The
Obligation To Render Unto Ceasar
By Milburn
Cockrell
(1941-2002)
Tell
us
therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it
lawful
to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? But Jesus perceived
their
wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye
hypocrites?
Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a
penny.
And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They
say
unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them,
Render
therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s;
and unto God the things that are God’s. (Matthew 22:17-22).
Here
the Pharisees and Herodians, natural
enemies,
made common cause against the Prince of
Glory.
They endeavored to set a trap for Jesus, so they could report
Him
to the governor as a rebel against the Roman
authority.
“Is it lawful
to
give tribute ... or
not?” This was a controversial question in Judea
2,000
years ago. The Pharisees generally answered in
the negative, the Herodians in the
positive,
though both obeyed the law.
Their
question was full of subtlety, and
the
Lord Jesus’ answer was full of
wisdom.
Jesus said: “Shew
me the tribute money ... Whose
is the image and superscription?” He referred to the
denarius,
a Roman coin worth about 17 cents in our money. These coins bore the
emperor’s
likeness, and a Latin inscription of his name and rank.
“Render
unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto
God
the things that are God’s.” This unforgettable statement
will
stand for all time. It teaches Christians
to be loyal to their country and faithful to
God.
It also sets forth the separation of church and state, distinguishing
between
the things that are Caesar’s and the things which are God’s.
The
Christian religion is no enemy to civil government,
it
is the best friend it has in all the world. Christ’s
kingdom does not clash or interfere with the kingdoms on
earth.
So as the state confines itself to
its legitimate jurisdiction, it will not hurt,
hinder, or hamper the work of the church. The state
has
to do with civil matters, while the church has to do
with the Divine and spiritual things.
Christians
are citizens of two worlds --- one earthly and the other heavenly (Philippians
3:20). We must render obedience to both God and
the
state, for these duties do not necessarily
conflict
with each other. The things which are Caesar’s do not just mean taxes,
but all that citizens owe the civil magistrate.
We
must render to God what He requires of
us.
We ought to live as those who belong to Heaven, but that does not
mean we have no responsibility on earth. The Christian is a citizen of
the country in which he dwells. So far as subjection
and
obedience to the civil power is
concerned,
he is obligated before God to obey
it. But in his aim, in reason, in
affection,
in devotion, he is a stranger and pilgrim in every country upon earth.
He is to use this world, not abuse it (I
Corinthians 7:31).
OBEY THE
LAW
Since
the
authority for civil government comes from God, those who
believe
in Him are responsible to render obedience to the
state.
This applies to every Christian in every country in every
age.
“Let every soul be subject unto the
higher
powers?” (Romans
13:1).
The
higher powers included the imperial
throne
of Rome in Paul’s day. When he wrote Romans
13, the worst ruler Rome ever had
was upon the throne, Nero himself. If a man like that
were to be obeyed, then surely all other earthly
rulers.
No
person has the right to claim
exemption
from the Divine mandate of Romans
13:1. “Every soul” means
“every person.” It includes the pope
of
Rome and all the clergy. It includes the House of
Representatives,
the Congress, and the President and his cabinet. This includes
every
Baptist preacher in the world and all Baptist church members. No
person is above the law of the land. No individual has the right to
flagrantly
break the laws of the state.
THE
REASON WHY
In
I Peter 2:13-15 it is
written: “Submit
yourselves to
every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be
to
the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them
that are sent by him for the punishment of
evildoers,
and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of
God,
that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of
foolish
men.”
Here
Peter gives two reasons for obedience
to
the magistrate. First, he says: “For the Lord’s sake.”
True religion requires submission to the state.
Thus, a Christian is not to be a
disturber
of the state. He must obey the magistrate
because
he is the minister of God and obedience
to
him is the ordinance of God.
Second,
a Christian should submit to the civil
magistrate
because it “is the
will of God.” This is the strongest
reason for any duty. He must conduct himself
in
such a manner before the law of the
land as to put to silence the unreasonable reproaches of ignorant and
foolish
men. Believers, who take seriously the
teachings
of the Bible, will not perform acts of civil
disobedience
even when they disagree with the state
and
federal government. Any minister of the gospel
who deliberately refuses to obey
ordinances
is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Those
who
do so in the name of “civil rights”
should have enough intelligence to know that they have a civil and
religious
obligation to obey the law. The Bible does not endorse
civil
disobedience. Those who violate the laws of the municipality,
large
or small, should be punished for their offenses.
Romans
13:5 gives a third reason for subjection
to
the state: “Wherefore
ye must needs be
subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.”
This
means a Christian is to obey the laws of his county
and
country, because a good conscience demands it. The Bible teaches him to
be a good citizen, and that obedience to his government is God’s will.
Therefore, he must obey all ordinances without
grumbling and complaining.
THE
EXTENT
OF OBEDIENCE
God’s
children
are to obey every regulation of the
government unless it would be contrary to
God’s
law and the fundamental laws of His
spiritual kingdom. We are not to
obey
the government if it commands us to
lie, steal, or perform cruel deeds. Whenever one must chose between the
will of God and the demands of the government, he must choose to obey
God
and be prepared to take the consequence (Acts
26:25). When Peter faced such a
problem,
he told the council: “We ought to obey
God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
The
infinite Ruler is to be obeyed in
preference
to any earthly ruler. When Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego
were required to worship the golden image of Nebuchadnezzar, they
refused
(Daniel 5:1-18). When
Darius insisted that Daniel not pray
to his God, Daniel refused to obey this requirement (Daniel
6:1-24).
Government
forfeits its claims to obedience when
it
requires what God has plainly forbidden,
or forbids what He has required.
Human
authorities must not attempt to thwart the purpose of God. They must
not
punish men for disobedience to them who
seek
to obey God. Such rulers who set themselves in
opposition to God will have a great deal to answer for at the judgment
of God.
WHAT
OBEDIENCE
INVOLVES
To obey the
magistrate
means to pay all lawful taxes to the government. These are
used
to support our police, our law courts,
our
penitentiaries, our army, our navy, and our air force. We may think a
certain
form of taxation is unjust, but this does
not free us from the obligation to “render ... to all
their dues” (Romans
13:7). To cheat the
government is to cheat the public of which we are a part.
Christ’s
example teaches this. He told Peter to go and to pay the temple tax
which
they both owed. “Notwithstanding, lest
we should offend them, go thou to
the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that
first
cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou
shalt find a piece of money: that
take,
and give unto them for me and thee.” (Matthew 17:27).
A
Christian is to go to war in defense of his country.
Abraham did when he declared war on
Chedorlaomer (Genesis 14:1-16).
The children of
Jacob often engaged in war against
their
enemies with God’s approval. John the Baptist told the Roman
soldiers
to “be content with their wages”
(Luke 3:14), not to become
deserters
or draft dodgers. Christ told Peter to put up
his
sword which belonged to the state, not to
throw it away. One of the early
Christians,
Cornelius, was captain of a Roman cohort of 100 men.
In
Luke 22:36 it is recorded that
Jesus Christ said: “He
that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy
one.” No amount of spiritualizing
can escape
the clear meaning of such a text.
This
verse overthrows any theology of
non-resistance
held by pacifists, conscientious objectors, Quakers, Jehovah’s
Witnesses,
or any other sect.
Your
government has a Divine right to bear the sword and to call upon its
citizens
to aid in this matter. As Christians we must
bear
arms if our government has need of
us. Our government has the right to delegate any
of
its citizens as its representatives in its
military
or naval obligation. One cannot scripturally be a
conscientious
objector.
SUBMISSION
TO CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
At all times a
Christian
is to abide by the laws of the land and to let justice take its course.
If he commits a capital offense, he must receive a capital punishment.
If he commits anything worthy of death,
he
is obligated to accuse himself and give himself up to
justice.
He must make no attempt to escape or
resist
the powers that be.
On
trial before Festus, Paul said: “For if
I ... have committed anything worthy of death,
I refuse not to die” (Acts 25:11).
When
a believer is a judge or juror, it is his duty
to
favor capital punishment when the law of God
and
man requires it. In Deuteronomy
19:13 the elders
of Israel were told: “Thine eye shall
not pity him, but thou shalt put
away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel,
that
it may go well with thee.” Such judgment is
good for
society. Deuteronomy 19:20
says: “And those
which
remain shall hear, and fear, and
shall
henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.”
HONOR THE
RULERS
Those
who
are saved are obligated to show
respect
and honor to those in positions of
authority. Paul said in Romans: “Fear to
whom fear; honour to whom honour.” I Peter 2:17
tells us: “Honour the king.”
To those who
live in America it could be
understood
to read: “Honor the President.” When Paul addressed the
procurator
of Judea, he called him “most noble
Festus” (Acts 26:25).
When he spoke to Agrippa,
he said: “O king Agrippa” (Acts 26:19).
Respect
for earthly rulers and reverence for God are put
together
in one verse of Scripture. “My son, fear
thou the Lord and the king” (Proverbs
24:21). He who has no respect
for the
earthly rulers has none for the Divine Ruler.
Our
high officials must be spoken of with great respect. Job 34:18 asks:
“Is it fit to
say to a king, Thou art
wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly?”
It is interesting to notice that
the
reproving of a king in the Bible was done only by
a
prophet or one sent of God. Herod
was
reproved by John the Baptist (Mark 6:18).
David was reproved by Nathan
the prophet (II Samuel 12:1-14).
Language like Shimei used
against David must never be used when addressing a
king
(II Samuel 16:7).
To
unleash biter criticism against our President and Congress is to
oppose the revelation of God’s Word. We must not use derogatory
or
insulting words when speaking of even our governor or sheriff. Exodus 22:28:
“Thou shalt not ... curse the
ruler of thy people.”
Ecclesiastes 10:20 declares: “Curse not the king, no not in
thy thought: and curse not the rich in
thy
bedchamber: for a bird of the air
shall
carry the voice, and that which hath wings
shall
tell the mater.”
PRAY FOR
RULERS
It is
also
our responsibility to make fervent intercession
for all people who have the rule
over
us. Writing to Timothy, Paul said: “I exhort therefore, that, first
of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be
made for all men; For kings, and
for
all that are in authority; that we may
lead
a quiet and peaceable life in all
godliness
and honesty.” (I Timothy
2:1-2).
We
must pray to God for all our civil leaders, for president or
prime
minister, senator or sheriff, congressman or circuit clerk, federal
judge
or justice of the peace. If prayer for rulers was obligatory under
the
cruel Nero, the obligation must remain in all
ages,
irrespective of the form of government or the character of those in
authority.
Prayer for the government, rather than denunciation, is the duty of a
Christian.
Let
us pray for their health and
happiness
and the peace and prosperity of their
government.
The peace of the people is
dependent
upon the peace of the potentates. Jeremiah
29:7 declares: “And seek
the peace of the city whither I have
caused you to be carried away captives,
and
pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.”
Only
under a peaceable government can
Christianity
grow as it should. Under a reign
like
Solomon’s in the Old Testament,
Christians
are enabled to live in peace, free
from turmoil and oppression, and to pursue a righteous life
in God’s sight and honor in man’s sight.
Rulers
encounter many difficulties and are often subjected to severe
criticism.
A heavy responsibility rests upon them and they bear many burdens of
the
day. Their decisions have a bearing upon
the lives of millions. Their problems are complex, and
the
temptation to abuse their high office is great.
The
Bible reveals that evil spirits seek to manipulate
earthly
rulers. Daniel 10:13
reveals that Satan assigned
a demon to influence the King of
Persia
against Israel. This is a very good reason to pray
for
those in authority, lest they become
either
demon possessed, or demon influenced.
God
is greater than Satan. He can move upon
the
hearts of unsaved people to do things for the good of
His people. Proverbs 21:1
reads: “The king’s heart is in the
hand of the
LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever
he
will.” The powers and prerogatives of kings are subject to the
King of
all kings.
A
CHRISTIAN
ATTITUDE TOWARD ALL MEN
The Apostle Peter
made
a tremendously significant statement when he
said:
“Honour all men” (I Peter 2:17). Honor is not only due
our national
leaders, it is also due all men without exception. Even the
wicked
must be honored to some degree. We
must
not despise the poor (Proverbs
17:5). “Honor” suggests
the highest regard for the dignity of the individual.
Christians
must remember that all men are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26)
and of one blood (Acts 17:26).
We are to treat people with
proper recognition of their essential worth. Every human
being
has feelings, aspirations, and basic rights. We should
treat
all men as gentlemen, not because they are, but because we
are.
As
born again believers, we should promote the
concept
of equal opportunity for all. All men,
regardless
of race or ancestry, are to enjoy
the
rights and privileges of humanity. But
even
these rights and liberties are to
be
subject to the limitations of God’s moral law.
(Berea
Baptist Banner - May, 2010)
Return
To Elder Cockrell's Page
Return
To Baptist Authors
Return To
PBC Home