I don’t believe there is another issue that turns my heat up as fast as cry baby preachers. It is very apparent that these “men of God” sincerely feel that the world owes them something. These 80 preachers, mentioned in the article below, are not the exception to the rule– in this Laodicean age of the Church– they are the rule.
The issue threatening these preachers isn’t the sin that plagues their congregations and the country, or the persecution of devout Christians around the world, it is their treasured tax exemption status when the IRS reminds them of their obligation contained within their agreement.
The World Net Daily run a story that begins like this:
By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDailyDozens of pastors around the nation are challenging an Internal Revenue Service rule that anti-Christian activists often invoke when they want to silence the message of churches, according to the Alliance Defense Fund.
The organization has announced that more than 80 preachers are taking part in its second annual Pulpit Freedom Sunday this weekend.
The pastors will preach Sunday sermons related to biblical perspectives on the positions of electoral candidates or current government officials, exercising their constitutional right to free religious expression, the ADF said.
They will do so despite a “problematic” IRS rule that activists use when they want to silence the message of Christians, the ADF said.
The rest of the story can be read at http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=111038
I know that I am not going to get a lot of support for my stand that the “Church” is in the failure mode, at the end of the age, and that this is just one of the many symptoms, but frankly, I would be quite surprised if more than a few see the real issue here.
Let’s keep it simple. When they signed up for their “tax exemption” favor they should have read the small print. Also, they should have read the much larger print in the Bible, forbidding the unequal yoking of Christians to the world. Are these men, and others who didn’t have the guts to speak out, now wanting to renege on their promise? Doesn’t the Bible say somewhere something about “swearing to one’s own hurt”?
Where in the Bible does the “Church” become immune to taxes. These preachers sound like the Pharisees complaining to Rome about Temple infringements when the High Priest’s position was a political appointment.
Some are thinking that the article is not about taxes but about the right to say what they want from the pulpit. Don’t be so naive. This is about the IRS’s ability to jerk their tax exemption for not complying to the rules. Oh, it’s about money alright, and that scares them. The simple solution is to pay your property taxes like everyone else; Jesus did. If you take an oath or sign a contract then you are bound by that oath or contract. These men knew that going in to the process, but they were more concerned with the “windfall” of money that this would create, I mean, every body else was signed on with the world, so it must be O.K., right? These guys/gals just want their cake and eat it too. You can’t have it both ways. And, besides, who gave them permission to preach political sermons anyway, Jesus? I don’t think so!
Don’t they see that their silly little political speeches can not change the world, or are they ignorant of all who have tried before them. Their own disobedience to God’s word is the problem with the world and are country. God is not waiting for them to “get political” from the pulpit, He’s waiting for them to repent. “When a man’s ways please the Lord He makes even his enemies to live at peace with him.” They pretend that their pulpit is the tool used by God to get the lesser of two evil men into office, but the lesser of two evils is still evil. True Christianity and politics have nothing in common, they are of two different worlds, and the one has nothing to do with the other.
Christians talking of dual citizenship is an illusion. You are either a citizen of Heaven or you’re not. You have no vote in this world, and you have no rights. You are a pilgrim in this world, just passing through. Let the world deal with the world, and let God deal with the Kingdom, that is the message of Scriptures. This world is on its way down and Christian politicizing will not prevent it, that is not what we are called to do. We were given a mission to go to the world with the message of salvation, and to pay taxes if told to, and to die if need be, not to get our man in office and secure some nice perks for ourselves. We are told to live at peace with the world as much as possible, and to stay out of its affairs, they are none of our business, it is not part of what we are called to do.
These knucklehead preachers think it their job to clean up the world and to make this place a fit place to live; they are deluded; they do not understand Scriptures, and they are convincing great numbers of people that that is what God wants Christians to do.
This country is the way it is because of them. They do not have faith in God, they have faith in the political process. Their faith is in man. All through the Bible it is God who effects change, not man! But, these vipers will not have any of that, they must do things their way. God is not fast enough for them, nor does He understand what they need, or how to get things done. These false teachers use “faith” as a religious word only, and would not dare trust something so nebulous as faith, or the arbitrary nature of an unseen God; He may say something silly like, “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s,” then what would they do?
But, let’s get down to the brass tax of the matter. What would happen if they had to start paying property taxes, like everyone else? Well, we can only imagine!
I do not vote. I will not cast a vote that I do not have, because I’m not a citizen of this world. I will cast my vote for the Man whose foot will split the Mount of Olives in two, upon His return to settle once and for all this matter of who it is that these so called Christians are trusting, the ballot box with all of its visible benefits, or the Son of God and His promises.
Steve Blackwell
5 replies on “Cry Baby Christians”
Thank you.
Greetings Steve,
I have visited your site often via PK’s site, though this is the first time I have commented – – I usually read and leave, having nothing more to add, and I really have not much to add here except a hearty AMEN!
God called me out of organized religion 3+ years ago, and then shortly afterwards led me away from the political scene – not that I was that involved, but I nonetheless participated in viewing and voting, I now do not vote and rarely even watch TV, let alone political mumbo jumbo… though my husband is heavily into it and a huge supporter of Obama, so I unfortunately have it in my hearing range quite often – and my heart just has a mixture of ache and anger while hearing what is spewed. All parties are the same to me though -and as you put it in this article, “…but the lesser of two evils is still evil.”
And I agree with PK in his statement about not putting much stock into the Nicene Creed or much of what these “fathers’ wrote, for as great as they appear to be, the focus is still not on Christ.
Shalom,
sherry
Good morning,
Thanks for visiting.
We are all watchmen, and God is the Great Watchman who sees and knows all things. Nothing happens that God is not directly involved in, including American politics. There are many Scriptures that declare God's Sovereign rule over His creation, but the one that I quote most often is Prov 16:7 "When a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him." When we look at our nation and see how we are hated in the world and how our enemies no longer fear us, and we compare that with the Old Testament accounts of Israel's failures with God, we see plainly that our ways, like Israel's, do not please the Lord. George Barna's polls inform us that inside the "Church," statistics of abortion, divorce, teen suicide, pornography, deceptive business practices, and a host of other things, mirror the world. What should this tell us? Well, that is easy, the world is running the Church, the organized church. God says it is evil, and I have to agree, and Paul tells the Corinthians that their meeting were doing more harm than good because of worldly influences. We want to be pure and holy for our Lord and we are told how we can do that, and it is by separating ourselves from the world, by removing the leaven, and if the world is inside the church (religious buildings) we attend, then we are told to "come out from amongst them and be ye separate." I know that there are many of God's children sitting in pews, dealing with the same issues we discuss here and other places, who can't seem to sort things out or see clearly the things we see, so we must help. They have wandered off the path into religion and entertainment and are stuck. They may not know they are even stuck, they only sense that something is wrong. They will most likely reject any attempt of rescue and turn away, and possibly break off any friendship that exist, but that is what we are called to do. it will not win us any rewards on earth, but that is our job, to run a rescue mission for the lost and the stuck. All my daughters, I don't have any sons, are homeschooling their children, and we worship together often. We do not attend any religious buildings, although we do visit on occasions to leave tracts and talk with others seeking a true relationship with Jesus. We still have to deal with all the same issues that others face, because we are in the world, but we have found that a real Church body is something that can not meet only once a week and expect to win out over sin and Satan. The Christian life takes real resolve and dedication to bear fruit for God. Television was one of the first things to go, I speak for myself, my daughters and son-in-laws still have TV. TV, I feel it is a terrible evil and has infected the Body of Christ. But, God is calling out his Bride to ready herself and many are responding and hearing His voice. My prayers are with you Sherry, and your husband,
God bless,
Steve
Steve,
One of the greatest things Jesus said, if I might state it this way, is when He claimed equality with the Father by saying, "Before Abraham was, I Am." If He merely wanted to establish His pre-existence He could have said "before Abraham was, I was." Jesus is taking great liberty with that statement, and in it we go back to that day when Moses talked with God in the burning bush, and asked what name he should give the God who was sending him to the children of Israel. God told him to tell them that "I Am" has sent you unto them. Without getting into a detailed examination of God's many names it is easy to see that the name "I Am" is an incomplete sentence, it has no subject, why? Jehovah (I Am) purposely left that sentence incomplete so that we could fill it in with what ever need we happen to have at the time. Jesus was reminding these Jews of God's ability to fill every need that could arise, and that He himself is the fulfillment of our deepest desires and needs. Do you need strength, I Am your strength. Do you need healing, I Am your healer. Do you need provisions, I Am your provider. I Am_____________, you fill in the blank. But, the Church today just doesn't get it. Jesus is still everything we need, not tax perks that come only at the expense of disobedience and binding ourselves to the world. The Church operates in the flesh and when it gets everything going its way it gives praise to God, when it wasn't God at all (at least in the faith sense of the appropriation) it was operating on the level of the flesh. I recommend that Christians read about Hudson Taylor (The Spiritual Secrets of Hudson Taylor) and learn what real faith looks like, it is very rare today.
We have much to learn in these last days, but I am afraid that the curve will be too great for most.
Blessings my friend,
Steve Blackwell
Right on, Steve!
I feel exactly the same, though I'm not always sure how Jesus would deal with all these issues. I am forever bothered by announcements that the church is having meeting in order to "comply with the law" or local requirements. Still, we are IN the world, and we are to seek peace, as much as possible, so that we can live peaceably.
Like you, I've pretty much given up on politics, since it's quite obvious that Repulcans and Dems are pretty much made of the same cloth when push comes to shove. I hapr on this a lot, but the average Christian has no comprehension of the harm that was begun when Constantine and the church colluded to contaminate the church with political favoritism. This is also why I no longer put any stock in the Nicaean Creed, or much of what these "fathers' wrote, including those favorites, Ambrose and Augustine. They were all compromised by their collaboration with the "State".