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VOL. III. RICHMOND. 1
Christian Ci
Delivered at Secona 'Pres
"Then saith he unto them, Render therefore i
unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and i
unto God the things that are God's." Matt 22:21.
This remark of Jesus was called out by one of 1
the numerous efforts of the Pharisees to entrap 1
him into some indiscretion which would furnish 1
them with an occasion to proceed against him i
and justify them in delivering him into the
hands of the civil authorities. They sent some ]
of their own number, together with certain 1
members of a political party, known as the 1
Herodians, to test his loyalty to the Roman 1
government. This delegation began their as- <
sault with the ill-disguised flattery characteristic J
of an order of politicians which have not yet <
disappeared from the earth: "Master, we know 1
that thou art true, and teachest the way of God 1
in truth, neither carest thou for any man; for <
thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us,
therefore, what thinkest thouf Is it
lawful to give tribute to Coesar, or
nott" Their plan was this: If he answered
that it was lawful, that would V
offend the people to whom the Roman y
rule was very offensive and irksome, y
and t.hlis hf> wnnld alionoto tlioiw
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pathies. If, on the other hand, he ^
should say it was not lawful to pay ^ a jet
tribute to Caesar, that would give them j "8^
occasion to report him to the Roman x
f
authorities as a traitor, and thus they lree
hoped to secure his destruction. "But to
Jesus perceived their wickedness, and J
said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites!"
Then he called for a penny,
the money used to pay tribute to the 1
government, and said to them, "Whose j
is this image and superscription T They who
say unto him, Caesar's." It was a X. Beef
maxim of the Pharisees that he whose ^
coin was current among the people was ? liber
their king. Therefore in paying trib- for t
ute to Caesar they were simply return- &
ing to him his own, and recognizing he p
the existing government as in fact the & ^ j*
civil authority of the land. "Render
therefore (or give back) unto Caesar
the things which are Caesar's, and unto
God the things that are God's." The
Pharisaic delegation were completely baffled by j
this reply, and left him, and went their way. 1
TWO SPHERES OP DUTY. ]
?r>\, Observe first that Jesus here recognizes two 1
^ A spheres of human duty, "the things of Cresar" 1
W and" the things of God," the sphere of the civil 1
f life and the sphere of the spiritual life, other- 1
, V w- 5 wise denominated, the state and the Church. He i
Vt'b recognizes a difference between them; he dis- ]
& covers, however, no essential antagonism. (
1. " The things of Caesar" are the affairs per- I
taining to civil government or the state M and <
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these are matters of vital interest to us. "We
should not be unconcerned about these things.
The state is an institution of divine appointment
for the regulation and good order of society.
The apostle teaches us that ''the powers
that be are ordained of God" and that the ruler
is "the minister of God to thee for good" (Rom.
1.3:1-4). God has not prescribed any particular
form of civil government for men, but, as
listory shows, he has in different ages and countries,
recognized and blessed different forms.
The earliest form of government among the
chosen people was the patriarchal, in which the
father of the family, as Abraham, was the head
of the tribe and the ruler. Later, when the na:ion
was more thoroughly organized under Moses,
the government became a theocracy with no
other king but Jehovah and with a constitution
prepared under his immediate direction. After
tEfje Spirit of Htbertp
"Liberty is the result of law?not, as many suppc
le absence of law."?Joseph Alden.
"The spirit of liberty is not, as multitudes iinagi
ilousy of our particular rights, but a respect for 1
ts of others."?Channing.
"There are two freedoms, the false, where one
to do what he likes, and the true, where he is f
) what he ought."?Charles Kingsley.
"The only liberty that is valuable is a liberty c<
ed with order; that not only exists with order a
le, but which cannot exist at all without them.'
rnnd Burke.
"There is no liberty to men in whom ignorai
ominates over knowledge; there is no liberty to n
know not how to govern themselves."?II.
;her.
"Political or civil liberty is no other than natu
ty, so far restrained as is necessary and expedi<
he general advantage of the public."?Blackstone
"No free government or the blessing of liberty c
reserved to any people but by a firm adherence
ce, moderation, temperance, frugality and virti
by a frequent recurrence to fundamental pr
s.?Patrick Henry.
iwhile the people became dissatisfied, and began
to clamor for a king that they might be like the
lations around them, and Jehovah consented to
the establishment of the monarchy by the selection
of Saul as king. As time advanced the
kingdom was divided, and one after the other
the two divisions of the nation were overthrown
and passed under the domination of foreign
powers, the Assyrian, the Babylonian, the Perrian,
the Greek, and the Roman. During all of
these transitions, the existing government was
livinely recognized. This has been true through
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vi l Presbyter/an
rhern Presbyter/an
EER 13, 1911. NO. 50.
____
fhings of Caesar and the Things
d. By Rev. Russell Cecil, D. D.
19, 1911, at II A. M. 1
out the history of the world. When our Lord
made the remark which I have chosen as a text,
Tiberius Cmsar was the Emperor of Rome, and
x- 1- T - * * * * "
iu mm uesus taugut it was right that tribute
should be paid. The point is that civil governments
are ordained of God, and should be supported.
Paul says, "There is no power but of
God." I am not now raising the question as to
the right of resistance by an oppressed people;
that is an inalienable right which can not be
denied. But the great truth to be recognized
is that forms of government, without the prescription
of one form over another, for the regulation
and good order of society, are approved
of God. The selection of the form is left to the
people to be governed, and whether it shall be
an absolute or limited monarchy, an oligarchy,
or a republic, tbey are at liberty to decide; only,
when one form is established they should give
it their support for the sake of peace
*? and good order until something better
is offered them to which they may
transfer their allegiance either from
choice or under the pressure of force
)se, which they are unable to resist.
2. "The things of God" are the afne,
y fairs pertaining to the kingdom of God,
the y which in its organized and visible form
X Cie Church.
is t The Church is a divine institution
ree j organized for the promotion of the
% spiritual interests of men. It, like the
3n" X state, has also appeared under differ,Dt*
vC ent ^orms> an(* throughout the entire
X history of the Jewish economy as an
independent government, the Church
len & never had a distinct and separate exisW.
& tence. Church and state were united.
When Christ came the separation took
ral <$ place. The Christian Church was or?nt
ganized under the Roman Empire as a
& spiritual institution entirely discon:an
?? nected organically from the state.
t0 <? Jesus distinctly said, "My kingdom is
l.le' not of this world." He persistently rein"
fused to interfere in civil matters; he
taught his disciples submission to the
Roman government and the payment
of tribute; and he encouraged them as
his followers to concern themselves with the
things of God. This was the conception of the
Church which prevailed during the first three
centuries until uonslantine was converted and
made Christianity the established religion of the
Roman Empire. This of course secured for
Christianity great prestige and popularity
throughout the civilized world, but it may be
seriously questioned whether it contributed anything
really to the advancement of the spiritual
kingdom of Christ on earth. From the days of
Cons tan tine to the Protestant Reformation,