sojourner4Christ
I am born again (the world calls me Christian).
- Oct 18, 2008
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Be like Israel. Be faithful. Don’t borrow and then suffer for it. Be a lender and reap the blessings.What it is saying is that if Israel is faithful it *will be able to lend and not borrow.*
No, rather, what was the question that prompted that response from Jesus?It's called 'RENDERING TO CAESAR WHAT IS CAESAR'S.'
That's what Jesus told me to do.
We will illustrate, via a look at the popular 'Jesus paid taxes' lie that is taught throughout evangelical Christianity. Religion has always been the tool of choice of tyrants to control the sheeple.
Jesus himself was accused of forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar at his trial (Luke 23:2). Notice these were not false witnesses who accused Jesus of not paying taxes, because every time a false witness accused Jesus, the scripture tells us it was a false witness (Mark 14:57-59). Where did Jesus forbid to pay taxes to Caesar?
In Mark 12:13-17, Jesus was asked if it was lawful to give taxes to Caesar or not. A silver coin, with Caesar's inscription on it, was shown to Christ. In this example, the Lord's answer requires everyone to make the determination as to what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God;
Mark 12:17 "...Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's..."
Who did this silver coin belong to? Since the Scripture says, "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts" (Haggai 2:8), that means that the silver coin shown to Jesus belonged to God. However, those who live, move, and have their being in the image of Caesar, as the disciples of the Pharisees did, will believe this coin belongs to Caesar instead. We are not to be deluded by the image of Caesar, but built-up in the image of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 11:7; 15:49; 2 Cor. 3:18, Col. 3:10).
The $64,000 question of the hour for you to answer before the King is: Who did this silver coin belong to?
God isn’t “okay with that.” Here’s what he says about interest (usury), credit, borrowing, and debt:I both borrow and lend, and I'm okay with that.
Exodus 22:25-27, "If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down: For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep?"
Leviticus 25:36-37, "Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase."
Deuteronomy 15:6; 28:12, "...thou shalt not borrow;"
Deuteronomy 15:1-3, "At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release…Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD'S release. Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release;"
Deuteronomy 23:19-20, "Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury: Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it."
Deuteronomy 24:6, "No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for he taketh a man's life to pledge."
2 Kings 18:23, 31, the people refused to stand as surety (pledges) or give a gift (present) to the king
Nehemiah 5:3-5, "…We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth… We have borrowed money for the king's tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards…and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards."
Nehemiah 5:7, 10-11, "…and I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother. And I set a great assembly against them. I likewise, and my brethren, and my servants, might exact of them money and corn: I pray you, let us leave off this usury. Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them.
Psalms 15:5, "He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved."
Proverbs 6:1, "My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,"
Proverbs 11:15, "He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it: and he that hateth suretiship is sure."
Proverbs 22:7, "…the borrower is servant to the lender."
Proverbs 22:26, "Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts."
Proverbs 28:8, "He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor."
Isaiah 24:1-3, "Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be…as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word."
Ezekiel 18:8,13, "He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man, he that… Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him."
Ezekiel 22:12-13, "In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD. Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee."
Romans 13:8, "Owe no man any thing,"
Presently, you hail from Caesar’s world, because you speak as one of the world and have borne no evidence to the contrary. In fact, you offered evidence of your allegiance to the world (e.g. mortgages, loans, etc.). But do not despair, as there is a way out.
To be blunt about it, every bondman of Christ is presumed to be acting in the mode and character of a pagan (i.e., in commerce) because he has borne or given no evidence to the contrary. Is this not bearing false witness? In other words, when a man professes to be a follower and ambassador of Christ and yet acts in a manner that tells the whole world that he is a pagan, then he is bearing false witness to the whole world. These Christians honor God with their lips, but their heart is far from him (Isa. 29:13; Mat. 15:8; Mark 7:6).
If your reaction to being told that there are faults in Caesar's statutes is to rush to defend them, it is because you cannot envision life without them. This is normal for someone who can only see one kingdom: the kingdom of this world. Yet this world is passing away, as are our own bodies. There is only one thing in life more certain than Caesar's taxes. So we are really here as a test of whether we can “see” and then choose those things that have eternal value. Are our energies devoted to laying up earthly treasures, or treasures in heaven? Are we slaves devoted to building the kingdom of this world, or are we seeking first the kingdom of God? We cannot even know where to begin unless we can see God's kingdom, which is the true meaning of being born again.
God in his sovereignty has provided the perfect means of testing whether we can make the distinction between the two kingdoms. Caesar has usurped God's authority, but his kingdom is built entirely with our consent and by using legal fictions. His authority over us is imaginary. We do not have to render ourselves to him unless we believe that we belong to him. Most people believe with all their heart that they do, for they cannot see the alternative. But if you know that you belong to God, along with your labor, your family, and everything else you have, then you will already have a deep-seated unease with the multitude of demands Caesar makes on you.
If this is the case, then make a list of those things that rightly belong to God but you have in ignorance given to Caesar. Then develop a plan of action for returning them to their rightful owner. This is not easy, but it is necessary. You will need to learn much more about God's Law so that you can discern what true obedience requires of you. If you trust the State to provide for your needs rather than trusting God, it should be clear which master you are serving. As no man can serve two masters, you have a choice to make. Scripture is clear that obedience to God comes at a price, and we must first count the cost. But once you can see the eternal kingdom, you will realize that any price is worth it.
Mat. 13:44, “The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.”
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