Our Wednesday night small group Bible Study continued in the Pastor D. James Kennedy video series, led by Michael.
Matthew 22:15-22 Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle Jesus in his talk. And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teach the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. 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 said 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. When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left him, and went their way.
In our country we have a double responsibility: To render unto Cesar that which is Cesar’s and unto God that which is God’s. America began with Godly men and women with one aim: To advance the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. They established a godly nation. De Tocqueville came from France in the 1800’s to study the United States. He marveled that there has never been such a nation where the people have a grasp on that which is good.
Today we have lost our grasp on the good things that have made our nation great. We live in a nation filled with danger. There is danger on our highways, in our cities, and in our own neighborhoods at night. In America today, there is no more dangerous place than in our mothers’ wombs. More babies were killed in their mothers’ wombs last year than have died in all the wars we have fought since the revolution. Abortion has become America’s great holocaust…our great national disgrace. America is fraught with pornography and sexual immorality. All types of sexual perversion condemned in the Bible have become politically correct in this country today. Our nation is wracked by STD’s. Illegal drug use has become rampant. Crime is at an all time high and people have three locks on their doors and surveillance systems with alarms on their homes. Education used to be the pride of our nation but is now a disgrace. The United States is now one of the most illiterate nations in the industrialized world. How has America fallen so far from the ideal on which our country was founded?
In the final scene of story of Frankenstein’s monster, the monster has gone berserk, ransacked the city and set the buildings and houses ablaze. Someone entering the city said, “What’s happening?” Dr Frankenstein answered, “It’s the monster. He went berserk ransacking the neighborhoods, setting the city on fire, and killing people.” “Where did the monster come from,” asked the stranger. Frankenstein responded, “I made it myself.” Likewise, where did the monsters come from that are ransacking our once-great nation? A great deal of the blame rests upon the doorstep of the church. We have failed to obey the Great Commission of Jesus Christ and failed to influence the spheres of politics, the media, education, the town hall, and the voting booth. We have failed to behave as godly citizens. We have failed to render unto Cesar that which is Cesar’s and unto God that which is God’s. We did not create the monster by our own hands, but we have allowed it to grow and take power where the courts, the legislatures, the media and higher education have wreaked carnage on our nation. Christians have failed to take up their responsibilities as citizens in this nation of the people, for the people and by the people, and have allowed this great blessing of a godly nation to slip through our hands. If de Tocqueville were to visit America today, would he see a righteous nation built on the Christian virtues of its godly citizens?
How have we allowed the usurpation of godly virtues? “Privatization of religion” is one of the ways we have relinquished control to the worldly powers. Christians have left the public square and have retreated into their churches and prayer closets. They have walled themselves behind stained glass windows and have left public institutions to the unbelieving secular humanists. The state and national legislatures, courts, state houses, and institutions of higher education have been abandoned by Christians and left to the ungodly influence of secular humanists on th4e citizens of America.
Many preachers refuse to speak about the great issues of our day because they don’t want to offend anyone. Likewise, laymen also fail to sound the alarm. They’re content to stay within their own houses and isolate themselves with their own families. Where would our nation be if General Washington had not taken command during the Revolutionary War? If we lived in his shoes would we have been afraid of “offending someone?” A great many American Christians today are busy concentrating on the so-called prosperity gospel. Their only concern is “what’s in it for me” and “what’s mine.” This privatization of self-centered so-called Christianity is the same short-sighted sentiment of the leaders of Jesus’ day who failed to “render unto Cesar that which is Cesar’s and unto God that which is God’s.”
What’s the difference between a Politian and a Patriot? The politician says, “what’s in it for me?” The Patriot says, “what’s in it for the good of my country?” To allow the monsters that are ravaging our country to run amok, just say, “I can’t get involved.” The result of this kind of thinking in the church is that 18.5 million evangelical Christians are not even registered to vote. Half of those who are registered don’t vote. Of those who vote, most aren’t aware of the issues and the positions of the candidates. As a result of Christians acquiescing to secular humanists, we have a judicial system that is either hostile to or outrightly opposed to the biblical principles upon which our nation was founded. Our legislatures pass laws that are completely antithetical to the Law of God.
What can we do? The changes to our laws and judicial systems have been made by people and they can be unmade by people as well. The purpose of government according to the constitution is to serve the people: to promote the general welfare, to provide for the common defense, to ensure domestic tranquility, and to secure the blessings liberty to ourselves and our posterity. According to, 1 Timothy 2:2, “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” Government is to defend its citizens and to punish evildoers and to restrain them. However, our government has encouraged godless evildoers instead of restraining them.
How do we render unto Cesar the things that are Cesar’s? First, we should pray regularly for those who are in power: for our president, his vice president and cabinet, our legislators in the House and Senate, for the Supreme Court, our local judges and our own School Boards. Second, we should register to vote and then vote. The 18.5 million evangelical Christians who didn’t vote could have completely changed every election in the last fifty years. Their votes could have changed the results of everything that they complain about in today’s elected government, the prevailing laws of our land, and our court decisions. The least thing that we can do to render unto Cesar the things that are Cesar’s is to vote. This is a commandment that we should fulfill.
The third thing we should do is to become informed and then become involved. We should understand the issues and the positions of the candidates. We should be faithful citizens of our country and follow the path of our Founding Fathers. They pledged their lives their fortunes, and their sacred honor in firm reliance on Divine Providence to preserve the ideals of the Declaration of Independence: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator God with certain unalienable rights; and that among these rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Our blessings of liberty have been given to us by Almighty God through the power of his holy spirit. When we return our hearts to God, we can once again say, “God bless America, Land of the Free. Stand beside her and guide her through the night with the Light from above.”
Christian American, get out and vote and maintain this One Nation Under God!
God bless America, Michael
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