Render Unto Ceasar
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.
Jesus is in complete control~He always is and always has been. He rebuked the Pharisees and the Herodians who were enemies, but their common enemy, Rome, brought them together. However, their opinions varied on taxes. Jesus affirmed that the government makes legitimate requests of us. Every born-again Believer has dual citizenship~here on earth and in heaven.
Render means to "give back". We are responsible to God in all things, and so we must be obedient to the government~as long as it does not go against God's Word~regarding matters of civil and national government. We must respect our elected leaders, whether we voted for them or not or whether we agree with them or not. We must obey the laws of the land (Romans 13), pay taxes, and especially pray for all who are in authority.
Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 to pray for them because they need salvation. At the time of his writing, Nero was in charge. If you know anything about Nero, he was a cruel and vicious blasphemer who hated Christians and was a persecutor of the faith. Caesar's image may have been on the coin, but God's image is on man because man was made in the image of the Trinity (Genesis 1:26-27). Sin has ruined that image, but through Jesus Christ it can be restored (Ephesians 4:24). Ultimately, all things belong to God~including the realm in which Caesar or any other earthly ruler exercises authority.
Believers must honor and obey God, and the best citizen honors his country because he worships God. ~Irene~
"If God gives you a few more years, remember it is not yours. Your time must honor God, your home must honor God, your activity must honor God, and everything you do must honor God."~ A. W. Tozer