The Truth About Church and State
“And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marveled at Him.” Mark 12:17
As was nearly a daily occurrence, the religious leaders were trying to trap Jesus into saying something that would violate the law so they could accuse Him and hopefully turn the people against Him. They had asked Him if it was lawful to give tribute (pay taxes) to Caesar (the Roman government). He knew what they were up to and boldly asked them why they were tempting Him. Sometimes, Jesus had to be “in your face” to uphold truth and to honor His Father. He called them hypocrites because they weren’t really concerned that Rome was receiving funds that belonged to God. Jesus and these men had already had a discussion about the fact that they were using the excuse of putting money into the treasury rather than using it to care for their parents, but in actuality, they were spending it on themselves (Mark 7:9-13).
To continue to answer the question about who should receive tribute, Jesus asked to see a penny. Looking at it, He asked whose image and superscription were on the coin. They replied, “Caesar’s”. He said to them that they should give what is due to Caesar, to Caesar, and what is due to God, to God. A simple but profound reply. This tax collected by Rome, it is believed, was for the privilege of living on the land. I think about all the taxes that we pay to our cities, counties, states, and the federal government. If we look at some of our coins or bills, we will find images of past U.S. presidents and words such as “In God We Trust”, “Liberty”, and “E. Pluribus Unum”, which means “out of many, one”. All three of these phrases are spiritual in nature. They describe God’s intended relationship to man: he is to trust God and Him only, true liberty or freedom is found only in Christ, and His people are many members that make up one body in Christ (Romans 12:5). I doubt anything like these phrases were on the Roman coin that Jesus held in His hand. Jesus recognized the fact that there is a need for civil government, and that it takes money to keep it going. What benefits the Jews received from Rome made them obligated to pay taxes. They didn’t have to like it, like we don’t like paying taxes, but was and is the law of the land.
There are many in our nation who are working toward the goal of removing God from every aspect of our lives and make government the nation’s god. If they could, they would make atheism or humanism the state religion. This is nothing new. In 1801, after Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated President of the U.S., he received a letter from Baptists in the state of Connecticut stating their fear that their legislature might establish an official state religion. They wanted assurances from the new president that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protected them in their worship. He replied to them that the Constitution guaranteed that their legislature would “make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” thus “building a wall of separation between Church and State”. It is clear by his declaration that this “wall of separation” was to keep the civil government from interfering with the church and not to keep the church from morally and spiritually influencing those who were elected to administer the government. The way the phrase “separation of church and state” is interpreted now has gone so far as to discourage Christians from running for office or even participating in government at all. If one is a follower of Christ, he or she is not welcome in the halls of Congress, the White House, and even some of the state legislatures. I think that perhaps over 50 years ago, “separation of church and state” was interpreted as it was meant to be, but those who desire to keep God out of the lives of Americans hijacked the phrase and turned it for their own use in diminishing God and His followers.
In his book, “A Nation in Crisis”, based on the book of Jeremiah, Ray Stedman wrote, “Government should never interfere with the free exercise of religion, and the church should never try to use politics to increase the worldly power of the church. But Christians also have a right and a responsibility to hold the government accountable for acts of injustice. Jesus calls us to be salt and light–a savor, a preservative, a source of moral illumination and spiritual enlightenment–in a dark and decaying world (Matthew 5:13-16). This means that when the government sins against God and against humanity, God’s people, no matter where they live, must speak out and hold the government accountable. As Christians, we have a vote, and we have a voice in our government.” Mr. Stedman passed away 30 years ago. His words have never been more appropriate than they are now. Jesus said in Mark 13:22 that in the last days, false prophets would arise and, if it was possible, would deceive true believers in Christ. Thus, believers must be alert and aware of what is going on around them and be voices to warn folks of lies and deceptions and to witness of the saving power of Christ. We can’t let fear hinder us. The bad thing is that there are many more unbelievers than believers, but the good thing is that we have all power in heaven and earth that they don’t have because “Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world” (I John 4:4).