It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High, to declare
! your steadfast love in the morning and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the
lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre. For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work. At
the works of your hands I sing for joy. How great are your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very
deep. The stupid man cannot know, the fool cannot understand this, that though the wicked
sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever. But
you, O Lord, are on high forever. For behold, your enemies, O Lord, for behold, your enemies
shall perish. All evildoers shall be scattered. But you have exalted my horn like that of the
wild ox. You have poured over me fresh oil. My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies.
My ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants. The righteous flourish like the palm tree and
grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord. They flourish in the
courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age. They are ever full of sap and green.
To declare that the Lord is upright. He is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in him.
I pray this morning that all of us are the righteous like a palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
This morning I have the privilege to carry on Christ and Culture, our sermon series.
This morning our topic is patriotism. Close to the 4th of July. Seems pretty relevant.
As I've looked around and I've tried to study this week, it's been clear to me that my generation
and younger doesn't really get it. We miss the mark when it comes to patriotism.
What I see from my vantage point is that there's either two ends of the spectrum and it's either
one or two choices. On one choice it's care too little. The 4th of July is just a vacation.
It's a holiday. It's a necessary evil to be an American citizen.
And then the other extreme that I see as our choice for my generation is the care too much.
It's us versus them. It's the Rocky IV movie. The U.S. boxer versus the Russian boxer.
It's we're the greatest and everybody else is not. Both are wrong.
And this morning I want to try to bring us to the middle.
Kind of guide us, hopefully, to where we have a proper perspective of patriotism.
A proper view of where we live and hopefully bring glory to God in it.
And as we leave, bring glory to God in our lives celebrating and practicing patriotism.
So, this morning I'm going to walk carefully and cautiously through this topic.
Hopefully to help my generation to celebrate the generations before me who pretty much got it right as a majority.
So, hopefully to answer the question this morning through this is how we as Christians,
as gospel-centered Christians, those who love Jesus, whose life has been changed by the gospel,
who try to live out the gospel to the world around us,
how we are to live with a proper perspective and how we can show that gospel,
even in the arena of patriotism and celebrating whatever country we live in,
whether that's the United States, New Zealand, Madagascar, whatever that may be.
So, to do so this morning, I want to discuss a problem.
A problem that rears its ugly head concerning patriotism,
that comes out really quick when thinking and talking about patriotism.
I want to give the solution for the problem,
and I want to give some practical ways we can live.
practical ways that we can have that proper perspective of honoring God with our lives.
So, turn with me to Matthew 22.
We'll walk through this text.
I'll read it, we'll pray, and then we'll walk through this text,
and hopefully we'll unfold the problem and then work from there.
In Matthew 22, starting in verse 15,
we have a pretty popular and famous set of scriptures.
They read, verse 15,
Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle Him in His words.
And they sent their disciples to Him,
along with the Herodians, saying,
Teacher, we know that You are true,
and that You teach the way of God truthfully,
and You do not care about anyone's opinion,
for You are not swayed by appearances.
Tell us then,
what you think.
Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
But Jesus, aware of their malice, said,
Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?
Show me the coin for the tax.
And they brought Him a denarius.
And Jesus said to them,
Whose likeness and inscription is this?
They said, Caesar.
Then He said to them,
Therefore, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's,
and to God the things that are God's.
When they heard it, they marveled,
and they left Him and went away.
Pray with me.
Gracious Heavenly Father, I ask that You would be gracious to us now,
that You would speak through me,
that I would decrease and that You would increase here this morning.
That the words that will be spoken will be Your words to us,
not my opinions,
that it will be rooted in Your Scripture and Your Word.
God, I pray that Your Spirit would minister,
show us our need for You.
Show us how we can live according to Your Word.
And if You would enable us to do what You've commanded,
that we can do nothing apart from You.
We need You this morning.
Be gracious to us, O God, in Jesus' name.
Amen.
So let's just walk through this text for a few minutes,
and then we'll kind of unfold from there.
So, the story is that the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus in tricking Him
and asking Him a question about paying taxes.
The Pharisees had, no matter what question they asked,
they had an ulterior motive,
and that motive was to trap Jesus.
Let it be certain that the Pharisees hated Jesus.
That they did not believe that Jesus was God.
They wanted Him arrested.
They wanted Him out of the picture.
They wanted Him removed.
So what they do is they approach Jesus
with a little bit of flattery.
Teacher, we know that You are true
and teach the way of God truthfully.
You do not care about anyone's opinion.
They were more or less showed respect.
Didn't really give them a proper respect.
Maybe they were more polite than even respectful.
And whether they believed it or not,
what they said was true.
It was completely true about Jesus.
Jesus does speak truth.
He is truth.
He does teach the way of God.
And He does not care about anyone's opinion.
His integrity is not swayed.
He does not compromise that integrity
for the sake of what others might think.
He says it like it is.
So we come to this point where they get to Him.
They flatter Him, so to speak.
And they ask Him the question,
is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
Is it lawful to pay taxes?
And this tax they're talking about
is called the pull tax.
This tax was given by Rome
to all non-Roman citizens
for living on Roman soil.
And to be honest,
it's not an unreasonable tax.
It was about a day's wage.
It wasn't horrible.
And they were required to pay it
because they were on Roman soil.
In our history, Independence Day,
we fought against a similar tax
in our history.
So we can kind of relate here a little bit.
So they ask Him about this tax.
And Jesus, showing the sovereignty of God,
showing His all-knowing that He is God,
He was aware of their malice.
And He says to them,
why put me to the test, you hypocrites?
Show me the coin of the tax.
And the question I had when reading through this
and studying it,
why does He call them hypocrites?
It seems kind of harsh.
Let's flip over to chapter 23
and He says it like seven times to them.
Seven more times to the Pharisees and Sadducees.
But why here?
Well, they're saying one thing
but really wanting something else
or doing something else.
So you and I tend to be hypocrites
at some point in our lives.
We say one thing and do another.
As Jerry would say,
and I think he said a couple weeks ago,
here in the South, we tend to lie.
Yeah, come on over for dinner.
Just show up whenever.
We really don't mean that.
Call us ahead of time.
Let us know when you're coming.
But we're polite here in the South.
He calls them out as they are.
Hypocrites.
Show me the coin for the tax.
And they brought him a denarius,
a day's wage, a day's labor.
And see, on one side of this denarius,
this coin, is a portrait of Tiberius Caesar,
who is the Caesar, the emperor.
And in Latin, it says,
son of the divine Augustus.
And you flip it over.
On the other side,
there's a portrait of a Roman goddess of peace
called Pax.
And there, it says in Latin,
high priest.
Now, none of that is really important
for this sermon,
except the fact that to an Orthodox Jew,
the coin itself would be blasphemous.
The coin itself would be a violation
of the second commandment.
Because terms like the divine Augustus
and high priest are in direct...
Yeah, can't think of the word.
It's against, we'll just say against,
God and the second commandment
of not having, making idols,
not having any other gods
before the one true God.
So, so here we have
one of the most famous verses,
and I didn't realize
it was one of the most famous verses.
It's, everybody,
look it up in Google,
and they'll tell you
it's one of the most famous verses.
Verse 21 of Matthew 22.
Therefore, render to Caesar
the things that are Caesar's,
and to God the things that are God's.
Now, I hear a news radio host
quite often use this term.
It's talking about government
and separating,
and people use this term,
this verse,
to separate or defend
the separation of church and state.
So, you start thinking in that way,
you can kind of figure out
that it's a fairly popular verse.
Well, the way that Jesus answers them,
you see in verse 22
how they marveled at His answer.
His answer was to pay back,
which is Caesar's,
to give Caesar the tax,
and to pay back what is God's.
So what Jesus does
is He walks the line
and He gives both parties
what they want.
He gives the Pharisees
what they want,
give to God what is God's,
and He gives the Herodians
what they want,
pay the tax.
And He does it without
angering either side,
without making Himself guilty
according to the Pharisees.
So,
there's kind of the story.
You may have been familiar
with that story,
maybe not,
and I helped you out
a little bit.
But here's the not-so-obvious problem.
The problem here is
giving what is God's
to government
or country.
Giving what is God's
to government or country.
Now,
let me unpack this
just a little bit more.
And hopefully,
it will become
a little clearer to you.
So we have two groups.
We have the Pharisees
and we have the Herodians.
Now,
the Pharisees,
familiar,
if you know anything
about the Gospels,
the four Gospels
in the Bible,
you know about the Pharisees.
They're very conservative,
religious people.
They tithe their spices.
Conservative.
I mean,
they are just,
they're all about
following the Mosaic law.
And they resented
paying taxes to Rome.
They felt like
paying the tax to Rome
was infringement
on Jewish law.
Paying taxes to Rome
contradicted their
devotion to God.
So now we've got to
pay it to Rome,
but my devotion is to God
following His law,
so how do I do this?
Now,
the Herodians,
on the other hand,
is a small group
of Jewish people
who are loyal
to Herod's family.
So everything
that Herod's family
had
was by
the Roman Empire.
He was put in
place
to rule
over the province
for Rome,
by Rome.
So the Herodians
support
the tax.
They felt like
it was an appropriate
way to fulfill
their responsibilities
as good citizens.
The Herodians,
they looked to Rome
to provide for them,
to keep them safe,
to protect them,
and even to bless them.
Their faith
was not in God,
but in country.
Rome.
So here's what
each group
would say.
The Pharisees
would say,
tax is an abomination
to the law
and to God.
Rome
is anti-God,
so we must
avoid paying
the tax
to prove
our godliness.
The Herodians
would say,
the tax
is our obligation
because we need
Rome.
Rome
will take care
of us.
Rome
is God.
The Pharisees
lived
godly lives.
They lived
a specific way
to earn
their salvation
or to attempt
to earn
their salvation.
salvation,
even if that
meant not
paying taxes.
Now,
I'm not saying
the Pharisees
didn't pay taxes,
but they certainly
did not want
to pay taxes.
The Herodians,
their salvation
came through
paying the right
people
and letting
them be
their provider,
their god,
so to speak.
So what we have
here is we have
the conservative
Pharisees
who are stealing
the worship
from God
to themselves
because they're
earning their
salvation.
They're attempting
to live a certain
way to earn
God's favor.
And then you have
big government
Herodians
who are stealing
the worship
from God
to their government.
Does this sound
familiar?
Conservative
and big government?
The problem
is giving
what is God's
to self
or to government.
A worship issue.
An idolatry issue.
See, we can
easily look
to government
to provide
physically.
But sometimes
that turns
into spiritually
as well.
We look to
government
to provide
spiritually
to take care
of us,
to be our
answer,
to be our
savior sometimes.
Now we
may not be
anyone in this
room,
may be all
of us in this
room,
but we certainly
know someone
who looks at
government as
their savior.
savior.
See, we
elevate this
nation as
some savior
nation.
Thank God
for this
nation.
Thank God
for our
freedoms that
we have.
Romans 13
tells us that
God has placed
the government
in the places
that they are
over us
for our
good.
We live
in a great
country,
an amazing
country,
but God
is a global
God.
God is not
an American
God.
We have to
get that
right.
So as we
celebrate,
remember God
is a global
God.
And now,
here in 2012,
we've got an
election year,
and we're
hearing,
and I hear
it, I hear
usually from
people who
call in on
the radio
shows, not
the hosts,
although some
are a little
out there.
We hear
how things are
going to be
better when
so-and-so
is in
office.
How things
are going to
get so
much better,
and things
are going to
get taken
care of,
and we're
not going
to go down
this road,
or this
road,
or when
so-and-so
is elected.
No.
No, it's
still going
to be men,
still going
to be sinners,
making mistakes,
leading and
trying to do
the best that
they can.
And as
Derek Webb
said, we'll
never have a
savior on
Capitol Hill.
We won't.
Our faith
needs to be
in something
better,
something
greater,
something
higher.
So the
question,
are you
living for
that moment
when so-and-so,
or when
things will
get better,
or when
we're not
at war,
or when
will we
be part
of the
answer,
and not
rob God
of worship
by building
idols?
See,
Jesus is
the answer.
The gospel
of Jesus
Christ is
the answer.
The gospel
transforms evil
to good,
death to
life.
So here's
the solution.
We see the
problem,
stealing worship
that belongs
to God,
not giving
God what
is His,
paying what
is His.
So the
solution to
the problem,
So how
do we
live then
through
this?
Turn to
Jeremiah 29.
We'll start
reading in
verse 4.
Jeremiah 29
verse 4.
It says,
Thus says
the Lord
of hosts,
the God
of Israel,
to all
the exiles
whom I
have sent
into exile
from Jerusalem
to Babylon.
Build houses
and live in
them.
Plant gardens
and eat
their produce.
Take wives
and have
sons and
daughters.
Take wives
for your
sons and
give your
daughters
in marriage
that they
may be
sons and
daughters.
Multiply
there and
do not
decrease,
but seek
the welfare
of the city
where I have
sent you
into exile
and pray
to the
Lord on
its behalf
for in
its welfare
you will
find your
welfare.
So,
God through
Jeremiah is
speaking to
Israel.
The nation
who is now
in exile
who have
been sent
out from
Jerusalem
to Babylon
they are
not in
their home.
They are
not in
the place
where they
want to
be.
They are
not in
the place
that they
know,
in the place
that they
feel like
they have
been
promised.
And God
tells them
to build
houses,
live in
them,
plant
gardens,
eat their
produce,
take wives,
have sons,
take wives
for your
sons,
give your
daughters away
in marriage,
for them to
bear sons
and daughters,
multiply there
and do not
decrease.
Note that
none of
these things
here in
this list
are revolutionary.
It doesn't
say take
up arms,
it doesn't
say fight,
it doesn't
say stop
paying taxes,
it doesn't
say avoid
the government,
it doesn't
say get
into politics,
it doesn't
say any
of that.
These aren't
revolutionary
things,
these are
pretty normal
things.
Build
house.
Plant
yourself
there in
exile.
Have a
family,
have babies,
get your
babies married,
have more
babies,
plant gardens,
grow,
invest in
where you
are.
Look out
for the
welfare,
the peace
of the
city.
Not to
look for
what you
can get
from the
city,
but what
you can
do for
the city.
As John
F.
Kennedy
says in
his speech,
ask not
what your
country can
do for
you,
but ask
what you
can do
for your
country.
That whole
idea,
a selfless
citizenship,
a selfless
lifestyle that
is formed
and shaped
by the
gospel,
by Jesus
living in
us and
out of
us.
So the
question is,
what if
every
Christian,
instead of
looking for
the answer
in government,
would live
looking out
for the
welfare of
the city,
would live
looking out
for what
is good
for the
city,
whether it's
this list
or even
some other
list that
we make
that is
positive,
that is
good for
the city.
in every
city across
the globe,
what if
that happened?
A global
movement of
the kingdom
would occur.
God's
kingdom would
grow globally
and the
global God
would get
all the
glory.
So looking
for the
welfare of
the city
as U.S.
citizens
celebrating
this nation,
how do we
look for the
welfare of the
city?
What are
the practical
things that
we can do?
Well, a
couple of
them are
here in
these verses.
But seek
the welfare
of the city
where I have
sent you
into exile
and pray
to the
Lord on
its behalf.
For in
its welfare
you will
find your
welfare.
For in
the city's
welfare you
will find
your welfare.
In the
country's
welfare you
will find
your
welfare.
In the
government's
welfare you
will find
your
welfare.
So pray
for the
city,
the country,
your government,
the leadership.
That's one
practical way
that we
can help
shape through
the gospel.
Looking out
for the
welfare of
the city.
Another one
is get
involved.
Get involved.
people out.
You can't
live the
gospel out
in any
arena to
be seen
when people
aren't there
to see you.
If people
aren't there
to see you,
then what's
the point
of trying
to live
it out?
Get involved
with people.
Get involved
in events
and things
that are
happening
around you
in the
city.
Looking out
for the
welfare of
the city.
I used
to think
that Christians,
you couldn't
be a Christian
and a
politician.
And some
of you
might be
shaking your
head and
saying,
yeah,
they're all
crooked,
they're all
liars.
That is a
small view
of God.
That is a
small view
of God,
and I've
been convicted
of that.
Because if
God hasn't
called you
into politics,
or God
has called
you into
politics,
He's going
to enable
you to do
it to the
glory of
Him and
not to you.
He's going
to enable
you to do
it.
Let us
not have a
small view
of God
when it
comes to
even as
simple as
politics.
If God
calls you,
do it.
Another
practical
way to
look out
for the
welfare of
the city
and country
is on
events and
holidays like
Wednesday,
the 4th of
July.
Honor the
men and
the women,
the veterans
who have
fought,
who some
have died.
We have a
couple veterans
in this room,
at least one I
know of.
And then
families who are
represented with
veterans,
and guys who are
serving even
now.
Celebrate these
guys for giving
up their lives
and their
freedom so that
we can have
freedom.
them.
I'm pretty
sure that
being in the
army or
any of the
armed services
is not as
much of a
joy as me
doing whatever
I want,
whenever I
want to.
Let's just be
honest,
that these
guys give
it up for
us.
So we honor
these guys.
We honor the
veterans.
We celebrate
the sacrifice
that they have
made.
Abraham Lincoln
said,
I like to see
a man proud
of the place
in which he
lives.
I like to
see a man
live so that
his place
will be proud
of him.
That is
looking out
for the
wealth for
the city.
That is
living the
gospel out.
That is
being a man
who lives
for the city
and not
against the
city.
Who lives
for the
government
and not
against the
government.
A man who
makes an
impact for
the kingdom.
Whether that's
what Abraham
Lincoln had in
mind or not,
I don't know,
but what he
is saying
certainly can
be applied.
See,
patriotism is
not foundationally
evil or bad.
It's when we
elevate
country above
God.
When we
elevate
government
above God,
it becomes a
worship issue.
And when we
elevate country,
when we elevate
city,
when we elevate
government,
why in the
world would
we leave?
Why would we
leave this
place when we're
worshiping where
we are,
who we have
above us?
Why would we
go anywhere
else?
It's a worship
issue,
and so we
wouldn't go to
the ends of
the earth,
I would say.
Logically,
that would be
my result of
thinking that
government is
God.
We cannot
be that way.
And let's
think about this
too.
Let's say that
we do go,
and our God
is country.
What are we
going to try to
convert them
to?
Us.
America,
U.S.,
God,
country,
be like us.
That's not
the gospel.
That's not
the gospel.
You don't
do that.
See,
our view
of our
God,
whatever that
is,
little g
God,
country,
government,
people,
will have an
impact on how
we live,
how we
decide to
and decisions
that we make.
or are
people going
to see
the God
of the
Bible?
Are they
going to
see Jesus
through our
life?
And are
we living
and elevating
God above
everything else?
1 Peter 2,
verse 9,
says that,
but you are a
chosen race,
a royal
priesthood,
a holy
nation,
a people for
his own
possession,
that you
may proclaim
the excellencies
of him
who called
you out
of darkness
into his
marvelous
light.
You are a
chosen race,
a royal
priesthood,
a holy
nation,
a people for
his own
possession.
Why?
That you
may proclaim
the excellencies
of him,
not where
you are,
not the
government of
Great Britain,
or the
government of
the United
States of
America,
or whatever,
the excellencies
of him who
called you out
of darkness
into his
marvelous light.
The gospel
shapes every
area of our
lives,
every bit
of our lives,
not just here
Sunday morning,
but every area.
So,
on Wednesday
evening,
we go to
fireworks,
let's celebrate
America
through the
gospel,
through what
God has
done in
our lives.
Let's show
people how
great he is.
Thank him for
living in such
a country where
we can stand
here, I can
stand here,
you can sit
here with
freedom to
do so.
Render to
Caesar that
which is
Caesar.
Pay the
taxes.
Pay the
government.
Follow the
laws.
Obey the
laws.
Don't cheat
on your
taxes.
Be honest.
Render to
God that
which is
God's.
And ultimately,
that's worship.
Ultimately,
that's elevating
him above
everything else.
So,
patriotism is
not evil.
We've got to
keep it in
line.
We've got to
keep it in
proper perspective.
Keep it
below
God of the
Bible.
Below
Jesus.
Let's pray
together.