Give to Caesar, But Never Give Him Christ
A Lutheran defense of faithful resistance and vocation.
This sermon was delivered by Rev. Harold Ristau at last June’s Christian Culture Conference hosted by Luther Classical College.
Boy we sure talk a lot about politics around here. I mean last year on the three estates, this year the two kingdoms, in Ad Fontes and Christian Culture magazine. What’s the deal?
Most of you have signed up to this conference not mainly because it’s a great way to support our college (which it is) or for social reasons, like reuniting with friends (which it does), but because you think the topic is an important one (which it is, has been, and will always be).
Even if you wanted to avoid the topic of how religion and politics should relate, you can’t get away from it. I heard one sermon by a bishop, arguing from the Book of Acts, that when it comes to the Left Hand Kingdom, “the state”, the only duty of the right hand kingdom has, “the church”, is to pray, since it says that the early Christians “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” As if all the early Christians did all day long was pray, Bible study and celebrated the holy Eucharist, like some kind of monks. If you read on and study history, you see how the Church not only concerned herself with heavenly needs, but earthly ones. In fact, one of the reasons the Thessalonians were scolded by St. Paul was that, as Martin Luther once put it “some people are so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good.” Eternal questions are of the utmost importance obviously, but that doesn’t mean God doesn’t care about our short time on earth. Fostering Christian culture was part of spreading the Gospel in the early church. Helping he poor, performing miracles, and so forth, was an investment in tilling the soil of the heart into which the Holy Spirit plants seeds of faith in Christ. And you better believe that those early followers of the Way talked a lot about how Christian living worked in civil society, in light of severe persecution from both “kingdoms” of synagogue and Caesar. The fruits of their battles were evident in the ways Christianity spread throughout the world, as pagans tasted and saw that the Lord is good. And with those reforms a beautiful Christians culture that changed the world.
From Pentecost onwards the Church left a heavenly aroma that spilled from the Right hand kingdom and into the left, of which we still get whiffs in Christian culture that still, but barely still, drives the best components and most God-pleasing aspects of civil society and even government. For instance, the first “Christian” emperor, Constantine, introduced Christian values into Western civilization, driven by right fear of God and love of man: within the nation: valuing equality and fairness between people and honoring human dignity, that influenced the US Constitution on responsible citizenship; or between nations, like the Geneva Conventions. Frankly, virtually everything that is valuable in Western civilization and America has Christian roots.
So unless we are Amish, Christians have always believed that the Church has a voice in the political realm. And it’s a good thing. When we had erroneous beliefs, Lutherans have gotten into trouble. Look at the failure of the Church in 1930s Germany due to cowardice and quietism, driven by poor theology. Or consider how all church bodies failed during the recent pandemic, in handing what is God’s over to Caesar. When it comes to Christian vocation in the three estates: nobody questions active participation in the estate of Church (that’s a no brainer), or welcoming Christ’s voice into the estate of family, (though we often are uncomfortable with it). But when it comes to the “state” (the left hand kingdom) we act like, “that’s out of bounds”. Too polluted? Too complicated? The Bible has nothing clear to say? This all amounts to believing that there’s a secular space in society about which God doesn’t care. Is there a part of your kids lives that you don’t care about? Nope! Well, how much more is this the case with God? So we, here at our Christian Culture conference, aren’t afraid to talk about some hot and unpopular topics, so that Bible (and not anti-Christian cultural trends of society), can steer our lives and decisions in living out our holy vocations in our God-given communities, within both Kingdoms.
There is a lot at stake for our nation and the Gospel in the increasing loss of Christian culture, and the devil knows it. So he works so hard against it. Whether it be CT or LBGT, Satan’s agenda is to make the world think that Christianity’s influence in the left hand is bad. You are a white supremacist or Christian nationalist (whatever that means) when you just want to make sure morality isn’t compromised in society and that people have the opportunity to hear what God’s word has to say about any moral topic. What is new though is Christians going along with it all.
2024: Paris Olympics, cross-dressing godless actors mocking the Last Supper.
2022: threats of imprisonment to Finnish Lutherans for pointing out that homosexual activity is sin.
2023: arrests of Christians in England for praying silently on sidewalks near abortion clinics.
In Canada, the number still grows of the over 100 churches burnt down or vandalized due to the lie that Christian priests, nuns and school teachers were responsible for the mass murder of children in parochial schools. These are just a few examples of the devilish nonsensical assaults of today’s western world on the Body of Christ as she seeks to serve and save lost sinners.
Some of us get furious and angry, for the political parties in which we put our hope are all compromised, having trusted in them in spite of the Bible warning us that they are all liars and not to put our trust in them.
Others shake their heads in horror, confusion, and gloom. They crawl back into their shells, trying to block it all out and think positive thoughts. But do we really think that Romans 13 settles the question of just letting all this evil befall our world and nation and we just sit back and watch? Are we saying that unless we suffer a blatant direct attack for being Christian, we are to just comply to any dictum of our authorities? If the government asked us to stand on our heads in worship, because it would keep us safe from disease, and without offering any logical or scientific arguments for such a ridiculous, humiliating and dehumanizing mandate, would we? We did! They asked us to close our churches, and most obeyed, without any questions asked! I know I did. Nowhere does the Bible expect blind unconditional obedience from believers. The Old and New Testament prophets recognized that God gave us brains and His Word to make reasonable decisions as stewards of this earth. John the Baptizer was martyred for rebuking abuses within the realm of government. Do we think give to Caesar what is Caesar and to God what is God’s means we create two silos of church and state, and ask God to hit the road when it comes to meddling in the affairs of state? Is Jesus saying “look everybody, I am just interested in your souls, and so let Caesar have the rest of my good creation”? If yes, then why are Christians responsible for the first hospitals and other “worldly” ways of helping people. God cares about Body and soul, of all people, and through active participation in the temporal kingdoms surrounding us, more souls are won for Christ and his eternal kingdom.
When it came to the recent pandemic (one of the most important events of our lifetime) even in repentance, we console ourselves with “we had no precedent to follow”. It simply was not true, there was precedent. Such as during early days of reformation and counter reformation, we had forgotten lessons learned when the government behaved like they knew better than the pastors: whether it be princes who became “Emergency bishops”, and who had little theological training and took over the pastor’s role, or the evil government overreach leading to political resistance by confessional Lutherans writing the Magdeburg confession, or Walther fleeing the forced upon government synergistic mandate during the Prussian union, who after battling the government, fled to America, blind obedience to government abuse was never ever a desirable or acceptable Lutheran response as stewards of God’s creation, and lover of fellow mankind.
We pray that God forgive us for wasting what our fathers worked hard to give us and we have allowed to be squandered away by atheists, liberals and Marxists.
On the one hand, how lazy we have been, claiming we can’t make a difference and leaving it to others to work out, afraid to offend our family and friends, and our apathy, and fear, and disinterest in letting the Holy Ghost use us to stand up for Jesus and confess Him before man, believing He will give us the wisdom and words to say in each and every situation, no matter how uncomfortable it is.
On other hand, how self-righteous and worldly we’ve been in letting our heart get in the way of logically addressing these issues and doing it with love. How overly zealous and crusade-like when we should have displayed respect, looking for any excuse we can to justify an axe to the ear of our enemy, as opposed to patiently dealing with our weaker and blinded brother who has been poisoned by the mainstream media? How presumptuous and over confident we have been in thinking we’ve got nothing to learn, lacking a humble and prayerful attitude in engaging with enemies on Facebook, in the hallways at school or work, or kitchen table at home or during a family reunion.
Yet there in the midst of our failures, hangs our source of great hope. Our Jesus Lord Christ sees it all, yet doesn’t treat us with the justice we deserve, but the mercy that we don’t. He forgives you all your sins!
And just like this cross dominates all the space and events in this beautiful sanctuary, His cross is both the center of, and casts a shadow upon, all of human history. He died as He hung in the middle of that state church dilemma. During His trial Herod, Pilate, Caiphas, all tossing Him back and forth like a ping pong ball, not knowing in where He belonged. Into which “kingdom” did He fit? Should the left hand or the right hand execute Him for His radical teachings and “rebellion” against the establishment? “Church” or “state”. He dies not only as a sacrifice in the religious side, but as an enemy of the state on the Secular side. Although Lord of Lord, and king of kings, both kingdoms rejected him. And he took it all. The innocent lamb of God willing to be slaughtered. This lamb, this shepherd, rebukes Peter for his misuse of the sword, firstly, because he was getting in the way of Christ’s mission to die for this sinful world and ultimately save us from it: to forgive our sinful failures whether we are boomers, xers, yers.
But it also signified that though He is king of everything, His kingdom is not of this world, meaning our ultimate home is in heaven; and each of us, no matter how attached we are to America, or how patriotic we boast being, we are just refugees on earth, on a pilgrimage to our true eternal kingdom of glory. Certainly, Jesus cares about our daily bread, yet the bread from heaven, is the most important kind. It’s the kind that we are most grateful for in the fourth petition of the Our Father: the bread of the Eucharist. So Jesus tells us to feed the poor, so they can enjoy the bread of the earth, and taste and see that the Lord is good, turning their eyes to heaven in faith. In fact Jesus as the bread of life, is essential nourishment within both kingdoms, in the sense that our Triune Lord is the KING of both kingdoms; in the two sides of the one household of man’s existence. He is one Lord who rules with two mighty arms, with different instruments or tools, but its the same God. And His compassionate wounded arms stretch out into both sides.
From His Body His redeeming blood drips into both Kingdoms.
From His Body His holy Word proceeds and echoes into both Kingdom.
From His Body His regenerating Spirit penetrates both kingdoms.
And His Body is also His Church.
Does God just care about the soul, or also the body? Well both. As a dad, I may care most about what may kids do when they grow up, but I am still interested in whether or not they are having a good day, today, here and now, even though it has no real bearing on the most important events of life. At the same time, there is a sense in which those seemingly mundane daily decisions have an important bearing on my kid’s development as faithful Christians, spouses and citizens. Jesus healed the sick in time to bring sinners to faith for eternity. And so praying and working toward a “Christianized” nation is working toward the same goal. The incarnation means God cares about this world. Believe it or not, He cares about the environment, too, that we don’t throw trash in the rivers, and oceans. He doesn’t care more about that green stuff than the heavenly pastures of salvation. But He has sanctified this earth, and how we live in every regard matters to him.
We are not talking about liberation theology, social justice, Gospel reductionism or some obscure attempt at transforming the earth to make it more heavenly as an end to itself; but about preserving Christendom and the Gospel, protecting our families so they can enjoy the gifts of God, nurturing our children and grand children so they can safely learn and live the Faith, and thus better evangelize unbelievers to come to faith. It’s a lot harder to preach Jesus when the Gospel is forbidden or churches are silenced, as in a communist or Islamic state or, in an increasingly secularized society. The Church absolutely has a voice on pretty much any “political” topic, because God cares about every subject and wants His voice to be heard.
We are not here at this conference to just satisfy our intellectual curiosity, like when you watch a documentary on TV. We are here to become equipped as the spiritual warriors that we are. The devil is hard at work to destroy the good things that God has entrusted to our care, including our nation. And so whenever we approach such topics through the lens of the Bible, with a humble attitude and sincere love for God and mankind, we are training to fight both a spiritual battle in the kingdom of the Left, but also one in the kingdom of our heart, engaging in ways Christ would have us: zeal balanced with patience; boldness balanced by compassion; righteous anger and courage balanced by love for the weaker and ignorant brother. And when we realize that, we rightly and carefully employ the sword and other tools of either of the Two kingdoms.
The devil is in the details and he is interested in the details of your life, to keep a foothold there and make life miserable for you with anxiety, guilt, fear, inactivity. There is no secular sphere in the mind of God. Like when the doctor is trying to find the cause of an illness on our body, the parts that hurt the most when he pokes around, are probably the areas that need the most attention. The topics most controversial and sensitive, and what we most want to avoid, are probably the ones that most need to be addressed. Those are the places that we have given the devil free reign and we seek to give them back to the Holy Spirit.
Now, there was acquittal of the Finnish bishop who didn’t end up going to jail for calling homosexual activity perversion. France apologized for their satanic ceremonies at the Olympics, and liberals are losing elections all over the world. YET the Swedish are still closing down churches. The attack on Christians and churches in Canada have been ignored at best and endorsed, at worst, by new influxes of communist-leaning leaders. No Western government really cares about ending abortion. We thank God for the conservative cultural upswing in America, but let’s be honest: it largely not rooted in faith in Christ. That reminds us that though we can act, and even succeed, but that there are limits to human effort and civil righteousness (again, in spite of carrying out our vocations as faithfully as we can). God is in control. He is Lord of history. So we welcome tragic realities, even the crumbling of western civilization, in as much we welcome the crucified saviour. For both prevent us from trying to create some eternal state on earth, in any version of it. Like believing our votes mean more than they do, or despairing when we read the news. For the leftist evil will always be with us. St Peter wanted a permanent godly Kingdom on earth, and so do we. But he got something way better, and so do we.
Sin keeps us mindful that there is no “Christian nation”, because nations can’t be saved, only individuals can. We are in a temporary place, “camping” here on earth in these temporary “tents”, with a citizenship and passport of heaven, a birth certificate given in Holy baptism, signed and stamped with the blood of Christ.
We’ve come to this conference, because where else in America are you going to learn about the importance of Christian culture to the Kingdom of God, with the ultimate purpose of saving souls? Though the Church is mainly about getting forgiveness of sins, Word and sacrament ministry, that is not all that it does. Otherwise, we’d be antinomians. And believing that how you live after conversion doesn’t matter to God, is a highly wicked thing.
We are all spiritual soldiers, prayer warriors, who undergo constant training , in spite of all those who deny that there’s even a serious battle to be fought. And ultimately, such warfare is worship, as we learn to bring the glorious Gospel of Christ’s merciful forgiveness to all nations, whether they be deemed “Christian” or not, and as we rejoice in all the ways that the Holy Spirit plants the seed of God’s word in both kingdoms. Amen.
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