In This Issue

• RENDER TO CAESAR...
• THE PEOPLE OF GOD
• NO PORTRAIT
• MORE INFORMATION...

RENDER TO CAESAR...

In Matthew 22:15-22, the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Jesus "in His talk. And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, ‘Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?’ But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, ‘Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money.’ So they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, ‘Whose image and inscription is this?’ They said to Him, ‘Caesar’s.’ And He said to them, ‘Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ When they had heard these words, they marveled and left Him and went their way."

There are several interesting things about this passage. It should be noted that the Pharisees and the Herodians were bitter enemies. The Herodians were loyal to King Herod who was a vassal king appointed by the Roman Emperor. The Pharisees were Jewish patriots, despised the Emperor, the Herods, and all they stood for. But on this occasion, they are so desperate to find something they can use against Jesus that they are willing to conspire with the Herodians to try to ensnare Him in His speech. And so, among those who went to Jesus to ask the question in our text are the Herodians who thrived on those taxes paid to the Roman government, and the Pharisees who deeply resented any and all tribute paid to the forces of foreign domination. They attempt to "butter up" Jesus, "We know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth." Of course, if they really believed that, they would have become His disciples. It is upon this basis that He upbraids them as hypocrites.

In answering their question, Jesus took such a simple approach it caused them to marvel. He took a coin and used it as a visual aid in His teaching. "Whose image and inscription is this?" They knew, of course, that the Roman coin had the name and likeness of Caesar on it. Jesus’ simple answer to their question: "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s." It has Caesar’s name and Caesar’s picture on it. If he says it is his, give it to him. How marvelously simple!

But there is also a deeper significance in the remainder of the Lord’s answer. They were also to "Render to God the things that are God’s." We human beings are made in the image of God. We, in effect, bear His inscription. We should thus give ourselves to Him. In fact, in a very real sense we doubly belong to Him. First, we belong to Him by creation. We are His because He made us for His own good pleasure, but by sinful living we have blurred the Divine image. Now Christ has died to redeem or buy us back from sin, and thus God has a double claim on our lives. "Render to God the things that are God’s."

--CRJ

THE PEOPLE OF GOD

Jesus gave pointed instructions to certain Pharisees who needed a better understanding of the scriptures. He said, "Go ye and learn what this meaneth: I desire mercy, and not sacrifice" (Matt. 9:13). Have "we" learned what that means? The verse for restudy is Hosea 6:6, but its thought is repeated in many like passages. Micah asks, "Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil?... He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Jehovah require of thee, but to do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God" (6:6-8, etc.).

These scriptures do not negate the importance of obedience, but they do say the act, to itself, is not the essence of obedience. This was as true in Old Testament times as it is today. What we sometimes take to be a "new" or "different" New Testament principle, was taught clearly in the first covenant. Compare Rom. 2:29: "But he is a Jew which is one inwardly: and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter..." "serve Jehovah thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul... Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart." The externals, except they are accompanied and produced by true heart submission, are worse than nothing; they are an abomination unto God, 1 Sam. 15:22; Amos 5:21-24.

And what the descendants of Abraham failed to see regarding the essence of obedience, they also failed to see regarding their status as God’s people. In the selection of Abraham, and the subsequent building of a great nation, there was need for a literal "people," the development of a race and culture through which the Son of God would put on flesh, and dwell among men. Abraham was selected to be the father of that race, and circumcision set the males apart from other people. They were forbidden to intermarry with other races; and further selection according to the "purpose of God" (Rom. 9:4-13) took place, as God prepared the literal ancestry of the Christ. There were advantages in being a literal Jew, as Paul states in Rom. 3:1-2, but such did not erase the Jew’s individual obligation to God, nor make literal descent the whole of the matter. God was able "of stones to raise up children unto Abraham" (Matt. 3:9). Their choosing was not by merit, Deut. 7:7. The very privilege of choice imposed greater obligations upon them.

We seem able and willing to understand such matters as they pertain to the Jews, but sometimes we are guilty of ignoring these principles in their application to the "people of God" today. The true Israelite was more than a literal descendant of Abraham; and today the "people of God" are not to be confused with a party of people who meet in a certain church building, and conform to certain externals in worship and service -- period. In the greater and truer sense, God’s people are now, and have always been those who have first given back to God the one thing that is peculiarly theirs to give; their heart, their true self.

Consider the profound simplicity of God’s dealing with His creatures. God made man in order to His glory -- as the product of a skillful artisan praises its maker. This necessitated a creature of choice, a free moral agent; so God made man in His own image, giving each one an individual "self;" something over which each one exercises control, and for which he is accountable in the final day of God’s judgment. And then God invites: "Give it back to me" -- "Freely give me your self!" (In principle -- not a literal quotation.) Man’s failure to do so -- his sin and rebellion against God -- called forth the supreme manifestation of grace and love, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Christ purchased His church (a collection of saints) with His blood -- by giving His life He made it possible for "whosoever will" to come unto Him. But those, and only those who truly "deny themselves" can come unto the Lord, Matt. 16:24. His church, God’s people today, continues to be those who freely give themselves unto God. Here is the essence of the church.

But very early in the history of the New Testament people of God there was a change in their concept of "the church." Borrowing from the Jewish economy, and Jewish error, "the church" became a "party" (comparable to a literal race) that by its external credentials was set apart from all other peoples. The Aaronic type priesthood was set over into "the Church," and soon BECAME "the Church" -- being able to speak and function for "the Church." The NATURE of the church had been changed, and now affiliation with the organic structure was regarded as the mark of "God’s people." Infant baptism and ties with the State further enhanced this concept, which for 1,500 years dominated the so-called "Christian" world.

John Wycliff, morning star of the Reformation, saw the fallacy of such thinking, and attacked Romanism on the NATURE of the church -- saying that it consisted of "the elect," who were sovereign under Christ. By "elect" Wyclif probably had individual selection in mind, but he clearly understood the true nature of the church. God’s people were not identified by their affiliation with an organic structure, or other externals. They were "people of God" only if they had "given themselves" to Him; and the external affiliation, however important, were the RESULTS of this change in the inner man. "The Church" did not save; it was "the saved."

The Swiss Anabaptists grasped this principle. The historian Philip Schaff, a Reformed theologian and "Historic" church man, says of them: "The first and chief aim of the Radicals was not (as is usually stated) the opposition to infant baptism, still less to sprinkling or pouring, but the establishment of a pure church of converts in opposition to the mixed church of the world. The rejection of infant baptism followed as a necessary consequence... The demand of rebaptism virtually unbaptized and unchristianized the entire Christian Church" (History of Christian Church, Vol. 8, pp. 75, 77). The Independents, Separatists, Baptists, Congregationalists, and the like of England, Ireland and Scotland, further revived various aspects of the true nature of the Lord’s church. John Robinson taught: "That a church of Christ is to consist only of such as appear to believe in and obey Him;" and from John Glass: "That the church being spiritual, ought to consist only of true spiritual men" (See "Church, Falling Away, Restoration" by J.W. Shepherd; p. 139-140).

Such principles were clearly in the background of American restoration efforts, and were enhanced by the practice of speaking where the Bible speaks and being silent where the Bible is silent. A return to New Testament Christianity was possible only for those few who were willing to consider their ties to the Lord more precious than their "church party" affiliation. They had to realize that no "great middle section" or "right" or "left" section could take the place of genuine individual submission to Divine authority.

True saints will, of course, work and worship together, and New Testament patterns for such services will prevail. Saints are drawn together by their common desire to serve the Lord. Differences in understanding of the Divine will are overcome in a common endeavor to know and do it. While it is impossible for us to know one anther’s heart, it is not difficult to know good attitude and a willingness to study God’s word together. Even the world seems to sense the difference in externals that are only "skin deep" and those that spring from hearts truly given to God. And the willingness to put spiritual endeavor above "party flags" is, in fact, a remarkably accurate gauge of the heart, and of the people of God.

The people of God, today and always, are identified by something deeper than the label on their building, or "party" acceptance. They have first "given themselves" to the Lord, so that they seek to conform to the divine image. They hunger and thirst after righteousness; studying, praying, proving all things. They are drawn together by their common endeavor, and desire to do God’s bidding. They welcome your questions and constructive criticism for they are humbled by recognition of their imperfections; and they will "search the scriptures daily" so that God’s truth may prevail. They believe what they believe, and do what they do, because they are convinced by their study of God’s word that this is what God would have them believe and do. You will not move them by appeals to popularity, praise of men, or material bribery. They are people of faith -- and because of their faith, they are people of hope and love. With steadfastness and confidence they move toward heaven and the culmination of their fellowship with God in Glory.

--Robert F. Turner, Vanguard, Oct., 1979

On the wall near the main entrance to the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, is a portrait with the following inscription: "James Butler Bonham – no picture of him exists. This portrait is of his nephew, Major James Bonham, deceased, who greatly resembled his uncle. It is placed here by the family that people may know the appearance of the man who died for freedom."

Likewise, no literal portrait of Jesus Christ exists. Nevertheless, His image can be seen in the lives of His true followers.

--author unknown, via D. Riggs' Brief Exhortations

Don't count your years; make your years count!

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