by Wayne C Anderson
The liberal politicians and media have so distorted the Constitution of the United States of America that there are few who still know what was meant by that Constitution which our founding fathers authored. One of the greatest examples has to do with the separation of Church and State. They have so deliberately misconstrued this principle that it has become just the opposite of what the authors originally intended.
First of all, we should understand the term “separation of church and state.” The term is actually an offshoot of the phrase, “wall of separation between church and state.” Thomas Jefferson included this phrase in a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802, (quoting Roger Williams, a founder of the Baptist Church), but the phrase does not appear in the Constitution of the United States of America; however, its meaning is reflected in the First Amendment which states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
Presiding Apostolic Director, Wayne C Anderson
The text of this original letter reads: “Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”
Before the forming of this nation, the king of England and his government legislated most anything to do with the Church. This was also true with most of the countries in Europe at that time. The Church was subject to the government just as the people were subjects of the government.
Those who founded the United States of America did so after revolting against the taxation of England upon the citizens and the legislation placed upon the Church. Thus, those founders made it clear in the Constitution that the Church would never be ruled by the government – the government could not legislate against the Church. This is what is meant by the “separation of Church and State” when Jefferson referred to this subject.
Today, the government has growing legislation against the Church and disallows the Church its rights and freedoms continually. Yet, the very foundations of the nation of the United States of America are based not upon the government’s influence upon and within the Church, but the Church’s influence upon and within the government.
The Church, in these terms, is the people of the nation. The government is to serve the people of the nation. The government can never be the moral gauge for the Church, with its political correctness. However, it is the Church’s responsibility to be the moral gauge for the government so that the government does not become corrupt. The Church legislates by the Word of God – the Scriptures. The nation of the United States of America is founded upon this principle and none other.
We have even come to the place where there are ministries who put fear of the Internal Revenue Service’s unrestrained political powers upon churches. These ministries tell stories of “half truths” where pastors and church leaders are imprisoned for breaking IRS rules. Not filing 1099 forms correctly, etc….
Far too many churches fall prey to these fear tactics believing that if we don’t jump through all of the IRS’s hoops correctly, we’ll lose our 501-c-3, non-profit status.
I don’t remember Jesus ever having one of those IRS letters. I don’t remember Him even caring much about those kinds of things. I do remember Him saying that we ought to give to “Caesar what is Caesar’s and give unto God what is God’s.” No mention of “non-profit” there.
Now don’t get me wrong, I think any sensible person ought to be able to see that if the government has no legislative power over the Church, then that government has no ability to tax the Church either.
No longer can we bow to the threats of the Mafia style tactics of the US Internal Revenue Service. The IRS is neither the God we serve, nor anything close to a service to the people of the United States of America, as their name would suggest.
The IRS thrives on intimidating the public, including the Church. In 1954, Lyndon Baines Johnson underhandedly authored and pushed legislation through our Federal Government to try to silence the voice of the Church in the pulpits across the United States. This legislation is known as “The Johnson Amendment” and is actually a tax code that the IRS now uses against the pulpits of the Church to silence our voice. This amendment is not only treasonous, but is unprecedented by any other in the history of this nation. This legislation will, no doubt, undergo Superior Court investigation, if not Supreme Court litigation into its constitutionality. Even the IRS fears that it will not stand up against the First Amendment rights that are given to us as citizens.
At any rate, the United States Tax Code is not the Bible. This Johnson Amendment is evil and challenges democracy and the freedom of the common people, giving more voice to the greed of the liberal media. The Church is one of the greatest challenges to the modern media of our day. If the media can silence us through fear, they will do so in order to have free reign in publishing their propaganda without restraint. (You will get more insights on this Johnson Amendment and the stand that the Church needs to take in this hour. If we do not stand up to this amendment, we will lose more freedoms than any other generation. I have dedicated a full article to this subject matter. )
There are fear tactics that are working against the Church with the continual threat that we will lose our IRS non-profit status if we do not behave in the ways that they approve of. This is a deception that has come upon the Church from outside and from the inside.
The Internal Revenue Service, (I once heard someone call them the “infernal revenue disservice”) needs to be dismissed for a fair, across the board, general tax from all people. No exceptions –everyone doing their own job, pulling their own weight.
We must stop being threatened by the IRS or the government in any way. We must do what is right according to the scriptures. If they persecute us, let it be because we have been accomplishing the will of God.
Let us consider the rules about the Church’s political endeavors. The only reason that the government and the liberal media does not want the Church to use the pulpit to say which candidates are righteous and which ones are not is that they fear the grassroots power of the Church when it comes election time. Because the Church has feared the IRS and the government, no one in the Church knows who or what to support and too small a percentage of the people in the Church even turn out to vote. This works well for a corrupted government system. They can get away with literal and figurative murder.
Please understand that I’m not against government. I’m for a righteous government that actually serves the people of the nation – something that our present government has not done for a very long time. When a Christian is elected to the United States House of Representatives or the Senate, they are usually told to “check your faith at the door” and do the business of government. This is so very wrong that I wonder what kind of deception is in the halls of our nation’s capitol. This also shows how we must keep a watchful eye upon those whom we vote into office. Many will tell us anything that we want to hear while campaigning, but once in office they flow with the status quo of their colleagues instead of serving the constituency that elected them.
The church must arise like the sleeping giant that she is feared to be and both challenge and train the people to take public office. We must be people of courage and expect our legislators to be people of courage as well. Remember that there are demographics that show the church is the majority of voters and not the minority.
I never tell people how to vote or who to vote for, but I openly tell folks for whom and how I am voting and “why.” The “why” is what is important. We preachers should teach the people that murder is wrong and that we are commanded by God to “be fruitful and multiply.” Since abortion is murder and the ultimate “hate crime,” then the Church should do its homework and tell where politicians take their stand. It is then the people will know exactly who and what to vote for. If we preachers teach about lying and stealing and how it applies to society instead of singling out the lifestyles of the people in the congregation, then it is easy to present the habits of those running for government offices. The people will see clearly and use their democratic voice appropriately. I wonder if any of our congregations are well fed on the topic of what righteousness will do if it is taught and released upon our communities. Tell a lawyer that it is wrong to lie. Tell a mayor that it is wrong to deceive the people. Tell a senator that if he commits adultery it destroys the faith that the people have in him and his office, and he will be removed.
How can the Church communicate these things to a wretched government system when that Church doesn’t really know these things themselves? We preachers have a big responsibility to teach of the community effects of unrighteousness and its unwavering effects on all.
The Church can report on the issues and the people will know who and what to vote for. The “VISION” of the Church is to go into mission mode and see their local to national communities as a mission field. When you read the whole Bible, you find that salvation isn’t only a “sinner’s prayer;” it goes from there and far beyond. We city folk should be living in “cities of refuge” instead of the cities of “refuse” – which seems to be a closer description.
The Church also needs to have “Voters Pamphlets” because the government purposefully misleads the people, never giving the information about candidates and issues that the people of the Church need to make good voting decisions. It is the Church’s God given right to speak forth the righteousness of God toward government. The government has no right to tell the Church that they cannot speak politically without threatening their non-profit status.
We are in a great battle for our nation, our freedom, our liberty, and our very prosperity. We must stand up for what is right and stop bowing to the golden idols that the government – the IRS has set up for us all to worship.
Why doesn’t the Church have a person on every ballot to choose? Because the Church has been hiding from its responsibilities to get involved in politics and government for so long that there are no choices but the better of two evils.
What must we do now? Preachers need to proclaim justice and righteousness from their pulpit without fear of being politically correct, and without fear of IRS/government intervention. Preachers must declare the kingdom of God for the reforming of national to local government just as the bold and courageous preachers of the 1700’s did. The people need leadership from those that proclaim the kingdom of God. Government plays too much of a role in the people’s lives for the preachers to be silent in the fear of man.
Jesus called King Herod, “…that fox…” as a bold confrontation. Not passive aggression, but courageous boldness in the view of what Herod could do with his governmental power.
We need to set up teams of people in every church to research who is running for positions in our communities and report exactly who and what is going on to the people. The goal of our churches should be to supply accurate information and education so that voters can make well informed decisions in their particular regions. We should be so well informed that other churches in the region will seek out information from us in helping them to discern the times and seasons.
There should be pulpit announcements that tell who the candidates really are and strong encouragement for the people to get to the polls no matter what they have planned on those days.
The Kingdom of Heaven must invade the earth!
“There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9:7)
Preachers, those that proclaim this Kingdom of Heaven, arise and support your righteous-local sheriff!
Read about The Johnson Amendment and The Courage To Change – Serving Our Way To Freedom
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