“Giving to God What Belongs to Him”

Matthew 22:15-22

10/19/08


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    It might be a little early in the year yet to be talking about taxes.  But some of you pay quarterly taxes and all of you pay sales tax.  Not only that, but taxes is one of the hot issues in the upcoming election.  Taxes are a part of life.  Of course, no one likes to pay taxes.  But they’re unavoidable.  As the saying goes, “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.”  For those who would try to get out of paying taxes, even the Bible tells us that we are to pay taxes to whom taxes are due.  And in today’s Gospel text Jesus tells us to give to Caesar, i.e., the government, the things that belong to Caesar.  We may not like these words of our Lord, but they are actually the easier words of today’s text, easier because it’s something that we can all do.  We can render to Caesar what belongs to him.  Okay, so what belongs to Caesar?  What do we owe our government?  What does it ask of us?  Paying taxes is one thing.  How about obedience to its laws and living as responsible citizens?  How about jury duty?  Voting?  You could probably think of some other things that we owe our government.  St. Paul mentions giving respect to whom respect is due, and honor to whom honor is due.  All of these are things we owe our government, and they are within our ability to give.  It is possible for us to render to Caesar the things that belong to him.
    It’s the second part of Jesus’ saying here that is the more difficult:  giving to God the things that are His.  First, it’s difficult to understand how anything could be given to God.  He’s the maker of heMatthew 22:15-22
“Giving to God What Belongs to Him”
    It might be a little early in the year yet to be talking about taxes.  But some of you pay quarterly taxes and all of you pay sales tax.  Not only that, but taxes is one of the hot issues in the upcoming election.  Taxes are a part of life.  Of course, no one likes to pay taxes.  But they’re unavoidable.  As the saying goes, “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.”  For those who would try to get out of paying taxes, even the Bible tells us that we are to pay taxes to whom taxes are due.  And in today’s Gospel text Jesus tells us to give to Caesar, i.e., the government, the things that belong to Caesar.  We may not like these words of our Lord, but they are actually the easier words of today’s text, easier because it’s something that we can all do.  We can render to Caesar what belongs to him.  Okay, so what belongs to Caesar?  What do we owe our government?  What does it ask of us?  Paying taxes is one thing.  How about obedience to its laws and living as responsible citizens?  How about jury duty?  Voting?  You could probably think of some other things that we owe our government.  St. Paul mentions giving respect to whom respect is due, and honor to whom honor is due.  All of these are things we owe our government, and they are within our ability to give.  It is possible for us to render to Caesar the things that belong to him.
    It’s the second part of Jesus’ saying here that is the more difficult:  giving to God the things that are His.  First, it’s difficult to understand how anything could be given to God.  He’s the maker of heaven and earth.  What doesn’t belong to Him?  And if everything belongs to Him, how can anything be given to Him?  The only way something could be given to God is if it were stolen from Him and must be returned.  And that’s exactly what has happened.  We have stolen from God.  And the something that we’ve stolen is ourselves and our fear, love, and trust in God above all things.  We are God’s creatures, created in His image, created for His own good pleasure.  As God’s creatures, we don’t belong to ourselves, but to Him.  And yet, we act like we are our own gods.  We want to be independent from God, not dependent upon Him.  We want to determine for ourselves what is good and evil, what is right and wrong, what we will or will not do, and how we will live.  Belonging to someone carries the idea of being their slave, and we refuse to be slaves of anyone.  We want to take orders from no one but ourselves.  We want to be answerable to no one but ourselves.  We’ll only obey if we’re coerced or threatened, or if we can get rewarded or paid for it.  Belonging to God, we believe, means we can’t be free.  His commandments are too binding, too restrictive.  And so, we run away from Him.  We steal ourselves from Him, because we believe that living on our own terms, living by our own laws, living in sin, is a life of true freedom. 
    We don’t know how wrong we are.  To belong to the Lord is to be truly free.  To steal ourselves away from Him and make ourselves our own gods is to belong to the devil and to be in bondage to sin and death.  Not only are we, then, unwilling to give to God what belongs to Him, but we are also unable to give Him what is His.  All we have to give to God is our sin.
    And so, Jesus’ words to give to GodMatthew 22:15-22
“Giving to God What Belongs to Him”
    It might be a little early in the year yet to be talking about taxes.  But some of you pay quarterly taxes and all of you pay sales tax.  Not only that, but taxes is one of the hot issues in the upcoming election.  Taxes are a part of life.  Of course, no one likes to pay taxes.  But they’re unavoidable.  As the saying goes, “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.”  For those who would try to get out of paying taxes, even the Bible tells us that we are to pay taxes to whom taxes are due.  And in today’s Gospel text Jesus tells us to give to Caesar, i.e., the government, the things that belong to Caesar.  We may not like these words of our Lord, but they are actually the easier words of today’s text, easier because it’s something that we can all do.  We can render to Caesar what belongs to him.  Okay, so what belongs to Caesar?  What do we owe our government?  What does it ask of us?  Paying taxes is one thing.  How about obedience to its laws and living as responsible citizens?  How about jury duty?  Voting?  You could probably think of some other things that we owe our government.  St. Paul mentions giving respect to whom respect is due, and honor to whom honor is due.  All of these are things we owe our government, and they are within our ability to give.  It is possible for us to render to Caesar the things that belong to him.
    It’s the second part of Jesus’ saying here that is the more difficult:  giving to God the things that are His.  First, it’s difficult to understand how anything could be given to God.  He’s the maker of heaven and earth.  What doesn’t belong to Him?  And if everything belongs to Him, how can anything be given to Him?  The only way something could be given to God is if it were stolen from Him and must be returned.  And that’s exactly what has happened.  We have stolen from God.  And the something that we’ve stolen is ourselves and our fear, love, and trust in God above all things.  We are God’s creatures, created in His image, created for His own good pleasure.  As God’s creatures, we don’t belong to ourselves, but to Him.  And yet, we act like we are our own gods.  We want to be independent from God, not dependent upon Him.  We want to determine for ourselves what is good and evil, what is right and wrong, what we will or will not do, and how we will live.  Belonging to someone carries the idea of being their slave, and we refuse to be slaves of anyone.  We want to take orders from no one but ourselves.  We want to be answerable to no one but ourselves.  We’ll only obey if we’re coerced or threatened, or if we can get rewarded or paid for it.  Belonging to God, we believe, means we can’t be free.  His commandments are too binding, too restrictive.  And so, we run away from Him.  We steal ourselves from Him, because we believe that living on our own terms, living by our own laws, living in sin, is a life of true freedom.  
    We don’t know how wrong we are.  To belong to the Lord is to be truly free.  To steal ourselves away from Him and make ourselves our own gods is to belong to the devil and to be in bondage to sin and death.  Not only are we, then, unwilling to give to God what belongs to Him, but we are also unable to give Him what is His.  All we have to give to God is our sin.
    And so, Jesus’ words to give to God the things that belong to Him are first of all words of reproof.  They convict us of our sin by showing us that we have taken something from God which belongs to Him and that we are unwilling and unable to give back.  Our very being and the fear, love, and trust in God above all things is what we owe Him, but we cannot and will not give Him.  For this we rightly deserve to be separated from Him for all eternity in hell.  We rightly deserve the independence from God that we want.
    But God doesn’t give up His possessions gladly or willingly.  And so He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who gladly and willingly gave Himself up for us, in order that we might belong to God again.  Through His life and death Jesus gave to God the things that belong to Him.  His life was lived in perfect obedience to God’s Law.  He feared, loved, and trusted in His Father above all things.  And in keeping this commandment He perfectly kept all the rest, loving us as Himself, considering our needs as more important than His, living a life of self-sacrificial service for us, to the extent that He gave His body into death on the cross for us, paying the penalty we owed God on account of our sin.  Jesus did all this for you.  What you owed God - your obedience and the death you deserve for your disobedience, Jesus rendered to God for you in your place.  
    So, the words of Jesus here about giving to God the things that are His now point us to Christ, who has done that for us.  Everything owed to God and all that belongs to Him has been given to Him by Jesus.  What we could not and would not give to God, Jesus has given for us.  But Jesus not only gave to God the things that belong to Him, Jesus has also given to you the things that belong to Him.  Jesus gave you His things, in order that you also might now be both willing and able to give back to God what belongs to Him.  The things of Jesus were delivered to you in your Baptism.  There what belongs to Jesus became yours.  His righteousness became your righteousness, His holiness your holiness, His obedience your obedience, His death your death, His life your life.  You can now give to God what belongs to Him, because you have been given to by Jesus.  And that is the only way this command of the Lord can be kept.  We can only give to God the things that belong to Him, when we have first been given to by Jesus.  
    This is illustrated by an incident about paying taxes that involved both Jesus and Peter.  Some tax collectors came up to Peter one day and asked if Jesus paid taxes.  Peter answered, “Yes,” but then went in to see Jesus about this.  Jesus told him to go cast a hook into the sea.  He was then to take the first fish that came up, and upon opening that fish’s mouth he would find a shekel, with which he was to pay the tax for both Jesus and himself.  Here Jesus gave to Peter what Peter needed to pay taxes to the government.  Peter gave to Caesar the things that belonged to Caesar after being given to by Jesus, after Jesus provided Peter with the means with which to pay Caesar.  In the same way, Peter was able to give to God the things that belonged to Him only after being given to by Jesus.  Peter could give himself to the Lord and begin to fear, love, and trust in Him above all things only after Jesus had given Him His righteousness and holiness.  For you and me, too, it is only possible now to give God what is His after we have been given to by Jesus.  
    Like Peter and all the saints, you and your fear, love, and trust in God above all things is what you are to give God.  These are the things that belong to Him by virtue of the fact that He claimed you as His own through holy Baptism.  There He placed His Name upon you, making Himself your God and you His child.  Like the image of Caesar stamped upon the coin that was used to pay taxes, God has stamped His image upon you in Jesus Christ.  Just as the coins belonged to Caesar, so you now belong to the Lord.  You’re a new creation of God in Jesus Christ.  He gave you the new birth of water and the Spirit.  He sprinkled you with the blood of Christ, cleansing you of all sin.  That blood is the price with which you were purchased by God.  You are no longer your own, but you belong to Him.  You are no longer under the tyranny of the devil, but under the gracious rule of your merciful Lord.  As a result you may now give yourself to God, to whom you already belong.  St. Paul talks this way in the book of Romans.  He writes, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”  In other words, in view of all that God has given you in Jesus out of His mercy, in view of the fact that God has redeemed you with His blood and claimed you as His own through holy Baptism, now give yourself to Him.  In your thoughts, words, and deeds, give back to God what He has given to you.  In the words of today’s Epistle text, give God your work of faith, your labor of love, and the steadfastness of your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.  Give as you have been given to.  And the more you’re on the receiving end of the Lord’s gifts, the more you’ll be able to give back to Him.  
    This giving to God will be seen in how you give to your neighbor, especially as you give to those who belong to the Lord as you do.  Where you render to God the things that belong to Him is in your earthly vocations.  When Christian parents love and care for their families, they give to God the things that belong to Him.  When Christian children honor and obey their parents and teachers, they give to God what belongs to Him.  When Christian employees serve their employers and their customers, they give to God what belongs to Him.  When Christians live as responsible citizens and pay their taxes, they give to God what belongs to Him.  As Christians live in faith towards God and in fervent love towards one another, faithfully carrying out their God-given callings, speaking the Gospel to all those who ask them about the hope that they have in Jesus, they give to God the things that belong to Him.  
    Jesus tells us to give to God the things that belong to Him not for God’s sake, as if He needs or lacks anything, but for our sake and the sake of our neighbor.  It doesn’t impoverish God for us to steal away what belongs to Him.  It impoverishes us.  Not to belong to God means slavery not freedom, death not life.  Born into this state as we were, we could not give to God what belongs to Him.  So our Lord Jesus Christ paid our debt for us.  He gave Himself and all His righteous deeds to our heavenly Father in our place.  The One who bore the exact imprint of God gave His life on the cross as the payment in full for all that was due to God.  And He credited that payment to you in your Baptism.  There what belongs to Jesus became yours.  There you became God’s possession, stamped with His Name, clothed with Christ, so that when God looks at you now He sees you in His Son as having rendered to Him all that belongs to Him.  
    You the baptized belong to God, having been purchased with the blood of Christ.  You live under God’s grace and mercy, free from death, free from tyranny.  Live in that freedom and give to God what belongs to Him - your very life, your fear, love, and trust in Him, and your love towards one another.  Give as you are given to in Jesus Christ, and you will portray His image to the world.  Amen.
 the things that belong to Him are first of all words of reproof.  They convict us of our sin by showing us that we have taken something from God which belongs to Him and that we are unwilling and unable to give back.  Our very being and the fear, love, and trust in God above all things is what we owe Him, but we cannot and will not give Him.  For this we rightly deserve to be separated from Him for all eternity in hell.  We rightly deserve the independence from God that we want.
    But God doesn’t give up His possessions gladly or willingly.  And so He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who gladly and willingly gave Himself up for us, in order that we might belong to God again.  Through His life and death Jesus gave to God the things that belong to Him.  His life was lived in perfect obedience to God’s Law.  He feared, loved, and trusted in His Father above all things.  And in keeping this commandment He perfectly kept all the rest, loving us as Himself, considering our needs as more important than His, living a life of self-sacrificial service for us, to the extent that He gave His body into death on the cross for us, paying the penalty we owed God on account of our sin.  Jesus did all this for you.  What you owed God - your obedience and the death you deserve for your disobedience, Jesus rendered to God for you in your place. 
    So, the words of Jesus here about giving to God the things that are His now point us to Christ, who has done that for us.  Everything owed to God and all that belongs to Him has been given to Him by Jesus.  What we could not and would not give to God, Jesus has given for us.  But Jesus not only gave to God the things that belong to Him, Jesus has also given to you the things that belong to Him.  Jesus gave you His things, in order that you also might now be both willing and able to give back to God what belongs to Him.  The things of Jesus were delivered to you in your Baptism.  There what belongs to Jesus became yours.  His righteousness became your righteousness, His holiness your holiness, His obedience your obedience, His death your death, His life your life.  You can now give to God what belongs to Him, because you have been given to by Jesus.  And that is the only way this command of the Lord can be kept.  We can only give to God the things that belong to Him, when we have first been given to by Jesus. 
    This is illustrated by an incident about paying taxes that involved both Jesus and Peter.  Some tax collectors came up to Peter one day and asked if Jesus paid taxes.  Peter answered, “Yes,” but then went in to see Jesus about this.  Jesus told him to go cast a hook into the sea.  He was then to take the first fish that came up, and upon opening that fish’s mouth he would find a shekel, with which he was to pay the tax for both Jesus and himself.  Here Jesus gave to Peter what Peter needed to pay taxes to the government.  Peter gave to Caesar the things that belonged to Caesar after being given to by Jesus, after Jesus provided Peter with the means with which to pay Caesar.  In the same way, Peter was able to give to God the things that belonged to Him only after being given to by Jesus.  Peter could give himself to the Lord and begin to fear, love, and trust in Him above all things only after Jesus had given Him His righteousness and holiness.  For you and me, too, it is only possible now to give God what is His after we have been given to by Jesus. 
    Like Peter and all the saints, you and your fear, love, and trust in God above all things is what you are to give God.  These are the things that belong to Him by virtue of the fact that He claimed you as His own through holy Baptism.  There He placed His Name upon you, making Himself your God and you His child.  Like the image of Caesar stamped upon the coin that was used to pay taxes, God has stamped His image upon you in Jesus Christ.  Just as the coins belonged to Caesar, so you now belong to the Lord.  You’re a new creation of God in Jesus Christ.  He gave you the new birth of water and the Spirit.  He sprinkled you with the blood of Christ, cleansing you of all sin.  That blood is the price with which you were purchased by God.  You are no longer your own, but you belong to Him.  You are no longer under the tyranny of the devil, but under the gracious rule of your merciful Lord.  As a result you may now give yourself to God, to whom you already belong.  St. Paul talks this way in the book of Romans.  He writes, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”  In other words, in view of all that God has given you in Jesus out of His mercy, in view of the fact that God has redeemed you with His blood and claimed you as His own through holy Baptism, now give yourself to Him.  In your thoughts, words, and deeds, give back to God what He has given to you.  In the words of today’s Epistle text, give God your work of faith, your labor of love, and the steadfastness of your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.  Give as you have been given to.  And the more you’re on the receiving end of the Lord’s gifts, the more you’ll be able to give back to Him. 
    This giving to God will be seen in how you give to your neighbor, especially as you give to those who belong to the Lord as you do.  Where you render to God the things that belong to Him is in your earthly vocations.  When Christian parents love and care for their families, they give to God the things that belong to Him.  When Christian children honor and obey their parents and teachers, they give to God what belongs to Him.  When Christian employees serve their employers and their customers, they give to God what belongs to Him.  When Christians live as responsible citizens and pay their taxes, they give to God what belongs to Him.  As Christians live in faith towards God and in fervent love towards one another, faithfully carrying out their God-given callings, speaking the Gospel to all those who ask them about the hope that they have in Jesus, they give to God the things that belong to Him. 
    Jesus tells us to give to God the things that belong to Him not for God’s sake, as if He needs or lacks anything, but for our sake and the sake of our neighbor.  It doesn’t impoverish God for us to steal away what belongs to Him.  It impoverishes us.  Not to belong to God means slavery not freedom, death not life.  Born into this state as we were, we could not give to God what belongs to Him.  So our Lord Jesus Christ paid our debt for us.  He gave Himself and all His righteous deeds to our heavenly Father in our place.  The One who bore the exact imprint of God gave His life on the cross as the payment in full for all that was due to God.  And He credited that payment to you in your Baptism.  There what belongs to Jesus became yours.  There you became God’s possession, stamped with His Name, clothed with Christ, so that when God looks at you now He sees you in His Son as having rendered to Him all that belongs to Him. 
    You the baptized belong to God, having been purchased with the blood of Christ.  You live under God’s grace and mercy, free from death, free from tyranny.  Live in that freedom and give to God what belongs to Him - your very life, your fear, love, and trust in Him, and your love towards one another.  Give as you are given to in Jesus Christ, and you will portray His image to the world.  Amen.
aven and earth.  What doesn’t belong to Him?  And if everything belongs to Him, how can anything be given to Him?  The only way something could be given to God is if it were stolen from Him and must be returned.  And that’s exactly what has happened.  We have stolen from God.  And the something that we’ve stolen is ourselves and our fear, love, and trust in God above all things.  We are God’s creatures, created in His image, created for His own good pleasure.  As God’s creatures, we don’t belong to ourselves, but to Him.  And yet, we act like we are our own gods.  We want to be independent from God, not dependent upon Him.  We want to determine for ourselves what is good and evil, what is right and wrong, what we will or will not do, and how we will live.  BelongMatthew 22:15-22
“Giving to God What Belongs to Him”
    It might be a little early in the year yet to be talking about taxes.  But some of you pay quarterly taxes and all of you pay sales tax.  Not only that, but taxes is one of the hot issues in the upcoming election.  Taxes are a part of life.  Of course, no one likes to pay taxes.  But they’re unavoidable.  As the saying goes, “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.”  For those who would try to get out of paying taxes, even the Bible tells us that we are to pay taxes to whom taxes are due.  And in today’s Gospel text Jesus tells us to give to Caesar, i.e., the government, the things that belong to Caesar.  We may not like these words of our Lord, but they are actually the easier words of today’s text, easier because it’s something that we can all do.  We can render to Caesar what belongs to him.  Okay, so what belongs to Caesar?  What do we owe our government?  What does it ask of us?  Paying taxes is one thing.  How about obedience to its laws and living as responsible citizens?  How about jury duty?  Voting?  You could probably think of some other things that we owe our government.  St. Paul mentions giving respect to whom respect is due, and honor to whom honor is due.  All of these are things we owe our government, and they are within our ability to give.  It is possible for us to render to Caesar the things that belong to him.
    It’s the second part of Jesus’ saying here that is the more difficult:  giving to God the things that are His.  First, it’s difficult to understand how anything could be given to God.  He’s the maker of heaven and earth.  What doesn’t belong to Him?  And if everything belongs to Him, how can anything be given to Him?  The only way something could be given to God is if it were stolen from Him and must be returned.  And that’s exactly what has happened.  We have stolen from God.  And the something that we’ve stolen is ourselves and our fear, love, and trust in God above all things.  We are God’s creatures, created in His image, created for His own good pleasure.  As God’s creatures, we don’t belong to ourselves, but to Him.  And yet, we act like we are our own gods.  We want to be independent from God, not dependent upon Him.  We want to determine for ourselves what is good and evil, what is right and wrong, what we will or will not do, and how we will live.  Belonging to someone carries the idea of being their slave, and we refuse to be slaves of anyone.  We want to take orders from no one but ourselves.  We want to be answerable to no one but ourselves.  We’ll only obey if we’re coerced or threatened, or if we can get rewarded or paid for it.  Belonging to God, we believe, means we can’t be free.  His commandments are too binding, too restrictive.  And so, we run away from Him.  We steal ourselves from Him, because we believe that living on our own terms, living by our own laws, living in sin, is a life of true freedom. 
    We don’t know how wrong we are.  To belong to the Lord is to be truly free.  To steal ourselves away from Him and make ourselves our own gods is to belong to the devil and to be in bondage to sin and death.  Not only are we, then, unwilling to give to God what belongs to Him, but we are also unable to give Him what is His.  All we have to give to God is our sin.
    And so, Jesus’ words to give to God the things that belong to Him are first of all words of reproof.  They convict us of our sin by showing us that we have taken something from God which belongs to Him and that we are unwilling and unable to give back.  Our very being and the fear, love, and trust in God above all things is what we owe Him, but we cannot and will not give Him.  For this we rightly deserve to be separated from Him for all eternity in hell.  We rightly deserve the independence from God that we want.
    But God doesn’t give up His possessions gladly or willingly.  And so He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who gladly and willingly gave Himself up for us, in order that we might belong to God again.  Through His life and death Jesus gave to God the things that belong to Him.  His life was lived in perfect obedience to God’s Law.  He feared, loved, and trusted in His Father above all things.  And in keeping this commandment He perfectly kept all the rest, loving us as Himself, considering our needs as more important than His, living a life of self-sacrificial service for us, to the extent that He gave His body into death on the cross for us, paying the penalty we owed God on account of our sin.  Jesus did all this for you.  What you owed God - your obedience and the death you deserve for your disobedience, Jesus rendered to God for you in your place. 
    So, the words of Jesus here about giving to God the things that are His now point us to Christ, who has done that for us.  Everything owed to God and all that belongs to Him has been given to Him by Jesus.  What we could not and would not give to God, Jesus has given for us.  But Jesus not only gave to God the things that belong to Him, Jesus has also given to you the things that belong to Him.  Jesus gave you His things, in order that you also might now be both willing and able to give back to God what belongs to Him.  The things of Jesus were delivered to you in your Baptism.  There what belongs to Jesus became yours.  His righteousness became your righteousness, His holiness your holiness, His obedience your obedience, His death your death, His life your life.  You can now give to God what belongs to Him, because you have been given to by Jesus.  And that is the only way this command of the Lord can be kept.  We can only give to God the things that belong to Him, when we have first been given to by Jesus. 
    This is illustrated by an incident about paying taxes that involved both Jesus and Peter.  Some tax collectors came up to Peter one day and asked if Jesus paid taxes.  Peter answered, “Yes,” but then went in to see Jesus about this.  Jesus told him to go cast a hook into the sea.  He was then to take the first fish that came up, and upon opening that fish’s mouth he would find a shekel, with which he was to pay the tax for both Jesus and himself.  Here Jesus gave to Peter what Peter needed to pay taxes to the government.  Peter gave to Caesar the things that belonged to Caesar after being given to by Jesus, after Jesus provided Peter with the means with which to pay Caesar.  In the same way, Peter was able to give to God the things that belonged to Him only after being given to by Jesus.  Peter could give himself to the Lord and begin to fear, love, and trust in Him above all things only after Jesus had given Him His righteousness and holiness.  For you and me, too, it is only possible now to give God what is His after we have been given to by Jesus. 
    Like Peter and all the saints, you and your fear, love, and trust in God above all things is what you are to give God.  These are the things that belong to Him by virtue of the fact that He claimed you as His own through holy Baptism.  There He placed His Name upon you, making Himself your God and you His child.  Like the image of Caesar stamped upon the coin that was used to pay taxes, God has stamped His image upon you in Jesus Christ.  Just as the coins belonged to Caesar, so you now belong to the Lord.  You’re a new creation of God in Jesus Christ.  He gave you the new birth of water and the Spirit.  He sprinkled you with the blood of Christ, cleansing you of all sin.  That blood is the price with which you were purchased by God.  You are no longer your own, but you belong to Him.  You are no longer under the tyranny of the devil, but under the gracious rule of your merciful Lord.  As a result you may now give yourself to God, to whom you already belong.  St. Paul talks this way in the book of Romans.  He writes, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”  In other words, in view of all that God has given you in Jesus out of His mercy, in view of the fact that God has redeemed you with His blood and claimed you as His own through holy Baptism, now give yourself to Him.  In your thoughts, words, and deeds, give back to God what He has given to you.  In the words of today’s Epistle text, give God your work of faith, your labor of love, and the steadfastness of your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.  Give as you have been given to.  And the more you’re on the receiving end of the Lord’s gifts, the more you’ll be able to give back to Him. 
    This giving to God will be seen in how you give to your neighbor, especially as you give to those who belong to the Lord as you do.  Where you render to God the things that belong to Him is in your earthly vocations.  When Christian parents love and care for their families, they give to God the things that belong to Him.  When Christian children honor and obey their parents and teachers, they give to God what belongs to Him.  When Christian employees serve their employers and their customers, they give to God what belongs to Him.  When Christians live as responsible citizens and pay their taxes, they give to God what belongs to Him.  As Christians live in faith towards God and in fervent love towards one another, faithfully carrying out their God-given callings, speaking the Gospel to all those who ask them about the hope that they have in Jesus, they give to God the things that belong to Him. 
    Jesus tells us to give to God the things that belong to Him not for God’s sake, as if He needs or lacks anything, but for our sake and the sake of our neighbor.  It doesn’t impoverish God for us to steal away what belongs to Him.  It impoverishes us.  Not to belong to God means slavery not freedom, death not life.  Born into this state as we were, we could not give to God what belongs to Him.  So our Lord Jesus Christ paid our debt for us.  He gave Himself and all His righteous deeds to our heavenly Father in our place.  The One who bore the exact imprint of God gave His life on the cross as the payment in full for all that was due to God.  And He credited that payment to you in your Baptism.  There what belongs to Jesus became yours.  There you became God’s possession, stamped with His Name, clothed with Christ, so that when God looks at you now He sees you in His Son as having rendered to Him all that belongs to Him. 
    You the baptized belong to God, having been purchased with the blood of Christ.  You live under God’s grace and mercy, free from death, free from tyranny.  Live in that freedom and give to God what belongs to Him - your very life, your fear, love, and trust in Him, and your love towards one another.  Give as you are given to in Jesus Christ, and you will portray His image to the world.  Amen.
ing to someone carries the idea of being their slave, and we refuse to be slaves of anyone.  We want to take orders from no one but ourselves.  We want to be answerable to no one but ourselves.  We’ll only obey if we’re coerced or threatened, or if we can get rewarded or paid for it.  Belonging to God, we believe, means we can’t be free.  His commandments are too binding, too restrictive.  And so, we run away from Him.  We steal ourselves from Him, because we believe that living on our own terms, living by our own laws, living in sin, is a life of true freedom.  
    We don’t know how wrong we are.  To belong to the Lord is to be truly free.  To steal ourselves away from Him and make ourselves our own gods is to belong to the devil and to be in bondage to sin and death.  Not only are we, then, unwilling to give to God what belongs to Him, but we are also unable to give Him what is His.  All we have to give to God is our sin.
    And so, Jesus’ words to give to God the things that belong to Him are first of all words of reproof.  They convict us of our sin by showing us that we have taken something from God which belongs to Him and that we are unwilling and unable to give back.  Our very being and the fear, love, and trust in God above all things is what we owe Him, but we cannot and will not give Him.  For this we rightly deserve to be separated from Him for all eternity in hell.  We rightly deserve the independence from God that we want.
    But God doesn’t give up His possessions gladly or willingly.  And so He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who gladly and willingly gave Himself up for us, in order that we might belong to God again.  Through His life and death Jesus gave to God the things that belong to Him.  His life was lived in perfect obedience to God’s Law.  He feared, loved, and trusted in His Father above all things.  And in keeping this commandment He perfectly kept all the rest, loving us as Himself, considering our needs as more important than His, living a life of self-sacrificial service for us, to the extent that He gave His body into death on the cross for us, paying the penalty we owed God on account of our sin.  Jesus did all this for you.  What you owed God - your obedience and the death you deserve for your disobedience, Jesus rendered to God for you in your place.  
    So, the words of Jesus here about giving to God the things that are His now point us to Christ, who has done that for us.  Everything owed to God and all that belongs to Him has been given to Him by Jesus.  What we could not and would not give to God, Jesus has given for us.  But Jesus not only gave to God the things that belong to Him, Jesus has also given to you the things that belong to Him.  Jesus gave you His things, in order that you also might now be both willing and able to give back to God what belongs to Him.  The things of Jesus were delivered to you in your Baptism.  There what belongs to Jesus became yours.  His righteousness became your righteousness, His holiness your holiness, His obedience your obedience, His death your death, His life your life.  You can now give to God what belongs to Him, because you have been given to by Jesus.  And that is the only way this command of the Lord can be kept.  We can only give to God the things that belong to Him, when we have first been given to by Jesus.  
    This is illustrated by an incident about paying taxes that involved both Jesus and Peter.  Some tax collectors came up to Peter one day and asked if Jesus paid taxes.  Peter answered, “Yes,” but then went in to see Jesus about this.  Jesus told him to go cast a hook into the sea.  He was then to take the first fish that came up, and upon opening that fish’s mouth he would find a shekel, with which he was to pay the tax for both Jesus and himself.  Here Jesus gave to Peter what Peter needed to pay taxes to the government.  Peter gave to Caesar the things that belonged to Caesar after being given to by Jesus, after Jesus provided Peter with the means with which to pay Caesar.  In the same way, Peter was able to give to God the things that belonged to Him only after being given to by Jesus.  Peter could give himself to the Lord and begin to fear, love, and trust in Him above all things only after Jesus had given Him His righteousness and holiness.  For you and me, too, it is only possible now to give God what is His after we have been given to by Jesus.  
    Like Peter and all the saints, you and your fear, love, and trust in God above all things is what you are to give God.  These are the things that belong to Him by virtue of the fact that He claimed you as His own through holy Baptism.  There He placed His Name upon you, making Himself your God and you His child.  Like the image of Caesar stamped upon the coin that was used to pay taxes, God has stamped His image upon you in Jesus Christ.  Just as the coins belonged to Caesar, so you now belong to the Lord.  You’re a new creation of God in Jesus Christ.  He gave you the new birth of water and the Spirit.  He sprinkled you with the blood of Christ, cleansing you of all sin.  That blood is the price with which you were purchased by God.  You are no longer your own, but you belong to Him.  You are no longer under the tyranny of the devil, but under the gracious rule of your merciful Lord.  As a result you may now give yourself to God, to whom you already belong.  St. Paul talks this way in the book of Romans.  He writes, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”  In other words, in view of all that God has given you in Jesus out of His mercy, in view of the fact that God has redeemed you with His blood and claimed you as His own through holy Baptism, now give yourself to Him.  In your thoughts, words, and deeds, give back to God what He has given to you.  In the words of today’s Epistle text, give God your work of faith, your labor of love, and the steadfastness of your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.  Give as you have been given to.  And the more you’re on the receiving end of the Lord’s gifts, the more you’ll be able to give back to Him.  
    This giving to God will be seen in how you give to your neighbor, especially as you give to those who belong to the Lord as you do.  Where you render to God the things that belong to Him is in your earthly vocations.  When Christian parents love and care for their families, they give to God the things that belong to Him.  When Christian children honor and obey their parents and teachers, they give to God what belongs to Him.  When Christian employees serve their employers and their customers, they give to God what belongs to Him.  When Christians live as responsible citizens and pay their taxes, they give to God what belongs to Him.  As Christians live in faith towards God and in fervent love towards one another, faithfully carrying out their God-given callings, speaking the Gospel to all those who ask them about the hope that they have in Jesus, they give to God the things that belong to Him.  
    Jesus tells us to give to God the things that belong to Him not for God’s sake, as if He needs or lacks anything, but for our sake and the sake of our neighbor.  It doesn’t impoverish God for us to steal away what belongs to Him.  It impoverishes us.  Not to belong to God means slavery not freedom, death not life.  Born into this state as we were, we could not give to God what belongs to Him.  So our Lord Jesus Christ paid our debt for us.  He gave Himself and all His righteous deeds to our heavenly Father in our place.  The One who bore the exact imprint of God gave His life on the cross as the payment in full for all that was due to God.  And He credited that payment to you in your Baptism.  There what belongs to Jesus became yours.  There you became God’s possession, stamped with His Name, clothed with Christ, so that when God looks at you now He sees you in His Son as having rendered to Him all that belongs to Him.  
    You the baptized belong to God, having been purchased with the blood of Christ.  You live under God’s grace and mercy, free from death, free from tyranny.  Live in that freedom and give to God what belongs to Him - your very life, your fear, love, and trust in Him, and your love towards one another.  Give as you are given to in Jesus Christ, and you will portray His image to the world.  Amen.

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