We can turn with me your Bibles to the Gospel of Mark chapter 12. We're going to be looking at verses 13 through 17 this morning. Very timely passage. It's a blessing to be able to go through book by book, and in God's providence, some passages come up at the right time. They're always at the right time, but it's for such a time as this in verses 13 through 17. So we'll begin reading at verse 13, Mark 12, all the way to verse 17. Then they sent to him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to catch him in his words. And when they had come, they said to him, teacher, we know that you are true and care about no one. We do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God and truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Shall we pay or shall we not pay? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, Why do you test me? Bring a denarius, that I might see it. So they brought it. He said to them, Whose image and inscription is this? And they said to him, Caesar's. And Jesus answered and said to them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to gods the things that are gods. And they marveled at him. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our gracious God, we are thankful again that you are the one who governs this whole world. And we're especially thankful, oh God, for your church and for your kingdom and for the redemption that is found in Christ. Thank you that Christ loves us. Thank you that Christ gave himself up for us. And we're thankful that Christ shall make us spotless and blameless when he returns. And we confess, oh God, we long for that time. We're thankful, O God, that he walks with us now. Christ is in the midst of his lampstands. And we pray, O God, that we would be a people that renders to you the things that are due unto you. We also pray, O God, that in all things lawful, that we would render the things to the governing authorities as well. When there is a clash, we pray, O God, you'd give us strength to do what is right and obey you rather than man. We confess, O God, that we are weak. We confess, O God, that we are feeble. We confess, O God, sometimes we shudder at these things. We pray, O God, you'd show forth your strength amongst us. You give us a right understanding of this world, right understanding of how things operate, a right understanding even of your covenants. Thank you, O God, for all that you do and for your grace even in this. And we ask, O God, you'd give us illumination. We ask, O God, you'd give us further clarity concerning the scriptures, give us greater understanding on what our Lord is saying here. And we are thankful for his might and his authority. And we're thankful that all authority in heaven and earth has been given unto him. And so because of this, because of him, we praise you and honor you. And we pray, oh God, that we would praise you through the preaching of your word, that you would feed your people through the preaching of your word. Be pleased to bless the preaching and the teaching as it goes forth. That you'd help us now by your spirit, we pray in the name of Christ. Amen. Well, during such times and during such crises, sometimes passages have a newfound relevance depending on the situation. One such passage has been Romans 13. People like to say, submit to the governing authorities, especially in the current situation that we are facing with the encroachment of the government. But another one as well has been this passage that we see here in Mark 12, 17. A lot of those who would say we need to submit to the state and close our churches would say that we need to render unto Caesar. And it's true in a lot of ways we do need to render unto Caesar, but they forget that last part of that verse. Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and render to God the things that are God's. We ought to honor Caesar appropriately in appropriate times, but more importantly, we ought to honor God above all things. And unfortunately, even at the time of Israel, one of the problems that they had is that they didn't really render to either. They didn't like Rome. They didn't want to render to Rome. And even as we've seen throughout Mark's gospel, they haven't really rendered to God as well. Their worship has been additions to their worship. They've gone away from what true worship is. They've added to salvation rather than clinging to what God Almighty says. And certainly it's evident with these Pharisees and these Herodians who try and ensnare the Lord. They are hypocrites. They do not honor even as they see fit. They do not honor God or the governing authorities. And we see this very clearly how they do not even honor Jesus himself. Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus is the king promised. And they do not confess who he is. They hate him. They despise him. They want to take him out. They've already tried to do that already with these questions concerning authority. And Jesus shows where his authority comes from. It comes from God. It does not come from man, for he is God himself. And then last time we saw how Jesus uses parable of the vine dressers to teach that these Pharisees, that these leaders, that Israel, who have not honored God, instead of killed the prophets and will kill the Son, shall be rejected for another vineyard. And so this confrontation, the opposition, continues here for us in Mark chapter 12. I think there are two problems that we can glean from this text. One truly is neglecting our duties as citizens of this world or as citizens of Canada. I believe as citizens of Canada, we ought to honour authorities. I have never been opposed to this. I have never been opposed to this very idea. The problem is we have to have proper nuance. We have to have a proper theological understanding. And more importantly, the second problem is when we neglect our duties as citizens of the world to come, neglect our duties as the church. That is more important. As God's people, we are citizens of two kingdoms, and those two kingdoms can live to some degree compatibly with one another. The clash happens when there's mixing. The clash happens when there's overlap. The clash happens when the government comes and says, we're God, and we're going to say and tell you how concerning the things that are God's. When there is that clash, we have to render to God more than we render to Caesar. But I've never been opposed and never been against submitting to the governing authorities. And I'll unpack a lot of that as we go through, because that's what Jesus is saying here in verses 13 through 17. He's challenging both the Pharisees and the Herodians. He tells them, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. That's right. But more importantly, we've got to render the things that are God's unto God. It's a very important passage when it comes to how we interact with this present. evil age. So we see Jesus telling them to render to Caesar and to render to God, and those are my two points. Render to Caesar, verses 13 and 14. Then secondly, we'll see render to God in verses 15 through 17. So render to Caesar, verses 13 and 14. And lastly, we'll see render to God in verses 15 through 17. So let's first look at render to Caesar in verses 13 and 14 notice we see the the opposition that comes and again note the context issues of authority and judgment the Sanhedrin the chief priests the elders and the scribes recognize that he's speaking about them and With the vine dressers, they hate it. They don't like it. They despise it. They're just they're concerned about it. And rather than say, Jesus, you're right, please forgive us. No, they instead send others as well. So we have some opponents we've seen already in Mark's gospel. We have these Pharisees and Herodians that are sent to catch Jesus in the act. And the Pharisees are the conservative sect of Judaism, Sadducees, Pharisees, and the Essenes, the lay leaders and the supposedly upstanding citizens, the law keepers. And we've seen opposition from them in Galilee already. They are part of the Sanhedrin as well with the Sadducees and scribes. And guess who the next opponents are? Sadducees and scribes. Sadducees are going to ask Jesus question about the resurrection. Scribes considering the first commandment. But first we have the Pharisees. who bring a question to Jesus concerning the tax and the Caesar. So they're the religious focus here. They scruple over minute man-made laws. They're very much about their law rather than God's law, but they're the religious side of things. Then we have these other ones here called the Herodians. They were also in Mark 3, 6. And typically, Pharisees and Herodians didn't like each other very much. They didn't get along at all. But when you have a common enemy, guess what? An enemy of my enemy is what? I don't know what I'm saying. An enemy of my enemy is my friend. So they're both enemies. They don't like each other, but they have the same common enemy and they want against. go against him and catch him in the act. They're more politically focused. They're friends of Rome. They've taken money from Rome. They've taken power from Rome, and they're typically set up with power over Galilee. And again, they're not typically friends, but in this case, they are friends to try and take out Jesus. So one's got the religious side, one's got the political side, and that plays an important role in this section. And notice their whole purpose is to catch him in the act, to catch him unaware, to catch him in his words. It says that right there, to catch him in his words. Maybe he's going to flub something up. And finally, we got him. We know their plot all along is not to butter him up. We know their plot all along is not to believe on him. Their plot all along is to try and kill him, to bring him out, to take him down. And so they're trying to catch him in his words with this question. And so they come and ask him a question about Caesar. And even it sounds like they're buttering him up in verse 14. When they come, they said to him, Teacher, we know that you are true and care about no one. For you do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. That's how they sound to me. They sound like they're buttering him up and they are lying. It says in Luke 20, 20, they pretended to be righteous. They hate Him. They despise Him. They're speaking flattery in order to ensnare. See, brethren, sometimes I would rather just come out, hey, we hate you, Jesus. We're trying to take you out. I just would rather that than we know where we stand. It bothers me when people are like, here, we're doing it for your good. I'm from the government. I'm here to help. I'd rather just say I'm from the government. I hate you and I'll put you in prison. That's what I would rather people say. Then we're clear. We know where we're at. We know where we're standing. None of this buttering people up type thing. So they butter him up in order to try to bring him down and try to take him out. And the language that they use here is important. They're crafty. They are cunning with what they're saying here. And what they're saying about Jesus is absolutely right. He doesn't teach a message that is palatable. It's the unadulterated Word of God. He teaches the way of truth. He doesn't care what men think. Not that He doesn't care for men, but the point is there are some idioms here, some typical phrases they would use at that time. You do not regard the person of men to describe the fact that He doesn't show partiality. He doesn't show favoritism. He's not trying to please people. He's trying to do what God says, and he does so faithfully for the good of people. But he's not doing it in order to try and please specific types of people. It's not a palatable message. He doesn't regard men. That is true. He doesn't do that. He doesn't regard men. He doesn't care what people think. He's going to do what the father has laid down for him. He's going to do his task and he's going to do it faithfully. That's their problem. They don't believe him. What they're saying here, ironically, is true, but they do not believe him one wit and one bit. And their language here, again, is to try and get him. And really, again, the language is quite, he's going something like this. Hey, Jesus, your amount of integrity. You have to answer this question is what they're saying. They're trying to grasp it. Hey, Jesus, you typically answer honestly your amount of integrity. Here's a question. What will you say concerning it? So they really are entrapping him in this way. And so Jesus response really is quite masterful the way he responds to these men because they're trying to get him. And so they come to the The question proper in verse 14. I know some translations have verse 15 start at, shall we pay or shall we not pay? I think that should go with, but he, but in any case, they asked the question, is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Shall we pay or shall we not pay? You have to answer it, Jesus. You're a man of integrity. Now taxes are important to Rome, just like they're important to any sort of government. And really what happened, the tax they're perhaps referring to is the one in which they taxed the Jews, they taxed everyone, not just goods, but they taxed every Jew. The tribute census tax that happened in AD 6, The Jews didn't like that. The Jews didn't like that because it seemed like then they were under subjection to the Romans. They don't like being under the Romans. It led to one revolt by Judas the Galilean, and Romans hate insurrection. Why Romans hate insurrection and rebellion and terrorism? Because then nobody pays taxes. They want their taxes. They want to kibosh any rebellion, any whiff or smell or dissenters against. the government against the Roman Empire. That does play an important role and certainly the Jews especially the zealots viewed them as being viewed themselves as being under the dominion of Caesar and this tax indicated that. They hated the tax especially the zealots and zealots historically play an important role with AD 70 and their revolt against Rome which eventually leads to to the destruction of the temple in AD 70. Historically, yes, God brings it about, but God works through means. So Jesus, is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Shall we pay or shall we not pay? And depending on who you ask, there would be different answers. The Pharisees, they hated it, but they willingly paid it. Now, again, they have a religious purpose here. They are the religious witness against him. If Jesus says, yes, you ought to pay the tax, Jesus is clearly against the nation of Israel. And perhaps the nation who likes Jesus at this point would then turn on him because he's against or he's against them. As he says, they should pay the tax. Yes. But then the Herodians play the political side of things. The Herodians willingly paid it. Rome, you give us good things. Yeah, we're going to pay the tax. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. They were Rome's lackeys. They're the political side of things. If Jesus says, no, you shouldn't pay the tax, well, then they're going to call up the Roman garrison and be like, hey, this guy's a rebel. He's not paying taxes. Come and take him out, please. So Jesus really is in a very, very precarious situation, humanly speaking. They nail Him, they grab Him. You're a man of integrity. Answer this question aright. Jesus' response truly is remarkable in verses 15-17, but we'll get to that in just a second. But really, I know I'm getting ahead of myself. But really, brethren, we ought to honor and render to Caesar. That's not wrong. We ought to honor authorities in all things lawful. That's important. All things lawful. God has set up the government for a specific purpose in this world. It is given by God. Romans 13, yes, is a right passage. And we'll talk about that more as we go through. 1 Peter 3, Titus 3, sometimes even including wicked leaders. And all things lawful, we ought to pay taxes unto them, even if we don't always like them all the time. I confess I don't like the current leader, but I still have to pay taxes unto them, right? Even as well, 1 Timothy 2, we're called to pray for all men everywhere. Who are the all men? Categories of people, right? Kings in high places. We ought to pray for the governing authorities. As much as we may dislike some of the things that we do, we ought to do that unto them. Why do we want them to be good governors and good premiers and good prime ministers? So we live quiet and peaceable lives, right? Basically, leave me alone, government, so I can just live my life. That's all I'm asking you to do. You have a specific Purpose. So Romans 13 is not wrong. We ought to honor authorities in all things lawful. And I think that includes the government, but I think it includes all types of authorities, doesn't it? Fathers? Children, you ought to honor your fathers. I know what today is. I know today is Father's Day. God has set up certain authorities for the good of His people, for the good of people in general. Even when it comes to the good things God gives at creation, we'll talk about this more. He gives family structures, He gives business enterprise, and He gives justice. All types of authorities that are meant to be good things. This is all Fifth Commandment stuff. I'm never against that. I'm not against honoring authorities and such things. Again, all things lawful. Even too, in Romans 12, before we get to Romans 13, it says, as far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. I know I'm going to get ahead of myself even again, and I'm going to talk about the importance of church in just a second. One of the reasons we want to gather, dear brethren, is because God tells us to. But we're not trying to be William Wallace and say freedom. You know, we just want to just do what we're supposed to do quietly and live peaceful lives. That's all we want to do. Right. And when the government enters into our lane, that makes it very hard to do. So I'm not against honoring authorities. The problem is we have this unbridled Uncritical submission unto them. That's the problem that we see today. And perhaps you've seen this with people, perhaps you've done this yourself. If someone does one thing, it assumes the opposite of that, right? I think we should open. You should submit to the governing authorities. I agree, but we have to have a proper nuance and a proper ability to distinguish, dear brethren. We have this either or type of mentality all the time, but we have to have a proper understanding as far as we're able to be at peace with all men, including the government, but when they cross their lane, we obey God rather than man. Acts 5, the whole counsel of God, it all goes together, doesn't it? Romans 13 with Acts 5. we must obey God rather than man. In Romans 13, you read all the commentators, they're like, it doesn't mean you just do whatever they say. It never means that. We ought to honor them, but nonetheless, if they tell us to go against God, we ought to obey God rather than man. man. So we ought to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and more important render to God the things that are God's which is our second point in verses 15 through 17. So let's look then secondly at rendered to God in verses 15 through 17. Notice Jesus knows Jesus is omniscient. Jesus has the Holy Spirit without measure. He knows their hypocrisy, verse 15. But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, He knows their play acting. He knows their wickedness. He knows what they're trying to do. He knows they're just putting on a show. They don't really care. They're not really buttering them up. They don't really want to know these good things. They're just trying to take him out. Notice as well, too, that Jesus doesn't give in to their device. He is as wise as a serpent, isn't He? And as innocent as a dove when He deals with them. He doesn't give in, he doesn't kowtow. He deals with them appropriately and absolutely right. It's not his time to die yet, but he still answers the question. rightly. It's a masterful what he does here. He sees their hypocrisy. He sees their hatred. And he says to them, why do you test me? Bring me a denarius that they may see it. So they brought it. And he said to them, whose image and inscription is this? And they said to him, Caesar. So he uses this test of the denarius, this little coin that was used for that census tax. And on the image was Tiberius, the current Caesar at this time. And it was a sign of authority. And again, is that sign of Roman rule over the Jews? Jesus is going to say, render to Caesars. God has set up Caesar over the Jews in his providence. And as such, Jews, you ought to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. So the image has to do with his face, much like we have the queen on our coins, has this one Tiberius on there. But notice the inscription reference as well. There was an inscription, some words on there that said, son of the divine. There is this thing in the Roman Empire called the imperial cult. That is, they deify the emperors. They made them like gods. And it is reprehensible. It's wrong. It's absolutely not right. It is offensive to Jews. But at the same time, he's still going to say, render deceased the things that are Caesar's. What's so interesting too is in the Roman Empire, they wanted peace, right? And if you want peace, if you want to be left alone, you just do what they say. Why is it that a lot of Christians were persecuted, brethren? Because they didn't do what they say. They couldn't bow down to the Roman Empire. They had to do what God said rather than man. Even Rome, even this government said, if you just do what we say, then everything shall be just hunky-dory and just fine. That's one of the things that the governors didn't like about the Christians. Well, they do everything different. Yes, because God told us to do everything different. We're not supposed to be like the world. So he grabs them, he tests them, he uses this inscription and this image said to him, it says Caesar. When we come to that verse in verse 17, Jesus answered and said to them, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God, the things that are God's. Again, Christ recognizes the authority that's been given unto Caesar. Again, a fifth commandment issue. I should say as a caveat, it's not as though Caesar and God are on par. They're not. But he's describing the fact that God in this present evil age raises up governments and brings down governments. And it's the difference between the age to come or the redemptive kingdom, I like to call, other theologians like to call it. We have a common kingdom and a redemptive kingdom that we live in in this age. And of course, God is over Caesar. He put Caesar in that place. And God is the one who set up such an authority. This is very clear from Romans 13. I like Romans 13. We looked at Romans 13 not that long ago because it was coming up so much in this modern situation that we are in with COVID. And there is that time. There were perhaps people in Rome who were Jews, who probably had this rebellious tendency. So God said, Paul says, let every soul, not just Christians, but every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God. Caesar is not above God. God raised up Caesar for a specific purpose. That's important. And yeah, whoever resists the authority against lawful commands, resist the ordinance of God. And those who resist will bring judgment to themselves. That is right. And he goes on to say, rulers are for good, a terror to those who do not do good, or not a terror to those who do good works, but to evil. Do what is good, do what is right. God is a minister, and raise them up for good. And if you do evil, be afraid. See, what's beautiful about Romans 13, it gives us what governments are supposed to be. governments are primarily about protection, right? And I think I don't, what's interesting, too, is another reason I don't think Canadians understand Romans 13, when they're commenting on this, is I think he does talk about the death penalty here in the modern context. In connection with the Noahic covenant, I'm not against the death penalty in its proper sphere. Whoever sheds man's blood by man's blood, he shall be shed. The punishment fits the crime. And the New Testament has this as well in Romans 13. The sword very much refers to this, lopping off one's head. That's exactly what it means. Paul is going to get capital punishment unjustly, but nonetheless he's going to have his head lopped off later on as he passes on, second after second Timothy. But we're not against Romans 13, and we're not against the place of the government to punish the guilty. That's its point. It's not meant to change society. It's not meant to have puppets, ponies, and programs in the government. It's not meant to have all these things to help people. The primary thing the government is supposed to do is punish the guilty and protect the innocent. That's its task. The government is meant to be a place of justice. They're not meant to be this all-encompassing overlord. They're not. They're not totalitarian or ought not to be. I understand we live in a fallen world and there are very much totalitarian governments. And it's not wrong as citizens of the redemptive kingdom to say, hey, your task is primarily to punish the guilty and protect the innocent. That's what its primary task is to do now. Jesus and even Romans 13, they're not commenting on the best type of government democracy. Republic, federation, monarchy, aristocracy. He's not making a comment here. However, there was a Jewish thought at this time that the end time was here. There's gonna be a restoration of the theocracy. Jesus is shutting that down in this language. Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. There's not gonna be this theocracy once again. There's not gonna be this so-called Christian nation again, or this Jewish nation again, like it was in Israel. See brethren, the kingdom of God, the heavenly nation is the church. And that heavenly nation is found throughout all other, consulates or embassies are found throughout all other nations. We long to be home, right? We are pilgrims in this land. We long to make our way to heaven. We long to have the new heavens and new earth come in in its fullness. When we're talking about the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God, the church is the only so-called Christian nation because it is for Christians. There's no such thing as a Christian nation, dear brethren. Know what we long for? A just nation. That's what we long for. I've been to a country, safest place I've ever been to, no Christian background, but they have a good justice system that is there. And I tell you this, it's not Canada. It was not Canada. It was somewhere else. just nation is what we long for and what we look for. And there is this covenantal aspect. I know I'm doing theology here, but it helps us, I think, distinguish and helps us think about how we live in this world and interact with those around us who are not Christians and interact with the government. And certainly there is a covenantal aspect. It is that we do have a covenant charter for what we call the common kingdom. The Covenant Kingdom is its present age, no salvation offered in it. It's the Noahic Covenant. Brethren, every single person, every single thing in creation, God has entered into the covenant with creation, hasn't He? That hasn't stopped. We're still under that covenant. It's a preservation of justice. God is long-suffering and delaying that final judgment. But nonetheless, we see the covenant chartered there in a lot of ways. Be fruitful, multiply, family structures. Wow! Who thought the family would be good for kids? Even psychologists have determined that as well after studying various family units. Mother and father is the best thing available. I understand things happen. I understand we live in a fallen world, but the best thing is for families. We have enterprise, right? Fruitful multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. That's legit. Earning, building, making sure you provide for that family that you have. And then thirdly, justice. Whoever sheds man's blood, by man's blood he shall be shed. That justice aspect is so that the other things can take place. So I don't have someone come in taking from my business or trying to kill my family, right? That's what justice is supposed to be. ought to be. And remember, I'm saying this, the ought to be. It is not always the case. In a lot of ways, there's injustice. In a lot of ways, there is, you know, no enterprise and people have stolen from one another. And the family structure is being destroyed and denigrated and taken away, isn't it? That's very clear. We are citizens of Canada. They were citizens of the Roman Empire. We ought to live as those in this world. We ought to honor and glorify God through even paying taxes and rendering to Caesar the things that are Caesar's because we are part of this Noahic covenant. We ought to pay tribute. We ought to pay taxes as much as I don't want to. We ought to do it anyway. Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. Same word used in Romans 13, 7 when it comes to paying. And there he says, pay taxes and render as well. So we ought to render to Caesars as citizens of the common kingdom. But it's well noticed, render to God the things that are God's. This really is a challenge to the Pharisees and scribes, isn't it? And Herodians. They didn't really do either. Even the Pharisees themselves, they haven't honored God in this political sphere. They haven't honored God in the religious spheres as well. It shows their hypocrisy on so many levels. And what's interesting even too, it shows even the Herodians, they're basically submitting to the state as if they're God. They were fine with that. The Pharisees not so much, but the Herodians were just good with that. And let's be honest, when a government gets power, they like that power. Lane, very good. He says, there is always inherent in civil authority a tendency to reach beyond its appointed function, a tendency which leads to self-transcendence. begins to take the place of God and begins to be the savior of the people. The temptation to self-glorification, which always accompanies power, was particularly clear in the extravagances of the imperial cult. With its deification of the states and its simple head, Jesus emphatically rejected this insolent confusion between man and God, divine honors belong to God alone. We recognize we ought to honor states or honor authorities, dear brethren, even the ones that God has set up. When we honor states as if they are God, that's wrong. And that's what people are doing, aren't they? People are saying, government, you come and save us. Government, you do this. Government, you do that. And it makes sense when you consider worldview and you consider the materialistic worldview that we live in these days. This is all there is. We need someone to save us from dying. People are afraid to die because this is all there is, at least according to some people and a lot of people. And they look to the government for salvation rather than God Almighty. They fear the government rather than God. They fear, they look at the government as the one who dictates, who gives and takes away, right? Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And I do think certainly God is over all. He's over Caesar. But I think we can apply this, render to God's, to the redemptive kingdom, the church. And our covenant charter is the new covenant. And we see this when it comes to our allegiance. We're going to see very soon what is the greatest commandment. That's another one in our modern context. I'm not against loving our neighbor, dear brethren, right? And we love God through loving our neighbor. What's the greatest commandment? Love God, honor God. Is that not the first and greatest commandment? And as such, should we not honor God above all things? Especially as Paul says in Philippians 3, 17 through 21, we are citizens of what? Heaven. We are citizens of a kingdom that shall have no end. We are citizens of a place where Christ is good and glorious, and He ought to be honored and glorified and worshiped, and is not some wicked tyrant. And if we are citizens of heaven, if God is our King above all things, and we recognize that, especially over His church, should not worship be determined by God, not the state. There are two kingdoms, and it is just that. Not overlap. Parallel. Not overlap. I know the state hates it when the church encroaches on the state. You need to stop doing... Yeah, I get that. You know, we're not supposed to change society and transform and make everything Christian. That's not what we're supposed to do. We recognize God has made this world and God has made this world and preserving this world and giving good things in this world. But redemption is the church, is the new heavens and new earth. with Christ. And the modern situation, unfortunately, and the church, unfortunately, has abdicated its role and recognize what I'm about to say, state over church, right? The state is now acting like the church and dictating what the church should be. Governments love so power so much they need to encroach in everything in our lives, including the church. There was the Confessing Church. I know I've talked about them often. You should just go read For the Soul of the People by Victoria Barnett. It's about the Confessing Church who fought against Hitler and resisted against Hitler during his regime and reign. And what's interesting, there's a lot of parallels. I'm not gonna lie, I'm reading it going, oh dear. But in 1933, Hitler comes in. 1934, the Confessing Church writes what's called the Barman Declaration. I don't agree with everything that these writers say or these theologians write, but they stood up and I commend them for that. You know what they thought? They thought, you know, Hitler just, as Hitler's starting to encroach on the church and he's got his German Christians and movement who just pander whatever he says, he's starting to take control in the church. And the confessing church is like, we need to meet with Hitler because maybe Hitler just doesn't understand what the church is. And they realized very quickly that he was doing exactly what he wanted to do. They thought, maybe he's, you know, maybe he'll listen to us. Maybe it'll be great. It'll be fine. Bad, bad, bad, bad. That did not work out well, did it? He hated the Confessing Church and despised the Confessing Church. And they wrote what's called the Barment Declaration concerning what was happening in Germany. And they talk about this. They say it's not about the state going beyond its special commission. It needs to know its place. And they're concerned that it should and could become the single totalitarian order of human life, thus fulfilling the church's vocation as well. State becoming everything. Totalitarian. That's what it is, isn't it? The church has its task. The state has its task. There ought not to be changing lanes so to speak. And Jesus says that very clearly. Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. And Jesus speaks here as one who truly has great authority. He speaks to understanding about where authority lies and what that means and what that looks like. He even says to Pilate in John 19, what does he say? You would not have authority that had not been given to you. That's not wrong to say, by the way. I'm not against telling the state what they're supposed to do. I'm not against going in there and trying to change everything, but here's what your task is. Figure it out. That's what they're supposed to be. You need to protect, punish the guilty and protect the innocent. You would not have that authority and power if God had not given it unto you. Jesus, as He says this, even the words that He speaks is showing He is one who has authority above all. Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. I noticed their response. They marveled at him. Skillful, genius response by our Lord. Informative response by our Lord. He does not get in traps. They marvel at such a response. He still is a man of integrity. He speaks truth. And so to speak, he will live another day at this point. And it is a marveling thing to see. And again, the application very much here is, I know I've touched on it a lot, so we'll touch on it a little bit more. Again, honor God above all things, brethren, above all things. That is an important challenge to the church in the current situation. We have to be on guard. I have to be watchful. I have to be careful, dear brethren, I do. But brethren, we must be careful we don't have the state encroaching on the church and the state start telling us what the church is. Brethren, the church is not Caesar's. The church is not Caesar's. The church is Christ's. And Christ is altogether lovely and the one who tells us how we ought to function in church. No singing? You're kidding, right? Can't gather? You're kidding, right? We must obey God rather than man. Many people are forgetting that latter half. People cherry pick passages all the time. but understanding its context or keep reading. One of my professors in seminary said, just keep reading to better understand what's going on. Keep reading. Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, but more importantly, the things that are God's. Brethren, perhaps you saw this last week, the arrest of Tim Stevens. If you watched the clip, you saw him throw down, or at least the cop tried to throw down with him concerning these things. See, the cop tried to use scripture. He said, where two or three are gathered, it doesn't matter how big it is. And then Tim Stevens is like, you want to talk about Matthew 18? Because it's not talking about where two or three are gathered. It's talking about church discipline, actually. So there are three witnesses in church discipline. So someone is not disciplined in an unlawful way. It's not about two or three are gathered. That's not the main idea. You could apply it that way, but that's not the main idea. You know what he said? He goes on to say, render to Caesars. Doesn't it say that? He said that. Render to Caesars and Tim Stevens responds, the church is not Caesars. That's why he is in prison right now. That's why he's going to be away from his family until at least June 28th. We must render to God above all things. We must remember that. Brethren, we can honor God by honoring Caesar. I understand that. It's a good first for how we ought to live in this world. We live as good citizens, quiet citizens, humble citizens, paying our taxes, working hard, that sort of thing. And we honor God that way. And then we honor God even more importantly with proper worship unto him. For when there's a clash, when there's an encroachment, the reality will and may come when Caesar tells us to do something against what God tells us to do. And in that case, in that instance, we must obey God rather than man. And this is what leads to persecution. I know I railed on Sunday night about last Sunday night about persecution. You must have a proper understanding of what it leads to. Yes, if we do what the government says, there's going to be no persecution. You know what persecution is, brethren? It's disobedience to the world, including the government, for the sake of obeying Christ, isn't it? disobedience to what the world says the world's not gonna like it okay we got to do what God says rather than that is where persecute or it leads to persecution rile again very good he said he ought to regard the powers that be as ordained of God and to submit to their rules and regulations, so long as the law is enforced, though he may not thoroughly approve of them. If the law of the land and the law of God come in collision, no doubt his course is clear. He must obey God rather than man. Like the three children, this is great. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, good examples of this. Like the three children, though they serve a heathen king, he must not bow down to an idol. Like Daniel, though he submits to a tyrannical government, he must not give over praying in order to please the ruling powers. Absolutely right, dear brother. That is a good nuanced understanding of what this passage is saying. We all ought to have a good nuanced understanding. Theology does matter, doesn't it, when we consider how to live in this world and how we nuance and interact with the scriptures and see what Jesus is saying, what other passages are saying. We ought to honor the authorities and render to Caesar But brethren, above all, we ought to render the things that are God's unto God. Even if that leads to persecution, even if that leads to being taken away from our family, we must, by God's grace and by God's strength, be willing to do such a thing. And thankfully, brethren, this present evil age, this present evil age will pass away. The common kingdom is going to end when Christ comes back. These current governments, God raises them up and brings them down. But the kingdom of heaven has no end. It reigns forever and shall reign forever. And Christ himself reigns forever. And if you're an unbeliever here today, you are obviously not part of the kingdom that has no end. This kingdom that you live in now, you shall pass away and you shall be judged. But if you believe on Christ, the true and good king, the king like no other, the king who forgives, the king who is merciful and kind, if you confess your sins unto him, you shall be brought into the kingdom of heaven, be citizens of heaven, and be part of the nation that shall have no end, because Christ's kingdom has no end. Well, let us pray. Our good God, thank you again for your word. And thank you for the clarity with which you speak to us in the scriptures. But we confess, oh God, sometimes some things are confusing for us and difficult for us to understand. But we pray, O God, that you'd give us good theology, good understanding. Thank you for men who've gone before us that we can lean upon. And we praise you, O God, for your authority over all things and sovereignty. We're thankful, O God, that you raise up governments for specific purposes. And we pray, O God, according to your Noahic covenant, that there would be a restoration in this land of the importance of the family, We pray, O God, that there be a restoration of the importance of business and enterprise, free enterprise. And we pray, O God, that there be a restoration of the importance of justice as well. We know, O God, that you govern all things according to your will and guide all things according to your will. We are thankful for this covenant charter and how you give us many good things in this world. And we're thankful for that rainbow that is ours. It is not any others, it is yours that shows us your long-suffering towards this world. And we're thankful, O God, as you tarry, it is salvation for your people. So we pray that we would render to Caesar, that we would render and pray for those in authorities, even if we don't like them. We do pray for our prime minister and our premier and our public health officer. We pray, O God, that they would rule with justice and with equity. If not, O God, we pray that you would remove them and raise up men who would. And O God, we especially thank you for your redemptive kingdom. Thank you, O God, that we render to you above all things. And we're thankful that you dictate how we ought to worship according to your heavenly nation, as we are citizens of heaven. And we are thankful that Christ's kingdom shall have no end. And we pray, O God, that we would worship you according to what your scriptures say, that we would not render to Caesar the things that are yours. And we confess, O God, that sometimes we can easily do this. We pray, O God, that you protect us from doing such things. And we pray, O God, that you give us faith to stand in such times when there is a clash. Give us faith and strength that only comes from on high to say no and to stand firm on the things that are true. We know, O God, we need much grace and mercy and during such times, but we're thankful, O God, you provide it. We're thankful, O God, you carry your people. We're thankful, O God, you watch over your people, you sustain your people. And you know, O God, that you work all things for the good of your people. So help us, O God, to render to the proper authorities, render due appropriately. We pray, O God, for those who do not know you. We pray, O God, that you would show them that this world shall end, but there is a world that shall never end. And we pray, O God, that they would believe on the king of that world. They believe on Christ, believe on our Lord, where all authority in heaven and earth has been given unto him. And we are thankful that he builds his church. We're thankful he is with his church. And we pray, O God, that you would be pleased to honor and glorify yourself through the proclamation of your word. So help us all as we go out into the world. Help us all as we rest today. May we honor and praise you and have a proper, clear understanding how we ought to love you. Thank you, oh God, for these things we pray in the name of Christ, amen.