Render

Matthew 22:21 (ESV)

Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's.

Many Christians struggle with whether to render to God or to the law of the land. Some live godly, Christ-centered lives, but they cheat on their taxes, violate traffic laws, and totally disregard the law of the land as they despise it as abominable. They go around burning down abortion clinics, beating police, or insulting homosexuals. Then you have the atheists and agnostics who diligently obey the law, but are godless and hell-bound. This typically happens because both Christians and the unsaved confuse the law of the land with the law of God. There may be some overlaps, for sure. But typically the holiness of God is much more stringent than the local laws or customs. The Lord Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled both laws in Himself. As Jesus of Nazareth, He kept the Roman law, filthy and barbaric as it may have been, to the point of dying on the cross. As God, He satisfied His own laws by dying on the cross and taking our sins upon Himself. We, believers, would do well to do the same by not confusing the law of the land with the law of God.