Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. . . “Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me?” Matthew 22:15,16,18
Nobody’s Mascot
The whole family is together for the holidays. The food is hot. The kids are laughing. The conversation is flowing, until Uncle Dan mentions the recent elections. Everything stops. Everyone studies their plate. Chairs scrape the floor as people shift in their seats. Grandma suddenly remembers something in the kitchen. No one says a word until someone asks brightly, “How about this weather?” Talking politics can be uncomfortable.
Jesus once faced a political question intended to do more than make him uncomfortable. He was asked whether it was right to pay taxes to the Roman emperor. Would Jesus side with Rome or with his own people? Those asking the question were trying to trap him, to get him to say something that would be unpopular and bring down his ministry.
Jesus did not fall for it. He knew what they were doing.
People still try to pin Jesus to one political side or the other. But Jesus is nobody’s mascot.
Jesus did not come to be a political leader or cheerleader. He came to save the entire human race. But when Jesus refused to pick a side, people from every side wanted him gone. Religious leaders. Political leaders. Even the disciple Judas, whom Jesus called “friend,” turned on him.
Yet, Jesus went to the cross for the people who tried to trap him. Yes, he went to the cross for the people who agree with you politically and for the people who do not. His death paid for your sins and theirs.
Jesus is nobody’s mascot and everybody’s Savior. So regardless of what party is in power or who wins the election, your hope remains secure with him. Your standing with God can’t be voted out.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for coming to do more than lead a political movement. Thank you for coming to save my soul. Amen.
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. . . . For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. Romans 13:1,4
God Is Still in Charge
Government can be frustrating. Ever-changing tax forms. Long lines at government offices. And sometimes, real injustice. Someone wrongs you, and the courts say it isn’t worth their time. It’s easy to lose hope.
So, what the Bible says about government might surprise you.
Paul, an early follower of Jesus, wrote these words to Christians living under the Roman Empire. Its government was often harsh. Even so, Paul says that governing authorities are established by God, and that a person in authority is “God’s servant for your good” (verse 4).
That doesn’t mean every government is perfect or every law is fair. It does mean God is not absent. He uses government, even flawed government, to bring order, protect people, and punish wrongdoing. Imagine life with no courts, no fire departments, no traffic laws, and no safety standards for food and medicine.
Here is the clearest example that God is in charge, even when government fails. Two thousand years ago, a Roman governor named Pilate sentenced Jesus to die. Pilate knew Jesus was innocent, but he gave in to the crowd to protect his own position.
It looked like a terrible failure of justice. Yet Jesus told Pilate that any power he had was given from above. God was still in charge. He used that unjust verdict to rescue the world. Jesus’ death paid for the sins of every person, including yours, and his resurrection opens the way to life with God forever.
Whatever your government does, and whatever frustrations you carry, you have peace through Jesus. Government keeps order in this life. Only Jesus gives life forever. God has forgiven you and made you a citizen of a better country. No government can take that away. The God who brought good out of Pilate’s verdict is still at work today, and he is working for you.
Prayer:
Almighty God, King, and Lord of all, thank you for caring for me through governing authorities. Help me be a responsible citizen, and give me hope, trusting that you are working good even through imperfect governments. Amen.
To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds…The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah so they entered the king’s service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. Daniel 1:17,19-20
The Way God Made Me
I am six feet four inches. I sometimes get asked, “Why are you so tall?”
The answer is simple: “That’s just the way God made me.”
Daniel could have said the same. He was a young man from Israel, taken captive to Babylon, far from home. After three years of training, the king found him and his friends ten times better than any other adviser. But what looked like a self-made success story was really God-given grace.
Our world loves self-made success stories. It tells us to prove ourselves and claims we are only worth what we accomplish. But your mind, your strength, your skills, and every open door in your life are gifts from God. Effort matters, but God is still the giver.
God’s greatest gift wasn’t a talent at all. It was his Son. Jesus lived and died to forgive every wrong we’ve done, including the pride and worry that come from trying to prove ourselves. Because of Jesus, God calls you his dear child, loved and forgiven. You don’t have to prove yourself to him.
Wherever God has placed you, you are free to serve others with the gifts he has given you. So use them today with gladness. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as if you were working for God.
And when people ask you why you are the way you are, answer them: “That’s just the way God made me!”
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for the gifts and abilities you have given me. Teach me to serve faithfully where you have placed me without forgetting that I belong to you. Amen.
Fall 2026 meeting update from WELS Conference of Presidents The Conference of Presidents (COP) met at the WELS Center for Mission and Ministry in Waukesha, Wis., October 6-9, for its annual fall meeting. Although the COP met virtually during […]
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Home Missions faces $2 million reduction in spending The work of WELS Home Missions has always involved balancing aggressive efforts to plant new churches and reach the lost with wise and diligent stewardship of the resources God provides. […]
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Fifty writers begin work on theology curriculum: video update In the fall 2026 video update, Melanie Giddings, WELS Lutheran Schools curriculum coordinator, shares progress on the theology curriculum project. Watch the video to learn more about the four writing […]
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Luther Preparatory School – October 2026 update Luther Preparatory School in Watertown, Wis., is investing in building a new music center. Matt Crass, president, describes what the “Magnify” project entails and how it will help enhance the […]
1 What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered according to the flesh? 2 If indeed Abraham had been justified by works, he would have had a reason to boast—but not before God. 3 For what does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.” [1]
4 Now to a person who works, his pay is not counted as a gift but as something owed. 5 But to the person who does not work but believes in the God who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited to him as righteousness.
6 This is exactly what David says about the blessed state of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7 Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him. [2]
Abraham Was Justified Before His Circumcision
9 Now then, does this blessing apply only to the circumcised or also to the uncircumcised? To be sure, we maintain that faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness. 10 So then, under what circumstances was it credited to him? Was he circumcised or uncircumcised at that time? He was not circumcised but uncircumcised, 11 and he received the mark of circumcision as the seal of the righteousness by faith that was already his while he was uncircumcised. So Abraham is the father of all the uncircumcised people who believe, so that righteousness would also be credited to them. 12 He is also the father of the circumcised people who are not merely circumcised but also walk in the footsteps of the faith our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Abraham Received What God Promised by Faith, Not by Law
13 Indeed, the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not given to Abraham or his descendants through the law, but through the righteousness that is by faith. 14 To be sure, if people are heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified. 15 For law brings wrath. (Where there is no law, there is no transgression.)
21 But now, completely apart from the law, a righteousness from God has been made known. The Law and the Prophets testify to it. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all and over all [1] who believe.
In fact, there is no difference, 23 because all have sinned and fall short of the glory [2] of God 24 and are justified [3] freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God publicly displayed as the atonement seat [4] through faith in his blood. God did this to demonstrate his justice, since, in his divine restraint, he had left the sins that were committed earlier unpunished. 26 He did this to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so that he would be both just and the one who justifies the person who has faith in Jesus.
27 What happens to boasting then? It has been eliminated. By what principle [5]—by the principle of works? No, but by the principle of faith. 28 For we conclude that a person is justified by faith without the works of the law. 29 Or is he only the God of the Jews? Is he not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, also of the Gentiles, 30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised person by faith and the uncircumcised person through the very same faith. 31 So are we doing away with the law by this faith? Absolutely not! Instead, we are upholding the law.
Footnotes
Romans 3:22 Some witnesses to the text omit and over all.
Romans 3:23 Or approval
Romans 3:24 Or declared righteous
Romans 3:25 The atonement seat was the cover of the Ark of the Covenant. It served as the footstool of God’s throne and was the place where the sacrificial blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement (see Leviticus 16:2,14,15). Christ is the fulfillment of the function of the atonement seat.
Romans 3:27 In this verse, principle translates the Greek term nomos, which is often translated law.
1 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew? Or what benefit is there to circumcision? 2 Much in every way! Indeed, above all else, they were entrusted with the messages of God.
3 Now what if some did not believe? Their unbelief [1] will not nullify God’s faithfulness, will it? 4 Absolutely not! God must be true, even though everyone is found to be a liar, just as it is written:
So that you would be justified whenever you speak, and win the case when you judge. [2]
An Absurd Conclusion
5 Now if our unrighteousness demonstrates God’s righteousness, what shall we say? God is not unjust in bringing his wrath on us, is he? (I am speaking from a human point of view.) 6 Absolutely not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? 7 For example, [3] someone might say, “If by my lie the truth of God increases all the more to his glory, why am I still being judged as a sinner?” 8 And why not say (as some slanderously claim we say), “Let us do evil so that good may result.” Their condemnation is deserved.
All Are Guilty of Sin
9 What then? Are we any better off? No, not at all! In fact, we have already made the charge that all (both Jews and Greeks) are under sin. 10 Just as it is written:
There is no one who is righteous, not even one. 11 There is no one who understands. There is no one who searches for God. 12 They all turned away; together they became useless. There is no one who does what is good; there is not even one. [4]
13 Their throat is an open grave. They kept deceiving with their tongues. The poison of asps is on their lips. [5] 14 Their mouth is filled with cursing and bitterness. [6]
15 Their feet are quick to shed blood. 16 They leave a trail of destruction and suffering wherever they go. 17 The way of peace they did not know. [7]
18 There is no fear of God in front of their eyes. [8]
The Law Condemns Everyone
19 Now we know that whatever the law says is addressed to those who are under the law, [9] so that every mouth will be silenced and the whole world will be subject to God’s judgment. 20 For this reason, no one [10] will be declared righteous in his sight by works of the law, for through the law we become aware of sin.
Footnotes
Romans 3:3 Or some were not faithful? Their unfaithfulness. . .
Romans 3:4 Psalm 51:4
Romans 3:7 A few witnesses to the text read And. (“Witnesses to the text” mentioned in footnotes may include Greek manuscripts, lectionaries, translations, and quotations in the church fathers.)
17 Now if you call yourself a Jew, and you find your comfort in the law, and you boast in God; 18 and if you know his will, and you approve the things that really matter, since you are instructed by the law; 19 and if you are convinced that you yourself are a guide for the blind, a light for those in darkness, 20 an instructor of the ignorant, and a teacher of infants (since you have the essence of knowledge and truth in the law)— 21 now then, you, the one who is teaching someone else, do you fail to teach yourself? You who preach, “Do not steal,” do you steal? 22 You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who detest idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law bring shame on God by breaking the law. 24 Yes, as it is written, “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” [1]
Does Circumcision Make a Difference?
25 Indeed, circumcision has value if you observe the law. On the other hand, if you are a lawbreaker, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 So, if an uncircumcised person keeps the righteous requirements of the law, won’t his uncircumcision be credited to him as circumcision? 27 The one who is not circumcised physically, but who fulfills the law, will judge you who are a lawbreaker, even though you have the written law and circumcision.
28 In fact, a Jew who is merely one outwardly is not really a Jew, and circumcision that is only outward in the flesh is not really circumcision. 29 Rather, a real Jew is one on the inside, and his circumcision is of the heart—a spiritual circumcision, not one based on carrying out the letter of the law. That person’s praise does not come from people but from God.
1 Therefore, you are without excuse, every one of you who judges someone else, because by judging the other person you also condemn yourself, since you, who are judging, are doing the very same things. 2 And we know that God’s judgment on those who do such things is based on the truth.
3 Are you thinking that you will escape God’s judgment, you who judge those who do such things and then do the same things yourself? 4 Or do you have so little regard for his rich kindness, his restraint, and his patience, that you ignore the fact that the purpose of God’s kindness is to lead you to repentance? 5 As a result of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God will reveal his righteous judgment.
6 God “will repay each person according to what he has done” [1]— 7 eternal life to those who seek glory, honor, and immortality by persisting in doing what is good, 8 but furious anger to those who out of selfish ambition are disobeying what is true and obeying what is wrong. 9 There will be trouble and distress for the soul of every person who does what is evil—for the Jew first and for the Greek— 10 but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does what is good—for the Jew first and for the Greek. 11 For God does not show favoritism.
12 Indeed, all people who have sinned without law will also perish without law, and all the people who have sinned in connection with law will be judged by law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who will be righteous in God’s sight, but those who do the law who will be declared righteous.
14 In fact, whenever Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires—even though they do not have the law—they are a law for themselves. 15 They demonstrate the work of the law that is written in their hearts, since their conscience also bears witness as their thoughts go back and forth, at times accusing or at times even defending them.
16 This will happen on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge people’s secrets through Jesus Christ.
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“The 2025 Statistical Summary & Analysis does not tell a simple story,” says Jonathan Hein, director of WELS Congregational Services. “There is good news. There is hard news. And there […]
The Conference of Presidents (COP) met at the WELS Center for Mission and Ministry in Waukesha, Wis., October 6-9, for its annual fall meeting. Although the COP met virtually during […]
The work of WELS Home Missions has always involved balancing aggressive efforts to plant new churches and reach the lost with wise and diligent stewardship of the resources God provides. […]
In the fall 2026 video update, Melanie Giddings, WELS Lutheran Schools curriculum coordinator, shares progress on the theology curriculum project. Watch the video to learn more about the four writing […]
Luther Preparatory School in Watertown, Wis., is investing in building a new music center. Matt Crass, president, describes what the “Magnify” project entails and how it will help enhance the […]