I am requesting that the reader take the time to read this whole post by Chuck Baldwin. It is very relevant in how the Church operates today, and it is very good to see that someone else is preaching the same message as many of us are.
"Come Out Of Her, My People"
By Chuck Baldwin
August 18, 2011
Archived column:
It is no hyperbole to say that the vast majority of today’s
churches do not remotely resemble the New Testament pattern. In the
first place, the Church was never intended to be a government
corporation! Yet, that is exactly what every 501c3 non-profit
"religious" organization is: it is a government-created
corporation. In the eyes of the government, pastors, elders, and
deacons are not pastors, elders, and deacons; they are corporate
officers. And put to the test, virtually any and all of these
so-called "pastors," "elders," and "deacons," will confirm
that they are corporate officers. So, right out of the gate we must
understand that we are dealing with government corporations and
corporate officers, not with New Testament churches, pastors, elders,
and deacons.
Pray tell, where do you find anything in the New Testament about
churches joining with the State, or being incorporated by the State,
or being required to submit to the State? It’s not there! The 501c3
corporation status has turned the Lord’s Church into mere creatures
of the State.
Therefore, please remember, when you "worship" inside these
government corporations, when you give your tithes and offerings to
these government corporations, you are NOT supporting "the Lord’s
work." You are supporting the work of the State. You might as well
be paying taxes; it amounts to virtually the same thing. The same is
true for all these TV preachers. They are all 501c3 incorporated!
This is why many pastors do not speak out on the burning issues of
the day. This is why neither he nor his church will take a stand for
anything. This is why he won’t "get involved in politics." He is
a corporate officer of the State, and he will not jeopardize his
standing as such.
I don’t care how "nice" the preacher is! It matters not how
knowledgeable you think he is of the Scriptures. It doesn’t amount
to a hill of beans if he knows Hebrew and Greek and how many degrees
he has behind his name. If he is a corporate officer of the State, he
will never preach the "whole counsel of God;" he will never be
willing to stand in front of his congregation and tell "the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help him God." He
won’t do it! Why? He knows he is a State corporate officer, and he
knows where the line is drawn. Ditto for the church deacons and
trustees (I mean, corporate officers) that support him.
If the so-called "Religious Right" would get as excited about
replacing these government-toadies (called pastors) that we have in
our "churches" and putting honest-to-God, tell-it-like-it-is,
fearless prophets in their pulpits as they are about replacing a
"liberal" and putting some so-called "conservative" Republican
in the White House, we really could have revival in America! The
problem is not the White House; the problem is the church house!
Is it any wonder that the donor base for these religious-talking
Republican politicians is mostly identical to the donor base for these
religious-talking government corporations called churches? They are
Siamese twins! This is why the "Religious Right" will never offend
the GOP establishment: they are both sucking from the same teat! And
the sow providing the milk for both is the federal government, via its
non-profit corporation status, corporate welfare programs, and endless
cash for the Warfare State.
Just look at the behavior of the people attending these government
corporations. What do you see? Gossip, slander, backbiting, nosiness,
jealousy, resentment, bickering, judgmentalism, and downright hatred
is rampant! Church splits are commonplace. These government
corporation "Christians" will betray their brothers and sisters
for far less than thirty pieces of silver.
The motivating factor for most of these government corporations is
the same as it is for private corporations: money. Money drives
everything they do. The workshops, seminars, how-to manuals, etc., are
all geared to making these government corporations more attractive and
appealing to the donor base. Just as Jesus said to the moneychangers
in His day, these corporate officers have turned God’s House into
"a den of thieves."
Why is it that today’s pastors and Christians are so clueless to
what is happening in front of their eyes? They say they are
"preaching the Gospel." But they aren’t. What they are doing is
pulling the wool over people’s eyes by refusing to sound the alarm!
Why is it that as soon as the final "Amen" is spoken at the end of
a "worship service," the first thing out of the mouths of most of
the men in attendance is something about sports? Why is it that so
many "Christian" women spend dozens of hours each week searching
the Internet in pursuit of whatever sordid information is floating
around out there about their "friends" and fellow church members?
It seems that today’s Christians are so ignorant of true Biblical
friendship, fellowship, and brotherhood that they don’t know what to
do with it even when they find it! Christian betrayal is epidemic!
A genuine New Testament church follows Jesus’ instruction to love
one another. A New Testament church yearns for genuine Christian
fellowship and brotherhood. A New Testament church prefers one another
and honors one another. A New Testament church desires truth--even
when it’s painful. And yes, a New Testament church is willing to die
for one another!
I have spoken with Russian Christians who endured the "purging"
under Joe Stalin. They told me about KGB agents bursting into a church
service with fully automatic weapons demanding to know who the pastor
was. They told me how when this happened, every man in the
congregation raised his hand. They told me about how when government
agents took men at gun point from the congregation, elderly ladies
were laying in front of the government vehicles. Can one imagine this
scene taking place in today’s churches?
I can see it now: government agents demand to know who the pastor is,
and every man in the congregation points AT THE PASTOR! Government
agents haul men out of the church and the old women applaud and get
patriotic goose bumps as they are taken away.
All across the Christian spectrum, people are beholden to the state.
Welfare checks, government pension checks, corporate welfare checks,
food stamps, medical benefits, etc., etc., ad infinitum. "My God
shall supply all your needs"? Who needs that promise? We have the
state to take care of us! "Sufficient unto the day is the evil
thereof"? Irrelevant! We don’t even know how to recognize evil
when we see it. "Give us this day our daily bread"? Antiquated
rubbish easily explained away by our brilliant corporate officers in
the pulpit. "Blessed are the peacemakers"? Forget it!
"Conservative," evangelical Christians and preachers today are the
biggest cheerleaders, proponents, and apologists for spreading war,
mayhem, and death all over the world!
I would dare say that most of today’s churches and pastors have
never given a second thought to what the "church" is. The church
is not a building. The church is not programs and musicals, and
socials and recreational theme parks. The church is not restaurants
and bookstores. The word "church" means "called out assembly."
Called out from what? Called out from state governance and control;
called out from worldly philosophies and principles; called out from
bondage and tyranny. That’s what!
Need I remind my brothers and sisters that the first reference,
chronologically, to the "church" is found in Acts 7:38 where
Stephen gave tribute to "the church in the wilderness"? Why was
the church in the wilderness? God had called it out of Egyptian
bondage. Hence, the word "church," meaning "a called out
assembly."
So, where is the called out assembly today? It has left nothing! The
assembly gathers together under the auspices of, and in the name of,
the state. It grovels before the state. It gears its messages to the
pleasure of the state. It keeps its congregants in the dark to the
illegalities, improprieties, and criminalities of the state. It seeks
the state’s approval and approbation. And when called upon by the
state, it will betray or sell out any preacher, prophet, or Christian
brother or sister.
You who say you love God, you who say you know what’s going on and
are concerned about your children’s future, you who say you desire
truth, how can you continue to support these 501c3 government
corporations with your attendance and with your tithes and offerings?
You are called to "come out." So, why don’t you? These
government corporations are in bed with Babylon. And Babylon is not
our friend. It is enslaving saints all over the world. It is
persecuting the Bride. It is making war with God’s children. It is
drunk with the blood of pilgrims and patriots! How dare you sleep in
the same bed with her?
How did the Holy Spirit conclude the Book of Revelation? By
commanding us, "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers
of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." (Rev. 18:4)
This unholy alliance between the Lord’s Church and Caesar, between
the Body of Christ and Beelzebub, between the fellowship of God and
the fellowship of Satan is plaguing our nation, our families, and our
future. "Come out of her, my people."
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- ? Chuck Baldwin
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