Give it to Caesar if it is his, and give God everything that belongs to God

He leads me …

“Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s” is a well-known quote that appears in Matthew 22:21. It is a response from Jesus when He confronted in a joint attempt by the Herodians and Pharisees to get Him to say something that they could use against Him.

These enemies of Jesus saw an opportunity to get a reason to discredit Him. In verse 17, they say to Jesus, “Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (ESV). It was a trick question, and they knew it. If Jesus answered, ‘No,’ the Herodians would charge Him with treason against Rome. If He said, ‘Yes’ the Pharisees would accuse Him of disloyalty to the Jewish nation, and He would lose the support of the crowds. To pay taxes or not? The question was designed to catch Jesus out whether He said ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

His response caught them completely off guard. As Matthew 22:18–19 reads, “But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, ‘Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.’ And they brought him a denarius” (ESV).

When the people around Him saw the coin, Jesus said, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” The Herodians and Pharisees, stating the obvious, said, “Caesar’s.” Then Jesus brought an end to their foolish tricks: “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21, ESV). When they heard this, Jesus’ accusers were stunned and then drifted away.

When Jesus said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s,” He was making a clear difference between the kingdom of this world, which Caesar held power over, and another kingdom, not of this world, where Jesus is King (John 18:36). Here on Earth, Christians are part of both kingdoms. Under the government (Caesar), we have requirements of us that involve physical details. Under Jesus, we have other requirements of us that involve the affairs of God. If the government requires taxes to pay for running the police, the schools and the hospitals, we give it to them. However, it is even more important we make sure that we also give God what He expects so that He can make a difference too.[1]

But what should we do when our government oversteps its recognised boundaries and claims authority over what only belongs to God?

In the Early Church, it was not uncommon for Christians to be involved with civil disobedience, even if it meant that they met together for worship in violation of the law, or that they did not burn incense in worship to the Emperor. When they were arrested, they accepted the consequences, which could be torture, maiming, and/or death. It was clear from Jesus’ teaching that their responsibility was to remain faithful despite the awful consequences.

These days the focus has changed but the issues are still there. So how should individuals and private businesses respond to government directives to provide goods and services that violate their consciences and what they believe the Bible says? What do we do when the government authorises provisions allowing doctors or nurses to participate in abortions or euthanasia? Or they provide clearance to use chemical sprays that poison the environment? Fortunately these days there are ways that Christians can legally make a stand against the government when they are involved with ethically and morally wrong issues.

We can write to and lobby the politicians who represent us, either individually or with what is called a citizens initiated referendum where people add their signatures to a document requesting the government to make changes to existing laws; we can stand for office to try and make a difference ourselves; we can vote for opposing parties with views that we agree with; we can assemble peacefully to protest against policies and appeal for bad laws to be corrected.[2]

If we do not feel that the Lord has called us to any of these things we can still do the following -

Pray

When we see the government making bad decisions we can pray about what they are doing. After all God is in control, and if anyone can bring about change it is Him. Prayer is the way that we work with God. Prayer is powerful. We can pray things like, "God, do what You need to in this situation. Lord, let them see and understand the truth, and to have the courage to make the correct changes."

 Truly, our prayers are the most powerful weapon we have. The world may not understand this, but we as Christians should never forget it!

 We should live according to God's teaching.

God has called us to love, to have peace, and to show patience to those around us. He has called us to holiness and to righteous living. By doing this, we can be a light, by living according to the Lord’s teaching in the Bible. Yes, even when we are mocked for what we believe in.

We should respond appropriately as God leads

This is different for each one of us, but if we are open to how the Lord leads us, we should be prepared to respond the right way when we receive His direction.

We can ask the Lord to show us what we can do. Even if he shows us to do something small we should not disregard it, because it is likely be just the right thing to start a chain of events that lead to the correct outcome.

  We can be proactive and be looking for ways to get involved. It may be looking for ways to make a difference, to stand for truth, to stand for justice, to help others, or to be loving. If we look for these opportunities, we are ready to take them as God brings them our way.

Keep reading our Bible

To really know what is right from God’s point of view, the only way to really understand is to keep reading the Bible. It helps us to realign our thinking to Godly principles, and allows us to respond in accordance with His will when challenges and confusion arise.[3]

Jesus’ last command was ‘Go into all the world …’ Are we prepared to do this if He says so?

[1] What did Jesus mean when He said, “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s”? Got Questions Ministries : https://www.gotquestions.org/render-to-Caesar.html

[2] Political Theology 101, by John Stonestreet, Breakpoint; https://www.breakpoint.org/political-theology-101/

[3] How Should Christians Respond To Turmoil & Evil In The World? Linda Kardamis, Teach 4 the Heart;

https://teach4theheart.com/christians-respond-to-turmoil-evil/