In this message, Pastor Trenton teaches from Mark 12:13-17. We humbly submit to governing authorities as an act of humble submission to our glorious King. That is what we explore in this sermon. Let us know what stood out to you in the comments below!
Hope Church LV Sermons
Jesus On Politics
In this message, Pastor Trenton teaches from Mark 12:13-17. We humbly submit to governing authorities as an act of humble submission to our glorious King. That is what we explore in this sermon. Let us know what stood out to you in the comments below!
- Duration:
- 43m
- Broadcast on:
- 28 Jul 2024
- Audio Format:
- mp3
- Thank you for joining us today. We're excited you came across this message. The sermon you're about to watch is from our verse by verse study through the Gospel of Mark. Up to this point in our series, we have seen the first half of the book. In chapters one through eight, Jesus demonstrated through his life, miracles and teaching that he truly is the Son of God. And through the second half of Mark, we'll see Jesus establishing his kingdom by going to the cross. Our entire study through the Gospel of Mark thus far is available in our feet. We would love for you to join in. If you're joining us for the first time, I wanna be the first to say welcome to Hope Church. Go ahead and open up the Hope Church LV app or visit hopechurchlv.com and click connect with us to fill out a short digital connection card. Once again, thank you so much for joining us today. - Good morning, Hope Church. My name is Ken Stansell. I am a member, my family and I have been part of the Hope Church family for just under the past six years. I am privileged to serve on the spiritual formation team and purchase not for sale in our young adults ministry and as part of the Las Vegas Charity Classic Golf Committee. Today's teaching text is Mark 12, verses 13 through 17, paying taxes to Caesar. And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians to trap him in his talk and they came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances but truly teach the way of God." Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or should we not? But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it." And they brought one and he said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said to him, "Cesars." Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God, the things that are gods." And they marveled at him. This is the word of the Lord. Amen. Thank you, brother Ken. (audience applauding) Well, good morning Hope Church family. My name is Trenton, I'm one of the pastors here and it's my privilege and honor to be able to open up God's word and teach it today. I hope you are there in your Bibles in Mark chapter 12. We'll be there in just a few minutes. But I wonder if you're like me. I wonder if there's anybody in the room this morning who loves the holiday season. Anybody love holidays like all the holidays? Man, this is a very festive service. I love it. I love the holidays. My two favorite holidays are Christmas and Thanksgiving, anybody else? Christmas and Thanksgiving. Christmas for the obvious reason. Presence, just presence, kidding. It's about the Christmas trees. There is something about a good smelling Christmas tree, a good smelling Christmas candle, anybody. If you wanna know what I want for Christmas. Would love that. But Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving's up there. It rivals Christmas for me in particular because of the obvious reason. Food, Thanksgiving in my opinion has the best. Thanksgiving, food. I love it so much. I don't know if you know this, but me and my wife, we live in Las Vegas. And yeah, some of you got that a little bit later. That came out on Thursday as an accident, but we've just ran with it today. All right, so me and my wife, we live in Vegas, but all of our family lives back in the Southeast in the part of Georgia. And around Thanksgiving every year, we get to go home and it's awesome. But around every four years or so, around Thanksgiving, a topic gets brought up at our dinner table around really good food that for some of us, we love. We really enjoy talking about it. For other of us, it makes us wanna crawl under the table and just wait it out until the topic's done, until the conversation's over. Anybody know that topic that I'm talking about? Politics and government. When that topic gets brought up, a lot of us have different reactions, right? It's a very sensitive topic in our culture. Obviously, it's a very relevant topic with where we're at in our culture right now in this election cycle. But the reason I bring that up today is because in today's teaching text, two groups of people invite Jesus to their Thanksgiving table, if you will, to have a conversation around this really sensitive subject. And today, as we sit here in 2024, we sit in the midst of another election cycle that has been chaotic up until this point to say the least. And what Jesus tells these two groups of people was fascinating for them. It says that they marveled at him, but it's also gonna be really instructive for us, and especially in light of where we're at in our current cultural moment. And the reason, though, this is gonna be so helpful for us as Jesus followers, is because as much as it seems like this passage is about politics and governing authorities and taxes, it's actually so much deeper than that. See, Jesus, as he teaches here, doesn't just tell us how to relate to governing authorities. He is going to do that. But he lifts our eyes beyond the governing authorities to his Kingly reign over all of our lives, because he knows that in only rightly relating to him, could we ever expect to rightly relate to them? And so as we jump in here today, I know this is a very sensitive topic, the topic of politics and governing authorities. But I wanna encourage you to hang in here with me, because before we are anything else, we are followers of Jesus. And here today, we are not interested in making any political statements. We are interested in rightly dividing the word of truth for the glory of God and the good of all of our souls. And I believe with all my heart, I believe with all my heart that you're gonna get to the end of this message and see that what Jesus was teaching here is so much better and so much more important and so much deeper than what this passage seems on the surface. And we're gonna walk out and encourage today as followers of Jesus, okay? So if you're with me, can you say I'm with you? - I love you. - I love you guys, you're so sweet. All right, we're gonna outline the message today just in two simple ways. We're gonna first look at a simple question. And then after we look at the question that gets posed to Jesus, we're gonna look at seriously his stunningly brilliant response to this simple question. But before we examine the question, we gotta know who's asking the question. Let's look at verse 13, here's what it says. It says, "They sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians to trap him in his talk." Now this is really, really important to know. If you've been following along with us for these past two years in the Gospel of Mark, you know who the Pharisees are. The Pharisees are the conservative religious group who've been trying to ruin Jesus in his ministry from the very beginning. We know about the Pharisees, they're the religious group. But the Herodians, this is a newer group to us. The Herodians, they're not a religious group, they're a political group. And they're a political sect in Jerusalem who had aligned their allegiances and their preferences and their political thinking to that of Herod. See, the Herodians and the Pharisees, they had very different views on the Roman government. It's not a stretch at all to say that these were the conservatives and the liberals of the day. But this is not the first time that we see these political opponents working together. In Mark chapter three, verse six, it says this, that this is read to us or this is seen after Jesus. Heals a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath day and the Pharisees and the Herodians don't like it. And here's what it says, it says the Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. See, this is interesting. See, up until this time in Mark that these two times, the two times that we see these two groups of people who are normally opposed to each other, they're actually working together for the same common goal, which is to destroy Jesus. Isn't that interesting? Remember the setting for this story. This is Jesus's last week before he's going to die at his crucifixion. And this question that comes to Jesus is actually the second question in a string of five that result in controversy between Jesus and the leaders of the day that ends up resulting in his crucifixion at the end of the week in the story. And so the Pharisees, they had previously tried to trap Jesus and destroy Jesus religiously by trying to get him to be a, or claim to be like a religious blasphemer. But once that didn't work, they've now turned their attention to try to trap him politically because they want him to be seen as a political revolutionary. So this is the setting, this is the characters in the story. Now let's look at the simple question that they ask Jesus. Let's look at verse 14. It says they came to him and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are true "and do not care about anyone's opinion. "For you're not swayed by appearances, "but truly teach the way of God." You see what they're doing? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or should we not? See, these political opposites, they show up to Jesus and they begin to butter him up. They begin to butter him up before they try to bring the hammer down on him. You ever done that in the conversation? You gotta make somebody feel good by giving them some flattery, making them feel good to butter him up before you gotta drop the hammer on him with some bad news or something? That's what they're doing here, but they're using flattery to do it. And isn't it interesting? If you ever wanna go study the topic of flattery in the scriptures, here's what you're gonna find. Never one time in the scriptures do you see a good word spoken about flattery in the scriptures? Study the Psalms, study the book of Proverbs. Never one time are we encouraged to give flattery, but we're also encouraged to be weary of receiving flattery. And here's the deal. Jesus knows this. He knows that. And so he hears what they're saying. Teacher, you're not swayed. You teach the truth. They're trying to butter him up. And Jesus knows there's more going on right here. But they're doing this in order to just try to get him to just give a very simple yes or a simple no to the question they're asking. The question again is very simple. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? The tax that they are referring to in the story is the tax called the imperial tax. Now, here's what's interesting about that tax. The tax requirement was only a laborers one day wage. So whatever you made in one day's work, it was actually like the minimum wage of that day. That's what this tax was. So it wasn't really a large tax. It was just an annoying tax, to be honest. And Jesus here, he knows that there's so much more going on than just a question about should we pay this tax or not. But why? What's the big deal with this? In other words, why do the Pharisees and the Herodians believe that in asking Jesus this question? If he answers yes or no, it's gonna trap him. We'll consider the logic just for a moment. If Jesus responds with just a simple yes, well then the Jewish people who had just welcomed him into the city through his triumphal entry just a few days earlier, they were welcoming him into the city singing and saying, remember, Hosanna, Hosanna, those Jewish leaders, they believed that Jesus was gonna come and overthrow the pagan Roman government. And they hated this tax because this was an annual reminder to them of their subjection to this corrupt and pagan government. And so they hated this tax and so if Jesus just goes, yeah, pay the tax, well then he's gonna be looked at as a traitor in the eyes of the Jewish people. But consider if he says no, if he says no, don't pay the tax, well then they can turn him into the Roman government and have him imprisoned or worse killed for insurrection. Because again, they're trying to see if they can get him to say no, they're wanting him to admit that he is a political revolutionary. And the reason they're doing that is because they've actually seen this happen before. If you read your Bibles in Acts chapter five, you see a man mentioned named Judas the Galilean. Now, here's what's interesting about Judas the Galilean. He was a political revolutionary. He was so zealous and passionate against the Roman government that he had led a whole group of people to follow him and to be about his ways and his preferences and his policies. And he was leading a group of people in this zealousness and it got so zealous that eventually the Roman government was able to have him taken in and put to death. You can read about it in Acts chapter five. And so you see what they're thinking. They're thinking, is Jesus like Judas the Galilean and if we can get him to say no, then yes, we can treat him the same way we treat a Judas. So do you see the trap? If Jesus says yes, he loses his influence with the Jewish people and if he says no, he can be turned into the Roman government. He is trapped. This word trapped in the original Greek language, it's actually a very violent word. It's the word used when it's being talked about trying to trap and kill an animal. Here's the point. These religious leaders, these political leaders, they had malicious intent towards Jesus. They wanted to destroy him and they think they've done it. But Jesus is wiser than them. And he responds brilliantly. And let's take a look at it now. Number two, a brilliant response. Here's what it says, it says, but knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, why do you put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it. And they brought one. And he said to them, whose likeness and inscription is this? They said to him, Caesar's. Well, Jesus said to them, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. And they marveled at him. Notice in this moment, Jesus's response actually begins with a request. Notice in this moment that this denarius, this is the coin that they would give up to pay the tax that they're referring to. It's a one day's workers wage. It's not a lot of money. And notice in this moment, Jesus doesn't even have one in his pocket. Jesus is, some would say, the king without a coin. He is the son of God, the king without a coin. And so he asks for a coin, a denarius. Actually got a picture of what a denarius in the first century would look like. Here's a cool picture of it. This is the front side, this is the back side. This is Tiberius Caesar. This is actually on the back inscription or a picture of a bust of his mother on this coin. But what I really want you to know is what's inscribed here on this front side of the coin. Again, this is a picture of Tiberius Caesar and inscribed on it are these words. Notice how, notice the intent of these words. Here's what it says. Tiberius Caesar Augustus, here it is. Son of the divine Augustus. You see what's happening here? See, Tiberius Caesar on this coin, through this coin and through his role as Caesar, here's what he was doing. He was claiming to be divine. To be a son of the divine. In other words, what is he doing? He's claiming to be a God. And the Jewish leaders, the Jewish people, they saw this as idolatrous. And here's the truth. It was idolatrous. It was idolatrous because any time we put a human being or a political party or anything good in our life and make it ultimate, put it on the place of God, that thing becomes an idol. And this is what's happening. They're wanting the people in that place to treat Tiberius Caesar as a God, as divine. And they're doing it through this coin and they're doing it through this tax. And Jesus knows this and yet he still says, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. Think about this. Jesus, the son of God, the only one truly worthy of worship. We just sang it. He's worthy of it all. He's holding this coin, this idolatrous coin with a person on it claiming to be in his rightful place. He holds this coin knowing full well that this same Roman government in just a few days is gonna take a rusty nail and pierce his hands and crucify him. He holds up this idolatrous coin knowing the corruption of this Roman government and yet he still says, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. This is astounding. One commentator, pastor, theologian, can't use. Here's what he says about this statement. He says the statement by our Lord was not only astounding the instant it was uttered, but is even today universally acclaimed to be the single most influential political statement ever made in the history of the world. Why? Because here's what Jesus is doing and I want you to see this. Here's what Jesus is doing. He is acknowledging the legitimacy and the authority of human government. Even corrupt human government. Do you see it? It's clear that in Jesus' mind the government has the right to tax and we have the responsibility to pay. It has the right to make laws and we have the responsibility to obey. It has the right to govern and we have the responsibility to submit. Government exists because God has ordained it as a part of the created order. Think about this. We see this from the very beginning of scripture. In Genesis chapter one verse 28 when God has created human beings and he gives them their calling into the world. Theologians call this the cultural mandate. He gives human beings their calling and their design and how they're to function in the world and we see it in Genesis one 28. Here's what it says. God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and here it is and subdue it and have dominion over. This phrase, have dominion over. It's literally the phrase in the Hebrew to rule over or to govern. To rule over, have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth. Think about this, hope church. God is literally saying from the very beginning of history and before sin had ever entered into the world that human beings were ordained by God to govern or to rule the world in such a way that they bring order out of chaos and this result in human beings thriving as they reflect the glory of God into the world. The scriptures are clear that ruling and governing has been a part of God's plan from the very beginning. Obviously we know in Genesis chapter three, sin enters into the story and because sin enters the story, it has infected everything including ruling and governing and leading. And so we're infected with this sin and yet the scriptures are clear across the board that the command to govern still remains. That's certainly what the New Testament authors believe Jesus meant by this statement. Consider what the Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter said concerning this topic. First I wanna read to you Romans 13 verses one through seven. This is the Apostle Paul writing to Christians in Rome and it's a lengthy quote, it's a lengthy passage of scripture but I wanna read it to you because I hope I wanna show you that this is not the opinion of one pastor or even one church, this is the opinion of God himself writing through the Apostle Paul. Romans chapter 13 verses one through seven. He says, let every person be subject to the governing authorities for there is no authority except from God and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority then do what is good and you will receive his approval? For he is God's servant, for you're good this is the design of government. But if you do wrong be afraid. For he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes. For the authorities are ministers of God attending to this very thing. Here it is. Pay to all what is owed to them. Taxes to whom taxes are owed. Revenue to whom revenue is owed. And respect to whom respect is owed. Honor to whom honor is owed. It's very clear to me as Paul is writing this to the Christians in Rome that he has in mind what Jesus is saying here in Mark chapter 12. Peter, building upon this and first Peter chapter two he says very similar things. Here's what he says. Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution whether it be to the emperor as supreme or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God. That by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free not using your freedom as a cover up for evil but living as servants of God. Here it is. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. Now that last statement honor the emperor is crazy. If you know what's happening in this moment. The emperor at this time of first Peter's writing is the emperor Nero you may have heard of him. Nero was an awful ruthless emperor. He was famous for having Christians killed and then hung on a post lit on fire and using Christians as lampposts in the city to light up the night. This emperor is also the same emperor who eventually Peter would be killed by at the hands of in his governing authorities. He would be crucified upside down for his faith in his following of Jesus. And to this emperor Peter says under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit says we honor that emperor. This is crazy. See it's very clear from Jesus's words, from Paul's words and Peter's words that submitting to authority is what Jesus means when he says render to Caesar the things that are Caesars and God to the things that are God. But it's right here that people start to make mistakes. It's right here that they start to make Jesus mean something that I actually don't think Jesus meant when he said these words. And I wanna try to illustrate it for you on this whiteboard. You've all been wondering when is he gonna get to the whiteboard here? Join me in my classroom for just a minute. We hear Jesus' statements, render to Caesar the things that are Caesars and to God the things that are God. So there seems to be this divide these two domains. So people see it this way, they go, okay, so there are some things that are Caesars things. Don't judge my handwriting, Caesars. It's hard to spell, I'm telling you. There's some things that are Caesars things, right? These are things like taxes clearly and laws and legislation and so whatever those things are, those are Caesars things. Well, and then we hear render to God the things that are God's and okay, so then there's another circle and then there's God's things, right? These are things like church attendance and prayer and reading our Bible and our tithe and making sure we're giving to God's kingdom. This is what God's things are and so we give those things to him. A lot of times this can come out and show itself in language like there's a difference between the spiritual and the secular. Or there's a division between church and state and this is how we see it. Now, here's the question though. Let's think biblically, let's put on our thinking caps and think about what the scriptures would say to this question. If I ask you the question, what are God's things according to scripture? What's the answer? Everything is God's things, including Caesars things. The Bible tells us in Psalm 24 one that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. We were at two weeks ago, Matthew 28, before Jesus gives his great commission, all authority, where in heaven and on earth, all of it has been given to who, to me, to Jesus. And so the scripture's clear that the answer to the question of what are God's things, God's things includes all things, everything. And so this isn't the picture. This isn't the picture that Jesus is painting for us. Instead, it looks a little bit more like this, understanding that all things are God's things. There's a really big circle that includes God's things. It includes everything. The earth is the Lord's all authority and heaven and on earth. And because Jesus then has all authority, he can in his freedom and authority choose then to give some of his things to Caesar for them to be Caesar's things. Does that make sense? So here's the truth. When Jesus says, when Jesus says, give to Caesar the things that are Caesars, he's not lying. He's not making a statement that's not true. They really are Caesars things, but they're only Caesars things. Why? Because God gave them to Caesar. It's kind of like when I give my boys toys. I don't know parents if you've ever experienced this. I'm sure you have. One of the things I love to do is give my boys some toys and surprise them. I did it last night. It was awesome. But here's what happens. The moment I give my four-year-old and two-year-old toys, I give Drake, Drake, this is your toy. Jax, this is your toy. And immediately Drake goes, I want that toy. And he runs over to it, grabs it and takes it from Jax. And then there's crying. And Jax, honestly, is stronger than Drake. And so Jax wants to go beat him up and turn this whole thing into a WWE match. It's awesome, and kidding, it's terrible. And right before it turns into a WWE match, I have to scream and say something like this. Drake, give that toy back to Jax. And here's what I say. It's his toy. It's his toy. Now, here's what we know. It's not his toy. Why? It's my toy. It's my toy, you know why? Because I bought that toy. I bought that Lightning McQueen. He didn't have the money. He doesn't get an allowance. He's two years old. That is my toy. But because I have the authority and the money-- amen? I can use my authority to give some of what are my things to him. For him to steward well and not make his brother mad. It really is Jax's toy. But it's only Jax's toy because I gave it to him. You remember what Jesus said to Pilate standing there in front of him and everybody else right before his crucifixion? You remember what he said? He said, "Pilate, you would have no authority over me unless it was given to you by God from above." What is Jesus saying when he says, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's, knowing that all of God's things are everything? What is he saying? I want to put it in a summarizing sentence for us. Here's his application for us. We are to humbly submit to governing authorities as an act of humble submission to our glorious king. All things are our kings. And so because we as followers of Jesus, we worship and submit to one king ultimately. We live in the kingdom of God. And because we have submitted our lives to that king, we also then must submit our lives to those whom God says, you must submit to. See, we don't submit to governing authorities for the sake of submitting to governing authorities. That's followers of Jesus. We submit as an act of worship to our sovereign king who is over those authorities. Do you see this in the text? Followers of Jesus, we have legitimate responsibilities to relate well to the government because we have submitted to the God who is sovereign over our government. But how are we to do this? How are we to do this honestly well according to the scriptures? Well, as we wrap up very, very quickly, I wanna give you four key ways that the scripture in the New Testament, based on what we've read already, would give us as practical ways that we relate well to the governing authorities in our lives. And here's the first one and the most important one. Number one, we are to pray for them. We pray for them. Remember what Paul wrote to his young protege, Timothy, in first Timothy chapter two, here's what he says, first of all, then I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions. Why? That we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. I don't know about you, but when I read this, I want to lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified. I want that, don't you? I want that. That sounds like a peaceful, godly way of living. And what Paul is saying is, Timothy and Hope Church, if you want that, you gotta understand that there's a direct connection between you desiring that and your prayers for those in authority. Why is that? Here's why. Because the book of Proverbs tells us that the king's heart is like a river in God's hand. He turns it wherever he wills. And prayer, God has chosen in his sovereignty to use the prayers of his peoples to accomplish his purposes. So first and foremost, how do you and I relate well? We pray, we pray. Number two, very quickly, we submit. We submit, we've already talked about this from Romans chapter 13, but to submit means to willingly place yourself under their authority, to obey. And I know in our flesh, we don't like this, but this submitting, it has to do with our actions, what we actually do in response to the rule over our lives in the governing authorities. But number three, we are also to honor the governing authorities. Second Peter chapter two versus 13 and 17, we read those earlier, says to honor everyone, honor the emperor, to honor means to esteem or to show value to. How many of you know that you can submit without being honoring? Let me give you an example. You tell your kids, kids go take out the trash and your kids, they do it, they're submitting, but they're not being very honoring of your position as parents in their life. See friends, here's what the scriptures want us to see. Submitting has to do with our actions, but honoring has to do with our attitudes. Here's what the scripture is saying. Not only are we to pray for them, we are to submit to them, we are to honor them in our hearts. Are you saying pastor that I can't disagree with politicians? Of course not, of course not. But here's what I am saying the word of God is saying, that you can disagree without being dishonoring. That it's very possible for us to disagree with law and legislation or policy or preferences of a particular person and yet not be dishonoring to the position that God has put them in. How do we do that? We do it respectfully. We do it thoughtfully and we do it truthfully. We talked about this a couple of weeks ago, but you and I have never met somebody not made in the image of God. Meaning that there's not a person you and I will ever encounter physically or through a TV screen or through social media. That is not a person made in God's image, made to reflect God's character in nature to the world. It's been broken by sin, but that person made by God in the image of God is a person who is worthy of value and has significance and purpose in God's created order. And that requires from us an honoring of that person. Because in honoring them, we are honoring the maker of them. The way we honor those we disagree with shows a lot about how much we honor the Lord in our own hearts. This is clear. But I wonder if you're feeling what I'm feeling at this moment. What about the times when we're asked to disobey God by our government? What about the times when we're commanded by government to do something that's in contradiction to God's word or we're commanded by them to not do something that is commanded for us to do in God's word? Are we supposed to just forget the scriptures and just obey the government? Of course not. Of course not, which is why the word number four for us and how we relate well is the word resist. Resist. In that case, in that moment, when inevitably, we are called to contradict God's word in our life, either for things we're called to do based on God's word and the government's telling us not to do them, or we are called to not do something, but the government is telling us to do something. In those moments, we must graciously resist. Just like Peter and the apostles, when they were told that they could not go on preaching the gospel and speaking about Jesus in their city, what did they say to the Roman officials? Here's what they say. But Peter and the apostles answered, we must obey God rather than men. We must obey God rather than men. When we do this, this is called civil disobedience. Now, to be clear, as long as the obligations to government, do not interfere with our ability to honor and worship God and walk according to his word, we are to fulfill those things, those obligations. It is a part of our Christian duty. But when they inevitably do contradict God's word, we must graciously resist. But in doing so, we must also accept the consequences for resisting and posed by our government. This is what Romans 13 is all about. And why is that? Here's why, and this is the best part of the message, friends. Thank you for staying with me. Why should we do this? Because that's exactly what Jesus did. It's exactly what Jesus did. Check this out. Jesus obeyed God over man, and this got him killed. But he went to that cross quietly and gently, submitting to his heavenly father as he submitted to the Roman government. Now, why did he do that? He did that so that he could get back what is his. Check this out. Remember, when Jesus began his response, what did he say? Here's what he said, "Bring me a denarius. "Let me look at it." And I brought one, and he asked this question. Who's likeness and inscription is this? See, Jesus, when he asked this question, he asks, whose likeness is on the coin? But we didn't ask the question of what is God's likeness on? He says, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar "and to God the things that are God." So whatever has the inscription of Caesar on it, give to Caesar. But what has God's inscription on it? What has God's likeness on it? And you know the answer. God's likeness has been inscripted on you. On you and on me, on us. This is the whole point. This is what we see in Genesis 1, 26. When God made us in his image, wait for it, after our likeness, the very same word. Listen, what is he saying? Here's what he's saying. He's saying, listen, Jesus follower. Caesar's likeness has been inscribed on a coin. So give him his coin. But my likeness has been inscribed on you. So give me your life. Jesus is saying here, Caesar is worthy of giving a coin to, but I'm worthy of giving your heart to his whole point. Give to God the things that are God's. What is God? You are God's. You are God's. And Jesus has done everything necessary in order for us to be able to do just that. We should give our lives to Jesus because he gave his life for us. This is the gospel. Remember I said that Jesus didn't have that coin. Here's why, because it's a picture that the coinless king became poor for us that we could have the riches of heaven. That the heavenly king became a humble servant so that we could become heirs of the kingdom of God. Our righteous Savior died at the hands of earthly authorities paying the debt that we owed so that we would live forever in a heavenly kingdom that never ends. Here's Jesus' point, friends. Because of him, because of what he's done for us in the gospel, we can give back to him. What is his? Our entire lives. And because we've done that and only once we've done that, could we, can we responsibly and righteously relate to the governing officials in our day? But Jesus wants to be very clear. Before we talk about relating to governing authorities, we've got to make sure we're rightly relating to him. Because in only rightly relating to him, could we ever expect to rightly relate to them? This is Jesus' point. Let's pray together as we respond. Lord, thank you for your word. God, I pray that it was clear. I pray that it was faithful to your word, to your truth. God, as we respond now, I pray that we would respond appropriately. Friend, brother, sister, I just want to ask you this question as we respond. Have you given to God that which is his? Have you given him your life? Have you said to him, Jesus, I want you to be my Savior and my Lord, my King. This is a very clear invitation for you from Jesus because he's done everything necessary. All you've got to do is give up to surrender your life to Jesus. You can do that today. If you want to begin a relationship with Jesus today, we're going to have people down front on our prayer team. We'd love to introduce you to Jesus if you've never began a relationship with him. But maybe for the rest of us, for followers of Jesus, are there parts of you, parts of your life that you haven't given over to Jesus? Maybe you've given him your heart, but not all of you. Maybe there's parts of your life that you're still holding back and you're wanting to remain in control of. What is the spirit of God putting his gracious finger on in your life right now that you can receive his invitation to confess that and to surrender that over to Jesus and allow him to replace that with his grace and his power and his presence in your life? Maybe you want to just take this opportunity to pray for our governing authorities, for what's going on in our world. Maybe you need to repent and reorient your heart rightly around God's word and what it says around relating well to governing authorities. I don't know what the spirit of God is wanting to do in this moment, but I want to invite you to respond in whatever way the Lord is leading. Lord, we love you. Thank you for today. Thank you for this time. God, thank you for your word. God, we stand on it. We stand behind it, trusting you that you know better than we do. We love you, Lord. Lead us as we respond now. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Would you stand with me as we respond. [BLANK_AUDIO]