. But they could not lawfully render active allegiance out of conscience to tyrannical rulers. They could lawfully pay taxes to those who had not just title a rightful title to the rule if they did so merely for wrath's sake. But they could not pay taxes to an unlawful civil magistrate, one who did not have lawful authority for conscience sake. To the contrary, a ruler without lawful authority has no more legitimate right to our taxes than a thief does to our wallet. No more lawful authority. But we may lawfully submit out of fear to his might, even if we do not submit to his right. And so, render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, The Lord Jesus may in fact have been saying, you can render taxes to Caesar out of a passive subjection for wrath's sake, but not for conscience's sake. For to pay taxes, dear ones, for conscience's sake is an honor exclusively reserved for those alone who are the ordinance of God. according to Romans chapter 13 verse 7. That is, those who fulfill the divine ordinance of God in being a minister of God, who terrorizes and avenges evil, and as the minister of God defends and promotes that which is good and righteous. Thus the Lord Jesus leaves the question open. For his answer has, in effect, a general, universal application in its present form. Render to Caesar all that is lawfully Caesar's. If he has lawful authority, render to him and pay him the taxes for conscience sake. If he has unlawful authority, you may pay him taxes anyway, but you do so for wrath's sake. And you do so, in that case, without sin. For the same reason, we pray for those who have unlawful authority. In 1 Timothy 2, verse 2, for the same reason that we may pay taxes today to an unlawful authority, Christians are told to pray for those who may be in lawful authority. We're to pray for kings and for all that are in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. We can pray that they'll leave us alone. This is, in effect, appeasing them so that we can carry on with our work. We're not saying that we believe by way of paying taxes that we are giving our allegiance or it's an indication or sign of our allegiance. It may in fact not be so at all. Certainly we can see this very clearly when Those who visit another country and live within that country, it's not their own country. They've not sworn any allegiance to that country, but that country yet requires them to pay taxes. Their taxes certainly do not grant or indicate an oath of allegiance. But in order to live in that land, they may submit to even that unlawful authority. and pay taxes. They may choose to do that. Remember a similar situation where the Lord Jesus, or actually Peter, was approached, you'll recall, in the Gospels, about paying another type of tax, a temple tax. And Peter approached the Lord with the question about paying this temple tax. And the Lord basically told him, I'm not under any obligation to pay this temple tax because, in effect, the temple belongs to me. It's my house. But he said, in order that we don't offend them, we'll pay it. Not because there was a lawful right or authority that was demanded of Christ. but so as to live as much as possible at peace with all men. He paid it. See the difference? But as we come to the conclusion of what Christ said, let us not forget that Christ also declared that we must render to God What is lawfully God's? What is lawfully God's? What lawfully belongs to God? Everything. Everything lawfully belongs to God. Everything I own lawfully belongs to God. My family, My children, my spouse lawfully belongs to God. Everything that I am belongs to God. All praise, thanksgiving, worship, reverence, enjoyment and cheerful obedience belongs to God. You see, the problem so often is that we are more concerned about the first part of that statement, what lawfully belongs to Caesar, that we neglect or ignore the most important part, and that is what lawfully belongs to God. We'll never get the question right if we don't begin with what lawfully belongs to God. Because we can never lawfully honor any authority here upon the earth if we do not give God the honor that he is due. If we do not obey the first four commandments, we'll never honor parents, ministers, or civil rulers as we ought. So the real question boils down, what belongs to God? Everything. You see, if we understand that question, we'll understand much more clearly what honor belongs to civil magistrates. You see, the answer to this question, therefore, is one of priorities. Let's put God in His place, then we'll clearly understand where to put civil magistrates. And so the question of us daily putting God in His proper place and rendering to God everything that is due Him, seeking not to withhold anything that is due unto Him, not complaining about what He takes back unto Himself if it all belongs to Him, whether it's our health, whether it's our children, whether it's our spouse or our job or our homes or our cars, not complaining, not accusing God of being unfair, because it all belongs to Him. Learning cheerful obedience. Cheerful obedience. Parents, don't we love to see that in our children? Don't we love to see our children not simply obeying, but obeying because they want to obey? Isn't that what we pray for? And when we finally see it, don't we really rejoice as parents to see that in our children? That's what God delights to see in our lives. Not just obedience, but cheerful obedience. These rulers, having heard the answer of Christ, says marveled at his answer. But the interesting thing about it was, again, they were amazed, they marveled, but they did not turn to him in faith. You see, we can see so clearly, all about us, the wonders of God. We can read in the scriptures what the Lord accomplished. We can see what he's accomplished in our own lives. But if we only stand in amazement and wonder, but do not reach out to embrace Jesus Christ, it's a mockery of those particular signs of God's mercy and grace unto us. They marveled, but they walked away from Christ. in disbelief. His response did not in any way turn them closer unto Christ. All the more hatred developed in their hearts for the Lord. Dear ones, let us not fall into that trap. Let us not fall into that sin where we simply profess and see, proclaim the greatness of God with our mouths, acknowledge it with our lips, but that it has nothing at all by way of impact in our faith in embracing and holding more tightly to Jesus Christ. Faith embraces all of these works of His might and His power and His promises. Faith reaches out and embraces those and clings to them. Let us use them, each one, to the glory of God and to our own edification. Amen. Please stand with me in prayer. A gracious father in heaven, we do bow before thee and do acknowledge that, O Lord, our God, thou art great and mighty. And Thou has given to us this day so many things for which to be thankful. Thou has truly amazed us. And we have confessed it with our mouths. We have acknowledged it even to others. And yet, Father, a day passes by and we fall into the same unbelief. We forget what Thou has done for us. The amazement of yesterday becomes even unbelief in today. We pray, Father, that Thou would have mercy upon us, that Thou would cause us to marvel continuously at Thy wonders and at Thy promises, at Thy very being in all of its infiniteness, in all of the perfections of God, for all of these things to have a glorious influence and impact upon our lives. in driving us to Jesus Christ. We ask, O Father, that Thou would give to us the wisdom which Jesus had and being able to confound those who do not sincerely want to know the truth, but it would only seek to entrap us, that Thou would give to us, O Lord, the mind of Christ For we do not have to respond clearly to everyone who asks of us a question unless we believe that it is a sincere question. We ask our Father that Thou would teach us, O Lord, to understand even the proper distinctions that ought to be made as it pertains to the civil magistrate, that we might not give the honor which belongs to Thee unto one who does not lawfully have that honor. That, Father, we would pray for, beseech Thee that Thou would give to us those who have lawful authority and rule in the realm of the civil government, that Thou would give to us those who love Thee, those who acknowledge the covenanted obligations. We ask, O Lord, our God, that Thou would send to Thy people, nursing fathers, nursing mothers to care for us, O Lord, our God, that Thou would give to us, O Lord, and to Thy people, godly magistrates, that Thy reformation might proceed and go forward throughout the whole world. Lord, we trust not in our own strength or our own resources, but our faith. And praying for this is in the promises of Thy Word and in the power of Thy Spirit. In Jesus' name, Amen. This Reformation audio track is a production of Stillwater's Revival Books. You are welcome to make copies and give them to those in need. SWRB makes thousands of classic Reformation resources available, free and for sale, in audio, video, and printed formats. It is likely that the sermon or book that you just listened to is also available on cassette or video, or as a printed book or booklet. Our many free resources, as well as our complete mail-order catalog, containing thousands of classic and contemporary Puritan and Reform books, tapes, and videos, at great discounts, is on the web at www.swrb.com. We can also be reached by email at swrb at swrb.com. by phone at 780-450-3730, by fax at 780-468-1096, or by mail at 4710-37A Avenue, Edmonton, that's E-D-M-O-N-T-O-N, Alberta, abbreviated capital A, capital B, Canada, T6L-3T5. You may also request a free printed catalog And remember that John Calvin, in defending the Reformation's regulative principle of worship, or what is sometimes called the scriptural law of worship, commenting on the words of God, which I commanded them not, neither came into my heart, from his commentary on Jeremiah 731, writes, God here cuts off from men every occasion for making evasions, since he condemns by this one phrase, I have not commanded them, whatever the Jews devised. There is then no other argument needed to condemn superstitions than that they are not commanded by God. For when men allow themselves to worship God according to their own fancies and attend not to His commands, they pervert true religion. And if this principle was adopted by the Papists, all those fictitious modes of worship in which they absurdly exercise themselves would fall to the ground. It is indeed a horrible thing for the Papists to seek to discharge their duties towards God by performing their own superstitions. There is an immense number of them, as it is well known, and as it manifestly appears. Were they to admit this principle, that we cannot rightly worship God except by obeying His word, they would be delivered from their deep abyss of error. The prophet's words then are very important when he says that God had commanded no such thing and that it never came to his mind, as though he had said that men assume too much wisdom when they devise what he never required, nay, what he never knew.