Latest / HBCWestminster / 1.9.22 Luke 20:19-26 Pastor Danny Gardner

Transcript

1.9.22 Luke 20:19-26 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  If you have your Bibles, we're going to jump right into God's Word. Luke chapter 20, beginning in verse 19. Luke chapter 20, beginning in verse 19. When you've found it in your Bibles, stand with me, if you would, in honor of the reading of God's Word as I read Luke chapter 20 and verse 19. And then we'll pray, we'll study it together. It says, the scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.
• 0:32
  So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be sincere that they might catch him in something he said so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. So they asked him, Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar or not? But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have? And they said, Caesar's. He said to them, Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's.
• 1:03
  and to God the things that are God's. And they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer, they became silent. Would you pray with me? Lord, with our Bibles open, we willingly receive your truth, and we submit ourselves to it. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Thank you, church. Well, last week, as you'll recall, we studied a murder mystery. Why did the owner...
• 1:50
  Now this is why in last week's passage, Jesus quoted Psalm 118, which describes a rejected stone that would become the chief cornerstone of God's kingdom. Rejected by men.
• 2:03
  rejected indeed by his own people, and yet the very bedrock of the church, the Jewish Midrash, it's like an Old Testament Hebrew commentary, said this of Psalm 118, of that text that Jesus quoted last week, the Jewish Midrash says, if a stone falls on a pot, alas for the pot, right? If you've got a ceramic pot and a stone falls on it, which one's going to lose?
• 2:29
  The pot is going to lose. So he said, if the stone falls on the pot, alas for the pot. But then it continues, but if the pot falls on the stone, alas for the pot, it's still going to lose, right? You say, well, what does that mean? There will be a day when the deity and majesty and glory of Christ are declared before all people who have ever lived. And on that day,
• 2:59
  He, our Lord Jesus, will crush those who refuse to crush themselves. That is a real day. It is really coming when the full glory and majesty of Christ are going to be revealed before all of humanity. And on that day, everyone, Scripture says, ends up crushed. Every knee will bow. But here is the promise of Scripture, and this is why we have hope. Here's the good news of the gospel.
• 3:27
  God's word says, but if you are willing to crush yourself, if you will humble yourself, then it says you will be saved. This is what Christ meant when he said that those who lose their lives for his sake would find them. It's what he meant when he said the Lord does not snuff out a smoldering wick, nor does he cast aside a bruised reed. The Lord Jesus promised in John chapter 6 that no one who comes to him will be turned away. What a promise that is.
• 3:58
  No one who comes to the Lord Jesus will be turned away. Now this Sunday's text is an interesting one considering the current social and political climate. I am reminded of the rules of Thanksgiving dinner. You're not supposed to talk about Jesus and politics. I'm reminded of the man who came to me one time and said, you know, everybody, everybody has political opinions. In fact, he said political opinions are like belly buttons. He said everybody has them.
• 4:28
  He said, in fact, you can even be proud of yours, but keep it to yourself. Nobody wants to see it, all right? But, and so I know as we tread onto this ground that we tread into a bit of a minefield. I'm sure that there are plenty who would be offended at the mere reading of such a passage in our turbulent and even emotionally charged culture. But just remember, church, I'm not the one who brought it up. Jesus did.
• 4:56
  This morning he confronts us with this question. Does the government have the right to tell us what to do? Can they tell us what to do? I'm sure that there are those who would misuse this text to support ungodly conclusions on both sides of the church aisle.
• 5:18
  There are heavily held opinions regarding the interpretation and application of this text. Some would read this passage and declare with great vehemence that all Christians should pretty much give to Caesar whatever Caesar asks for, that Christians should fall in line with no exceptions. Others will declare with the same amount of passion that nothing belongs to Caesar, and the government therefore has no claim over any Christian, because after all, everything belongs.
• 5:48
  to God. And so let's just go to the text and allow it to speak for itself. Where it disagrees with our convictions, church, which must bow the knee. You guys with me? You all right? Did I offend you already? I'm about to kick a hornet's nest. It's going to get a lot worse, okay? I'll tell you right now, it's going to get a lot worse. But where our convictions disagree with the word of God, which one must change? We must.
• 6:18
  Our convictions must bow the knee to the word of God. And so let's read it. Look at verse 19. The scribes, the chief priests, sought to lay hands on him at that very hour. For they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. They sought to lay hands on him. That's a funny way to say it. If you've grown up in the church, you've undoubtedly seen.
• 6:40
  Where we brought pastors or missionaries or new leaders in the church, we bring them up onto the stage, we call forward the leaders of the church who lay hands on them, who pray over them, commission them. We will send missionaries by laying hands on them. They're going with our blessing and with our authority. We lay hands on people and pray. This is not that kind of lay hands on.
• 7:03
  The scribes and the chief priests were not gathering around Jesus and gently and carefully laying hands on him in an effort to commission him and send him with their blessing. That's not this kind of lay hands on. This lay hands on is they wanted to beat the tar out of him. That's what they meant. They are planning on hauling him away. They want to lay hands on him. You say, well, why? At that very hour, look at the reason why. For they perceived that he had told this parable.
• 7:33
  against them the final words of christ's parable from last week were still ringing in their ears you say well why is that such a big deal do you guys remember the parable from last week the owner of this field lets it out to tenant farmers he says i still own it they draw up a contract i still own it you're going to work the land
• 7:54
  I'm going to send servants back and receive after the harvest. I will receive a portion of the crop. I will receive a percentage that you owe me because the field belongs to me. But I'll allow you to stay on it, to work it, to live it. You can gain some. I will gain some. And so the owner of the harvest comes. The owner of the field begins to send servant after servant after servant who are beaten and sent away empty-handed. Do you remember? And so the owner says, well, I know what I'll do. I'll send my son.
• 8:22
  In fact, the language is, I will send my only begotten son. Surely they will respect him. And so he sends his son whom they kill in an effort to steal the inheritance. They kill the owner's son. And do you remember last week I talked about that Jesus is kind of baiting a trap, right? He's pulling back the spring. He's setting the trigger. He's squeezing out the peanut butter. He's sliding it over in front of their toes to see if they'll step on it. He asked this question, what should the owner do?
• 8:50
  What do you think the owner should do to those evil tenants? And they all in this outburst, this outcry, he should kill them. He should put them to death. He should drive them out. He should let it out to others. And Jesus says, that's exactly what the owner will do to you. That's exactly what he will do.
• 9:12
  You've killed the prophets and you're about to kill me, the son of God. And now you pick up in verse 19. They realize at that very hour, they perceive he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. Verse 19 describes a kind of a schism in the crowd. For the entirety of Christ's ministry, continuing into the Passion Week, there have been two types of Christ followers.
• 9:42
  who followed Christ, was a Christ follower. There was one group who were genuine seekers. They wanted the truth. They wanted the Messiah. They wanted not only to listen with their ears, but to believe in their hearts. And so that group was genuinely saved. Listen to the promise of Romans 10 and verse 9, that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord,
• 10:09
  And if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be, what does it say? Saved. If you confess with your mouth the truth, Jesus is my Lord. If you declare him to be your Lord, the Lord of your life, then you believe in your heart.
• 10:25
  with a heart conviction, the truth of the gospel that God raised him from the dead, that God, the Son of God, became flesh and made his dwelling among us and lived a perfect and righteous life and went to the cross and was buried and rose from the dead. If you believe in your heart the gospel, then you will be saved. That's what God's word says, but there was another group following Jesus who were hard-hearted and stiff-necked.
• 10:54
  I mean, they listened to every sermon. They were standing there for the parable. They even witnessed some of the miracles. And yet that group became more and more obstinate in their disbelief. You know, this has always kind of in a weird way actually provided me some comfort. You know, I am called to preach the word of God. It is a high calling. I've told you before.
• 11:21
  that despite my kicking against the goads in my youth in fact if you had met me in high school you probably would not have guessed that i would grow up to be a pastor it takes people off guard if they've not heard and kind of followed our family and seen how the lord has worked and moved me into ministry it takes people off guard i never would have guessed that dude would have become a pastor but i have as i've aged settled into this realization and i take the lord's calling seriously
• 11:49
  A preaching is not only my occupation, it is my vocation. And so I work hard at being good at it. I don't want to be a mediocre preacher of God's word. In fact, I've taken preaching classes, many of them. I read books about how to preach effectively. I study for hours and hours and hours every single week. There is not a week that goes by that I don't study God's word for hours in preparation to preach it. I never wing it.
• 12:19
  Never. There's never been a time where I'm like, no, I'll just make something up. I'll just see what comes out. That has never happened. I've been here for seven years. I've preached almost every Sunday in those seven years. That has never happened where I've stood at this pulpit unprepared. Every single week, I pray over every single word that is carefully selected, carefully chosen. And so it's hard not to be offended when people turn their noses up at something that you work so hard at.
• 12:46
  Right? When you come on Sunday morning, you're like, man, I have worked and I have slaved and I have prayed. And then you offer it and people turn their noses up at it. It's hard not to take it personally. When people are critical without being loving or when people just zone out on Sunday mornings or, and this never happens at the 11 o'clock service, of course, but that when people might actually fall asleep in the middle of point two. Can you imagine? It's always those 8 a.m. people. And then you read about the preaching ministry of Jesus.
• 13:17
  Now we can assume, church, that he was pretty good at it, right? I know we call Spurgeon the prince of preachers. Nonsense. There was one better than him. I assume Jesus, when he preached the word of God, that it was truth saturated, that it was engaging, that the Lord Jesus used the perfect amount of illustration, the perfect amount of humor, the perfect amount of Old Testament cross-referencing, and yet look at how many people heard him and then turned their noses up.
• 13:49
  He said, well, how could that be true? It couldn't have been due to a lack in the sermon itself. We assume those sermons were perfect. And so the only possible explanation is that there must have been something going on in the hearts of those who heard him that kept them from receiving the truth. Something going on in their hearts that had little or nothing to do with the preacher or the message being delivered. Let us, Highland, take heed.
• 14:22
  It is possible to spend a lot of time with God's people. It's possible to attend a great church and to go on missions trips and to sing great worship songs. It's possible even week after week to sit under great preaching and yet remain unsaved. It's possible. It's possible to be a goat among the sheep. It's possible to be a weed among the wheat. And this is why the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 13 and verse 5 says, examine yourselves.
• 14:54
  Test yourselves to see if you are genuinely of the faith. 2 Corinthians 13, 5. Examine your own hearts to see if you are genuinely of the faith. You guys, he wrote that to a church. To a church. Even amongst the church, he says, there may be a mixed multitude. And here in verse 19, we see these two groups juxtaposed. Those who hated him and wanted him removed, we see in verse 19, could not do so because he was protected by the crowds.
• 15:23
  of genuine hearers now where that line was drawn between the true believers and those who were false only the lord knows just like where the line would be drawn even in our midst between those who hear but don't listen those who hear and don't submit and then the genuine believers that line is drawn somewhere but only the lord knows this however is going to help explain some of the curious portions
• 15:51
  of the following days why was jesus arrested in a small garden in the dead of night why then i mean why was an entire band of soldiers dispatched in order to bring this guy in
• 16:05
  Why were his trials so hastily done? Why were there multiple trials? Why was he being handed off from Pilate to Antipas to Pilate to Antipas? Why did nobody want to deal with this guy? Why was everybody passing the buck? Why were the trials done in haste? Why were they done in the middle of the night? The answer is because they feared the people. And so Jesus' enemies devise a plan.
• 16:31
  John MacArthur described these questioners, his enemies, by calling them hateful, proud hypocrites who flatter and deceive in their stubbornness. I like that description. I think he got almost all of the bad adjectives that we can use, right? They're almost all in there. Hateful, he says, where is it? There it is. Hateful, proud hypocrites who flatter and deceive in their stubbornness. Man, almost as many bad adjectives as there are words in that sentence. You pick up in verse 20.
• 17:01
  So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be sincere that they might catch him in something he said so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. Here we find his enemies determined to rid the nation of him using any means available, including trying to trip Jesus up even on political grounds. Let's get him in trouble with the governor. Perhaps they thought we can get him in trouble with the government and then they will do the dirty work for us. They knew.
• 17:29
  that if they could get rome to charge jesus with treason that rome would have to execute him and if they executed him then they could claim no knowledge our hands are clean we didn't execute we didn't crucify him after all the romans did all the dirty work and their plan on the surface is brilliant they began with flattery look at verse 21. so they asked him teacher
• 17:54
  We know that you speak and teach rightly and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. Let me ask you, church, does flattery work? I mean, I heard three or four people say no, and then I heard a guy say, absolutely it does. It depends, right? Sometimes it does. It depends on what? What does it depend on? It depends on the person who's being flattered.
• 18:32
  If that person is a proud man or woman who enjoys the singing of their own praises, will flattery work? Oh yeah, it will. But if that person is humble and consistently points to Jesus, points to the Lord, gives credit to the Lord, then will flattery work? I heard a conference speaker one time begin his sermon by saying, you know, I was so happy to be asked to preach at this conference.
• 19:00
  They told me that they asked the smartest pastor they could think of, but so-and-so declined. And so they asked the strongest pastor they could think of, but so-and-so was unavailable. And so they asked the most humble, and I accepted. That's actually pretty funny, right? Flattery will work except on a humble person. Jesus' enemies here offer like a spoonful of sugar, hoping it will help the medicine.
• 19:32
  go down after all flattery had worked on every one of their other enemies it would have worked on them you'll notice what they call them in verse 21 they say teacher rabbi it's a formal title it was reserved for the most well respected and highly thought of instructors and you'll notice that they then follow it with a bunch of facts they just start stating a bunch of facts that are true none of which they actually believed
• 20:00
  They said, teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. Every one of those statements is true. Jesus did speak the truth. He declared in front of Pontius Pilate that he came to earth to testify to the truth. John 18, 37. Jesus showed no partiality. He ministered to the weak, to the sick, to the demon oppressed and possessed.
• 20:26
  He healed the paralytic and the social pariah. He ministered to and served the outcast and the off-scouring of the world. He condescended in becoming like us. In fact, he began his earthly ministry three and a half years previous. The beginning of his ministry began with a descent to the Jordan River.
• 20:46
  The Jordan River is the lowest place on planet Earth. It runs through the Jordan Rift Valley, eventually dumping into the Dead Sea. It's over a thousand feet below sea level. There is no place lower on Earth. And at the beginning of his ministry, the way that he launches his public ministry is to go to the lowest place on Earth and then go a little bit lower even still by getting into the water.
• 21:11
  And then getting even lower than that by being baptized by his cousin John. And so for a moment in time, think about this church, for a moment in time, Jesus was lower than any other person on the planet.
• 21:27
  That's how he began his ministry, to become the lowest person on the planet. And when he came up out of the water and began, launched into that temptation in the desert, and then turning water into wine and doing all of these miracles and teachings and feedings and everything else, it's like he started at the lowest and he's just said, all right, Lord, Father, I'm just going to work my way up one soul at a time. I'm starting at the bottom and everybody above me, that's who I'm going for. He showed no partiality. Jesus did indeed.
• 21:57
  teach the way of god you'll recall in john chapter 6 when the throngs of people are just swarming around jesus he is feeding them by the thousands and even tens of thousands are coming to jesus to be fed one day the food runs out and so they come to jesus say the food has run out and he just makes this really kind of peculiar statement he says well i guess from now on you'll just have to eat my flesh like what
• 22:24
  And man, that weirded people out. Now we know as the New Testament church, I think he was making a reference there to communion, right? Where we gather together regularly and eat the bread and the cup. That's the body and the blood of Jesus. I think that's what he was talking about. He was pointing forward to the crucifixion. But man, they got weirded out. So they start leaving by the tens of thousands. And as all of these people are leaving, he looks at his foremost apostle Peter and he says, what about you? Will you leave me too? You remember what Peter said?
• 22:54
  He said, Lord, to whom shall we go? We don't have anywhere to go. I'm not leaving. I got nowhere else to go. And then he says this, you have the words of eternal life. You have the words of eternal life. Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Jesus did indeed teach the way of God. And so he proved quickly not to be like any of their former enemies.
• 23:20
  Their poisonous flattery wouldn't work on him. He would not incriminate himself. Why? Because he wouldn't serve himself. He came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Flattery would not work on Jesus. But let me ask church, would flattery work on you? I shudder to think how many friendships have been ruined and how many marriages shattered and how many churches divided.
• 23:48
  Because we refuse to have the same attitude as Christ, who in Philippians 2 and verse 3 says, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped. In other words, something to be held onto. He refused to have a stranglehold on equality with God. I'm not going to hold onto the glory of God. I'm not going to hold onto the authority of God. But rather, Philippians 2 says, he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant. He humbled himself. Church, do you?
• 24:17
  empty yourself? Or do you have a stranglehold on whatever glory may be within your feeble reach, whatever pride or credit, whatever honor you feel like is due to you? We pick up in verse 22, where they ask a question they think there's no right answer to. Look what they say, verse 22, is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar or not? Is it lawful?
• 24:44
  By using the term lawful, they referred not to Roman law, but to God's law. Remember, the people of Israel believed passionately that they were under an evil Roman occupation. And that therefore, any Roman law, including the paying of taxes, was also to be considered evil because the Roman government would use those very taxes for evil purposes, including the subjugation of God's own people. It's like you can hear their thoughts. Surely.
• 25:13
  The Lord would not have us pay taxes to a government who would then use those same taxes to promote things which the Lord hates. You see and kind of sense the modern minefield we're about to walk onto. Surely the Lord would not have us pay taxes to a government which we don't agree with. The Romans had devised a complex tax code which included income tax and sales tax, property tax, travel tax. Again, it sounds familiar.
• 25:43
  The tax which most got under the skin of the Jewish people was called the poll tax. The poll tax was a tax paid to Rome simply for the privilege of living under the Roman government. If you live in the Roman Empire, you pay the Roman tax, the poll tax. Doesn't matter what you've done or if you bought or sold or made any money, you pay the poll tax. Now this is the key. The poll tax implied that Caesar owned whoever paid it. So you can see the predicament.
• 26:14
  Jesus' questioners thought that they had come up with the perfect question. He can't support paying the poll tax because that would mean that he supports Roman ownership of God's people. Do you see the problem? But he also can't deny paying it or he will be considered an insurrectionist. It's really brilliant. It's just not as brilliant as his response. Look at verse 23. He perceived...
• 26:41
  Their craftiness. Can you imagine how many Bible verses could have begun with that same phrase? He perceived their craftiness and said to them, show me a denarius. Show me a denarius. Now a denarius was the coin of the realm. It was one day's wage for a Roman soldier. It was minted by Rome.
• 26:59
  It had the emperor's face and the name stamped on it. Who in Jesus' time was the emperor? Tiberius. And so somebody comes up with one of these coins, and so Jesus asks, whose picture and inscription is on it? And they answer by saying what? Well, Caesar's, of course. Caesar's picture, Caesar's name. So look at Jesus' response in verse 25. So he said to them, then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. Well, then give it back to him. He says, it's his. He made it.
• 27:29
  He put his picture on it. He put his name on it. It belongs to him. So I guess if he wants it back, he can have it back. Many years ago, I had a very good friend named Dave. Dave owned a bike shop in town, bicycles. One evening, his bike shop was broken into and a very expensive bicycle was stolen. Really, you guys know those get into the thousands of dollars. Very expensive bike was stolen. And not long after that, Dave is driving around town. He sees...
• 28:00
  His bike being ridden by a guy around town. He sees it. That's my bike. And he obviously recognized it. It's the most expensive bike that I had. It was stolen not days ago. And he sees it around town, so he calls the police department. The police patrol car shows up not long after that. They stop the guy. They walk up to him. Two officers walk up to the guy, and they say, is this your bike? The guy says, yeah, of course it is.
• 28:21
  Did you steal it? Of course not. I bought this bike, right? And so he claimed he bought it with legal means. And so it's kind of his word against Dave's word. And so they go back to Dave. Dave, can you prove that this bike belongs to you? And he said, I sure can. He walks over to the bike. He unhinged the seat.
• 28:38
  He started wiggling on that thing, popped the seat off, and then reached down inside of the post where the seat goes, reached down in there, pulled out a little piece of paper that was rolled up. He unrolled it and said, this bike belongs to Dave.
• 28:53
  What Dave had done is every single bike in his bike shop, he had taken the seat off, rolled up a little piece of paper so if it was ever stolen, he could prove that that bike belonged to him. If you went into his shop, he would, right, doing a tune-up and whatever, you purchase a bike, he does a tune-up on the bike, he pulls that little piece of paper out, throws it in the trash, says now the bike belongs to you. His name was on it. I said, well, it belongs to you. You see, Jesus here uses the same logic. Your name is on it.
• 29:23
  It must belong to you. Now he uses this word render. It's not a word that we use very often, but it's meaningful. Render means to give back something that is owed. And so in other words, he says money doesn't belong to us. It belongs to whoever minted it. And so the question is not who does my money belong to? He says the government minted it so they can have it back. But don't make any mistake. The paying of those taxes does not mean.
• 29:52
  that the government owns you. You are owned by whoever minted you. And so the real question becomes, who made me and to whom do I therefore belong? You know, it's funny. I have heard quoted Romans 13 in the last two years more times than I ever heard it before. I would ask you to turn there in your Bibles to Romans 13.
• 30:23
  Romans 13 has in recent months been used as a cudgel to support certain political talking points within the church. But let's look at it for a moment. Just decipher what the Lord meant in its inspiration. Look at Romans 13, beginning in verse 1. Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
• 30:52
  Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you'll receive his reproval. For he is God's servant for your good, but if you do wrong, be afraid. For he does not bear the sword in vain. He is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.
• 31:23
  Say. It says that the government is to be obeyed. Based on your silence, I'm assuming some of us are squirming a little bit. In the providence of God, Israel was brought under Roman occupation. In the providence of God, the first generation church was under Roman authority. And what Romans 13 says is that the Lord has assigned the oversight of and orchestration of certain temporal aspects of his creation.
• 31:57
  over to human governments and specifically the use of God's authority to restrain evil. And so governments like the Roman Empire and governments like the United States of America are to develop militaries. It's their job. They are to develop police forces. They are to punish crime. Beyond that, they are to kill the bad guys. That's their job.
• 32:23
  In fact, that's why it says in verse 4, God has given them the sword. You don't spank people with swords. You don't slap wrists with swords. You execute people with swords. Now, that does not say that every single crime is a capital crime. It doesn't say the government should just walk around lopping people's heads off. But it does say that the government has executionary authority given to them by God in order to provide peace and security for their citizens. Everybody following so far?
• 32:52
  Citizens of those governments are to pay their government's taxes and to abide by their government's laws. Now we know that believers in Christ, you and I, are citizens of heaven. Citizens with a capital C. Amen? That we don't belong here. This earth is not our home. We are aliens. We are sojourners. But we also know that we, you and I, are citizens with a lowercase c of the United States.
• 33:20
  And so as citizens of the United States, we must be God-honoring citizens until we die and enter our heavenly home. Now this means that we are today, right now, under the authority not only of God, but under the authority of the human government. Now that's been true since the day Jesus spoke those words in Luke chapter 20.
• 33:41
  It's true whether you live in a democracy or a dictatorship. It's true whether the government serves their people or shears their people. No matter what government we may find ourselves under, according to 1 Peter 2.17, we are to fear God and honor the emperor. That's what it says, 1 Peter 2.17. Fear God, honor the emperor. Keep in mind, without such human government, there would be chaos and anarchy. However...
• 34:11
  However, and you had to know it was coming, Christians are also always under obligation to render to God the things that belong to God. That's what he says in verse 25. Render to Caesar the things that belong to him and render to God the things that are God's. And when any government demands from its citizens what does not belong to them.
• 34:41
  then they are to legitimately be refused. When the government commands what God forbids, or when it forbids what God commands, they are to be legitimately refused. You can see Daniel chapter 6, a law was passed forbidding prayer. Daniel prayed anyway. Despite the government's law, Daniel ended up in the lion's den for it. Acts chapter 4 and verse 19, the apostles are commanded to no longer preach in Jesus' name. They do it anyway.
• 35:12
  Acts chapter 5 and verse 29, the Apostle Peter said, we must obey God rather than man. Which means that you, if you have been entrusted with young ones, should never, as their parents, demand, expose, or teach anything to your kids that you know to be harmful to them or your family, despite what the government says.
• 35:39
  I'm not saying that we shouldn't expect difficult things from our kids. In fact, I think we should expect a lot more from our kids. Even things which might end in their physical discomfort. We might even pray for things that will end in their physical deaths. And you're like, what are you talking about? I'm not praying that way for my kids. Well, if you're not going to pray that way for your kids, then they're never going to become missionaries. They'll never become martyrs for the gospel.
• 36:05
  We're actually going to pray that they will do hard things. We're not saying to protect them at all costs from physical danger. That's not what we're saying. We're saying to protect them from things that will offer them spiritual harm. We will not expose our kids. Even if it becomes the law, we say no.
• 36:23
  You're not allowed. You've over-tread your authority. And in fact, by extension, I will never, as your pastor, demand that you do something that I believe to be harmful to you or harmful to this church or harmful to your family. Why? Because you and I, we belong to the Lord. This is His church. We are His people.
• 36:49
  And of course, we are going to be subject to our human government in every way that we can. In fact, everybody sitting in here should be a model citizen. But that doesn't mean we belong to them. So let me ask, church, should we pay our taxes? I better get a lot more yeses than that. Come on. Should you pay your taxes? You're getting all your stuff in the mail right now, right? All your stuff is coming. Should you pay your taxes? Of course you should. You say, well, even if those taxes are being used for things I don't like? Yeah.
• 37:24
  Of course you should. You say, well, even if those taxes are being used to destroy the very values that I hold dear? Well, heartbreakingly, yes. You say, even if those taxes are being used to fund abortions? Heartbreakingly, yes. Their picture is on every single dollar bill. And so if they want them back, I guess they can have them. But does that mean that we should obey the human government in every single one of their commands?
• 37:59
  No. Their picture is not on you. And when the government demands that you render unto them that which does not belong to them, you must legitimately and respectfully tell them no. As of Friday, two days ago, the Canadian government has outlawed what has been popularly called conversion therapy. They joined more than a dozen countries which have done so. Included among them are France, Germany, India. So-called conversion therapy, parents, listen.
• 38:32
  Conversion therapy makes it a crime to provide or promote any services intended to change or repress a person's sexual orientation or gender expression. Violators of the new law could spend up to five years in prison. Michael Quagg, policy director of the Community-Based Research Center in Toronto, has said this, and I quote his words, this law sends a strong message to the entire country that any attempt to change, deny, or suppress the identity of queer and trans people is
• 39:02
  wrong canada's prime minister recently said that conversion therapy again his words is harmful and degrading one conservative member of the canadian parliament as this bill has been passed from one senate and congress to the next has been consistently asking throughout the process whether the government would guarantee that the law would not be applied to parents and to pastors sadly he said these requests were not considered
• 39:33
  In other words, if your Canadian son or daughter comes to you expressing feelings that we know are blatantly contrary to Scripture and contrary to God's plan to fill their lives with joy and belonging, and you, as their mom or dad, try in any way to convince them that those feelings are sinful and must be denied, you could go to jail.
• 39:57
  If I, as a Canadian pastor, right now, this morning, began a sermon by saying, open your Bibles to Romans chapter 1, and then began to preach from there, I could go to jail. And some of you are already thinking, well, praise God, that hasn't found its way here to the United States. So far, 20 states have already adopted similar legislation, including Colorado.
• 40:24
  HB 1129. You guys can look it up if you're interested. HB 1129 was passed into law when Governor Jared Polis signed it on May 31st, 2019. Now, listen. The government can have all the money they want. You see what Jesus is saying? Whatever their name is on, they can have back. But their name isn't on you. And so when they begin making demands on you, on your kids, on the way that they're raised,
• 40:54
  on what you would teach them regarding the truth of God's word. Jesus says, no, you render to God what is God's. And could we end up in the lion's den? Yeah. We could end up in the fiery furnace? Yeah. We could end up like all those other prophets before us who were killed and sawn in two and all of those other things. We could end up like the servants in that parable who are beat up and rejected and sent away empty-handed. But God's name resides on us. And when Christ...
• 41:23
  concluded the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew tells us in Matthew chapter 7 that the crowds were astonished at his teaching. He was teaching them as one who had authority and not as their scribes. And here we find a very similar response in verse 26. It says, they weren't able in the presence of the people to catch him and what he said. Notice, but marveling at his answer, they became silent. Why did they become silent? Because the Lord Jesus had spoken the last word on the subject. No other words.
• 41:52
  were needed. And so allow me to conclude by asking simply, does the Lord Jesus have the last word in your life and in your home? And Father, bless the preaching of your word this morning. Give us wisdom, Lord. This is touchy. It is hard. It is a minefield. And God, we don't want to misstep. We just want to do what your word says. May we allow it to speak for itself and may we bend our knee to its truth. In Jesus' name.
• 42:25
  Amen.