“Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed… For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly…” (Romans 13:7, 11-13)

 Despite the tyrannical regime of the Roman Empire, Christ still said, “…render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Our westernized governments are nowhere near as openly unjust and barbaric as Rome’s reign, and in so many ways we attempt to compromise the words of the Son of God.

What is particularly concerning is the mentality of modern day Christendom as we dawn nearer to the Second Advent, not of the Suffering Servant but the Lord of lords, unveiled in all His awful majesty. There is a carelessness among many who ‘profess’ faith in the coming King who have rejected good stewardship in the area of finances. Without hesitancy and shame many have been known to file bankruptcy, run up their credit card with no intention to pay back what they signed and agreed to in the terms and conditions. “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s” is an outmoded and outdated command within our culture. How many Christians evade paying certain taxes is alarming without having to elaborate on this fact. Because Christ’s appearing is nearer than ever does not give us the right and liberty to depart this world in a fashion that is dishonourable and disgraceful. All dishonesty will be accounted for – whether we think it a matter of insignificance or something that is blatantly obvious; we may hoodwink the Central Intelligence Agency but never the Head Quarters of Heaven!

Drawing on a bank loan and the use of a credit card is not wrong in and of itself. Neither being in debt is condemned so long as we are motivated to fulfill our obligation to render what belongs to the lender. The Roman Empire did not rule with honesty and integrity, yet it was lawful in Christ’s eyes to render under such a regime what was due them; Christ was perfectly aware of Rome’s corruption and oppression.

In light of Christ’s Second Coming we are to live responsibly as salt and light in this world, no matter how short our duration may be. The time is short; we have warned and warned and warned the world of the Second Advent, but we are failing to state why Christ is returning; we no longer proclaim Christ’s First Advent; we do not preach the gospel that brings men and women under the conviction of the Holy Spirit; we wrongly warn the world to flee God’s coming wrath while we fail to tell them why they are to escape, why God’s wrath is being stored up for the day of judgment. We are fanatically obsessed with end time prophecy while failing to proclaim Christ Who reveals. The point is that time is short for Christians to live soberly and responsibly – in all areas – to live holy lives that exemplifies the message of the gospel to a dying world. The New Testament writers knew the day was at hand and that the night was far spent; they spoke of end times but predominantly preached Christ.

We are not the only generation to think we are living in the very last days. Of course we’re nearer than ever before – time has moved on! There have been situations in the last 70-100 years where believers have ‘cleverly’ matched and interpreted catastrophic world events with unfulfilled prophecy. So ‘convincing’ was their argument that such events turned out to betray their theories! Let us not be ignorant of our history and jump to premature conclusions, but daily live in the light of Christ’s return, knowing that soon He is coming. Let us prepare well in this short life, ready to give an account of every deed done whether unto ourselves or unto Him and His glory.