Mountain View Baptist Church

[This sermon is one of a series entitled "Sermon on the Mount, Concentrating on the Beatitudes," which is being preached on Sunday mornings by Pastor Tim Senter.]

"And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s."

When last we met, we considered a level of humility that, without Christ, we can never personally attain. Again, we must remember this is a policy not for governments, but for the individual believer. These tenets describe how, if we are born again Christians, we are to live our lives. We considered our evil spirit individually, and then we looked at the evil spirit within man as a whole. Finally, we considered what these things make the law into, how the evil spirit within us, and that which is within man in general, distorts the law to take specific advantage of it. We continue these considerations today too, however, we look at the idea from a different angle.

The Lord elaborates on the teachings we have just reviewed today. Jesus moves from a bodily example, to some active life examples applicable to the Jews of the day. Consider, if we are to have no concern for our own honor, integrity or as apostle Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 4:3, “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self.” The issue is not how you stand before another human being. Their attitude and aptitudes will always be jaded and biased toward their own end. The position you must concern yourself with, and that Paul did concern himself with, is how you stand before God. Does God think you are worthy? Does God think you are honorable? Can God say of you what He said of Job, “that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil” (Job 1:8)? Do not compare yourself to Job – I guarantee you, you would still fail. Compare yourself to the perfect God that created everything and keeps it together with His thought. How can you conceive every eventuality of every circumstance, and anticipate every other person’s motive and response in order to make a situation perfectly responsive to and honoring of God? I would contend folks, that most of you really don’t even know what God would want, let alone be able to manipulate a perfect circumstance to honor Him.

We also see this next section as a challenge. Remember, all of these situations deal with purely personal and intentionally volatile situations…not situations of self-defense against mindless aggression, or aggression that stems from artificially or chemically induced insanity. This is not speaking of the mentally disturbed, drunk, or drug abusing individual who attacks you. You have the right to defend yourself against these types of attacks; that is not the issue. The issue is when you should do so. As a Christian, you are expected to recognize trials and tribulations resulting in emotional stresses that people suffer. You are supposed to understand individuals with a deficient mental condition that can cause an outburst that is not intended, as a result of this condition. This is a situation where one looks objectively at a situation and understands there are underlying implications to being struck; there are other reasons for this outburst. When Jesus was beaten, He knew the motives of the men. He also knew the need and outcome of the situation. If we keep our mind focused upon eternal things as our Savior did, we find strength to endure much criticism, anger, hostility, and brutality. Never repay evil with evil, for a kind word turns away wrath.

Today, we will look at Matthew 5:40-42 and consider some scriptures that others have attempted to point to in order to contradict this teaching. We will consider, in these three verses, the implementation of the teaching “vengeance is mine saith the Lord, I will repay.” Man wants to fight against any authority in his life. He does so to the extent of attempting to actually ignore it. As a teen, I did these things as I rode my motorcycle down county dirt roads without a license. As adults, we often do this with the speed limit where we know that police will not normally stop you if you only go five miles per hour over the limit. That is okay, because really that speed limit is for “other unsafe drivers.” We think ourselves more competent than the average Joe normally. Once again, we consider many laws not necessarily written for us individually, but for the masses who do not know any better. What arrogance we can portray in our attitude, thoughts, and aptitudes. We truly are prideful people.

Many of us do not like the current administration. We would much rather that our current presidential administration and the congress that supports him be removed and replaced with people that are more concerned about the Nation’s future rather than pushing specific agendas of their contributors. We are concerned and often voice our dislike for specific spending policies. We do not like the idea of the government take over of our lives little by little and the organization and implementation of cradle to grave politics that control people and eliminate freedom.

We can go a step further. How many reading here enjoy paying taxes? I sure do not. I understand that there are certain things that our federal, state, county, and city governments can do for us. There are surely certain services that they should provide such as police, fire, and emergency medical services. Believe it or not, there are good welfare programs – programs that give people a hand when they need it to get back on their feet. Not programs that enslave people or promote promiscuous behaviors by supporting multiple children without repercussion. Our system has some serious challenges, this is true, but how do we react to it and other challenges that are promoted in the government or with authorities in general?

These are but a few of the topics we discuss today. Not the topics specifically, but our attitude about them, our heart and the way it should be oriented toward them, and how the Christian should react to them. Again, this whole section of scripture from verse 38 to verse 48 deals with our unsubmissive, arrogant, and self-promoting, egocentric heart; therefore our proposition and focus will remain the same. “Man says, “What about me and what I am owed?” God says, “What about you is redeemable? What do I owe you?”

Our first verse is verse 40 where we see a legal battle is about to ensue. Let us look again at the spiritual application of this principled activity, not at the literal and specific example. Let us apply this scripture to our lives and not dismiss it as something that, since it has not happened to us, is not applicable to us.

I.  Legal Vengeance (Verse 40)

First, we might consider the fact that in the time of Christ, taking ones under garment for payment was acceptable. These garments were normally large pieces of cloth that individuals used and wrapped about themselves. There were different materials that were normally used for different purposes. Heavier and courser materials were used for outer garments and finer more delicate materials for the inner garments. The inner garments were lighter, such that a layering effect developed, eventually, in putting on or even wrapping one’s self in the outer garment for ultimate warmth. We see this in the story of Ruth where she uncovered Boaz feet in chapter three verse 7 and laid there at his feet as a close kinsman. Ruth removed his outer garment, or cloak, from Boaz’ feet. Therefore, this scripture in Matthew is teaching that not only should we give what is required, but that extra measure that might place us, in the eyes of the world, in some personal jeopardy. The reason an outer cloak could not be taken as payment was because it was meant to keep the individual warm, it was meant as a blanket one traveled with, it was the outer garment that kept you warmest. In verse, 40 Jesus says do not only give what is rightful, but also give over and in abundance.

In light of the teaching of verse 39 then, we find that we must evaluate ourselves based upon our faith, and then we must act accordingly. Many things can be taught from this principle and today’s list will not be exhaustive. First, faith oriented and principled living is the key. We eluded to this last week – that living a life based upon principles and not trying to weasel our way out of our requirement to subordinate ourselves to the scriptures is important and profitable. We talked about looking at scriptures, or even looking to me and asking me if something applies when it does not specifically address every nuance of my situation. Folks, if the scriptures say do not lie, then no lie even a deception is permitted (Rev 21:8). I have to admit, I admire ministries that strive to be truthful but are cunning in their presentation. We experienced one this summer with the Cola Clash. Although the Cola Clash team would never deceive their way into a high school to invite kids to the program, those who would attempt to restrict the propagation of the gospel also will not put them off. This perseverance in the face of those controlled by Satan is a strong testimony and a refreshing one for this pastor as these young people obey the scriptural commandment to spread the gospel despite man’s hindrance.

Some would say, though, that Jesus Himself violated this call to purity, this call to submission and to have a submissive nature. Look at John 18:22-23. Here we find our Lord being beaten by a Pharisee; one who is to embody the life and living of the Most High God to the people of Israel and in doing so encourage them to be like the God they serve. What does this Pharisee do though? When Jesus answers the question by the priest and simply states the facts, that He has been teaching openly and they already know what He has advocated, the Pharisee strikes Jesus – in direct violation of his calling, and of the way one is to be treated in this proceeding. The act of striking Jesus was illegal in itself because He was accused and not convicted – no sentence had been passed. It would be as if we were to beat a prisoner in handcuffs today. Therefore, Jesus’ response is not in self-defense, and not a judgment upon the individual, but a statement of fact that the Pharisee that struck Him had broken the law. Jesus tells the individual that if He has in fact spoken wrongly, say what it is that Jesus spoke that was wrong. Testify of the inaccuracy of Jesus’ testimony. However, if what Jesus said was correct, why was He being beaten when He was therefore innocent and under inquisition?

In Acts 16:37 we have the same situation where Paul is the subject of the interrogation and is beaten as if he were a slave. The problem here is that others may think that Paul is screaming for his rights like those of today. Paul was a Roman citizen as well as a Jew, and it was against the law to treat a Roman in this way. They might say that Paul stood up for his rights. Yes and no. Paul is not taking action against his accusers; he is simply asking that they not disregard the law. Paul is equally not bringing them up on charges and neither did Jesus. Both Paul and Jesus are simply pointing out the fact that laws were broken and this is not right. Paul did not require that those guilty of beating him be incarcerated; he simply wanted them to recognize their wrong by coming personally to release him. Jesus called upon the Pharisee in the same fashion  - that the Pharisee simply should acknowledge his wrongdoing of the law.

If we look then at the instances, these were acts not just against the person, but direct violations of law against the person. Neither resulted in pain to the perpetrator. Both Paul and Jesus simply required an acknowledgment of the wrongdoing by the perpetrator. This should sound familiar folks. Both of these men were looking at this from the aspect of forgiveness, and both were willing to forgive. They just asked for an acknowledgment of the wrong for the purpose of forgiveness. Paul’s response is a little stronger requirement than that of Jesus; however, the result is the same. Also, Paul’s perpetrators were not present, while the Pharisee was still standing next to Jesus. The question is, “Why do you break the law?” not, “Why do you break me?” I hope by now you see this in salvation. Our Savior asks us that very question every time we break God’s law. It does not break Him; however, it is almost as though we drive a new nail in His hand just as if we were at Calvary. Folks, those who show you the scriptures and teach them, your friends to whom you are accountable, the people in your life who really love you – they should ask you, “Why did you break the law?” in order to try to get you to admit you need forgiveness.

In the case of our Savior, we have the Holy Spirit to convict us as He asks us, “Why did you break the law?” It is not our place to say, “Well, I only broke it a little bit.” If the Holy Spirit convicts us of any law, if we are guilty in any part, we are guilty in all of the law (Jas 2:10). This is true in our actions on earth. If we have gone so far as to wrong someone and our payment is only our under garments, we should in proper submission give more as we understand there are many more laws we have broken outside of that where we were found guilty. We should give in this understanding and in our faith trust that God will see to our needs. Our testimony should be paramount, not what we think we can hide in our testimony. We should be willing to give that extra bit in order to make sure we are appropriately forgiven for any wrongdoing.

This application leads us to our next verse and teaching. How and at what level do we then have to legally submit?

II.  Legal Submission (Verse 41)

In the first century under the rule of Rome, a man could be taken temporarily into servitude in order to transport equipment, materials, or other things. You could be taken into custody for this usage for a certain part of a journey. Since the Israelites were conquered, they often suffered from this compulsory servanthood at a greater rate than would Roman citizens. In fact, this type of compulsory service was commonplace throughout the first century in many civilizations. This was not simply a Greco-Roman idea. We suffer this type of confiscation of our time and efforts in the current judicial system where jurors are selected from the masses to serve the courts. In a more current commentary, John Phillips sums up the heart of man and his propensity toward disobedience and disrespect in contrast to the Savior’s demand of the Christian. Phillips makes the point that in a direct contradictory fashion we see the Spirit action of the Christian opposed to the spirit of the natural man. The spirit of the natural man marches, demonstrates, organizes, and conducts civil disobedience, and “settles disputes with strikes and confrontation; and fosters disaffection for the defiance of authority.”[1]

All of these activities show an attitude that is unscriptural, unchristian, and unbiblical. Should we oppose government powers that are unjust? Yes. How we go about doing that cannot involve blatant disrespect or disobedience or any affection for defying the authorities given to us. We found this in Esther where the preservation of the entire nation of Israel was at stake. Did they protest? Did they demand their right to live? No, Israel waited upon God to enlighten and preserve them in His promise. We saw godly men working in our government at the beginning of our nation’s development attempting to tell the King of England that what he was doing was unjust and unfair. They sent document and proposal upon document and proposal to the King, only to be thwarted time and again. Today, we have individuals who organize disobedience that truly are nothing more than glorified extortionists who threaten strike, or demonstration if their desires are not met. Their first desire is to receive a very large donation to their coffers. Unlike our forefathers, these people abuse the law; they do not support or enforce it.

Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s:

24 Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar’s. 25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s (Lk 20:24-25).

What is Jesus teaching us with this verse? Simply put, give to Caesar what he wants in taxes and tribute. He is the worldly leader, give him what he demands. But also give to God what He demands. God demands that you obey those authorities, and He demands that you trust in Him, have faith in Him, and give Him the tribute of belief in Him.

Colossians 1:16 is one of the greatest creation passages in all of scripture. Many people relish this passage for the documentation of the great power and raw authority of our God. Many people skip over a certain section, or give it cursory consideration. It reads:

“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:”

Note – thrones – earthly kings who are placed by God in authority over vast wealth, people, and resources. Then dominions – organizations within these great kingdoms that exercise individual authority over the individual and over that which they are given responsibility. Then principalities – again these are even smaller groups that have control. We could envision these three to be the federal government, the state government, and then the county government. Finally, powers – an equivalent to city governments that focus on even more local law and order or civil organization and obedience. The scriptures say these were created by Him, and for Him. Everything was created by Jesus, for Jesus. This should give new meaning to the understanding that Jesus’ own creation crucified Him. He placed not only the men, not only the wood, but the very organization and powers in place that would falsely accuse, prosecute and murder Him. Think about this: He laid all those plans for others to kill Him so you could be with Him. His sovereign will was done, and His will was to be murdered in the most unpleasant, hideous, and painful way possible – to endure that punishment for you. God instructs us to be submissive to these authorities in 1 Peter 2:12-15 where we find the Apostle Peter telling us:

“12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. 13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; 14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. 15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:”

Second Peter 2:10 is a condemnation against those who would subvert or in other ways take action due to personal dislike of governmental authority. We are not to take action because of some personal vendetta, but because it is the right thing to do according to the law. That action, too, must be something that is according to the law.

We have had a number of abortion doctors killed; murdered by so called Christians. I have preached against these satanically controlled and unsaved murderers before, and I stand before you now to do it again. Murder does not justify murder. Taking of a life is only given to the powers and authorities of the governments placed over us, and God Himself. You are not to be the executioner unless properly commissioned to do so. First John 3:15 states very clearly that those who murder do not have eternal life abiding within them. This is emphatic and a fact. Anyone claiming eternal life at the time they murder is a liar and a minion of Satan. They can be saved, they can go to Heaven, however at the time they perpetrate the act, they are a dead soul destined for Hades and the eternal lake of fire.

A Christian does not settle disputes outside the law, but within it. A Christian who is required by law (even in what appears to be an unjust requirement) to assist in those things they do not care to do, must do so and must submit to this requirement with a willing spirit. This does not mean we give in to abortionists. There is nothing in this scripture that indicates there is naught but some inconvenience to the one placed in compulsory servitude. You are to serve your masters on earth as you would serve the God of Heaven. The only difference is that you know they are not the Almighty and therefore, you answer to the One True God and only to Him. Your service must reflect this, and honor Him. You must do both and never violate the tenets of the Scriptures in your service to your masters here. Giving extra of yourself to your earthly masters shows your faith in God to provide for your needs. Equally, you must never let your personal dislikes interfere with your service to your earthly master. You are required to operate on principle.

This leads us to our next scripture and the discussion there. We have further commandments to follow.

III.  Spiritual Commandment (Verse 42)

Many would say this scripture means whenever someone asks for something I have to give it. That is not so. We are operating on principles of compulsion here. You must give to those who ask when they are in need. That is the discussion. You must also let those who are in need borrow. Let me give you a personal example.

Once I had a nice set of jumper cables. I was in a hurry to get to an appointment at the University and did not have time to give this neighbor in my apartment complex a jump. I simply told him, “Here are my jumper cables, and I’ll get them back from you at a later time.” I never saw him, or my cables, again. He had a need; I filled it. He needed the jumper cables more than I did. I got a new set later, and I have an even better set than I had before. Ladies and gentlemen, God provides for you and you are to exercise faith in that. Granted, some may say I am a fool for giving these cables to a complete stranger. However, I knew where he lived. I just never bothered to go over to get the cables because he said he would bring them back. That is now between him and God. I am not the judge; I was only required to provide what was needed.

There is a principle here as well though that must not be misunderstood. First, you give what is needed. If someone comes to you asking for money, yet what they really need is food and the Lord, your job is to take a leadership position and provide what is needed. Many a homeless person has asked me for money. I have never provided it and I never will. However, I have taken homeless people to a restaurant and fed them while I gave them the gospel. We have fed people here at the church and gave them the scriptures to change their lives.

Another aspect of this is that you give as much as you can, and you forgive as well. In the case of the end of verse 42, there is mention of not turning away the individual who wants to borrow. This is a comment that comes from the Jewish business custom of 7 year lending. In the seventh year, the remainder of the debt is supposed to be forgiven unless the agreement was for much longer initially. This was to prevent enslavement of Jew to Jew. Some businessmen were denying this lending to those for whom they had previously forgiven debts. This is wrong. Life happens and if honest business is conducted, there are times when God challenges people and it is not for us to judge the challenge, only to do what we can to support brothers and sisters in Christ. Note what I said – brothers, and sisters in Christ. Once again, Christians live by these tenets. We cannot expect the unsaved individual to abide by this.

Principally speaking, this also does not mean we have to wantonly give to those who regularly abuse us. If we balance scripture against scripture and we look at the realities of forgiveness, there is still consequence to the actions of those who do not care about their integrity. This principle is based in a requirement of the law that you have to follow. The Jew had to forgive the 7-year debt; you cannot hold that against someone who then turns back to you and requests something else be lent to them. However, if you willingly lend and they treat your property carelessly and thoughtlessly, there is room for that forgiveness, but consequence can ensue.

Therefore, this principle indicates that we should not be turning away people with needs, and we should not deny people things just because we are required by law to forgive a debt. It is not for us to deny needs based on personal aversion or bias, or even because of some external effect. Equally, on the other side, there is a principle. The one borrowing falls into the categories of verses 41 and 40 where they are somewhat indentured or required to give their best to pay back that which they have borrowed. In this way, these three verses provide a balance to one another.

If you are legally obligated to give something, go the extra mile and give with a cheerful heart and in abundance. If you are forced into service for some reason, do so with a cheerful heart and go further than what is required to show your testimony and support for the law. If someone has needs, fulfill them and do not deny them. If your repayment is not forthcoming and you have to forgive them because of external pressures or authorities, do not hold them accountable for things not in their control. You should continue to fill needs.

Equally, if you are a borrower you are required to give that extra piece of cloth. If you are a borrower, you are required to go that extra mile. Apply these scriptures principally and place them in your lives. I know folks in our church that consider these types of decisions frequently and I have been very encouraged to hear their testimonies. It is a wonderful thing to see Christ being worked out in a life.