Trinity Bible ChapelTrinity Bible ChapelTrinity Bible ChapelTrinity Bible Chapel
  • Jesus
  • About
    • Service Times & Location
    • Our Mission
    • Our Four Pillars
    • Our History
    • What We Believe
      • Our Doctrinal Statement
      • Specific Issues
        • Baptism and Communion
        • Church Government
        • Church Membership
        • Church Planting Philosophy
        • Church Structure
        • Counseling Philosophy
        • Creation, Evolution and God’s Sovereignty
        • Eternal Security of the Believer
        • Sufficiency of Scripture
        • Spiritual Warfare
        • The Trinity
        • Women in Ministry
        • Worship
    • Church Staff
    • Job Opportunities
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Project Rehoboth
      • Rehoboth Updates
    • King Alfred Academy
  • Connect
    • New Here?
      • Welcome to Trinity!
      • What Should I Expect?
      • How Can I Be Saved?
      • Get Baptized
      • University Bus Shuttle
    • Get Connected
      • Step 1: Connect
      • Step 2: Consider
      • Step 3: Commit to a Small Group
      • Step 3: Commit to Serve
      • Step 4: Covenant in Membership
    • Resources
      • Weekly E-News
      • Events Calendar
      • Church App
      • Subscribe to Our Podcast
      • Pulpit Curriculum
      • Bible Reading Plans
      • Weddings
      • The Church At War Conference
      • Antichrist and His Ruin Documentary
  • Ministries
    • Trinity Kids
      • Parenting Resources
      • Web Protection Guide
      • Parenting Conference Audio
    • Trinity Youth
      • Youth Ministry Blog Posts
    • Small Groups
      • Pulpit Curriculum
      • Small Groups Blog Posts
      • Accountability Resources
    • University Bus Ministry
      • Adopt-A-Student Ministry
    • Worship Ministry
      • Family Worship
      • Weekend Song List
    • Sunday Support
    • Evangelism
      • Evangelism Videos
    • King Alfred Academy
    • Homeschool Collective
      • New to Homeschooling
      • Resources
      • Planning Pages
  • Sermons
    • Latest Sermon
    • View All by Date
    • View by Series
    • View by Preachers
    • View by Topics
    • View by Scriptures
    • Subscribe to Our Podcast
  • Blogs
    • The Pastor’s Blog
    • Trinity Ministry Blog
  • Give

The Pastor's Blog

By Jacob Reaume

The Rural Post, Vaccines, and WWJD?

By Jacob Reaume | July 13, 2021 |
Tagged: covid-19, vaccine

The Waterloo Region Rural Post just offered a theological argument to get the COVID vaccine. In an editorial of July 8, 2021, Peter Dunn ruminates, “In making your decision to get vaccinated or not, you might ask yourself, ‘What would Jesus do?’” To answer his pressing Christological quandary, he turns to Matthew 22:18-19 and forthwith does as he pleases with the text. Here’s his hot take:

In Matthew 22:18-19 we see where the enemies of Jesus tried to verbally trick him. The enemies of Jesus asked a trick question “It is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

If Jesus said “no”, He would be charged with treason against Rome.

If Jesus said “yes”, He would be accused of disloyalty by his Jewish audience.

Jesus then said to the tricksters, “Show Me the coin for the tax”. They showed him a coin, a denarius. It was made of silver, and was used to pay tax. He looked at the coin, and asked whose image was on the coin? The obvious answer was, “Caesar’s”. Therefore Jesus replied with His famous line – “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”.

He showed a sharp distinction between the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of this world – even though both exist.

From that text he then delineates a version of two kingdom theology, namely that there is the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world.   And, from that, he somehow infers the answer to the earlier question – namely, “What would Jesus do?” – by saying, “Therefore please reflect upon these observations of Jesus, and do your part to be protective of yourself, your family and your community by getting vaccinated without further delay.” To paraphrase, he essentially jumped from “Jesus told us to render our taxes to Caesar” to “Jesus wants us to get vaccinated.”   Basically, if Caesar gets our taxes he can also have our bodies.

There are several problems in his little piece. I’d like to discuss them all, but I’m going to focus specifically on his use of the Scriptures in arriving at his exhortation to get the vaccine.

If his text of choice, namely Matthew 22:18-19, teaches us anything about the state’s pressure upon us to get the vaccine, it’s that the state has no business coercing us to stick things into our bodies. Let me explain.

Jesus answered the question about paying taxes by pointing to the image of Caesar on the coin. “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.” Caesar’s image is on the coin, so Caesar can have the coin. But a second command is in that same sentence: “Render…to God the things that are God’s.” We know that Caesar collects tax because it bears his image, but what does God get and what bears God’s image? Caesar gets the coin with his image on it, and God gets the things with His image on them. What then has God stamped His image on? His image is on us and our bodies: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness’” (Genesis 1:26). In other words, our bodies don’t belong to Caesar, but to God.

A Caesar who claims ownership over our bodies is a Caesar who acts like he’s our god and us his slaves. The government doesn’t own our bodies. God does.

Are Christians obligated to get the vaccine because Caesar says so? Absolutely not!

Getting vaccinated is an issue of Christian liberty. Some will choose to get it. Some will choose not to.  To be vaccinated or not is the prerogative of the individual.   But either way, folks will be wise to evaluate their decisions by carefully weighing the choice.

Caesar and his buddies in the media all seem to tell us the same thing: “Get the vaccine!” But other voices are out there, and they are experts too.  Dr. Byram Bridle – an expert in vaccines from the University of Guelph – has an alternative view.   He’s just one of many expressing sobering concerns.  You can watch his CPAC press conference here.  Here’s his 36 page report, “A Parental Guide to COVID-19 Vaccination.”  Also, here Pastor Michael Thiessen interviews Dr. Peter McCullough, an MD from Texas who’s also raised some concerns.  I could point you to some pro-vaccine sources, but they’re not typically censored by social media and mainstream media so you won’t have trouble finding them yourself.

God is Lord of the conscience, and as such people can weigh the risk and reward to make their own decisions.

As to the question, “What would Jesus do with vaccinations?”  He sure wouldn’t put up with twisting His words to fashion an answer, and He’d likely chide the ones who do.


SHARE

Related Posts

  • We Lost our Constitutional Appeal: Now What?

    By Jacob Reaume | March 14, 2023

    The week before last the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled on Trinity Bible Chapel’s constitutional challenge.  I’ll talk about that in a moment, but first let me offer some background. Back in 2020 and 2021, the Canadian people got scared because the news said we were facing a death-dealing pandemic.  Our provincial government granted PremierRead more

  • Wine at the Lord’s Table: Our Broken Tradition

    By Jacob Reaume | February 9, 2023

    Paul, when admonishing the Corinthians to be orderly and proper at the Lord’s Supper, said, “For what I received from the Lord that I also delivered to you” (1 Corinthians 11:23).  In other words, the institution is a tradition that is passed hand to hand and generation to generation.  Starting with Jesus, He passed itRead more

  • The Rainbow Flag, Local Council, and Elmira’s Streets

    By Jacob Reaume | August 23, 2022

    Elmira is Ontario’s latest community to look at painting a trendy rainbow on one of it’s streets.  Apparently, the Canadian Association of Mental Health has requested that the municipality paint one on a local crosswalk as a show of support for the LGBTQS2+ community.  Those letters — LGBTQS2+ — are likely the latest alpha-numeric codeRead more

  • A Gay Bar with Free Math Lessons

    By Jacob Reaume | June 15, 2022

    I have been advising parents to pull their children from public schools for several years.  The primary objective of education should be to foster Christian virtue in the hearts of children.  Apparently this view was once shared by the majority of Ontarians to the point that they had it enshrined in law.  Section 264.1.c ofRead more

  • Protect Your Children from Public School

    By Jacob Reaume | June 9, 2022

    A few months ago, I reported (here) of a Waterloo Region public school teacher who the WRDSB chair censored at a board meeting.  Her offence?  She questioned whether school officials should be teaching children that hormone blockers are a good idea.  She did so while quoting a public school library book that presented hormone blockersRead more

Newer PostOlder Post

Top 5 Trending

  • We Lost our Constitutional Appeal: Now What?

    March 14, 2023
  • What does “makes her commit adultery” mean? (Matt. 5:32)

    October 25, 2018
  • Wine at the Lord’s Table: Our Broken Tradition

    February 9, 2023
  • The Rainbow Flag, Local Council, and Elmira’s Streets

    August 23, 2022
  • Press Release – All Elders of Trinity Bible Chapel Charged

    December 31, 2020

Latest Posts

  • We Lost our Constitutional Appeal: Now What?

    March 14, 2023
  • Wine at the Lord’s Table: Our Broken Tradition

    February 9, 2023
  • The Rainbow Flag, Local Council, and Elmira’s Streets

    August 23, 2022
  • A Gay Bar with Free Math Lessons

    June 15, 2022
  • Protect Your Children from Public School

    June 9, 2022

About the Author

Jacob Reaume

Born and raised in Guelph, Jacob holds a Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He became pastor of Trinity Bible Chapel in August, 2009. Jacob is married to his high school sweetheart, Joanna, and together they have six children.

CHURCH LOCATION
Address:    1373 Lobsinger Line
Waterloo, ON, N2J 4G8

Phone: 519-658-6333
Email: info@trinitybiblechapel.ca

NEW HERE?

  • Service Times & Location
  • Welcome to Trinity!
  • What Should I Expect?
  • How Can I Be Saved?
  • University Bus Shuttle
  • Our Mission
  • Our Doctrinal Statement

OUR MINISTRIES

  • Trinity Kids
  • Trinity Youth
  • Small Groups
  • University Bus Ministry
  • Worship Ministry
  • Sunday Support
  • Evangelism

GET CONNECTED

  • Step 1: Connect
  • Step 2: Consider
  • Step 3: Commit to a Small Group
  • Step 3: Commit to Serve
  • Step 4: Covenant in Membership
  • Get Baptized
  • Events Calendar
Trinity Bible Chapel on Rumble
Copyright © 2022 Trinity Bible Chapel
  • Jesus
  • About
    • Service Times & Location
    • Our Mission
    • Our Four Pillars
    • Our History
    • What We Believe
      • Our Doctrinal Statement
      • Specific Issues
        • Baptism and Communion
        • Church Government
        • Church Membership
        • Church Planting Philosophy
        • Church Structure
        • Counseling Philosophy
        • Creation, Evolution and God’s Sovereignty
        • Eternal Security of the Believer
        • Sufficiency of Scripture
        • Spiritual Warfare
        • The Trinity
        • Women in Ministry
        • Worship
    • Church Staff
    • Job Opportunities
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Project Rehoboth
      • Rehoboth Updates
    • King Alfred Academy
  • Connect
    • New Here?
      • Welcome to Trinity!
      • What Should I Expect?
      • How Can I Be Saved?
      • Get Baptized
      • University Bus Shuttle
    • Get Connected
      • Step 1: Connect
      • Step 2: Consider
      • Step 3: Commit to a Small Group
      • Step 3: Commit to Serve
      • Step 4: Covenant in Membership
    • Resources
      • Weekly E-News
      • Events Calendar
      • Church App
      • Subscribe to Our Podcast
      • Pulpit Curriculum
      • Bible Reading Plans
      • Weddings
      • The Church At War Conference
      • Antichrist and His Ruin Documentary
  • Ministries
    • Trinity Kids
      • Parenting Resources
      • Web Protection Guide
      • Parenting Conference Audio
    • Trinity Youth
      • Youth Ministry Blog Posts
    • Small Groups
      • Pulpit Curriculum
      • Small Groups Blog Posts
      • Accountability Resources
    • University Bus Ministry
      • Adopt-A-Student Ministry
    • Worship Ministry
      • Family Worship
      • Weekend Song List
    • Sunday Support
    • Evangelism
      • Evangelism Videos
    • King Alfred Academy
    • Homeschool Collective
      • New to Homeschooling
      • Resources
      • Planning Pages
  • Sermons
    • Latest Sermon
    • View All by Date
    • View by Series
    • View by Preachers
    • View by Topics
    • View by Scriptures
    • Subscribe to Our Podcast
  • Blogs
    • The Pastor’s Blog
    • Trinity Ministry Blog
  • Give
Trinity Bible Chapel