Sermon on Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon on Matthew 22:15-22
Given 22 October 2017 at Studley Parish Church

Have you ever lied? How can you call yourself faithful if you have lied? Because the 9th commandment says not to bear false witness against your neighbour (Exodus 20:16). Do you love your neighbour as yourself and do you pray for those who you don’t like? Because how can you call yourself Christian if you don’t love your enemies? Since Christ did say “…love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44) If God is all-knowing, then why did He put the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden? I mean, He should have known Adam and Eve would eat from it causing the fall of Human (Genesis 3:3). And if God is all-loving, why did he let my friend Rachel die from colon cancer at the age of thirty?

I actually have my own answers for all of these questions, though these topics are a bit too deep and complicated for a ten minute sermon on a Sunday morning. So the real question I have is how many of you have confronted these types of questions when you reveal to people that you are a Christian?

The first verses of today’s reading are about the Pharisees trying to trap Jesus into saying the wrong thing. Many times people will try to trap us in our faith and trick us into giving what they think to be the wrong answers. Many non-believers are so arrogant in their non-belief they want to catch us out, make us doubt, or convince us we don’t really know our faith.

But not only do we encounter personal trials of trying to justify our beliefs and evading tricky and complex topics among friends and family, we also have to navigate a world that is incessantly trying to trap us. The fact is that the world is of the flesh, and as Christians we are instructed to battle against the flesh.

See, the trickery of the world is to convince us we are not ENOUGH. Not smart enough, not slim enough, not healthy, funny, or talented enough. Just look at any newsstand and you can see that they’re selling the idea YOU are not enough, but according to the world, these people on the cover of the magazine are. You are not enough, but you can spend your money to find out how the world thinks you can become enough. Spend your money to find out how to get perfect abs, a perfect sex life, the perfect job. Spend your money to find out what perfection looks like.

But let me save you a few quid: To find perfection, simply look in a mirror. If we know that God is perfect and we know that we were created in His image (Genesis 1:27) and He doesn’t make mistakes, then it logically follows we must only look to our true selves to find perfection.

Which brings me back to today’s reading: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s.” I hope we all pay our taxes and follow the laws of the land, but do we know what belongs to God? If coins are made by Caesar, what is made of God? Well, obviously, the answer is everything, but especially us.

God created each one of us uniquely as individuals with our own talents and gifts. We all have different abilities that we are called to use to the glory of God. In Paul’s letter to the Romans he says:

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith;  if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;  if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”

To summarise, we have all been perfectly created by God with special gifts that only we can give. When Christ commands that we give to God what is God’s, the expectation is that we give ourselves; the understanding is that we are more than enough.

Each of us has a calling, something that we were quite literally made to do. Sometimes our calling is not only apparent but easy to follow. Other times the path to our calling is challenging and it may seem easier to turn away from it. But if we turn away from that which God created us to do, then we are denying ourselves and denying God. When we ignore our calling, we are not giving to God what is rightfully His, that which he made us for.

Sometimes, the trickery of the world will lead us away from our calling, but with vigilant prayer we can remind ourselves of our reason for living as Christians. That is to fulfil our God-given purpose and thereby give ourselves to God.

As we navigate the flesh of this word, we must always keep our hearts on Christ. In our daily lives as we try to model a Christian life, we will inevitably fail from time to time. As we are only human we will get caught up in the distractions of Satan. And that’s okay. As long as we come back to Jesus, all will be forgiven. We must only give to God what is God’s, which is our whole heart and soul by doing that which He uniquely created us to do.

So my challenge for you today is to make that commitment. Open your heart to the will of God. Listen to His instruction for your life. When the Lord says, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” Be like Isaiah and respond, “Here am I. Send me!” With all the blessings God gives us, the only payment we must give to God is ourselves. Amen.