As we worship together this coming Lord’s Day, we will be two days away from the next National election. I am thankful to God that I was born in and that I live in a Nation where the people still have the right to vote for our leaders. I am sick of all of the electioneering – as are most of you; but, I am still thankful for being an American and for the right to participate in our elections.

It is not my intention to try to tell you for whom you should vote. I do not want anyone telling me for whom I ought to vote, so I do not want to tell anyone else. If the American people would allow me to pick our leaders, I would be happy to do so, but – so far at least – they have not offered me that privilege.

I want to go much deeper into the Scriptures and talk about being a Citizen of two Kingdoms: first of all, a heavenly Kingdom; and, secondly, an earthly Nation. The reason we turn to Scripture is simple. With all that is said and said and said about politics and our role as Citizens of our Nation, Jesus always has the final word! No passage could be more clear on this subject than our passage for Sunday morning:

In these verses, we hear people saying nice things to and about Jesus, but the truth that is revealed here tells another story! Their true purpose is to trap Jesus into saying or doing something against the Scripture so they can use that as a reason to deny Him!

Jesus, knowing their real purpose, cuts to the chase… He goes directly to the relationship of His people as Citizens both of heaven and of Rome. And – as He always does – Jesus gives them (and us) the perfect answer:

We are to, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” and “Render unto God the things that are God’s!”

Simple? Yes and no. (I always love that answer… it is the least helpful ever given.)

While I will have lots to say about this on Sunday, there are three key principles here:

1. We are to be good Citizens of our Nation!

2. We are to be good Citizens of our King and His Kingdom!

3. If and when being a good Citizen of our Nation conflicts with being a good Citizen of our King and His Kingdom, our King and His Kingdom must always take precedence over any and all other allegiances!

As Citizens or our Nation, we have certain rights and responsibilities. As Citizens of our King and His Kingdom, we have certain rights and responsibilities. We can never, never, never allow our responsibilities to our Nation cause us to neglect our responsibilities to our King and His Kingdom!

Since there are no perfect humans, we will never have the opportunity to vote for a perfect candidate in any election; local, State, or National. But, as Citizens of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, we can and must always vote for the candidate who more closely follows the teachings of Jesus!

Sadly, many times there is no follower of Christ for whom to vote in an election. Therefore, there is no really good choice. When we are faced with that situation, the best thing to do is to vote for the candidate who most closely follows the teachings of Jesus.

Next Tuesday is Election Day. The best thing that could happen to our Nation is to be led by people who closely follow the teachings of Jesus, or, at least by people who follow the teachings of Jesus more closely than those who oppose them.

As we go forth to “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s”, we ought to make our choices on the basis of being Citizens of our King and His Kingdom! Thereby, we can be good Citizens of our Nation and our King and His Kingdom.

God bless you! I hope to see you Sunday with your Bible in your hand, a smile on your face, and your family and friends by your side!

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 (ESV)