In the church we’re called to live within two realities. It’s even been called by some living in two kingdoms. If we’re truly honest, we’ll admit that it can be a real struggle trying to balance the promises of the bible with the reality of what this world has to offer.

In the message below we’ll deal with one of the struggles the followers of God had in the Bible. The issue was all about taxes. Is it ok to pay taxes or does this in some way break a commandment? And behind their question rests a deeper truth that we’ll hit on as well.

If you’re not into listening to podcasts or don’t have the 20 minutes it will take to listen, then here’s the quick abbreviated version of the message.

The leaders of the church of Jesus’ day didn’t like that he was so different than what they expected, so they tried everything they could to trap him. The question they posed was is it ok to pay taxes or is that somehow breaking a command of God?

Here’s the deal. Taxes in Jesus’ day were a little different from today. They paid something called a census tax. Basically it was a tax on the living and it equaled a day’s wages. This tax was paid with a special coin that had the image of Caesar stamped on it. And this is where the problem lies.

The Caesar’s of this time knew they were earthly rulers, but they also had this weird idea that they were something more than mere mortal kings. They thought they were in some way to be treated as mini-gods. So when the leaders asked Jesus if it was ok to pay taxes the Jews were wrestling with the idea of taxes somehow being like an offering in church. They thought that by giving taxes they were worshiping the king of Rome as if he was a god.

Jesus answers their question with another question, which is his typical method. Who’s image is on the coin? Now of course he knew but he was getting at a much deeper point. Give back to Caesar what is rightfully his and then give God what is rightfully God’s.

In other words, since Caesar is on the coin, then pay your taxes because it’s Caesar’s anyway. But your life, praise, worship and adoration belongs to God because he’s the giver of every good and perfect gift.

There you have it the short version is pay taxes but don’t worship the government. There’s a whole lot more to this but you can listen to the audio for the rest.