Matthew 22:20-21 (KJV), “And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s”
Mr. Joseph, an Elder in a popular church, was confronted about giving and receiving bribes. In his response, he said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, wisdom is profitable to direct. Isn’t that what the Bible teaches?”
Like Mr. Joseph, there are many professing Christians who also imbibe this philosophy of giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. As far as they are concerned, there is nothing wrong with giving and receiving bribes, cheating in examinations, falsifying their age and other documents, giving money for pagan rituals and traditional rites, and other such things that are frowned upon by wholesome Bible-believing Christians. They believe that as long as those things they condone do not stop them from going to Church, they are simply giving Satan what is due him and God what he deserves.
What exactly does the sentence “render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s” mean? It is all about image. If the coin has Caesar’s image on it, give it to Caesar, since having Caesar’s image on it proves that it is his. In like manner, if God’s image is on you or if you are God’s image, give yourself to God because you belong to him. If you do otherwise in either case, you will be guilty and in peril of a very fearful judgment.
Go into today knowing that you are God’s image, hence you have to give yourself to God, just as it was right to give Caesar’s coin to Caesar.
Prayer: I offer my body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God in Jesus’ name, amen!
—Dr. Emmanuel James
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Bible In One Year: Genesis 1-3 (In Devotional Audio)
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