The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1902-07-04
THE TRUE PATRIOT.
Fourth of July Sermon by High
way and Byway" Preacher.
In the Light of Gods Word and the
Experience of Man, Patriotism
and GOdIiness Are Found
Linked Together

Linked Together.
Copyright, 1902, by a. n. kellogg News
paper Coz
Chicago, 1902.
Text: Render therefore unto Caesar the
things which are Caesars; and unto God
the things that are God s.-Matt 22:21.
The Text Setting.-The words of our
text were spoken by Jesus in answer
to catch question put to Him by the
Pharisees who sought to 'entangle
Him in His talk" They ask whether it
is lawful to give tribute unto Caesar
or not, believing that loyalty to His
own nation, of which He claimed to be
the long-promised Messiah and King,
would compel Him to take a stand
against the Romans, who at this time
were the rulers and oppressors of the
Jewish nation. And they reasoned
that if such should be His reply it
would be case for the Roman govern
or to deal with and their base purpose
of causing His downfall would be ac-
complished. On the other hand, If He
counseled the paying of the tribute
money surely He no longer could claim
ton. In the blindness of their own I'M
believing hearts they thought they had
the Lord ''twiXt the devil and the deep
sea-" and whichever way He turned
they had Him in their power. But, is
at Nazareth when His angry towns
people sought to dash Him over the
brow of the hill, and the unseen hand
of God had stayed their murderOus
purpose and He walked out of their
midst unframed, so now by the simple
yet infinite wisdom of God He faces
the issue squarely and puts His enc
mics to rout. Render unto Caesar
the things which are Caesars and
unto God the things that are
Gods" How simple, yet how pro-
found. In their narrow partisanship
they had not reasoned that Caesar had
any claim whatever upon them. 1t had
never occurred to them before that God
seeks harmony in His universe, and
that even Caesar had rights which God
was bound to respect. And these
words of Jesus give us the one plank
platform broad enough and long
enough for the true patriot to stand
upon and at the same time give full
scope to his powers and his devotion
to his country and his God.
The True Patriots Platform.-And
if here in these words of Jesus we have
the fundamental principles upon which
can be safely and righteously based the
a ttitude and conduct of the loyal citi-
zen, as well as the devout Christian,
let us examine the words more closely
to discover their full import and mean
ing, and then seek to find the way in
which they can be applied in practical
to human life. First of all,
God has but one standard, and mans
ability to measure up to that stand
ard is proportionate to the degree by
which that man is actuated and direct
I'd by the Spirit of God. Failure to at
tain the one standard fixed by God in
His infinite righteousness and equity
is responsible for all the discord and
misery in the world to-day, for all the
clashing of nation with nation. and in
with individual, and individual
with the nation. If the complex rela-
lions of human life were perfectly ad-
justed according to the will and pur-
pose of God, if the things belonging 20
Caesar were exactly rendered unto
Caesar, and the things belonging to
God were exactly rendered unto God.
We should find that friction and discord
would cease and the harmony of the
millennial age would break like sweet
music upon the ear of this distracted
I'D world.
There are two divisions to our text;
1,o nf
Caesars things and Gods things. The
Kings of Caesar cannot belong to
rod, neither can the things of God be- |
ong to Caesar. The spirit and thought |
IF the text, however, is in no least de- !
yree in conflict with the declaration of |
Scripture that all things were created |
~ God and that all things belong to |
Him. In this sense Caesars things and !
he things which are not Caesars all |
)elong to God and exist because of God !
But just as you, my dear reader, in the |
road, universal sense belong to God,
md your houses and your lands, your
,ank account and your weekly salary
,elong to God, still as regards your re-
atoms to others and your responsible
les and obligations in the world, the
Kings which you possess belong to
-ou. God through you would admins
er your affairs and your possessions
n such a way as to observe to a nicely
he admonition of the text of render
ng to the world its due and to God
hat which in a special sense belongs
o Him. So when Christ, who created
II things and to whom all things be-
ong, spoke these words He gave beau
iful recognition to Gods plans in
making man a responsible agent in the
of the affairs of the
5orld. Between Caesars things and
ODDS things there is no conflict or con-
usion except as man has failed to I'M
erstand Gods classification and has
unto Caesar the things which
elong to God and unto God the things
hitch belong to Caesar.
The Image and Superscription.-A
ow are we always to know which
nings are Caesars and which are
DDS? BY the image and superscrip-
on. Was it lawful for the Jews to
ay tribute unto Caesar? asked the
harisees. Let Him see the tribute
loney. Behold, the image and super
,ription of Caesar. Therefore, rem
er unto Caesar the things which be-
ing to Caesar and unto God the things
hich belong to God. How simple the
nswer, yet its wisdom and justice are
eyond all possibility of cavil or dis
ate. Look for the image and super