15 Then the Pharisees went and took counsel together about how they might trap Him in what He said. 16 And they *sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any.17 Therefore, tell us, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a tax to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, knowing their wickedness, said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. 20 And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”21 They *said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He *said to them, “Therefore, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.”22 And hearing this, they marveled, and leaving Him, they went away. – Matthew 22:15-22
A part of this passage has been used to draw a divide between a Christian’s obligation to be involved in the affairs of the government, that is, “…render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.“
As citizens of the nation, we obligated to pay taxes for the services provided that are beneficial to the peoples under the charge of the government.
Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist have been appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists that authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of that authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword in vain, for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of that wrath, but also because of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7 Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. – Romans 13:1-7.
In Romans, Paul points out the truth that all kingdoms are subject to the Kingship of God, whether each nation acknowledges it of not. In the end and throughout history, the rise and fall of every nation points to the glory and sovereign nature of God. In the ancient history of Israel, there were kingdoms that God raised in power to execute judgment against the Israelites who had become as bad if not worse than the pagan nations they had once removed. Some of the kings acknowledged and understood the everlastasting dominion of God and were blessed and some did not as were judged by God for their self-pride, self-righteousness and inability to give the glory to God to whom it belongs.
The actual point I want to make is that the typical American, and by extension, the typical Christian is detached from the inner working and functioning of the government. Government then becomes largely detached from the moral and social principles that align with Biblical Christian values.
The slipping away of Biblical morality from the pulpits is in large part a failure of church leadership and a desire to keep church attendance higher by avoiding controversial topics. The avoidance of highlighting the judgments made by God throughout Biblical history has resulted in the immoral depravation, from the public school systems violating of parental and family rights. A once more sacred line of ensuring parents are making all the consequential decisions for their minor children.
This is the result of an ignorant belief that as long as we pay taxes, which we should, we can leave it up to a lot of elected officials to make transparent and morally guided decisions that affect our children. We are to follow lawful orders but we are not expected to be obedient to orders that a at odds with God’s moral law. Assuming every direction in government is “moral enough” is opening a Pandora’s box.
This hands off approach to government at every level has turned out to be devastating to many families to be socially engineered into a death spiral for a nation that was built on Biblical values or liberty and the autonomy of the family unit and the sanctity of Marriage.
Long story short, parents need to stand up for family values and every level of government, beginning in the public schools. No wonder so much of the country is encouraging home schooling. The problem is, again, the church. The church needs to emphasize Biblical family vales and needs to take its part on the empowerment of parents, particularly husbands and fathers to notch down their pursuit of worldly possessions and entertainment and notch up their Godly responsibilities as the spiritual leaders of the families.
It’s not enough that children are taught that the Bible is true. Children ( and parents) need to be taught why it is true. It begins with “Why” the Gospel of Christ is critically essential. Without the right understanding of God and the need for salvation through the Grace of God and the driving continual need for repentance ( a hallmark of true conversion), which is also linked to the inerrancy and authority of God’s word found in the Bible, the moral compass heading is easily disrupted.
The moral compass heading without the cornerstone of Jesus Christ and the teachings of God’s word through the Bible, is no moral compass heading at all. Everything will simply succumb to a bunch a conviction-less, non-God glorifying goat dung. Maybe it has a bow on it, but in effect, lipstick on goat dung. Without God’s guiding hand of moral law and the conviction of the Holy Spirit, we are easily deceived, guiding ourselves to destruction. Not only is the path to salvation narrow, but the way to foolish decisions is as wide as the path to eternal destruction.
So to answer the question, as a Christian do we have dual loyalties? One to the government and one to God? No, To be more specific, our loyalty remains to the Lord Jesus Christ through whom is our salvation and the salvation of the world and through that focus comes our obligations to support a moral government and other influences which in turn affect our families and those around us. If our leaders are expected to lead with our best interests in mind then those of like mind, typically Christ centered people themselves, or those who promote those values that Christians can abide to, must enter the realm of leadership at all levels.
The United States was built upon a Constitution that is the basis of the liberties that we enjoy. Although it may seem contradictory that liberty must be joined together with the moral foundation and moral restraint, that is the only way we can have liberty in as real a form as possible. A people must adhere to common moral standard and the laws that transcend human wisdom, that is just what the Bible offers, beginning with the Ten Commandments.
For a one minute explanation of the Gospel from the late Pastor John MacArthur, watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCP9UcC7BzE
For a review of the Ten Commandments: https://www.challenyee.com/the-ten-commandments/
All quoted excerpts have footnotes removed, usually from Legacy Standard Bible (LSB), sometimes from New International Version (NIV), on rare occasion the Amplified Bible (AMP).
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3.27.2024