All of us have payments to make. All of us have obligations to meet. It is a way of life.
• We owe for the car. We owe for the house. We owe for the fridge.
• A bumper sticker reads, “We owe, we owe, so off to work we go.”
• We’ve got to work because we’ve so much to pay up.
Along with the debt comes the responsibility. We have a duty to pay what we owe.
In fact, Jesus revealed to us that we have a two-fold debt.
• One is a horizontal obligation – towards man, the government;
• the other is a vertical obligation, towards God.
Jesus’ answer was remarkable, considering the situation. Let’s look at the background for a moment. Two groups were out to corner Him.
• “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” - It was not a sincere question.
• Verse 13 they were out “to catch Him in His words.”
Verse 13 records that the religious leaders who were set against Jesus’ ministry sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus. For these two groups to join forces against Jesus is amazing.
• The Pharisees were highly religious people who were dedicated to keeping the law in every point. They resented the rule of Rome - secular rule.
• The Herodians were Jews sympathetic to Herod. A political party. They made accommodations to Rome and accepted freely the Roman rule.
Normally, the two groups are at odds against each other. For them to band together in a common cause would require the cause to be an extremely high priority for them both.
If Jesus said they ought to pay their taxes to Caesar, the Pharisees could have accused Him of yielding to the rule of Rome. What kind of Messiah would do that?
On the other hand, if He said not to pay tax to Caesar, the Herodians could have accused Him of being subversive, going against the Roman rule.
Jesus said it was not a question of either–or, but both. In order words,
• Whatever you owe to man, you ought to return it.
• Whatever you owe to God, give it back to God.
That is what we want to remind ourselves today.
What do we owe God? What is God’s that I should give today? Have I been giving it?
We are often made aware of our obligation towards man or the government, because people will remind us, the government will send us tax bills.
• It’s time to pay our taxes, our installments. And we have to do it on time, or else we’ve pay more for the penalty and interests.
• What about God’s? Have I been giving regularly, or have I be defrauding?
If we owe a bank, a credit card company or the government, they will send us reminders.
• But who will send me reminders when I owe God?
• To those who owe Him, in prophet Malachi’s time, God said it this way: “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me…In tithes and offerings.” (Mal 3:8).
In our text today, Jesus challenged the people to pay what they owe, both to man and to God.
• The Scripture teaches us that there are debts that cannot be left unpaid.
• As believer, Christians, we have a duty to pay what we owe.
But, what do I really owe God? Think about this seriously. This is important.
We live in a generation in which we feel that we do not owe anybody anything.
• I’m not talking about just money or any material things.
• It’s the sense of obligation, of duty, responsibility, certain commitment or discipline.
Today we have a great emphasis on freedom. We want to do our own things.
• I owe nobody an explanation for the things I do, or why I do it this way. I simply LIKE it.
• There are those who neglect their elderly parents and said, “I don’t owe them anything.”
• You feel like giving, you give. If not, don’t feel obligated. Just do what you like.
The truth is the best things in life don’t come to you that way. That’s not God’s way.
• You need to have a sense of duty, discipline, commitment, responsibility…
• Whether we like to hear it or not, we do have obligations to fulfill in life.
And Jesus makes it clear here that we have a duty towards God - we owe God something, and we need to give it back to Him.
Of course, the truth is, we have a debt to our Lord that can never be paid in full. The issue is not about paying in full, the issue is - Are we giving anything at all?
Just as the coin bore the image of Caesar, so our lives bear the image of our Creator. We are made in the image of God. We bear the stamp of His likeness on our being. Even though the image may be marred because of sin, it has never been fully lost.
That’s why Rom 12:1 says it correctly: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship.”
It’s like the story we thought of using as a skit in last year Sunday School Sunday.
THE MISSING SAILBOAT
A young boy spent many hours carving for himself a little sailboat to play with in a stream near his home. One day as he was playing with the boat, the current caught it and pulled it downstream. He was not quick enough to make his way through the thick underbrush down the riverbank to catch it, and it went out of sight. It was lost. He mourned for the boat, but finally gave up looking.
And it was some time later when he was passing a store which sold models that he spied the boat in the window. He thought it was his, and upon closer examination, found it was. He went into the store and told the owner his story. The store owner replied that he had purchased the boat from someone who had found it. And although he wanted this young boy to have it back, he could not just give it back. The boy would have to buy it for what he paid for it.
The boy returned home and came back with the money. And after paying for the boat, he said to it as he walked down the street, "Little boat, you’re twice mine. I made you, and I bought you. You’re twice mine."
And so it is with us. God can well say to us, "You’re twice MINE. I made you, and I bought you with nothing less than the precious blood of My Son. You’re twice mine."
Owed His Life Twice to the Same Person
A wealthy English family once invited friends to spend some time at their beautiful estate. The happy gathering was almost plunged into a terrible tragedy on the first day. When the children went swimming, one of them got into deep water and was drowning.
Fortunately, the gardener heard the others screaming and plunged into the pool to rescue the helpless victim. That youngster was Winston Churchill. His parents were deeply grateful to the gardener, and asked what they could do to reward him. He hesitated, and then said, “I wish my son could go to college someday and become a doctor.”
“We’ll pay his way,” replied Churchill’s parents.
Years later when Sir Winston was prime minister of England, he was stricken with pneumonia. Greatly concerned, the king summoned the best physician who could be found to the bedside of the ailing leader. That doctor was Sir Alexander Fleming, the developer of penicillin. He was also the son of that gardener who had saved Winston from drowning as a boy!
Later Churchill said, “Rarely has one man owed his life twice to the same person.”
This is also the wonderful reality for every believer in Christ – God has given us the gift of physical life, and then through His Son, the great Physician, He has given to us eternal life.
May the awareness that we are doubly indebted to God motivate us to present our bodies a living sacrifice for Him.
Let’s put it in practical terms – “offering up ourselves as living sacrifices”.
When we say we owe God ourselves, we mean that among other things, we owe Him our TIME. In order to give God ourselves, we must give God our time.
God desires your fellowship. I’m not simply talking about time spent in worship services at church. I’m talking about daily time in prayer, in Bible reading and thinking through the Word.
Corporate worship is important, but personal worship is no less important.
To give God ourselves, to give God what we owe Him, we must give Him our time. Parents have been hearing this phrase often - we know that to truly love our children we need to give them time. Rick Warren says it correctly: Love is spelled T-I-M-E.
We must also give God our TITHE. The Bible says, "The tithe is the Lord’s."
Actually, when we give God our tithe, we are really only giving Him His tithe. All the monetary blessings we have are from God. He has commanded us to bring the tithe – the whole tithe into His house. The tithe belongs to Him, not to us. When we do not return to God His tithe, the Scripture teaches that we are literally robbing God.
You are stealing from God when you do not give God what is due Him. God asks you to return at least one tenth of your income in order to symbolize that all of it belongs to Him.
In order to give God ourselves totally, we must also give Him our TALENTS. We must serve Him. God has called each of us to service.
If NS is compulsory – we our duty to our nation is so important, I don’t see how we can lower that standard when it comes to serving God. Our sense of duty towards serving God in His Kingdom ought to be much higher. Don’t you think? If AWOL is such a serious offense (to a nation), how can be treat God’s work anything less? Think about it.
Christianity is not like a spectator sport. God expects each of us to get involved in the life of the church and the ministries. He has called us. He has gifted us. He has given us abilities to be used in His service.
We must not be like the unjust steward, who took what God had given him and dug a hole and hid it in the ground. He lost his reward because he never tried. To live for Him is to offer up your talents. We must step forward and report for duty. It is our duty to do so.
But let me say one more word about what we owe. We owe those for whom Christ died the Gospel of Christ.
Paul says in Rom 1:14-15 “I am obligated [debtor KIV] both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.”
Actually, this is not so much a debt to those for whom Christ died, as it is a debt to Christ Himself. He gave His life for them just as He gave it for us. We who have received much are required to give much. We owe it to our Lord who gave His all.
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LET US BOW OUR HEADS, WE WANT TO CLOSE WITH A PRAYER
"Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s."
What do you have today that belongs to God? Are you holding on to your time? Do you really think it’s yours? Perhaps God is saying to you today, "I want time with you. I want to know you personally."
Perhaps God is calling you to make a commitment this day to faithfully block out time for Him daily.
Are you holding on to God’s tithe, mistakenly thinking that it’s not really His, but yours? Are you robbing God? God cannot bless those who are stealing from Him. Perhaps He is speaking to your heart today, calling you to give up what doesn’t belong to you, but belongs to Him. He is reminding you because He wants to bless you. Begin to tithe faithfully today.
Or perhaps you’re holding on to the talents and abilities God has given you. Perhaps you’re sitting up by the gallery as a spectator, unwilling to really get involved. Perhaps the Lord is speaking to you today to get involved, to get committed, and to report for duty.
You may have to think it through yourself. What you give may be different from mine. What I give may not be the same as yours.
But we need to think about it, because Jesus says we need to give “to God what is God’s.” If we have been defrauding Him, we need to stop.
