HOFC Sermon Archive: Gospel of Mark Part 68: Our Duty to God and Country

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SERMON TIMELINE

10. Jesus Cleanses the Leper

11. Jesus Heals the Paralytic

12. Jesus and the Tax Collector

13. Jesus Questioned About Fasting

14. Of Wine and Wineskins

15. Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath & Resurrection Sunday 2025

16. Hard Hearts and Hard Thoughts

17. Three Responses to Jesus

18. Jesus Appoints the Apostles

19. The Family of Jesus

20. The Unforgivable Sin

21. The True Family of Jesus

22. Parable of the Four Soils

23. How Well Do You Listen

24. Parable of the Growing Seed

25. Parable of the Mustard Seed

26. Benefits of Private Teaching

27. Jesus Calms the Storm

28. Who is Afraid of Jesus?

29. The Touch of Jesus

30. When Familiarity Breeds Contempt

31. Principles of Evangelism

32. Weakness in the Seat of Power

33. The Need for Rest

34. Feeding 5000

35. Jesus Walks on Water

36. Healings at Gennesaret

37. The Danger of Traditions

38. The Source of True Defilement

39. Gentile Blessed for Her Faith

40. He Has Done All Things Well

41. Jesus Feeds 4000

42. Jesus Sighs

43. Beware of Leaven

44. The Blind Man at Bethsaida

45. Who Do You Say That Jesus Is?

46. Mindful of the Things of God

47. The Cost of Discipleship

48. The Value of a Soul

49. Ashamed of Jesus and His Word

50. The Transfiguration

51. The Disciples ask Questions

52. The Unclean Spirit

53. The Way to Greatness

54. Principles of Discipleship

55. God Hates Divorce

56. Jesus Blesses Children

57. The Problem with Wealth

58. The Cost and Reward of Discipleship

59. A Couple Days Before Palm Sunday

60. The Cup and Baptism

61. Greatness in the Kingdom Comes from Serving

62. Blind Bartimaeus

63. Triumphal Entry

64. Cursing and Cleansing

65. Faith and Forgiveness

66. Is it from Heaven or from Men?

67. Parable of the Wicked Vine Grower

68. Our Duty to God and Country

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE

Mark 12:13-17

“Then they *sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. ¹⁴And they *came and *said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and do not seek anyones favor; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth.

Is it lawful to pay a tax to Caesar, or not? ¹⁵Shall we pay or shall we not pay?”

But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius [Roman silver coin] to look at.” ¹⁶And they brought one. And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” ¹⁷And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they greatly marveled at Him.”

INTRODUCTION – Our Duty to God and Country

We have been reading over the past few weeks about how Jesus is spending His last week, the week of Passover, at the house of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. So far, we have read in the last few services about the first three days of Passover, beginning on the first day of the week, Sunday.

Sunday was Jesus’ triumphal entry and brief visit to the temple.

Monday, He cursed the fig tree for not being fruitful and returned to the temple to cleanse it.

Tuesday, He gave the lesson of the fig tree to the disciples, and the scribes and teachers of the Law questioned His authority. (Mark 11:20-33)

Last week, we looked at Jesus telling the blatantly obvious parable about the wicked vine growers, which the religious leaders understood was directed at them. It angered them to the point that they wanted to do something to Jesus, but they feared retaliation from the followers surrounding Jesus.

Now we read of enemies, not just hostile toward Jesus, but historically enemies toward each other, the Pharisees and Herodians, teaming up to confront Jesus and set a trap for Him.

Unlike the old saying, which I will state the historically accurate version, “The enemy of my enemy is my ally, not necessarily my friend.”

And this is the unholy union we see take place between the enemies, the Pharisees and the Herodians, who were a political faction that supported the Herodian Dynasty of Herod the Great and his descendants.

This is not the first time in the gospel of Mark that we have read of the Herodians.

“And the Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.” Mark 3:6

So they hated each other, but they hated Jesus more. Why? The popularity of Jesus threatened established authority. His proclamation of God’s Kingdom could be seen as politically dangerous. His refusal to align Himself with either the Roman power or the Jewish political factions frustrated those invested in the way things were, politically, socially, religiously, and economically.

In other words, we like things the way they are…don’t rock the boat.

Jesus, the Master Teacher, easily dealt with their question, seeing through their hypocrisy. A question designed to ensnare Him, He asked for a coin.

You know the story, Jesus asked whose face and inscription was on the coin, then replied in a way that made His accusers “greatly marvel.”

“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

His reply reveals that we have responsibilities to both God and country.

There are things we must render to Caesar (country), and there are things we must render to God.

So, what do the scriptures teach about our duty to God and country? What are our responsibilities as citizens and as disciples of Christ?

I. OUR DUTY TO COUNTRY

a. PAYING TAXES

i. This was one of the main points of the text today, in the words of Jesus…Pay your taxes.

1. We are called as Christians to obey the laws of the land, as long as they do not call us to turn on God.

2. Obeying the tax law is part of that.

3. Paul taught that we should pay our taxes in Romans 13:6-7

ii. Some say, “Yeah, but they rob, cheat, steal from us!”

1. Was Caesar a great guy? Rome?

a. Caesar at the time of Jesus was Tiberius

b. We know this because Luke 3:1 states that John the Baptist’s ministry took place during “the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar.”

c. Tiberius had political purges and executions of real and perceived enemies. (One of the reasons the Herodians were trying to get Jesus to say “don’t pay taxes”)

i. Many senators, nobles, and wealthy Romans were accused, tried, exiled, or executed.

d. There was brutal suppression of opposition. Those accused of disloyalty could face torture, execution, or forced suicide. Family members of the accused often suffered as well.

e. Rome extracted significant wealth from provinces such as Judea. The taxes paid by ordinary Jews supported an empire that was oppressive and pagan.

f. Jesus was not speaking about a benevolent ruler. Tiberius was a pagan emperor who presided over an empire marked by idolatry, political repression, and injustice.

g. And yet…Jesus said, Pay your taxes.

b. We are called by God to obey the laws.

i. Romans 13:1-5; Titus 3:1 tell us that we are to submit to the ordinances (laws) of the land.

ii. Why is it important Christian’s are not lawbreakers?

1. Because it is part of our witness!

2. I had a friend in Australia who refused to get tags, plates, and insurance for his car. He was ticketed and in court so many times over it, and ended up on the front page of the newspaper.

a. Do you believe his lawbreaking helped the name of Christ or slandered it among unbelievers?

1 Peter 2:13-16 “Be subject for the sake of the Lord to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, ¹⁴or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do good. ¹⁵For such is the will of God that by doing good you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. ¹⁶Act as free people, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as slaves of God.”

3. Silence the ignorance of foolish men?

a. If I say I am a Christian and steal…lie…break the laws of the land, whether through lying on my taxes, cheating the government system to get things that should not be given to me, anything dishonest, what does that say to others about me and my walk as a Christian?

b. Ignorant, foolish people who do not understand will gossip and talk about “Oh, he says he’s this Christian, but did you know he lied to the insurance company to get money?”

c. We are to live IN the world, not be part of it.

d. When you live like the world…you destroy your work and ministry for God because the way you live does not line up with the words you say and the name you claim.

c. We are to have fear and honor

i. Romans 13:7 tells us to respect and honor those in positions of authority

ii. Proverb 24:21 says we are to respect the king

iii. 1 Peter 2:17 says we are to honor and love the brethren.

1. But they are not all Christians!

2. No, yet God still placed them there.

3. It is your right and duty as a faithful Christian to obey the laws of the land, some of which allow you to voice your opinion and vote for those who are Christians.

iv. Have you ever noticed that neither Paul nor Peter ever says unkind words about Nero?

1. Was Nero just a great guy?

d. We are called to “do good.”

i. Titus 3:1-3 says “Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, ²to slander no one, to be peaceable, considerate, demonstrating all gentleness to all men. [--- WHY? ---]

ii. ³For we ourselves also once were foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another.”

1. My granddaughter Leah and I just had this conversation yesterday!

iii. We are called by God to have conduct that is honorable before all

1. 1 Peter 2:11-12

2. 1 Peter 2:15-16

e. We are also called to PRAY!!

1 Timothy 2:1 “First of all, then, I exhort that petitions and prayers, requests and thanksgivings, be made for all men…”

i. It goes on to say we are to pray for kings and all who are in authority. (1 Timothy 2:1-3)

Christians are but sojourners and pilgrims in this world (1 Peter 2:11). This is not my home…BUT, I represent my Lord’s Kingdom while I am here!

While our true citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), we are to be a blessing to those earthly countries in which we visit or live.

Fulfill our God-given obligations, and we will be an asset to any country in which we live! People should WANT as many Christians as they can get to live in their country or town!

II. OUR DUTY IS TO GOD ABOVE ALL

a. Love God with all our being

i. Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:34-38 that this is considered the greatest commandment of the Law.

1. To love God with all our being is not merely an emotion. In Scripture, love is demonstrated by loyalty, obedience, trust, worship, and devotion. The command encompasses every part of life.

2. Put God FIRST in every aspect of your life!

a. The very first commandment in Exodus 20:2 “You shall have NO other gods before me.”

b. Anything that becomes more important than God can become an idol, whether money, pleasure, power, family, reputation, or even ministry itself.

3. Trust God completely!

a. Loving God includes relying upon Him in both prosperity and hardship.

“Trust in Yahweh with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5

b. Trust demonstrates that we believe God's wisdom is better than our own.

4. Seek God through prayer

a. Love desires fellowship.

b. A believer who loves God will seek communion with Him through prayer, thanksgiving, confession, and praise.

c. “Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

5. Delight in God’s Word

a. Those who love God desire to know Him better.

b. “How I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.” Psalm 119:97

c. Reading and meditating on Scripture is one of the primary ways we grow in our love for God.

6. Love what God loves

a. As our love for God deepens, our values begin to align with His.

b. We begin to love righteousness, truth, mercy, holiness, and justice.

c. “O you who love Yahweh, hate evil!” Psalm 97:10

d. Just what Leah and I talked about last night!

7. Love God’s people (1 John 4:11)

8. Use your gifts and resources for His Kingdom and glory! (1 Corinthians 10:31)

9. Remain faithful during trials (Matthew 24:31)

10. Desire God’s presence more than His gifts

a. Psalm 73:25 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.”

CONCLUSION

Christians should be a BLESSING to any country they live in. A source of revenue through taxes, with respect for the local laws, and a reverence for those whom God placed in authority.

Christians should contribute to the general welfare through good deeds and fervent prayers.

Christians can be a great asset to any country they live in when they render first to God what He is due, and then what is due the country. Put God first.

There is no such thing as a Christian country, but there is such a thing as a country filled with Christians, who can make a difference where they live by living for God.

While politicians in authority may not always understand or respect their proper place in the sight of God, and sometimes require more than is right from their citizens, we must remember the words of Jesus, rendering to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God the things that are God’s.

FINAL THOUGHT

If we love God, we will keep His commandments. Since the Old Testament points to Christ the Messiah, we keep God’s commandments by following Jesus.

Jesus taught in John 14:15,21,23 the evidence of true love for Jesus is obeying His commands.

People say, “I love the Lord,” yet never read His word. Never study. How are you going to love Jesus if you do not obey His commands? How can you obey His commands if you do not read and study them?

You cannot separate loving Jesus and the study of the Word of God! Because Jesus is that Word!

Is God your priority in life?

His will, His rule, His righteousness? (Matthew 6:33)

So, let us render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar, but do not neglect to render unto God what belongs to God!

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Saturday, June 20, 2026

Gospel of Mark Part 68: Our Duty to God and Country

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