The Pharisees in Matthew chapter 22 want to make Jesus into an enemy of the state. So it was with the disciples after Christ’s ascension. The first two centuries of the New Testament church saw Christians being persecuted because they would not bow the knee to the state being the supreme ruler, including being considered a deity. Martin Luther spent the last 24 years of his life under the protection of friendly authorities against other rulers who sought his death. Christians of recent times have come under sharp criticism, especially when a Christian mixes the secular realm and the sacred realm.
Christians are no enemies of the state. To be sure, a Christian is a citizen in the kingdom of Christ. But this kingdom, as Jesus told Pontius Pilate, is not of this world. Saint Paul declares the kingdom of God is of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. How can a Christian be an enemy of the state when the sacred realm will not supersede the secular realm?
A Christian is a free person, for if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. Jesus indeed has done it. Our freedom from sin and death in Christ is our priceless treasure, our one thing needful. But this is not a political freedom. We are not given to bear arms and fight for Jesus against the secular realm. That is a confusing mixture of the two realms.
There is a struggle for freedom that continues among Christ’s faithful people even as we live as sojourners waiting for the new creation. Yet this freedom in Christ is not achieved by earthly weapons. Saint Paul tells the church in Ephesus we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
Caesar also mixes the two realms. On April 18, 1889, Chapter 519 of the 1889 acts of the Wisconsin Legislature was enacted. This chapter was informally called the Bennett Law, named after Assemblyman Michael J. Bennett of Iowa County. The controversial section of the Bennett Law was a requirement that the English language must be used to teach major subjects in all schools, including parochial schools. German Americans, Polish Americans, and some Norwegian Americans pushed back against this law, seeing it as a violation of their freedom to choose what language to use in a private, Christian school. The law was repealed in 1891. Christians spoke their mind at the ballot box about those who supported the law in the 1890 and 1892 statewide elections.
Christians are the state’s loyal friends. We acknowledge authority as God’s order. This is a different view than some non-Christians hold. There are non-Christians who believe that Caesar, the state, is the agent of change in society. They say the state sets the agenda for what is considered moral or amoral. They also say secular authority is a good, human arrangement. The Christian believes otherwise. A Christian listens to Jesus when He tells Pontius Pilate, You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.
So how do you and I reconcile secular authority being a good gift from God and people who use secular authority to make laws that are difficult for Christians to accept? We remember what Jesus tells the Pharisees and the Herodians: Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.
Our Lord’s words do not mean that we start a holy war against earthly government. It also does not mean that earthly government gets to tell Christians and other religions who to worship or how to worship or when to worship. Will Caesar make rotten laws? Yes, he will. In our free country, citizens who disagree with bills and laws have the right to write your assemblyman, senator, congressman, Governor Evers, or President Biden to express your disagreement. The best way to express disagreement or agreement with Caesar in the United States is to go to the ballot box and make your voice heard.
Our Lord’s words do not mean that you stop paying taxes until Christian laws are passed and enforced. You pay your taxes because that revenue, though sometimes used for wicked purposes, helps protect you from harm and loss of life on the federal, state, and local levels of secular authority. This protection is a gift from a loving and gracious God, in spite of the lack of faith of some who serve in public office.
Perhaps the most important reason to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s is the fact that we have freedom of religion enshrined in the United States Constitution. Caesar doesn’t get to establish a Church of the United States of America. Caesar doesn’t get to tell you to be a Lutheran, a Roman Catholic, a Muslim, a Buddhist, or even a Pastafarian. You are free to go to any church, synagogue, mosque, or even avoid church and worship yourself if that’s your belief system. As the Bennett Law situation showed, Caesar also doesn’t get to tell us we can only use English in our congregation’s preschool…though it certainly helps instructing the children when we do.
Let’s not forget, though, that our Lord Jesus also says to render to God the things that are God’s. The greatest thing we render to our heavenly Father is our fear, love, and trust in Him above all things. There may come a time when the state is ready to persecute Christians for standing with what Holy Scripture says over against the law of the land. For a Christian, we must obey God rather than men when man tries to seize God’s authority. Even more, when the world begins to creep into time often set aside for public worship, a Christian stands with the Lord and wisely uses the time to rest in our Savior’s Word and Sacrament. There will be plenty of time for football, basketball, baseball, hiking, biking, skiing, and other activities. When it comes to preaching and God’s Word, a Christian holds it sacred, gladly hears it and learns it.
As you live with your feet straddled between the secular realm and the sacred realm, don’t cross your legs and mix the two. Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. Rejoice in the Lord’s great gift of secular authority that protects you from danger and harm. Render to God the things that are God’s. Rejoice in His Word and Sacraments and in the communion of saints. You are not an enemy of the state. You are a friend of Caesar. You are also a friend of Jesus, for Jesus shed His blood to cover all your sins. When it comes to the two realms, to each their own. When it comes to Who set up these two realms, to God be the glory!
Media Vita In Morte Sumus 