Christ and Patriotism

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.

Jeremiah 29.

We'll start

reading in

verse 4.

Jeremiah 29

Jeremiah 29:4

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,

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,

1 Peter 2:9

verse 9,

says that,

but you are a

chosen race,

a royal

priesthood,

a holy

nation,

a people for

his own

possession,

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.