About this sermon
Pharisees and Herodians try to trap Jesus with a question about paying taxes to Caesar, and he exposes their hypocrisy. ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ God appoints civil government to restrain sin, and Christians pay taxes, honor rulers, and pray for them, though they must obey God when rulers command sin. Every government in this age has flaws, so believers place their ultimate hope in Christ’s coming kingdom, where their true citizenship lies.
Sermon transcript
As we prepare for the preaching of God’s Word, let’s rise and sing the first verse, the first stanza of 173, Almighty God, your Word is cast. 173. Almighty God, your Word is cast like seed into the ground. Now let the dew of heaven descend, and righteous fruits abound. Amen. Please remain standing for the reading of God’s Holy Word. My sermon text today as we continue our study of the Gospel of Mark is a short passage in Mark chapter 12, Mark 12, verses 13 through 17. The Lord Jesus is in Jerusalem for the last time before his crucifixion. Let us hear God’s holy word. Mark 12, beginning at verse 13. Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to him in order to trap him in a statement, they came and said to him, teacher.
We know that you are truthful and defer to no one, for you are not partial to any but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a poll tax to Caesar or not? Shall we pay or shall we not pay? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at. They brought one. And he said to them, whose likeness and inscription is this? And they said to him, Caesar’s. And Jesus said to them, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s. And they were amazed at him. Dear ones, the grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever. Let’s pray for God to bless the preaching of his word.
Gracious Lord and Father in heaven, we pray for the illuminating presence of your spirit. We ask that your spirit would open our minds and our hearts to behold wondrous things from your word. And we ask that the seed of your word would indeed take deep root in our hearts and bear spiritual fruit in our lives. Make us attentive. Help us to understand what we consider this day and grant unto me your unworthy servant, the grace to declare and speak forth your word with clarity, with power, with the assistance of your spirit and in a manner that is well understood. We pray these things in Jesus name and all of God’s people said, Amen. Please be seated. As you can see in your bulletin, the title of my sermon today, is the things that are God’s.
And there are a number of words, key words you can be listening for in my sermon, if that helps you follow along. And I’d especially point out the words government, gospel, hypocrisy and duty. Well, dear ones, one of the trickiest and most controversial issues in Christian ethics is the issue of how and to what extent the believer in Christ owes allegiance to the civil government. The relationship of the Christian and of the Christian church to the civil government and to civil authorities has often in the history of the church been a source of controversy among God’s professing people. For example, what if, say, the government promotes or endorses values, policies or practices that go contrary to the teachings of God’s word? Or what if the government uses some of the tax revenues that it collects from its citizens to support and pay for practices and laws that the Bible clearly condemns as sinful?
In such circumstances, does the Christian still have an obligation to pay taxes to such a government? Or should believers refuse to pay taxes when the government supports godless or unbiblical policies and laws? Do we as believers still owe obedience and respect to our government authorities even when they support and promote policies and practices and law that God’s moral law condemns? And are we expected to respect and obey and pay taxes to such authorities even when they engage in hostility towards Christ’s church with a persecuting zeal? Well, these kinds of questions are tricky and thorny questions, but they are not new questions. See, similar kinds of questions were also raised among the Jews in first century Palestine and even among our Lord’s Jewish contemporaries. Such questions sparked controversy among God’s people back then as well. One of the most debated issues among the Jews in the first century during our Lord’s lifetime was the question of whether or not Jews should pay taxes to the Roman government.
Remember, at that time, Israel, God’s people, the Jews, were under the domination of the Roman Empire, under the domination of the Caesar. And that was a problem for some Jews, because think about it. After all, the emperor Caesar, the Roman emperor, was he a believer in God, a worshiper of God? No. Not only was the Caesar a Gentile, but he was a pagan, an outright pagan, an idol-worshiping pagan. And while the Roman government was somewhat tolerant toward the Jews and their religion, just so long as they were willing to be good citizens and to avoid inciting revolution against the Roman government, and while the Roman Empire indeed provided all of its citizens and subjects, including the Jews, with many wonderful benefits, for example, benefits such as, by ancient standards, a relatively just legal system, good roads, civil peace and security, and so forth, At the same time, the Roman government itself also used taxpayer money to support the blasphemous, idolatrous pagan cult of emperor worship and other unbiblical and immoral practices.
So it was a mixed bag when it came to the Roman Empire. The issue of whether or not a faithful Jew could support such a pagan government with his taxes was a hotly debated issue amongst God’s people in the first century. This controversy was heightened by the fact that from, think about it, from a Jewish perspective, who were the Romans? Well, the Romans were a foreign occupying force in God’s holy land. a force which, from a Jewish perspective, desecrated and polluted the Holy Land by their very presence and by their idolatrous ways. So this is the issue that comes to the forefront in this discussion that our Lord Jesus has with these representatives from amongst the Pharisees and the Herodians. Now, I want you, first of all, as we dive into our passage for today, the first thing I want to point out from our passage from verses 13 and 14 is that opposition to Christ and his gospel often unites people of radically different opinions.
We see here that opposition to Christ and his gospel often unites unbelievers who are very different from one another in terms of their opinions. We see that by the very mention of these opponents who confront Christ with this question in verse 13. Who are these opponents? Well, they are described in verse 13 as the Pharisees and the Herodians. It says, Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to him. And if you compare this, by the way, with the parallel passages and other gospel accounts, it’s clear that they had plotted and schemed a way to try to trap Jesus in his words, to kind of ask him a gotcha question that could kind of push him into a corner and get him into trouble. And so these opponents are Pharisees and Herodians. Now, before I explain who these groups are, it’s important to remember the setting here.
When does this dialogue, when does this conversation take place? Well, again, remember that this is Passion Week, the week leading up to our Lord’s crucifixion on Good Friday. And so scholars debate, but this event probably took place either on Tuesday or Wednesday of Passion Week. And again, scholars differ upon which day it took place. But either way, the conflict, it’s clear from this that the conflict between Jesus and the Jewish authorities continues to intensify to a breaking point. It says again, They sent some Pharisees and Herodians to him in order to trap him in a statement. And notice how they approach him. Look at verse 14. They came and said to him, Teacher, we know that you are truthful and defer to no one for you are not partial to any but teach the way of God in truth.
Is it lawful to pay a poll tax to Caesar or not? Shall we pay or shall we not pay? Who are the Pharisees and who are the Herodians. Both of them are Jews. And the Pharisees, it was a sect of Judaism that was very rigorous and strict, at least professedly strict in its adherence to the Torah, the Old Testament law. Actually, in reality, the Pharisees were more loyal to the traditions of the rabbis, the traditions of the elders, than they were to the Word of God itself. But they prided themselves on being strict adherents of God’s law, being very careful to observe All of the minute details of God’s law is revealed in the books of Moses in the Old Testament. So the Pharisees were very religious, very devout in terms of their approach to the traditions of the elders, the rabbis.
But on the other hand, we have the Herodians. And you might notice that in their name, Herod, right? The Herodians, as you might suspect, these were essentially the worldly secularists of the day. They were Jews whose practice of Judaism was very superficial. at best. They were sort of nominally practicing Jews of the day, and they were quite content with Roman rule. The Pharisees were willing to pay the tax to Caesar, but from the Pharisees’ perspective, the fact that Rome was ruling in the promised land was an indication of God’s judgment upon Israel for its unfaithfulness. And so They say, well, we’ve got to accept this because it’s God’s judgment upon us, and the way to get out from under this judgment is to be like us, be more faithful to following the minutia of the law of God, as explained by the rabbis.
But the Herodians, on the other hand, were enthusiastic. about Rome’s rule and were quite supportive of it. Ordinarily, Pharisees and Herodians would not want anything to do with one another. They would be in opposition to each other. But as you know the saying, a common enemy makes strange bedfellows. And these two groups come together because they are both opposed to this man, Jesus of Nazareth. He poses a threat in their view to both of them. Now, what is their strategy in approaching Christ? Well, we see in verse 14 that they approach Christ with flattery and pretended piety. Notice again what they say. It says they came to him and they said to him, teacher, they approach him with a with a pretense of respect. They address him as a teacher and then they try to flatter him.
They try to butter him up. and make him vulnerable teacher. We know that you are truthful and defer to no one. Of course, this is true. Jesus is truthful. He is the way, the truth and the life. But they don’t really believe that in their heart of hearts, they’re being deceptive, they’re being hypocritical. But again, they’re trying to flatter him so that they might trap him. Teacher, we know that you are truthful and defer to no one for you are not partial to any but teach the way of God in truth. Again, what they’re saying is objectively true. Jesus indeed teaches the way of God in truth, because as I said before, Jesus is the truth of God. But then they ask this controverted question. Is it lawful to pay a poll tax to Caesar or not?
This is where Jesus probably gets clued into the fact that these folks are not sincere. Is it lawful to pay a poll tax to Caesar or not? Shall we pay or shall we not pay? By these questions, they seek to draw him into this rabbinical debate that raged amongst the various sects of Judaism in the first century. Their aim, obviously, had been to trap Jesus in his talk so as to get him into trouble with the authorities. That’s made clear in verse 13. And they probably imagined that they had concocted a foolproof trap, a gotcha question that would get him into trouble no matter how he answered the question. In their strategy, they are being quite clever. You see, if Jesus were to answer with a no, which he wouldn’t because obviously it becomes clear that Jesus does believe that we should and he teaches that we should render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.
But if Jesus hypothetically should answer their question with a no. then they could report him to the Roman authorities as a threat to the peace, a potential revolutionary plotting rebellion against Roman rule. And the Herodians especially would love to to get Jesus into trouble in that regard. But on the other hand, if our Lord Jesus directly answered their question with a straightforward yes, then his answer would alienate him from the many devout Jews who had previously supported and followed him and for whom paying tribute to Rome was extremely unpopular. See, even amongst the Jews who grudgingly paid their taxes, that was not a very popular thing. If the word got out that Jesus, oh, Jesus is saying we need to we need to follow along the thinking of the Herodians, then that would cause the Lord Jesus to lose some followers.
So they think they’ve got him trapped and that either way he answers the question is going to get him into trouble. And what is the issue again raised by Christ’s opponents? The issue, as we see in verse 14, is the lawfulness of paying taxes to Caesar. Look at their question. In verse 14, they asked, is it lawful to pay a poll tax to Caesar or not? Now, some might respond by saying, well, of course, it’s lawful. It is the law. You’re supposed to do this. And and if you don’t pay this tax from the standpoint of Roman law, you’re breaking the law. But obviously, they have in mind, not Roman law, not secular law. They have in mind God’s law. If we pay Caesar, taxes to Caesar, are we breaking God’s law? That’s really at the heart of their question.
Again, this was a hotly debated issue among the Jews in our Lord’s day, and there were radically different schools of thought on this. For example, on one extreme, you had the Jewish zealots. And the zealots opposed Caesar’s reign with a vehemence. Many zealots were actually supported revolutionary movements against Rome. And many of such zealots would at times, when they were exposed or captured, would be punished with the ultimate punishment that Rome meted out, the punishment of crucifixion. But the zealots among the Jews opposed Caesar’s reign and the payment of taxes to the Roman government. So that’s one extreme. But on the opposite extreme, you had, again, the Herodians who were enthusiastically supportive of the Roman government. Again, the point here, beloved, is that a common enemy will often unite otherwise radically different groups. Enemies of the gospel who under normal circumstances would be at each other’s throats or would review each other as ideological enemies will sometimes put aside their differences and unite together to oppose the truth of God’s word and the spiritual labors of the Christian church.
There is a certain unity among the enemies of God. And sadly, as we compare the church’s situation, there is often disunity among the people of God. Dear ones, let us counter the unity that is often found among the enemies of the gospel by standing fast in the unity of Christ with all who confess the true biblical gospel. All who truly name the name of Jesus, all who embrace the biblical gospel are our brothers and sisters in Christ. We may have some significant denominational differences with them, but we are not to view them as enemies. We are one body in Christ. Let us maintain that spiritual unity. The world is certainly united against us. Let us be united with those of like precious faith as we stand together for the gospel and against those who would destroy the gospel and its witness.
But next, notice our Lord’s response to the hypocritical testing of his opponents. We see next in verses 15 and 16, our Lord’s masterful response to this hypocritical testing of his opponents brought to him by his opponents. Look at verse 15. It says. But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, let me pause there. How does Jesus know that they’re being hypocritical? Well, it’s possible that he sees their hypocrisy in the sense that as the omniscient son of God, he’s able to see their hearts, that he detects in his divine nature, he detects their hypocrisy. Or it also could be that their hypocrisy is so obvious, so blatant that even our Lord, with respect to his human nature, was able to detect it. Either way, Jesus is on to them. He’s on to their game and he confronts them with it.
It says, he knowing their hypocrisy said to them, why are you testing me? He knows why they’re testing him, but he confronts them with their deceit and hypocrisy. Why are you testing me? And then he asks them to bring him a denarius to look at. We’ll talk about that in a few moments. But notice here, Christ sees what’s going on. He confronts their hypocrisy and we notice this object lesson. involving a denarius. Now, what is a denarius? Well, a denarius, as Dr. William Hendrickson points out, a denarius is a small silver coin equal to a laborer’s average wages for one day’s work. So it was a basic form of currency back then. If you were a day laborer and you put in a day’s work, you would get for your work a denarius. That was the typical pay for a day of labor.
And this coin was interesting because the coin itself had a likeness of Caesar, of the Roman emperor inscribed on it, along with an inscription of his name and his title. And in his title, divine honors are ascribed to the emperor. And so even the coin itself, this piece of currency, had idolatry attached to it in the sense that it rendered divine honors or ascribed divine honors to the Caesar. Now, Jesus requests this denarius, the fact that our Lord asked his opponents to supply him with a denarius and then they complied with his request. They didn’t say, well, we don’t have a denarius on us. We don’t use the Roman currency. Right. No. He asked them to give them a denarius, to give him a denarius. And they comply. This reveals that they themselves benefited from the relative peace and order supplied by Rome.
And the very fact that they use the Roman currency shows that they implicitly recognize their obligations to Caesar’s government. Again, notice, my friends, what we learn here is that our Lord Jesus detests hypocrisy, especially pretended and deceptive piety. Again, these Pharisees and these Herodians They come to Jesus pretending to be pious Jews. They say, teacher, we know, we know that you are truthful. Defer to no one. You’re not partial to anyone. You’re a good guy. We we know this. And in their hearts, they don’t believe a word of what they’re saying. They are lying and they are taking the Lord’s name in vain. And Jesus calls them out on it. And Jesus detests that kind of hypocrisy. Let us be warned, dear friends, Let us be warned against such hypocrisy in our own lives. Let us walk the talk and let us repent of any hypocrisy and false piety that might exist within our breasts.
But what is the lesson from all of this? Well, the lesson that we learn here, beloved, as we see in verse 17, is that our duty to the government and our duty to God are meant to go together. They’re not meant to be in conflict with one another. They’re meant to go together. Look at verse 17. Jesus said to them, you know, again, they he asked for denarius. They bring him a denarius, says in verse 16, they brought one. And he said to them, whose likeness and inscription is this? And they say, of course, Caesars. And what does Jesus say? Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s. Oh, there’s so much to unpack from this one verse of our passage for today. We learn here, though, that under ordinary circumstances, there are exceptional circumstances, as we’ll see in a few moments, but under ordinary circumstances, our duty to the government and our duty to God are compatible.
They’re meant to go together. Dr. William Barclay writes in his commentary on Mark, and I quote him, he says, no man can accept all the benefits which the state gives him and then opt out of all the responsibilities. And Dr. Hendrickson, in his commentary, writes the answer. Jesus’s answer implies, yes, the tax must be paid. There must be an adequate response to privileges enjoyed. But though the emperor must receive his due, he must not receive more than that. That is, he must not receive the divine honors he claims. So, yes, there were ascriptions of divine honors to the Caesar imprinted upon that denarius. But using the denarius, using the currency did not of itself indicate that you accepted Caesar’s claims to divine honors. You were simply rendering to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. We read of the general the general posture that the Christians should have to the civil magistrates.
This is fleshed out, this principle which which our Lord speaks of in our passage for today is fleshed out more by the Apostle Paul in that famous passage of Romans 13, verses one through seven. I’d like to invite you to turn there. I want to read this passage briefly. Romans chapter 13, verses one through seven. This is after the Apostle Paul has explained the gospel and in all of its intricacies, and then he, in chapter 12, begins to to flesh out some of the implications of our salvation. And one of those implications has to do with our relationship with the civil magistrates. Excuse me. Beginning in chapter 13, verse one, let me just read these verses. Paul writes, every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God and those which exist are established by God.
Let me remind you that when Paul wrote these words, the emperor of Rome at the time, I believe, was Nero. If you know anything, know your history, know anything about Emperor Nero, he was not a he was not a nice guy. It’s one of the most vile, evil dictatorial rulers ever to ever to arise in human history. But nevertheless, Paul writes, every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God. God in his province raises up these authorities as he pleases. And then verse two, therefore, whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God. And they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. In an ideal world, he’s giving the ideal scenario.
Rulers are not a cause for fear of good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same. For it is a minister of God to you for good. Notice, verse four, he says, the civil authorities are ministers of God, servants of God, whether they realize it or not, whether they’re Christians or not in God’s providence, they serve God’s purposes. And then he goes on to say in verse four, but if you do what is evil, be afraid, for it does not bear the sword for nothing, for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Therefore, It is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience sake.
For because of this, notice this how this relates to our passage for today. Verse six, for because of this, you also pay taxes for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them tax to whom taxes due custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. But wait a minute, Pastor, does that mean that if the civil authorities command the church to do something that is sinful or in violation of God’s law, that we should just go ahead and do it? Because after all, God put them in their position of authority and we are to submit to the governing authorities. Well, again, there’s other biblical teaching to keep in mind. For example, look with me briefly, if you would, at Acts chapter four, verses 18 through 20.
Acts, chapter four, verses 18 through 20. In this passage, the apostles are brought before the Jewish Sanhedrin, the ruling council among the Jews. And that ruling council, by the way, had not only religious authority, but they also had entrusted to them some civil authority as well. And in verses 18 through 20. We read this as Peter and John, the apostles, Peter and John, are arrested for preaching the gospel, for preaching about the resurrection of Jesus. And they are commanded to stop preaching Jesus and stop preaching the resurrection. Verse 18, it says, And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. Stop your Christian preaching. Stop your Christian teaching. Stop proclaiming your gospel. How does Peter respond? Verse 19, but Peter and John answered and said to them, whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge, for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.
We must obey God rather than man, when there is a conflict, when civil law commands us to do something that is sinful or prohibits us from carrying out our God given mission as a church, then we must obey God rather than men. So what are some of the closing applications that we can glean from what we’ve considered today? Jesus says, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, render to God the things that are God. Give the civil authorities that which properly belongs to them. Give to God that which properly belongs to him. Well, first of all, by way of application, while a case might be made that in certain extreme situations, a Christian may without sin and in good conscience participate in a justified political revolution. And that’s a that’s a hot button issue that hot potato issue rather that can be debated by Christian theologians and ethicists and has been debated.
Nevertheless, understand, beloved, that the Lord Jesus in particular and the New Testament witness on the whole teach that the faithful Christians general posture toward the civil government is to be a posture of submission, compliance, obedience and respect. We are to submit to the governing authorities. And yes, I know tax season, it’s coming upon us, right? Who enjoys? Raise your hand if you enjoy paying your taxes. I don’t think anyone is going to raise their hands. But nevertheless, we are commanded to be faithful in paying our taxes. You know, God’s word calls us as believers and as a church to be good witnesses to our neighbors, And one of the ways that we do that is by being good, law-abiding, peace-loving, tax-paying citizens who pray for our civil authorities. We are commanded in Scripture, in passages like 1 Timothy chapter 2, to pray for those that God has raised up into positions of authority in biblical times, that would be the emperor.
The early church prayed for the emperor and for the authorities. We are to pray today for our president, vice president, the members of Congress and the Supreme Court, our governor and statewide and local governing officials. We have a duty to pray for those whom God has raised up to positions of authority. We also have a duty to seek to promote the common good by supporting the peace and good order of our society and the temporal blessings of our neighbors. That’s part of what it means to love your neighbor. Loving our neighbors as ourselves, as Christians, one of the things that means is that we pray for and desire to expose our neighbors to the gospel of Jesus Christ. We seek to be good witnesses for Christ, but we should also be concerned for their temporal well-being as well.
That’s part of what it means to be a good neighbor. Now, again, if a government authority ever seeks to enforce a civil law that contradicts the higher law and word of God, then, of course, we must obey God rather than men. When there is a conflict between man’s law and God’s law, then we must obey God’s law, even if it means disobeying man’s law. But when there is not a conflict between civil law and God’s law, we must obey both. We must render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God. the things that are God’s. But think about another implication of our Lord’s teaching here in this passage. Jesus says in verse 17, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s. Now, the latter part of that teaching render to God the things that are God’s.
Do you think that Caesar is exempted from that principle? Of course not. Of course not. Our Lord’s words here imply that Caesar, too, The civil authorities, too, must render to God the things that are God’s. Even the emperor Caesar, even the Roman emperor, owed ultimate allegiance, worship and obedience to his creator, as everyone else does. And even our civil leaders today owe their ultimate allegiance to God Almighty and to his chosen anointed king. The Lord Jesus Christ, this is reflected in that song that we sang earlier in the service song to why do he the nation’s rage? Why do the unbelieving nations rage against Yahweh the Lord and his righteous rule through his anointed king? That is a general posture of unbelieving nations to be opposed to God, and we see that in many instances, even in our society today.
But even the civil authorities owe their ultimate allegiance to God Almighty and his chosen anointed king, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, some might hear what I just said and think, oh, Pastor Willauer is a theonomist, right? He’s preaching theonomy. No, I’m not. Let me assure you, I’m not in any way seeking to promote theonomy or Christian nationalism or any other kind of theological or or interpretational error or heresy. Rather, I’m simply pointing out the implications of this passage that all classes and types of men and women, not only the ruled, but even rulers. are accountable to their Creator and will answer to their Creator on the day of judgment. And when our civil authorities seek to exalt themselves and their positions above the authority of God, when the civil authorities, when the state views itself as being the ultimate authority, even higher than the authority of God himself, we must humbly, respectfully and yet firmly remind them of their proper position as creatures of God and call them to humble themselves in repentance.
But I also want you to consider as we close our time in the word today that what our Lord Jesus teaches here in this brief passage reminds us of our status as the pilgrim people of God. This reminds us that we are not to delude ourselves by expecting some kind of political utopia in this present age. See, by ancient standards, the Roman Empire was a fairly just, well-ordered, peaceful empire, but it certainly was not utopia. It certainly was not heaven on earth. One of the things that often distresses me, especially as we enter into election seasons, for example, is that how many folks, not just non-Christians, but many Christians get so wrapped up and so riled up And certainly, I think that if you, as part of expressing your citizenship, want to exercise your right to vote, which you certainly have the right to do, obviously, then I would encourage you to do that.
Vote your Christian conscience. But don’t think that the solution to our problems today is to get the right people in political office. And don’t let your spirit be crushed if the other guy gets elected or the other gal, as the case may be, gets elected into office. Our ultimate hope is not in our civil leaders. The Bible says, put not your trust in princes nor in the son of man. Because I got bad news for you in this present evil age, even the most just Even the most just societies will be flawed and imperfect and a level of corruption will be in any government because there are corrupt fallen people in positions of governance. Nevertheless, the government is an ordinance of God. Why did God appoint the civil authorities? Well, because the human race is a fallen, sinful race.
And without the restraints and the fear of punishment that the civil authorities provide, the human race, human society would be impossible. There would be nothing but death and destruction and despair. So we can thank God for the governments and government leaders that he raises up for our good. But again, There will be no need for civil authorities in the new heavens and the new earth for their perfect justice and perfect love will reign in the eschatological reign of Christ. That is where our hope belongs. In the meantime, we pay our taxes. We seek to be good citizens. We pray for our governing leaders, but we don’t put our hope in them. We put our hope in the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and in his coming kingdom. Dear listener, where is your hope placed this day?
In what do you repose your ultimate hope? May your ultimate hope be placed in the Lord Jesus Christ. Look to him and him alone. Rest in him and remember that your ultimate citizenship is in heaven. Amen. Let us pray. Lord and Father in heaven, we do thank you, O God, that you have granted us your grace and mercy in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We do pray, Heavenly Father, that you would help us always in our daily lives and in our daily vocations to keep Christ front and center and to put our hope in him above all in him alone. We ask, Lord, that you would give us grace to follow these directives of scripture. Sometimes they are uncomfortable. Sometimes they are troublesome. But we know, Lord, that you have a good purpose behind all of these these truths.
So help us to take these truths to heart and help us to be good witnesses in our relationship to our neighbors and in the way that we conduct ourselves in relationship to the civil authorities. We pray these things in Jesus name and all of God’s people said, Amen. In closing, let’s rise and sing as our hymn of commitment, number 502, All for Jesus, 502.
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