I am writing this as I have expressely stated before that the church, the institutional church, if it were God's "called out one's" they surely destroyed that when it chose to incorporate and put itself under the authority of the State.
Well, I also believe very strongly this is so, when it comes to the idea that marriage by the State is what sanctifies a marriage as a marriage.
Even in the times of Christ, the Jews did not seek out the approval of the Roman government, to issus a marriage license. to declare two people married. It has come time for the "church" to recognize these errors within itself, should it ever desire to return to being an assembly of God's "called out one's" versus an organization incorporated as a kingdom of this earth, under the authority of the State and the Federal government for the sake of gain. Let's be honest, this move by the institutional church was made for no other reason than the sake of money, so that they could declare themselves a non-profit organization and recieve special tax benefits on the millions of dollars that they manipulate from the body of Christ for gain and power over them. It is self gratifying and self feeding. Very little money actually goes to the poor, to evangelism of the unsaved or to the support of other believers within a "congregation", the majority goes to buildings, buildings and more buildings and to the hierarchial staff of those who are suppose to be more spiritual than the layman who are manipulated out of this money each week at services held across the world, under "the lie of tithing".
That's another story in itself, "tithing", and I would highly recommend any Christian to read my friend, Dr. Russel Kelly's book entitled " Should The Church Teach Tithing". This book is readable online or you may download the pdf for Free and can be found at this web site: http://www.tithing-russkelly.com/
I would recommend for EVERY Christian to read this to come to an understanding of how much a lie it is that they must tithe. A lie that has been fed them since the inception of the "Catholic Church".
The history of how the "church" came about telling this lie is well known amongst any church historian, that knows their history. Of course, for the laymen this is best kept secret, less the truth be known, and the church lose it's hold pscyhologically and spiritually over people which grace their walls.
My story here has to do with recent events in California, of the State Supreme Court over ruling the desire of the people of that state, on this issue of homosexual marriage. Here is a short blurp from what I read.
I was a Californian for 40 years, so I have to ask my former fellow citizens: Are you going to sit by and do nothing while four black-robed despots take away your right to govern yourselves?
The story is written by Jan Larue. See credit at the end of the excerpt.
By one vote, the California Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the expressed will of Californians to limit marriage to a man and a woman.
In 2000, a 61.4 percent majority of Californians passed Proposition 22, which limited marriage to a man and a woman and precluded California's recognition of same-sex "marriages" consummated elsewhere. In a decision derided by a dissenting California justice as "legal jujitsu," the Supreme Court majority held that the ban on same-sex marriage is an infringement of the fundamental state constitutional right to marry.
Jan LaRue, Esq. is a member of the board of directors of the Culture and Media Institute, and formerly chief counsel for Concerned Women for America.
-end
Once more the State has proven itself for what it is, an institution of Godless men and women, who care less about morality then the people they supposedly are suppose to represent. The main goal of any State law basically requiring some sort of licensing or approval by the State, is the opportunity to make profits. In this case they want to profit from marriage licenses issued to the homosexual population. I can see in California especially how this new law will help fill the State coffers a lot more, being there is such a large population of homosexuals in the State of California. I can't fault them for wanting their piece of the action, isn't that governments purpose these days, to take money which isn't theirs in the first place.
My point to my article here written why can't the Christian realize, that all the kingdoms of this world, including the church is nothing more than an organization organized and instituted by fallen men and women. Thus the laws and practices of such fall under the description what the Bible states about this world, that "Satan is the god of this world".
The word "world" being "cosmos" in the Greek implying the whole of all of the system as we know it and experience it about us.
Marriage should have never been reduced to a marriage license in the first place as issued by ANY governmental institution.
If two drunks go to Vegas, male and female, and in the night they meet each other, and while under the influence of alcohol they should get married, in one of the little Chapels over there, and wake up and realize what they have done, did the license really make a marriage? Of course not, and neither does it matter whether one is sober or drunk, the fact that the state issues a marriage license, doesnt grant anyone God's blessing as a marriage.
Marriage is between male and female and was ordained so by God, but when the church itself even declares that two people aren't married unless they get a license by this godless state declaration they too have given marriage as a declaration not by the God who instituted it but by the State, the pagan State no less, the god to bless it. Thus in my opinion, the recent events, prove my point.
Two people getting a marriage license doesnt mean a thing. Marriage is a commitment of heart and two lives for eternity under God and as described by God in scripture, not a thing of legal papers issued by an institution of any government!
Thus if the State wants to say two Homosexuals are married, let them do so, but let the true body of Christ, say "that is fine and dandy, you pagans do what you want to do, but those that are in the body of Christ, are withdrawing, from this sort of recognition of marriage by the State and the necessity for licensing and we are returning to our roots". The only marriage the body of Christ will recognize is one in which the two marrying individuals male and female, are born again believers and have sought only their love and commitment of one another as their right to live with one another in holy matrimony, that is approved by God and Him alone and witnessed by other believers of like mind and the only license they need comes from above and not within or from the institutions of this cosmos that belongs to Satan anyway.
When Christians get all upset and want to fight the hopeless battle of trying to make the State be moral, they are wasting their time. It is Satan's kingdom, the State is, and joining themselves to it, in the first place, whether it be for marriage recognition or incorporation to simply assemble as fellow believers, is PURE APOSTASY anyway.
Our very early Christian believers, died in Coliseums and were slaughtered by the millions simply for refusing to pay homage to Caesar, yet the "church" today desires to be Caesar or win Caesar's approval or to change Caesar to be something it cannot be, an extension of the Ekklesia. Folks, the Kingdom of God will not be created out of any of man's kingdoms. So give up the idea, there is no such thing as a "Christian nation". Not at least until Christ returns and judges all the kingdoms of this world, and establishes Himself truly as King for the world to see.
It never will be nor can it be, until Jesus returns and He establishes righteousness and destroys all the kingdoms of this world, which includes the institutional church!
So, quit fretting over the laws this country is passing which are contradictory to who you are in Christ. Let the godless men and women of the kingdoms of this world do what they are going to do anyway and that is always to worship the creation rather than the Creator! Read the Book of Romans, First Chapter.
Leave the State to do what it's going to do, but separate yourself from it, and be God's child in His kingdom, subject only to Him, as Jesus did and all those who truly followed Him throughout history. They paid the price of persecution as He did, and He promised those that were truly His would suffer the same.
I suffer persecution from those even who claim to be Christian often, but have no clue what it means to live for the Kingdom of God, versus the kingdom's of this world.
America nor it's institutions or it's governments are representative nor have they ever been "The Kingdom of God". The sooner that real Christians get that in their head and into their heart, they will learn that this world doesnt matter, it is bent on a race for judgement anyway. Thus, if you as a Christian male or female love each other, are committed to one another for a lifetime, you do not have to seek the approval of the State, make your parents and family understand why you won't seek the State's blessing (pagan in nature) and rather you seek only their recognition and the other believers you know to call you married, and that you seek to love one another without a State's license. All you need is God's blessing, make sure you have that and nothing else matters. Let the church if it wants to be the ekklesia, come together, withdraw from incorporation first, and then grant the love of a make and female who want to be with one another for a lifetime, let it be that assembly of believers that say, yes they are married, and that's all they need is the body of Christ's recognition of love and no more State licenses.
Radical, I know and in the minds of those who are brainwashed with institutional thinking, what I have said here will rattle their pea brains, but when the truth be told, the State can't declare anyone married, never could, since marriage is something that belongs to the Creator himself from the beginning.
The very first thing Adam did once Eve was created, is they "knew" one another. Which means much more than the context of just having sex with one another, they were committed to one another for a lifetime under the blessing of God, even though they had sinned against God, God put his blessing on the creation of Adam and Eve, not on Adam and Steve, nor Eve and Elizabeth.
Let God be the one that calls what is a marriage and only time will tell if it is. Who needs the godless's license's anyway, who needs the State for anything if Christ is truly your head, and your Shepard, your leader, your authority.
Forget the State, give them time and they will soon declare a man marrying his dog is marriage. Let the "ekklesia" be the one that calls what a marriage is for now on!
Get it right "church" or forget it, you can't be a pagan and not one, if you are going to join yourself to them, then you have to join yourself to them, and be what they are, totally godless and without conscious or guilt of immorality for they have no concept of it. Why should they? Are they not but a representative of the enemy of God.
Stop calling marriage something the State does, and call it something that God does and the lie you keep telling about separation of church and state will go away, when you decide to withdraw yourself from it's supposed authority over God's assembly, His "called out one's" then you can begin to see more and more, how the assembly of people called out to be God's children separated from this world were enticed by the enemy, godless men, and an institution to become joined with it. Paul warned of joining the harlot to Christ, and that's exactly what Constantine, he told Christians they had to join the body of Christ to the harlot of paganism and the unsaved, and the church has been in the same state since, of Adultery. Wake up Christians, see the truth and live the truth, the State nor this government or any institution that allies itself to it, is from God, God only allows man to form governments, it is his sovereign decision, but it is not His desire, for his ultimate desire is to reign over your heart, not your pocketbook, nor your business, nor your little group of people meeting in pagan temples. God desires to have all of you, Twenty four and seven, then you can say you truly worship God and not men.
It's time now or never to make the decision to break off from the Harlot you have been sleeping with, man's institutions, and return to Christ.
Dr. J.
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Showing posts with label Church Incorporation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Church Incorporation. Show all posts
Monday, May 19, 2008
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Church Incorporation - The Great Apostasy!
There has been a great transformation of the external church (the one seen physically) since about the late 1800's. Money and power became the great desire to which the organizational church fell into it's witchraft like spell and churches for the first time in history, gave up having Christ as their head for a union of the State and Church.
Early Christians as you will read were sincerely persecuted for resisting Rome's law which asked of them to incorporate, which they resisted to the loss of life. Caesar would never be their king, they had King Jesus. Let's look at this apostasy for which it is, and since the church has fallen into worse degradation and apostasy from Christ as their head in these modern times since the 20th century began.
The Ekklesia, is not an organization or a building, it is made up of the true temple of God which is ALL His people. The word "church" is not in the New Testament it is a word derived from an old English word (Kirke) that replaced the word Ekklesia. It especially was never intended to be thought of as we do in our minds, as a place to which we go.
God's Ekklesia is made up of all his true believers and not necessarily found in the buildings built by the hands of men. Jesus Christ is their High Priest, not a Pope, Priest or Pastor, and they as a whole and individually are the dwelling place of God, by the indwelling resurrected Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, they are His priesthood.
Let's look how incorporation has furthered the apostasy of the seen "church", thus effecting those that are the real Ekklesia. Those that choose God as their protector, and Jesus as their King, and the rule of the Father in their hearts as the Kingdom of God.
Let's examine something that man once again has instituted into what is suppose to represent the Ekklesia, that is purely paganistic and has no scriptural foundations. Let's look at the legalise of what and who a corporation is, in the terms of law. Let's look at the consequences theologically and legally for the church for choosing the traditions of men over the commandments of God. Let's look at how incorporation is not scriptural for any body of Christ meeting in assembly with one another, therefore it is anti-biblical, therefore anti-Christ and how it violates everything our forefathers intended in writing into the Constitution the separation of church and State. Let's look at recorded history of the Early Church and the Great Persecution, Colonial times, and the history of the physically seen organized church once more for truth.
Let's look at some legal descriptions first. The truth and just what it does mean since your church or other church may have incorporated or is about to.
A corporation is defined as:
Corporation. An artificial person or legal entity created by or under the authority of the laws of a state. An association of persons created by statute as a legal entity.
The legal attributes of the corporation, and the alleged “benefits” that attorneys most commonly discuss with churches to convince them of their need to incorporate are:
1. A corporation has limited liability protection.
2. A corporation may exist in perpetuity.
3. A corporation may hold title to real property.
One additional legal attribute of any corporation is something that attorneys generally don't like to discuss with their church clients:
A corporation may sue and be sued.
In point of fact, there is a great deal that your attorney is not likely to disclose, in the way of the various legal attributes of the corporation, that you might not find so attractive. In the landmark case of Hale vs. Henkel, the U.S. Supreme Court stated the following regarding corporations:
Upon the other hand, the corporation is a creature of the State. It is presumed to be incorporated for the benefit of the public. It receives certain special privileges and franchises, and holds them subject to the laws of the State and the limitations of its charter. Its powers are limited by law. It can make no contract not authorized by its charter. Its rights to act as a corporation are only preserved to it so long as it obeys the laws of its creation.
Hale v. Henkel, 201 U.S. 43 at 74 (1906)
From this case we learn that:
· A corporation is “a creature of the State.”
· The State is "sovereign" over the corporation.
· The corporation is “incorporated for the benefit of the public.”
· A corporation is a State “franchise.”
· Incorporation is a State “privilege.”
· A corporation is “subject to the laws of the State.”
· “Its powers are limited by law.”
· It must “obey the laws of its creation.”
· A corporation has no constitutionally-protected rights.
These are not new or novel legal principles that the Supreme Court just discovered in 1906. Rather, these are legal principles that date back many centuries. The corporation is a product of ancient Rome. The corporation, as the legal entity we are familiar with today, dates back to at least 250 B.C.
By 6 A.D. and the codification of Corpus Juris Civilis (the first great codification of Roman civil law) all "spontaneous collectivities of persons" were required to incorporate. The early church was persecuted over their refusal to incorporate. Had they incorporated they could have avoided much of the persecution they otherwise suffered at the hands of the Romans.
Rome persecuted the Christians not for Who they worshipped. Rome had hundreds of deities, and they could care less who or what you worshipped, as long as you were "licit" (licensed). The church was persecuted not because they worshipped Jesus Christ, but because of the manner in which they functioned -- an Ekklesia. The church was declared to be "illicit," and held in a state of "civil disobedience," because of their refusal to incorporate. Why did the church refuse incorporation? Largely because they knew that it would destroy their testimony that Jesus Christ is "Lord" and "Sovereign."
Under Roman civil law, "Caesar is sovereign over the corporation," and "the corporation is a creature of the State." The early church willingly suffered for its refusal to accept "State privileges and benefits."
Because that for his name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. (3 John 7)
Corporations have been known and widely used for many centuries in virtually every corner of the earth. However, the corporation was not at all widely known in America during the colonial era, and for many decades after our independency. Indeed, the corporation was an entity viewed with great suspicion, if not trepidation. For many years it was extremely difficult and expensive to incorporate and, therefore, it was rather difficult to identify corporations of any kind, especially incorporated churches.
Today, all that is necessary to incorporate is that you fill out the necessary forms and file them with your Secretary Of State's office; but that wasn't always the case. It used to be that if you wanted to incorporate you would have to petition your state legislature for a corporate charter, and they weren't in the habit of handing those out to just anyone who wanted one. In order to be issued a corporate charter, you had to prove to a majority of your state legislators that you simply couldn't operate any other way. As a result, the vast majority of businesses operated as sole proprietorships and general partnerships.
Those who have ever had to petition their state legislature for anything know that it is a time-consuming process, and often leads to frustration, if not failure. For any church to request a corporate charter would surely be met by failure (at least after ratification of the Constitution and the First Amendment), since the states viewed the incorporation of any church as a government "establishment of religion." Some state legislatures, such as Virginia and West Virginia, went so far as to amend their state constitutions to "forever prohibit the incorporation of any church."
In 1811 Congress ratified a bill, to incorporate the Protestant Episcopal Church in Alexandria, Virginia. When the bill was presented for President James Madison’s signature, he promptly vetoed it. He furnished a list of his objections, in a veto message, which in part included:
"Because the bill exceeds the rightful authority to which governments are limited by the essential distinction between civil and religious functions, and violates in particular the article of the Constitution of the United States which declares that ‘Congress shall make no law respecting a religious establishment.’ The bill enacts into and establishes by law sundry rules and proceedings relative purely to the organization and polity of the church incorporated… This particular church, therefore, would so far be a religious establishment by law, a legal force and sanction being given to certain articles in its constitution and administration."
James Madison had no difficulty with grasping the fact that the bill was wholly unconstitutional, although the majority in Congress evidently did not. With the Episcopal Church having already declared its intentions, the Virginia state legislature prevented any church from ever incorporating by amending their Constitution to preclude their doing so. To this very day, it is unlawful to incorporate a church in Virginia.
In Caesar's Grip, page 66, by Peter Kershaw
Of Madison's historic veto, constitutional law professor John Eidsmoe states in his book, Christianity and the Constitution:
His reason was that incorporation was a form of licensing by which government gave churches permission to operate. Therefore, incorporation was superfluous; government has no jurisdictional authority to tell churches they can or cannot operate.
Madison's veto set an historic precedent that was seldom departed from, at least up until the turn of the twentieth-century. In 1898, New Jersey became the first state to "liberalizate" their incorporation laws. The New Jersey state legislature delegated its powers to incorporate to the New Jersey Secretary Of State. Rather than issuing corporate charters, the Secretary Of State issued "articles of incorporation." All the former impediments to obtaining corporate status were done away with.
In order to "compete" with New Jersey, other states quickly followed suit and liberalized their incorporation laws, as well. Soon the mainline church denominations, no longer hindered by state legislators, incorporated. Andrew Carnegie, a wealthy industrialist who sat on the board of directors for the largest Presbyterian denomination (PCUSA), was first to encourage his denomination to incorporate. Carnegie did so not because of all the reasons we hear today. Not once did he ever even mention limited liability protection. Rather, Carnegie spoke highly of the corporation, based upon its alleged "efficiencies."
Other industrialist tycoons, such as Cleveland Dodge and John Wanamaker, who sat on the boards of other mainline denominations, also encouraged their denominations to incorporate, based upon their theories of "improved efficiency." This was the industrial age and industrialists had rapidly become "corporate men." In their worldview, the church too must become "modernized," and incorporation was a necessary element of modernization.
Eventually, many local churches, encouraged by the example of their denominations, also incorporated. By the mid-twentieth century, incorporation of the church had become the status quo.
Madison's veto of 1811, and his reasons for that veto have, by and large, been abandoned, if not completely forgotten.
Of even greater concern is the fact that today's church has, with few exceptions, abandoned the beliefs of the early church fathers who refused to incorporate, and suffered Rome's persecution, as a direct result. Incorporation was mandatory for all "spontaneous collectivities of persons" throughout Rome. Yet they refused Caesar's "privilege."
In America, incorporation is completely voluntary. Furthermore, as we've already mentioned, it used to be almost impossible to incorporate a church, based upon the fact that no church can be free and independent of that government that incorporates it.
Yet churches today incorporate routinely, a decision which they make with about as much care and consideration as what brand of tissue paper to use in their lavatories; this in spite of the fact that there are huge legal and theological ramifications to any church seeking incorporation.
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Limited Liability Protection?
Limited liability protection is generally first among the legal “benefits” used by attorneys to convince a church to incorporate. However, limited liability protection is, for a number of reasons, largely a phantasm promulgated by (you guessed it) the legal profession, and fails to take into account significant trends in tort law in recent years.
The American Bar Association has hosted “Tort & Religion” conferences since at least 1989 in which they instruct attorneys in the finer points of how to target incorporated “religious organizations” and “pierce the corporate veil.”
Incorporation does little if anything in the way of actually protecting the church. The legal reality is that a church cannot be sued and brought into court until it incorporates. A church “is not an entity recognized in law.” If the court cannot legally recognize it, it cannot be sued. A church is not subject to the jurisdiction of any court. However, should a church incorporate it most certainly may be sued. Incorporation becomes the nexus of government jurisdiction to the incorporated church. One of the legal attributes that seldom if ever is discussed by the attorney is:
· A corporation may sue and be sued.
How they can sell that as a “benefit” is hard to comprehend.
The Fox Guarding the Henhouse
One thing attorneys will never discuss is just who offers the “protection” to the corporation. The answer is the State. Is this wise or prudent? Even decades ago when the State was openly cordial to the church it would be hard to argue from Scripture that the church should seek its “protection” from the State. But in post-Christian America when the State has grown openly antagonistic toward biblical Christianity, is it smart to seek State “protection”? That would be like asking the fox to guard the henhouse (or in biblical vernacular, the wolf protecting the sheep)!
There are numerous problems associated with a church organizing as a corporation. Attorneys will enthusiastically market the alleged “benefits,” but nary a word is mentioned about all the pitfalls of incorporation. Not only are there legal pitfalls, but there are significant theological ones, as well.
A Creature Of the State
Two of the most serious of all problems for the church that incorporates is the legal fact that:
· The corporation is a “creature of the State.”
· The State is “sovereign over the corporation.”
These are legal maxims that originated in ancient pagan Rome, and they survive as governing legal dictum to this very day.
The corporation that we know today, with all of its legal attributes, was perfected by the Romans at least 250 years prior to the birth of Christ Jesus. Those who have studied Roman culture will appreciate how every element of society, including its legal system, was imbued by their pagan worldview.
There were no personal liberties in the Roman empire, only State-sanctioned privileges and benefits. The State was sovereign (the supreme authority) in all matters and nothing could be done absent the State’s license. Incorporation became mandatory by 6 A.D. for all “spontaneous collectivities of persons.”
The church was not persecuted by Rome because of who they worshipped (there were hundreds of deities that Rome permitted to be worshipped). Persecution began because of the manner in which they worshipped. The church was held to be “illicit” because they refused to seek the permission of the State through incorporation.
Why would the early Christians suffer the wrath of Rome rather than incorporate? The answer is both legal and, necessarily, theological. For the church to incorporate would have been a public proclamation that Caesar was sovereign (the supreme authority) over Jesus Christ, the object of the church’s worship. Those Christians would have considered such a thing blasphemy!
Secondly, they well knew that the church is the body of Christ -- corpus Christi -- not the corpus of the State (the word “corporation” comes from the Latin “corpus” or “body”).
The early church had far more regard for the consistency of their testimony than many churches do today. We should try to learn something from their example. It is because of that testimony that they at no time sought the privileges and benefits of the Roman State:
Because that for his name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. (3 John 7)
The early church existed to testify to the world the authority and Lordship of its Head and Founder, the Lord Jesus Christ -- an imperial gospel. The local church, though persecuted, was free and unconstrained to impact the culture of the Roman Empire, not become subordinate to its pagan rulers.
Incorporated churches in America today, however, are constrained by the dictates of the State by virtue of the myriad of laws which apply to non-profit corporations.
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine
Let’s now follow one of the more typical scenarios in how the pastor (and often the elders, and deacons) are convinced to incorporate the local church. Sunday morning the pastor gives a stirring sermon on the passage from John 3:3, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” He closes with an altar call and proclaims, “Friends, Jesus is not only the Savior merely of men’s souls, He is the Savior, the Lord, the Sovereign of every area of our lives, Jesus wants to not only save your soul from eternal damnation, His will is to govern every area of your life. Jesus is the Provider. Jesus is the great Protector.” And many a soul is saved that day. They are convinced the Pastor really believes what he says.
With Monday morning into the church comes an attorney who informs the Pastor, “Reverend, in combing through the Secretary Of State’s records, I noticed that your church is not incorported. Don’t you know that most churches are incorporated? Pastor, you’re flirting with danger. Didn’t you hear about the church just down the road here that got sued because some grandmother walked in and fell over a rumple in the carpet and broke her hip. She got a judgement not only against the church, but because the church wasn’t incorporated she was able to attach the personal assets of the pastor, elders, deacons, and any of the members of the church with deep pockets.”
What the attorney just presented to the Pastor is a lie (just ask that attorney to give you a citation for the case of granny and her broken hip, and you’ll never see him again), but lies rooted in fear often sell, and the attorney well knows this. He’s not concerned for the truth, just for roping in another paying client. The law profession is far more competitive than most people realize. There are over one-million attorneys in America (that’s more than the entire attorney population of the rest of the world combined). There are too many attorneys chasing too little legitimate legal work, so many of them have to create work for themselves -- to create a perception of a need where no legitimate need exists.
Just what kind of a testimony is it to the world when the church incorporates, and particularly when we do so out of a spirit of fear? Sadly, the issue of our testimony is seldom ever considered when making that monumental decision. But it is one that many others will ponder when they are presented with the gospel message.
“Let’s see, the Pastor just said that Jesus not only saves my soul, but He will be my Savior in every area of my life. He’s my Provider. He’s my Protector. If he’s such a great Protector, why then did this church think they needed to go to the State and get its limited liability protection by incorporating? Obviously the church must not think very much of Jesus’ ability to protect them.”
“Because that for His name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.” (III John 7)
A great many of the church's problems today are a direct result of the church "taking" and actively pursuing a legal status that makes it inferior to, and a subordinate of, the civil government. The two most significant ways this occurs is by incorporation (state jurisdiction) and the tax-exempt 501c3 status (federal jurisdiction).
Scripture simply does not support the notion that the church is an inferior institution to the State. Nor, for that matter, is the church a superior institution to the State. God has ordained both the church and the civil government as His "ministers." The church is the minister of grace, while the State is the minister of justice. Church and State are two distinct and independent spheres of authority (jurisdictions) ordained by God.
However, no church can remain separate and distinct from the civil government when it incorporates and/or accepts 501c3 status. For legal purposes an incorporated 501c3 church has subordinated itself, by contract, to the civil government. For theological purposes, that church has made a covenant with the State, a covenant which Scripture in no way supports.
What is the solution to the church's current messy state of affairs? It must cease operating as an underling of the State. The solution is for the church to legally operate as it once had in America (and we might add, quite successfully so). Rather than operating as "tax-exempt nonprofit religious corporations," churches once functioned as "free-churches." Just what exactly is a free-church? A free-church operates independent of, and is in no way subordinate to, the civil government.
It is the right of any church to operate free of the corrupting and compromising influence and control of the State; and it is a right guaranteed by the Constitution:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…
A free-church is not some radical-fringe concept. Rather, the free-church was one of the most influential, and certainly one of the most common, institutions in early American history. The worldview of those men who fought for America's independence embraced an uncompromising belief that the church was not an underling, a vassal, or in any way subordinate to any king, parliament, or any other civil government body.
The church is the religious institution ordained and established by Jesus Christ Himself, and Christ has never delegated His authority to the civil jurisdiction to rule in the affairs of His church.
A free-church is the opposite of a State-Church. The Church Of England is a State-Church system. State-Churches are well known throughout Europe, and there have been State-Churches there for many centuries. Europeans not only have a very low regard for their State-Churches and government-licensed clergy, they often hold them in open contempt, and this is reflected statistically by what is the lowest church attendance in the world.
Rather than being quick to criticize the Europeans for not attending church, we should ponder whether their contempt for the State-Church system isn't well deserved. If you're ever inclined to have a church experience that is cold, empty, meaningless and downright depressing, just attend the average European church service (it's little wonder there are so many agnostics and atheists there).
A State-Church is a church which is organized by the State, and/or is controlled and regulated by the State, or which exists at the pleasure of the State. Christians in Europe have, for a number of generations, grown up surrounded by nothing but State-Churches. As such, they are generally not offended by the notion that the State controls their church (they just don't bother to show up unless it's Christmas). It's simply a way of life for them which they generally do not question.
Americans, on the other hand, are generally offended by the notion of the State creating or controlling their churches, or that their churches would be subordinate to the State. However, this is exactly what has occurred in recent years as a direct result of churches incorporating and seeking a 501c3 status -- they have become State-Churches.
A free-church is a church that is truly separate, independent and autonomous from the State. It is established by a local body of Christian believers, or chartered or "planted" by another church body or denomination, without the permission or sanction of the State. The only "sovereign" of the free-church is the Lord Jesus Christ. A free-church cannot incorporate, it cannot seek a 501c3 status, it cannot become a tax collector for the State (withholding agent), it cannot accept government-issued tax numbers (EIN).
The term "free-church" was widely used by the American colonists. It was not a term that they coined, but one which they inherited from their fathers and forebears such as the Scottish Covenanters, and the "non-conformist" English clergy, both of whom fled the persecutions of the Anglican State-Church and it's "sovereign head" the British monarchy.
Even after American independence there continued to be Christians who fled the religious persecution of their State-Church systems for the freedom of religion America offered them. They too often used the term "free-church" to describe the churches they organized. Such an example of this would be the Evangelical Free Church, which was founded by a group of Scandinavians who settled in America in the mid-nineteenth century.
Tragically, the Evangelical Free Church In America today has become a "Free Church" in name only. By incorporating and becoming a 501c3 they, some years ago, decided to abandon those principles that their Swedish, Danish and Norwegian forefathers endured great persecution for.
Equally tragic is the demise of the so-called "Free-Church of Scotland." Were they honest it would be renamed the "State-Church of Scotland." So thoroughly has it become a State-Church that Scottish pastors receive their paychecks from the government (and it happened because the Scottish clergy insisted upon it). He who pays the piper calls the tune.
The church must cease operating as an underling, subordinate to the State, or in any way dependent upon the State for "privileges and benefits." The solution rests in the church organizing and operating as a church -- the ecclesia, not as something other than what the Lord Jesus Himself ordained and specified. Jesus spoke of the church as a “body” with Himself as the “head” of His church, and we as various “members of the body.” The church is, therefore, not an “organization” (a “legal entity”) but a living, breathing “organism.”
This should not be a difficult biblical doctrine to grasp, particularly for the Pastor. Sadly, however, ever since local churches started organizing as tax-exempt non-profit corporations in the mid-twentieth century, and since the incorporated 501c3 church is now the status quo, many folks have a hard time conceiving of the church operating as just a church. For some odd reason, just being a church isn’t good enough anymore for too many Christians.
The thinking today appears to be that we must somehow be smarter than Jesus and His disciples were. They refused to incorporate and that refusal resulted in their persecution (incorporation of all “spontaneous collectivities of persons” became mandatory throughout the Roman Empire by 6 A.D.). We’re told that we live in a far more complex world than the first-century church, and so the church too must inevitably become more complex and just adapt to the complexities of the modern information age. The simplicities of the organizational infrastructure (polity) of the early church are no longer adequate to address the complex world in which we live.
Those who hold to such beliefs, whether in word or deed, are in reality, making a public proclamation that Jesus Christ is no longer competent to govern His own church and provide for, and protect it.
The courts well-understand that “a church is not an entity recognized in law,” meaning that they have no jurisdiction over the church. However, organizing a church as a church is an especially difficult concept for attorneys to grasp. Few attorneys can comprehend that there are things and issues completely outside the purview and jurisdiction of the civil government, nor do they much care for the idea. After all, it’s hard to get many billable hours out of those churches that understand that the civil government has no jurisdiction over them. A free-church needs an attorney like a fish needs a bicycle.
The legal support for the State’s lack of jurisdiction over the church in America is not only the Word of God, but the First Amendment to the Constitution for the United States:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…
No church in any nation at any point in history can lay claim to the freedoms and liberties that are guaranteed the church in America. The First Amendment is an act of God’s Providence to safeguard His church and maintain its independence from the State. The First Amendment is the highest form of real protection the church has ever known in history.
The solution rests in the church abandoning the phony third-rate protections and benefits of the State and returning to those real protections and benefits that are ours in Christ Jesus.
Although it's not inherently difficult to unlicense a State-Church and/or organize and operate as a free-church or free-ministry, you'll still need some guidance and direction. Thankfully, there's no need to hire an attorney.
If any real body of Christ meeting to encourage one another, to build up one another in their most holy faith, comes to realize that behind Incorporation is the love of money, and the replacement of Christ as the Head for the State and they would like to un-incorporate, I would advise them to contact Heal Our Land Ministries- via
http://www.hushmoney.org.
Dr. J.
Early Christians as you will read were sincerely persecuted for resisting Rome's law which asked of them to incorporate, which they resisted to the loss of life. Caesar would never be their king, they had King Jesus. Let's look at this apostasy for which it is, and since the church has fallen into worse degradation and apostasy from Christ as their head in these modern times since the 20th century began.
The Ekklesia, is not an organization or a building, it is made up of the true temple of God which is ALL His people. The word "church" is not in the New Testament it is a word derived from an old English word (Kirke) that replaced the word Ekklesia. It especially was never intended to be thought of as we do in our minds, as a place to which we go.
God's Ekklesia is made up of all his true believers and not necessarily found in the buildings built by the hands of men. Jesus Christ is their High Priest, not a Pope, Priest or Pastor, and they as a whole and individually are the dwelling place of God, by the indwelling resurrected Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, they are His priesthood.
Let's look how incorporation has furthered the apostasy of the seen "church", thus effecting those that are the real Ekklesia. Those that choose God as their protector, and Jesus as their King, and the rule of the Father in their hearts as the Kingdom of God.
Let's examine something that man once again has instituted into what is suppose to represent the Ekklesia, that is purely paganistic and has no scriptural foundations. Let's look at the legalise of what and who a corporation is, in the terms of law. Let's look at the consequences theologically and legally for the church for choosing the traditions of men over the commandments of God. Let's look at how incorporation is not scriptural for any body of Christ meeting in assembly with one another, therefore it is anti-biblical, therefore anti-Christ and how it violates everything our forefathers intended in writing into the Constitution the separation of church and State. Let's look at recorded history of the Early Church and the Great Persecution, Colonial times, and the history of the physically seen organized church once more for truth.
Let's look at some legal descriptions first. The truth and just what it does mean since your church or other church may have incorporated or is about to.
A corporation is defined as:
Corporation. An artificial person or legal entity created by or under the authority of the laws of a state. An association of persons created by statute as a legal entity.
The legal attributes of the corporation, and the alleged “benefits” that attorneys most commonly discuss with churches to convince them of their need to incorporate are:
1. A corporation has limited liability protection.
2. A corporation may exist in perpetuity.
3. A corporation may hold title to real property.
One additional legal attribute of any corporation is something that attorneys generally don't like to discuss with their church clients:
A corporation may sue and be sued.
In point of fact, there is a great deal that your attorney is not likely to disclose, in the way of the various legal attributes of the corporation, that you might not find so attractive. In the landmark case of Hale vs. Henkel, the U.S. Supreme Court stated the following regarding corporations:
Upon the other hand, the corporation is a creature of the State. It is presumed to be incorporated for the benefit of the public. It receives certain special privileges and franchises, and holds them subject to the laws of the State and the limitations of its charter. Its powers are limited by law. It can make no contract not authorized by its charter. Its rights to act as a corporation are only preserved to it so long as it obeys the laws of its creation.
Hale v. Henkel, 201 U.S. 43 at 74 (1906)
From this case we learn that:
· A corporation is “a creature of the State.”
· The State is "sovereign" over the corporation.
· The corporation is “incorporated for the benefit of the public.”
· A corporation is a State “franchise.”
· Incorporation is a State “privilege.”
· A corporation is “subject to the laws of the State.”
· “Its powers are limited by law.”
· It must “obey the laws of its creation.”
· A corporation has no constitutionally-protected rights.
These are not new or novel legal principles that the Supreme Court just discovered in 1906. Rather, these are legal principles that date back many centuries. The corporation is a product of ancient Rome. The corporation, as the legal entity we are familiar with today, dates back to at least 250 B.C.
By 6 A.D. and the codification of Corpus Juris Civilis (the first great codification of Roman civil law) all "spontaneous collectivities of persons" were required to incorporate. The early church was persecuted over their refusal to incorporate. Had they incorporated they could have avoided much of the persecution they otherwise suffered at the hands of the Romans.
Rome persecuted the Christians not for Who they worshipped. Rome had hundreds of deities, and they could care less who or what you worshipped, as long as you were "licit" (licensed). The church was persecuted not because they worshipped Jesus Christ, but because of the manner in which they functioned -- an Ekklesia. The church was declared to be "illicit," and held in a state of "civil disobedience," because of their refusal to incorporate. Why did the church refuse incorporation? Largely because they knew that it would destroy their testimony that Jesus Christ is "Lord" and "Sovereign."
Under Roman civil law, "Caesar is sovereign over the corporation," and "the corporation is a creature of the State." The early church willingly suffered for its refusal to accept "State privileges and benefits."
Because that for his name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. (3 John 7)
Corporations have been known and widely used for many centuries in virtually every corner of the earth. However, the corporation was not at all widely known in America during the colonial era, and for many decades after our independency. Indeed, the corporation was an entity viewed with great suspicion, if not trepidation. For many years it was extremely difficult and expensive to incorporate and, therefore, it was rather difficult to identify corporations of any kind, especially incorporated churches.
Today, all that is necessary to incorporate is that you fill out the necessary forms and file them with your Secretary Of State's office; but that wasn't always the case. It used to be that if you wanted to incorporate you would have to petition your state legislature for a corporate charter, and they weren't in the habit of handing those out to just anyone who wanted one. In order to be issued a corporate charter, you had to prove to a majority of your state legislators that you simply couldn't operate any other way. As a result, the vast majority of businesses operated as sole proprietorships and general partnerships.
Those who have ever had to petition their state legislature for anything know that it is a time-consuming process, and often leads to frustration, if not failure. For any church to request a corporate charter would surely be met by failure (at least after ratification of the Constitution and the First Amendment), since the states viewed the incorporation of any church as a government "establishment of religion." Some state legislatures, such as Virginia and West Virginia, went so far as to amend their state constitutions to "forever prohibit the incorporation of any church."
In 1811 Congress ratified a bill, to incorporate the Protestant Episcopal Church in Alexandria, Virginia. When the bill was presented for President James Madison’s signature, he promptly vetoed it. He furnished a list of his objections, in a veto message, which in part included:
"Because the bill exceeds the rightful authority to which governments are limited by the essential distinction between civil and religious functions, and violates in particular the article of the Constitution of the United States which declares that ‘Congress shall make no law respecting a religious establishment.’ The bill enacts into and establishes by law sundry rules and proceedings relative purely to the organization and polity of the church incorporated… This particular church, therefore, would so far be a religious establishment by law, a legal force and sanction being given to certain articles in its constitution and administration."
James Madison had no difficulty with grasping the fact that the bill was wholly unconstitutional, although the majority in Congress evidently did not. With the Episcopal Church having already declared its intentions, the Virginia state legislature prevented any church from ever incorporating by amending their Constitution to preclude their doing so. To this very day, it is unlawful to incorporate a church in Virginia.
In Caesar's Grip, page 66, by Peter Kershaw
Of Madison's historic veto, constitutional law professor John Eidsmoe states in his book, Christianity and the Constitution:
His reason was that incorporation was a form of licensing by which government gave churches permission to operate. Therefore, incorporation was superfluous; government has no jurisdictional authority to tell churches they can or cannot operate.
Madison's veto set an historic precedent that was seldom departed from, at least up until the turn of the twentieth-century. In 1898, New Jersey became the first state to "liberalizate" their incorporation laws. The New Jersey state legislature delegated its powers to incorporate to the New Jersey Secretary Of State. Rather than issuing corporate charters, the Secretary Of State issued "articles of incorporation." All the former impediments to obtaining corporate status were done away with.
In order to "compete" with New Jersey, other states quickly followed suit and liberalized their incorporation laws, as well. Soon the mainline church denominations, no longer hindered by state legislators, incorporated. Andrew Carnegie, a wealthy industrialist who sat on the board of directors for the largest Presbyterian denomination (PCUSA), was first to encourage his denomination to incorporate. Carnegie did so not because of all the reasons we hear today. Not once did he ever even mention limited liability protection. Rather, Carnegie spoke highly of the corporation, based upon its alleged "efficiencies."
Other industrialist tycoons, such as Cleveland Dodge and John Wanamaker, who sat on the boards of other mainline denominations, also encouraged their denominations to incorporate, based upon their theories of "improved efficiency." This was the industrial age and industrialists had rapidly become "corporate men." In their worldview, the church too must become "modernized," and incorporation was a necessary element of modernization.
Eventually, many local churches, encouraged by the example of their denominations, also incorporated. By the mid-twentieth century, incorporation of the church had become the status quo.
Madison's veto of 1811, and his reasons for that veto have, by and large, been abandoned, if not completely forgotten.
Of even greater concern is the fact that today's church has, with few exceptions, abandoned the beliefs of the early church fathers who refused to incorporate, and suffered Rome's persecution, as a direct result. Incorporation was mandatory for all "spontaneous collectivities of persons" throughout Rome. Yet they refused Caesar's "privilege."
In America, incorporation is completely voluntary. Furthermore, as we've already mentioned, it used to be almost impossible to incorporate a church, based upon the fact that no church can be free and independent of that government that incorporates it.
Yet churches today incorporate routinely, a decision which they make with about as much care and consideration as what brand of tissue paper to use in their lavatories; this in spite of the fact that there are huge legal and theological ramifications to any church seeking incorporation.
.
Limited Liability Protection?
Limited liability protection is generally first among the legal “benefits” used by attorneys to convince a church to incorporate. However, limited liability protection is, for a number of reasons, largely a phantasm promulgated by (you guessed it) the legal profession, and fails to take into account significant trends in tort law in recent years.
The American Bar Association has hosted “Tort & Religion” conferences since at least 1989 in which they instruct attorneys in the finer points of how to target incorporated “religious organizations” and “pierce the corporate veil.”
Incorporation does little if anything in the way of actually protecting the church. The legal reality is that a church cannot be sued and brought into court until it incorporates. A church “is not an entity recognized in law.” If the court cannot legally recognize it, it cannot be sued. A church is not subject to the jurisdiction of any court. However, should a church incorporate it most certainly may be sued. Incorporation becomes the nexus of government jurisdiction to the incorporated church. One of the legal attributes that seldom if ever is discussed by the attorney is:
· A corporation may sue and be sued.
How they can sell that as a “benefit” is hard to comprehend.
The Fox Guarding the Henhouse
One thing attorneys will never discuss is just who offers the “protection” to the corporation. The answer is the State. Is this wise or prudent? Even decades ago when the State was openly cordial to the church it would be hard to argue from Scripture that the church should seek its “protection” from the State. But in post-Christian America when the State has grown openly antagonistic toward biblical Christianity, is it smart to seek State “protection”? That would be like asking the fox to guard the henhouse (or in biblical vernacular, the wolf protecting the sheep)!
There are numerous problems associated with a church organizing as a corporation. Attorneys will enthusiastically market the alleged “benefits,” but nary a word is mentioned about all the pitfalls of incorporation. Not only are there legal pitfalls, but there are significant theological ones, as well.
A Creature Of the State
Two of the most serious of all problems for the church that incorporates is the legal fact that:
· The corporation is a “creature of the State.”
· The State is “sovereign over the corporation.”
These are legal maxims that originated in ancient pagan Rome, and they survive as governing legal dictum to this very day.
The corporation that we know today, with all of its legal attributes, was perfected by the Romans at least 250 years prior to the birth of Christ Jesus. Those who have studied Roman culture will appreciate how every element of society, including its legal system, was imbued by their pagan worldview.
There were no personal liberties in the Roman empire, only State-sanctioned privileges and benefits. The State was sovereign (the supreme authority) in all matters and nothing could be done absent the State’s license. Incorporation became mandatory by 6 A.D. for all “spontaneous collectivities of persons.”
The church was not persecuted by Rome because of who they worshipped (there were hundreds of deities that Rome permitted to be worshipped). Persecution began because of the manner in which they worshipped. The church was held to be “illicit” because they refused to seek the permission of the State through incorporation.
Why would the early Christians suffer the wrath of Rome rather than incorporate? The answer is both legal and, necessarily, theological. For the church to incorporate would have been a public proclamation that Caesar was sovereign (the supreme authority) over Jesus Christ, the object of the church’s worship. Those Christians would have considered such a thing blasphemy!
Secondly, they well knew that the church is the body of Christ -- corpus Christi -- not the corpus of the State (the word “corporation” comes from the Latin “corpus” or “body”).
The early church had far more regard for the consistency of their testimony than many churches do today. We should try to learn something from their example. It is because of that testimony that they at no time sought the privileges and benefits of the Roman State:
Because that for his name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. (3 John 7)
The early church existed to testify to the world the authority and Lordship of its Head and Founder, the Lord Jesus Christ -- an imperial gospel. The local church, though persecuted, was free and unconstrained to impact the culture of the Roman Empire, not become subordinate to its pagan rulers.
Incorporated churches in America today, however, are constrained by the dictates of the State by virtue of the myriad of laws which apply to non-profit corporations.
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine
Let’s now follow one of the more typical scenarios in how the pastor (and often the elders, and deacons) are convinced to incorporate the local church. Sunday morning the pastor gives a stirring sermon on the passage from John 3:3, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” He closes with an altar call and proclaims, “Friends, Jesus is not only the Savior merely of men’s souls, He is the Savior, the Lord, the Sovereign of every area of our lives, Jesus wants to not only save your soul from eternal damnation, His will is to govern every area of your life. Jesus is the Provider. Jesus is the great Protector.” And many a soul is saved that day. They are convinced the Pastor really believes what he says.
With Monday morning into the church comes an attorney who informs the Pastor, “Reverend, in combing through the Secretary Of State’s records, I noticed that your church is not incorported. Don’t you know that most churches are incorporated? Pastor, you’re flirting with danger. Didn’t you hear about the church just down the road here that got sued because some grandmother walked in and fell over a rumple in the carpet and broke her hip. She got a judgement not only against the church, but because the church wasn’t incorporated she was able to attach the personal assets of the pastor, elders, deacons, and any of the members of the church with deep pockets.”
What the attorney just presented to the Pastor is a lie (just ask that attorney to give you a citation for the case of granny and her broken hip, and you’ll never see him again), but lies rooted in fear often sell, and the attorney well knows this. He’s not concerned for the truth, just for roping in another paying client. The law profession is far more competitive than most people realize. There are over one-million attorneys in America (that’s more than the entire attorney population of the rest of the world combined). There are too many attorneys chasing too little legitimate legal work, so many of them have to create work for themselves -- to create a perception of a need where no legitimate need exists.
Just what kind of a testimony is it to the world when the church incorporates, and particularly when we do so out of a spirit of fear? Sadly, the issue of our testimony is seldom ever considered when making that monumental decision. But it is one that many others will ponder when they are presented with the gospel message.
“Let’s see, the Pastor just said that Jesus not only saves my soul, but He will be my Savior in every area of my life. He’s my Provider. He’s my Protector. If he’s such a great Protector, why then did this church think they needed to go to the State and get its limited liability protection by incorporating? Obviously the church must not think very much of Jesus’ ability to protect them.”
“Because that for His name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.” (III John 7)
A great many of the church's problems today are a direct result of the church "taking" and actively pursuing a legal status that makes it inferior to, and a subordinate of, the civil government. The two most significant ways this occurs is by incorporation (state jurisdiction) and the tax-exempt 501c3 status (federal jurisdiction).
Scripture simply does not support the notion that the church is an inferior institution to the State. Nor, for that matter, is the church a superior institution to the State. God has ordained both the church and the civil government as His "ministers." The church is the minister of grace, while the State is the minister of justice. Church and State are two distinct and independent spheres of authority (jurisdictions) ordained by God.
However, no church can remain separate and distinct from the civil government when it incorporates and/or accepts 501c3 status. For legal purposes an incorporated 501c3 church has subordinated itself, by contract, to the civil government. For theological purposes, that church has made a covenant with the State, a covenant which Scripture in no way supports.
What is the solution to the church's current messy state of affairs? It must cease operating as an underling of the State. The solution is for the church to legally operate as it once had in America (and we might add, quite successfully so). Rather than operating as "tax-exempt nonprofit religious corporations," churches once functioned as "free-churches." Just what exactly is a free-church? A free-church operates independent of, and is in no way subordinate to, the civil government.
It is the right of any church to operate free of the corrupting and compromising influence and control of the State; and it is a right guaranteed by the Constitution:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…
A free-church is not some radical-fringe concept. Rather, the free-church was one of the most influential, and certainly one of the most common, institutions in early American history. The worldview of those men who fought for America's independence embraced an uncompromising belief that the church was not an underling, a vassal, or in any way subordinate to any king, parliament, or any other civil government body.
The church is the religious institution ordained and established by Jesus Christ Himself, and Christ has never delegated His authority to the civil jurisdiction to rule in the affairs of His church.
A free-church is the opposite of a State-Church. The Church Of England is a State-Church system. State-Churches are well known throughout Europe, and there have been State-Churches there for many centuries. Europeans not only have a very low regard for their State-Churches and government-licensed clergy, they often hold them in open contempt, and this is reflected statistically by what is the lowest church attendance in the world.
Rather than being quick to criticize the Europeans for not attending church, we should ponder whether their contempt for the State-Church system isn't well deserved. If you're ever inclined to have a church experience that is cold, empty, meaningless and downright depressing, just attend the average European church service (it's little wonder there are so many agnostics and atheists there).
A State-Church is a church which is organized by the State, and/or is controlled and regulated by the State, or which exists at the pleasure of the State. Christians in Europe have, for a number of generations, grown up surrounded by nothing but State-Churches. As such, they are generally not offended by the notion that the State controls their church (they just don't bother to show up unless it's Christmas). It's simply a way of life for them which they generally do not question.
Americans, on the other hand, are generally offended by the notion of the State creating or controlling their churches, or that their churches would be subordinate to the State. However, this is exactly what has occurred in recent years as a direct result of churches incorporating and seeking a 501c3 status -- they have become State-Churches.
A free-church is a church that is truly separate, independent and autonomous from the State. It is established by a local body of Christian believers, or chartered or "planted" by another church body or denomination, without the permission or sanction of the State. The only "sovereign" of the free-church is the Lord Jesus Christ. A free-church cannot incorporate, it cannot seek a 501c3 status, it cannot become a tax collector for the State (withholding agent), it cannot accept government-issued tax numbers (EIN).
The term "free-church" was widely used by the American colonists. It was not a term that they coined, but one which they inherited from their fathers and forebears such as the Scottish Covenanters, and the "non-conformist" English clergy, both of whom fled the persecutions of the Anglican State-Church and it's "sovereign head" the British monarchy.
Even after American independence there continued to be Christians who fled the religious persecution of their State-Church systems for the freedom of religion America offered them. They too often used the term "free-church" to describe the churches they organized. Such an example of this would be the Evangelical Free Church, which was founded by a group of Scandinavians who settled in America in the mid-nineteenth century.
Tragically, the Evangelical Free Church In America today has become a "Free Church" in name only. By incorporating and becoming a 501c3 they, some years ago, decided to abandon those principles that their Swedish, Danish and Norwegian forefathers endured great persecution for.
Equally tragic is the demise of the so-called "Free-Church of Scotland." Were they honest it would be renamed the "State-Church of Scotland." So thoroughly has it become a State-Church that Scottish pastors receive their paychecks from the government (and it happened because the Scottish clergy insisted upon it). He who pays the piper calls the tune.
The church must cease operating as an underling, subordinate to the State, or in any way dependent upon the State for "privileges and benefits." The solution rests in the church organizing and operating as a church -- the ecclesia, not as something other than what the Lord Jesus Himself ordained and specified. Jesus spoke of the church as a “body” with Himself as the “head” of His church, and we as various “members of the body.” The church is, therefore, not an “organization” (a “legal entity”) but a living, breathing “organism.”
This should not be a difficult biblical doctrine to grasp, particularly for the Pastor. Sadly, however, ever since local churches started organizing as tax-exempt non-profit corporations in the mid-twentieth century, and since the incorporated 501c3 church is now the status quo, many folks have a hard time conceiving of the church operating as just a church. For some odd reason, just being a church isn’t good enough anymore for too many Christians.
The thinking today appears to be that we must somehow be smarter than Jesus and His disciples were. They refused to incorporate and that refusal resulted in their persecution (incorporation of all “spontaneous collectivities of persons” became mandatory throughout the Roman Empire by 6 A.D.). We’re told that we live in a far more complex world than the first-century church, and so the church too must inevitably become more complex and just adapt to the complexities of the modern information age. The simplicities of the organizational infrastructure (polity) of the early church are no longer adequate to address the complex world in which we live.
Those who hold to such beliefs, whether in word or deed, are in reality, making a public proclamation that Jesus Christ is no longer competent to govern His own church and provide for, and protect it.
The courts well-understand that “a church is not an entity recognized in law,” meaning that they have no jurisdiction over the church. However, organizing a church as a church is an especially difficult concept for attorneys to grasp. Few attorneys can comprehend that there are things and issues completely outside the purview and jurisdiction of the civil government, nor do they much care for the idea. After all, it’s hard to get many billable hours out of those churches that understand that the civil government has no jurisdiction over them. A free-church needs an attorney like a fish needs a bicycle.
The legal support for the State’s lack of jurisdiction over the church in America is not only the Word of God, but the First Amendment to the Constitution for the United States:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…
No church in any nation at any point in history can lay claim to the freedoms and liberties that are guaranteed the church in America. The First Amendment is an act of God’s Providence to safeguard His church and maintain its independence from the State. The First Amendment is the highest form of real protection the church has ever known in history.
The solution rests in the church abandoning the phony third-rate protections and benefits of the State and returning to those real protections and benefits that are ours in Christ Jesus.
Although it's not inherently difficult to unlicense a State-Church and/or organize and operate as a free-church or free-ministry, you'll still need some guidance and direction. Thankfully, there's no need to hire an attorney.
If any real body of Christ meeting to encourage one another, to build up one another in their most holy faith, comes to realize that behind Incorporation is the love of money, and the replacement of Christ as the Head for the State and they would like to un-incorporate, I would advise them to contact Heal Our Land Ministries- via
http://www.hushmoney.org.
Dr. J.
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