Mark 12:14-17      To God What Is God's

Rev. David Holwick   L

First Baptist Church

Ledgewood, New Jersey

March 25, 2012

Mark 12:14-17


TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S



  I. New Jersey leads the nation.

      A. We live in a distinctive state.

          1) We are the least corrupt state in the country.


               It was reported last week in Slate.com, based on a

                  study by the Center for Public Integrity.

               Most New Jerseyans didn't believe it.

               But the report said we have the best transparency,

                  accountability, and anti-corruption mechanisms.

               Apparently we have had so much corruption in the past

                  we enacted some very tough reform laws.

               So now we live in paradise.                            [1]


          2) But there is one area we still excel in - taxation.


               According to the website, 24/7 Wall Street, New Jersey

                  residents have a higher tax burden than any other state.

               Add up all our taxes - state income, sales, gas, property -

                  and we are forking over 12.2% of our income.

               Our rate is twice that of Alaska.


               If you are in the top 1% of earners, add in the federal

                  taxes and you are paying more than half your income

                     back to the government.                          [2]


      B. Taxes have never been popular.

          1) Back before the Revolution, the citizens of Boston organized

                a Tea Party to protest British taxes.

              a) Defied government authority and had fun at same time.

              b) The modern Tea Party movement has tried to revive it.

          2) The ancient Jews didn't like taxes either.

              a) Jesus was born in far-off Bethlehem because of taxes.

              b) It wasn't just the financial burden it imposed, but the

                    religious message it sent.

              c) Some Jews refused to pay taxes because of this, which

                    put them in open defiance of the government.


      C. The enemies of Jesus sensed an opportunity.

          1) They had Jesus on the horns of a lose-lose dilemma.

              a) They would force him to take a stand, whether he

                    supported paying Roman taxes or not.

                  1> If he opposed taxes, that would make him an enemy

                        of Rome and they could go straight to Pilate.

                  2> If he supported taxes, he would lose the support of

                        the Jewish population.

              b) No matter what he answered, he lost.

                  1> This is why they butter him up so much with the

                        phony praise at the beginning.

                  2> Jesus had used this kind of stunt on them

                        (Matt 21:25-27) and now they could get revenge.

          2) Jesus responded with one of the all-time great comebacks.

              a) Instead of lose-lose, he really made it win-win.

              b) It has a lot to tell us about how we should relate to

                    the society we live in.


II. Israel was an occupied country.

      A. The Romans required Israel to pay a special tax.

          1) They had to use a specific Roman coin, the denarius.

              a) The front of the coin had an image of the current

                    Caesar, Tiberius.

              b) The inscription said "Son of the divine" and "Highest

                    Priest."

          2) Many Jews considered the imagery idolatrous.

              a) It is interesting that Jesus didn't have one on him.

              b) But his opponents did.


      B. The three main Jewish attitudes on taxes.

          1) Zealots - Roman taxes are evil and shouldn't be paid.

          2) Pharisees - taxes are not good but we should go along.

          3) Herodians - we are part of the Roman power structure so we

                think taxes are great!  They finance our paychecks.


      C. Jesus reveals his own approach.

          1) The coins for the tax bear Caesar's image and inscription.

              a) Therefore there is nothing wrong in giving it back to

                    him.

              b) At the same time, God must be given what is God's.

          2) His brilliant answer is brilliantly vague.

              a) Just what is rightfully Caesar's?

                  1> Some of our money?  All of our money?

                  2> What about other things, like obedience?

              b) For that matter, what specifically do we owe God?


III. Is Jesus actually opposing taxes?

      A. God is the only true king.

          1) Everything Caesar has is given him by God.

          2) Caesar doesn't own anything, so we owe him nothing.


      B. This is popular with some radical Christians.

          1) Mennonites who withhold military portion of their tax.

          2) They use some interpretive tricks to justify it.


      C. Jesus did teach that Christians are tax exempt.

          1) Matthew 17:24-27.


             24 "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?"

             25 "Yes, he does," [Peter] replied.

                When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first

                   to speak. "What do you think, Simon?" he asked.

                "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty

                   and taxes -- from their own sons or from others?"

             26 "From others," Peter answered.

                "Then the sons are exempt," Jesus said to him.


          2) Only foreigners owe taxes, not citizens.


               Go to Roxbury tax office and inform them that Jesus

                  says you are local so you don't owe any taxes.

               What is more, you want a refund on all those

                  property taxes you have paid over the years.

               They are going to give you a big fat refund check,

                  and you had better be sure and tithe it!


          3) Unfortunately, Jesus goes on to pay that tax for Peter.

              a) We don't want to offend anyone.           Matt 17:27


      D. People can come up with obscure arguments to support this view,

            but too many verses go against it.

          1) Jesus did not agree with the Zealots.

              a) He wasn't a violent revolutionary like they were.

              b) His kingdom is other-worldly.

          2) Ironically he was accused of opposing taxes at his trial:


             Luke 23:2

                And they began to accuse him, saying, "We have found

                  this man subverting our nation.

                He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar...."


IV. Is Jesus setting up two independent spheres of authority?

      A. Government has its place and religion has its place.

          1) We often express this as the separation of church and state.

          2) This is a convenient understanding but can be dangerous.

              a) It can be reduced to God gets Sunday morning and the

                    government gets everything else.

              b) Totalitarian governments like Nazism were content with

                    people going to church as long as they didn't

                       interfere with government policies.

              c) America is having an intense debate right now on whether

                    Christian groups can be forced to offer medical

                       procedures they think are immoral.


      B. God doesn't go 50-50 with government.

          1) He has delegated some responsibilities to it.

          2) Romans 13 gives more details:

              a) Governments should enforce basic morality.

                  1> Evil should be punished and good rewarded.

              b) In return, we support government with our finances and

                    obedience.


  V. Jesus believed in a hierarchy with God on top.

      A. Government has its place but it is not equal to God.

          1) There can never be an absolute separation of church and

                state.

              a) (Santorum was trying to get at this when he said

                    President Kennedy's separation of his faith from his

                       politics made him want to vomit.)

          2) Christianity should pervade everything we think and do,

                even when it comes to politics.

              a) At the same time, the New Testament doesn't give precise

                    "position papers" on political issues.

              b) We are to love God, study the Bible, and figure things

                    out the best we can.

          3) Committed Christians will have a positive impact on their

                nation.


             In 1831, about 50 years after America won its independence,

                a Frenchman named Alexis de Tocqueville visited.

             He made this famous observation:


             "I sought for the greatness of the United States in her

                commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields,

                   and boundless forests -- and it was not there.

              I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce,

                 her public school system, and in her institutions of

                    higher learning -- and it was not there.

              I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her

                 matchless Constitution -- and it was not there.


              Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her

                 pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the

                    secret of her genius and power.

              America is great because America is good, and if America

                 ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!"

                                                                   #17352


      B. Sometimes we must be in opposition to government.

          1) Timothy Weber wrote this:


             In Romans 13 Paul paints a positive picture of the role

                of government and commands Christians to obey it.

             But in Revelation 13 the author describes a government

                gone demonic and warns believers to resist it unto death.

             According to the book of Acts, it did not take Jesus'

                followers long to discover that "we must obey God rather

                   than men" (Acts 5:29).                           #4902


          2) When God and government clash, God always wins.

              a) We must defend Biblical morality, even when the

                    government takes a different line.

              b) Always stand true to your convictions.


VI. What we owe God.

      A. We owe him our souls.

          1) The early church father Tertullian commented on today's

                passage, "Render to Caesar indeed money; to God,

                   yourself."

          2) God calls all of us to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus.

          3) We must acknowledge his lordship of our life.


      B. We owe him our ultimate allegiance.

          1) We acknowledge God's lordship over the claims of others.

          2) The power of God is greater than the power of government.


             Rev. Dr. Sloane Coffin once said in a sermon:

             "Christians, like Jesus, have God as their authority,

                 and no authority as their God."                    #2913


          3) We obey God even when it is hard or costly.

              a) Gov. Christie recently said to an opponent of his

                    school reorganization plan: "I'm the governor, man!"

              b) The Almighty says to a Christian, "I'm God, man!"

                  1> We listen to his Word, then we try to do it.


      C. We owe him our service and worship.

          1) We need to devote time to him.

          2) We need to devote effort to him.

          3) We need to devote our resources to him.

              a) Compare what you spend in taxes to what you give to

                    God's work.

              b) It's not even close!


      D. All governments will one day turn to dust.  Only God is forever.



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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:


[1]  New Jersey Ranked Least Corrupt State, Abby Ohleiser, Slate.com,

        < http://slatest.slate.com/posts/2012/03/19/center_for_public_

        integrity_s_state_integrity_investigation_fails_8_states.html>,

        March 19, 2012.


[2]  States Where People Pay the Most (and Least) In Taxes, 27/7 Wall

        Street; <http://247wallst.com/2011/07/21/108558/3/>, July 21, 2011.


# 2913  The Ultimate Authority, Rev. Eric S. Ritz, Dynamic Preaching

          (www.sermons.com) Disk, Summer 1992 "a", from sermon The Cry of

          Freedom, July 7, 1992.


# 4902  We Owe God More Than We Owe Caesar, Timothy Weber, Rev. Brett

           Blair's Illustrations by Email, www.sermonillustrations.com,

           April 28, 1999.


#17352  Quotes On Patriotism; this quote was by Alexis de Tocqueville.


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downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html

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