Framing The Big Questions

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You're listening to Heat the Word with our pastor and teacher Ken Davis. Pastor Ken is the senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Southwest Metro in Burleson, Texas. Please join us as we study the Gospel of Luke, verse by verse.

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Do I honor God? Do I obey God? Do I believe God? Or do I obey the government? Do I obey those that are in authority over me? There is a time coming when the laws of man and those that are in authority over our nation and the world will be in direct opposition to the truth of God's word. And when that time comes, we, as believers in Jesus Christ, must be prepared to take a stand for truth regardless of the cost.

Render To Caesar And Romans 13

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The Gospel of Luke is the third account in the Gospels of the life and teachings of our Savior, Jesus Christ. As believers, there are few studies that will benefit us more spiritually than studying the life and the teachings of the Master. The politicians, the educators, the employers of today have been placed over us by God. And while we are under them, we are to work as unto the Lord. However, there may come a day when you are asked to do something that would compromise your testimony. That would cause you to disobey God. It's at a time like that when you must stand for the truth. Don't forget to stay with us after today's message to hear more information about He the Word, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, please open your Bibles to the book of Romans, chapter 13, verse 1, as we join Pastor Ken.

Peter’s Call To Honor Authority

Limits Of Obedience: Acts 4

Daniel’s Courage Under Kings

The Image Of God And True Worth

Transformation And A Call To Surrender

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Render unto Caesars that which is Caesar. Sometimes we don't like to think about that, and sometimes we don't like to do it. But the fact of the matter is, it is what we're called to do. Paul spoke of the same thing in Romans chapter 13. Let's turn there. Romans chapter 13, verse 1. Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God. And those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. What Paul is saying is if you haven't done anything wrong, you don't have anything to be afraid of, isn't he? For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is God's minister and avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject not only because of wrath, but also for conscience' sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers, attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. You see, as Christians, we are to be good citizens of the nation where God has placed us. We should be those who obey the law, recognizing that those who are in authority were placed there by God. These are verses that would be used to establish the divine right of kings during the Middle Ages and onward. And you know, to a degree, I can agree with their use to that purpose. Those whom God has placed in authority in our lives are there by God's will. That's why we too are to respect our parents and to honor them. That's why we are to respect those who are placed in authority, like police officers and firemen and governmental authorities, because they have been given a certain authority that we are to recognize. Peter talked about the same thing. Let's turn to 1 Peter chapter 2. You might say, well, yeah, Ken, I hear what you're saying, but what about regimes like communist Russia or communist China? Are people to be submitted to those authorities? Are people to submit to Castro? I mean, are we to live under anything other than a free society? Well, you have to remember that when Paul and when Peter wrote these words, they were living under an emperor, Caesar. Right? So what about when we suffer in those situations? Let's see what Peter says. First Peter chapter 2, starting in verse 11. Beloved, I beg you, as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. Therefore, in other words, to maintain a good witness, Peter is saying, submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God, honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. I mean, let's bring that into a modern vernacular. Can I tell you that as an employee, you should give honor to the manager who is over you? And you say, Well, what if my manager's a jerk? Well, so what? You're still to give honor to your manager or to the person who has set in authority over you. Why? To bring honor and glory to God. Well, what does he say here? For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God, one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if when you are beaten for your faults you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps, who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously, who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we having died to sins might live for righteousness, by whose stripes you are healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. Look, I'm not just talking to you when I read these things. These verses speak to me too. There have been times in my secular employment when I have worked for people whom I had a hard time respecting, and I didn't think they treated me very fairly. But I, as a Christian, am called to honor those people, to render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. Well, what is due the people that I work for? They pay my paycheck, don't they? So I am to render them honorable service, even when they don't treat me fairly. Even when we think it's ridiculous that the speed limit on this road should be 30 miles per hour. It's a wide road. There's no traffic, there are no houses. It's ridiculous that it should be 30 miles per hour on this road. No one's around anyway. I might as well go 50. Guess what? That's not what we're called to. We're called to give honor to whom honor is due. Now, Ken, is there a limit to just how far we should go in submitting to government or to the authority that is over us? What if they ask us to do something that is contrary to our conscience? You know, one thing that I've told my employers and my managers anytime I have the opportunity when I work for them is this I will do whatever you ask me to do, provided it is not illegal, immoral, or unethical. And I think that should be our standard. That we should do what is required of us by our employers or by those in authority over us, provided it is not illegal, immoral, or unethical. If it's illegal, immoral, or unethical, then to do that, to obey them in that thing, would be to disobey God. And obedience to the authority that has been placed over us is never an excuse for sinful behavior. It is never an excuse for disobedience to God. And we have an example of that in Acts chapter four. Let's turn there. Now in Acts chapter three, they had healed the lame man at the beautiful gate of the temple. And he had gone into the temple, jumping and leaping and praising God, and the people had come together, and Peter and John had kind of looked at the people and said, Hey, just don't think it was because of us that all this incredible stuff is happening. It's in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth that this man was healed, and he began preaching an awesome sermon, and many, many thousands of people, as a matter of fact, received the Lord as a result of it. But Peter and John, as a result of this, are arrested. In chapter four, we find this verse one. Now, as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead, and they laid hands on them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. However, many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. And it came to pass on the next day that the rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power or by what name have you done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders of Israel, if we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man stands before you whole. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone, nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marvelled, and they realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. But when they had commanded them to go out of the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, What shall we do to these men? For indeed that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. You know, they'd have loved to have been able to deny it, wouldn't they? But the fact of the matter is they couldn't. But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them that from now on they speak to no man in this name. So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done. For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed. So we see by example from Peter in this text that there is a limit to the honor that is due to government or to those in authority, that there is a point beyond which we cannot go. And that point is when it brings us into disobedience to God. We must honor God above all. Let me tell you guys, there is a day coming when you will have to make a decision. And that decision will be do I honor God? Do I obey God? Do I believe God? Or do I obey the government? Do I obey those that are in authority over me? There is a time coming when the laws of man and those that are in authority over our nation and the world will be in direct opposition to the truth of God's word. And when that time comes, we as believers in Jesus Christ must be prepared to take a stand for truth regardless of the cost. Another excellent example of this balance that has to occur between obedience to God and obedience to those in authority over us can be found in the book of Daniel. It's a short book. I encourage you to go back and read it this week on your own. You'll see there a story of some young men who served King Nebuchadnezzar, who were faithful to those and obedient to those in authority over them. Their names were Daniel and Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego. They were faithful servants, doing for King Nebuchadnezzar that which could not be done by any of his other servants, interpreting the dream that God had given him. And yet later on, when the order came down that they should pray to no one but to the king, Daniel disobeyed. So this faithful and obedient servant, when brought to a point where he had to decide to either obey God or to obey the laws of man, chose to openly disregard the laws of man that he might obey and bring honor to God. And what was the result? He was thrown into a den of lions. Now, did Daniel have any guarantee when he was thrown into that lion's den that God would protect him? None whatsoever. Did God in that instance choose to protect Daniel from those lions? Yes, he did. And we praise God for it, for he wasn't done yet with Daniel. He had more work for Daniel to do. Now, by the same token, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you remember the story of those three young Hebrew men when Nebuchadnezzar had the golden statue built, and he said, When the music plays, everyone bow down and worship at this statue. You remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Amednego, they refused to do it. And the people accused them before the king and they said, Hey, these guys aren't obeying you. And the king called them before. He says, Listen, I'm going to give you one more chance. When you hear the music play, you bow down and you worship this statue. Because if you don't, we're going to throw you in that furnace right over there. And the men said, You know what? We're sorry, king. We just can't do that. Because we're not going to dishonor our God in that way. And I tell you something. You want to throw us in that furnace? That's fine. Because we're going to tell you, our God is able to save us from that furnace. But even if He doesn't, we're still not going to bow down. You see, they understood that God had the ability, but not the obligation, to save them. And they were willing to be obedient to God regardless of the personal circumstances in their life. Now, why is that? Because they recognize the truth that Jesus was talking about in Luke chapter 20. Because Jesus said to them, Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. Well, what was Caesar's? The denarius was Caesar's. That coin was Caesar's. Why? It had Caesar's face on it, didn't it? He said, But render unto God that which is God's. Now, the metaphor here is a beautiful picture because it tells us something about ourselves and about what God thinks of us. You see, we are the image bearers of God Almighty. When Jesus asked the question, whose picture, whose face is on that coin, and whose inscription is upon it? And they said, Caesar's is. And he said, Well, render unto Caesar's that which is Caesar's and render unto God that which was God's. What is he saying was God's? He's saying that you are God's. In Genesis 1, 26 and 27, we find these beautiful words. And God said, Let us make man in our image after our likeness. I love that because the word for God here is Elohim, and it is a plural Hebrew word meaning more than two. And yet God is one God. So who do we have represented here? Even in the first chapter of Genesis, we have the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity revealed. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God created he him. Male and female created he them. Did you notice something about that? Three times it said it, didn't it? Thrice. Let us create man in our own image. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God created he him. Male and female created he them. Psalm 139, 4414 says, I will thee, for I am fearfully. And marvelous are thy works, and that my souleth right well. We are God's workmanship. He created us, he shaped us, he imprinted his image upon us. You were created in the image of God. Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, but render unto the Lord the things which are the Lord's. You see, the origin of authority comes in the power of creation. The one who creates a thing is the one who has authority over it. Today we call it copyright, don't we? Can I tell you that you have God's copyright, his inscription upon you? You belong to him, and he can do what he wills with that which he created. He made that clear in Jeremiah chapter 18, verses 1 through 6, where we see this the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause you to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter. So he made it again into another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter, says the Lord? Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. He said it of Israel, and the same is true of us today. We need to understand something. Just because we are marred in some way does not mean that he cannot make something beautiful and useful out of our lives. You see, because of the fact that we have his image imprinted upon us, we are inherently valuable to him. Some people think Think that they have no worth, that they're not worth anything, that they have no real value. But you have to understand something. Something is as valuable as the amount that someone else is willing to pay for it. I'll give you an example. I have baseball cards, most of which were given to me. And I might have a baseball card that I could look up in the reference material and see that it's worth a hundred dollars. And so here's this little piece of cardboard with some ink sprayed on it, and it's worth a hundred dollars, right? But if I can't find somebody to give me a hundred dollars for it, is it really worth a hundred dollars? No, it's not. Its value is determined by what another person is willing to give in exchange for it. The Bible tells us that while we were yet sinners, God loved us so much that he sent his son to die for us. That means that you are so valuable to God that he was willing to pay the price of his only son for you. How valuable is that? That's incredibly valuable. Let me show you something. Now you may have seen this illustration before, maybe you haven't, I don't know. But here I have in my hands a$10 bill. It's in nice shape. Anyone want this? Pretty$10 bill, huh? Nice, it's untorned. What if I crumple it up like that? It's not so pretty now, is it? Stomp on it a little, grind it into the carpet. It's messed up, isn't it? I could even find a pen and write the word ugly on it or some other word. It's pitiful. Look at that. Do you still want it? Why? It's beat up, it's torn up, it's gone through a lot. Why would you still want this? Because it still has worth. It still has value. It still has that imprinted upon it, which gives it value. And in the same way, you, no matter what you've been through in your life, no matter how badly you've sinned, no matter how far you've fallen short, no matter how many times you've backslidden and walked away from God, no matter how you've been abused or beaten up or kicked around, no matter what you've been addicted to or what you've caused other people to do, no matter what you've done, you still have value to God because you bear his image. And because he paid the ultimate price to redeem you for himself. That's what Jesus is talking about. Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's. Yeah, and pay the tax. Who cares? It's a stupid coin. It's money. It doesn't matter. But you matter. You matter to God. Paul talked about this in Romans chapter 12 in verse 1, where he says, I beseech you therefore, brethren. He's begging them by the mercies of God that you present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. That word transformed is metamorphos. It's the same word that was used of Jesus when he was up on the mountain of transfiguration and he was there in all of his glory. What we're saying is, you know what? As crumpled and dirty and ugly as that$10 bill was, when we enter into Jesus' hands, we are crisp and clean and new. And what's more, he adds a few more zeros behind us. Because he transforms us into the very image of his son. Will you give yourself to God this morning? Will you render unto God that which is God's? That's my prayer for you today.

Resources, Invitation, And Next Steps

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For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened. That's chapter 11, verse 10 of the book we are currently studying here on Heed the Word, Luke. Luke's gospel account of the life of Jesus is an invaluable study that we know God will use in your life. We do thank you for joining us today. This has been another edition of Heed the Word with our pastor and teacher, Ken Davis. As you likely heard at the beginning of today's program, this message is available free of charge on our website. Simply log on to wwwheedword.org. That's heedtheword.org. Once you're there, select the Listen Online page. There you'll find the Heed the Word Media Player. For your convenience, today's message is available in MP3 podcast and mobile formats. By far, the best way to stay current with all the latest teachings from Pastor Ken is to subscribe to the Heatheword Podcast. So log on to HeedTheWord.org and continue studying with us today. If today's message has ministered to you and you live in the Burleson, Texas area, or will be passing through, we'd like to invite you to join us for worship. We meet each Sunday morning at 10.30 a.m. and Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. You can log on to heatheword.org for driving directions and more information. So please stop by and visit us. Well, that's all the time we have for today. We encourage you to join us next time as Pastor Ken continues teaching through the Gospel of Luke on the next edition of Heathew.