Our Life and Times : Biblical Reasoning for a Modern Age
BLOGGER · THEOLOGIAN · APOLOGIST
Norman Harold Patterson Jr.
Yet Another Plea for the Bride of Christ to Divorce the State
When will the American Church divorce the State?
If you are a member of a church here in the United States of America, your church is most likely not the Body (Corpus) of Christ, but a Corporation of the State. I would say that over 98% of churches in America are State Corporations. The remaining 2% are either house churches or churches that understood the apostasy of incorporation.
I planted a church and pastored that church for over 12 years that never stopped being part of the Body of Christ because it was not incorporated. It is possible to maintain the separation of Church and State, but it isn't easy.
The First Amendment clearly states:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. (emphasis mine)
What is incorporation?
It is the voluntary petition to create a fictitious legal entity that can act like a person (a body, which is the root of inCORPoration). This fictitious entity can buy, sell, trade, and act like a person. If sued, the corporation is responsible, not any individuals. Your incorporated church is just like MacDonalds, Burger King, Pepsi, Bank of America, and so forth.
There are many reasons why churches seek to incorporate, but outlining these reasons is not the purpose of this article. The purpose of this article is to confront incorporated churches with the truth that they have voluntarily "wed" the Bride of Church's expression in their midst with the State.
When a church incorporates, there is no longer a separation of Church and State.
The reason is the Church voluntarily petitioned the State to become part of the State. The Church becomes part of the State because, as stated above, the State plays God by creating a fictitious legal entity. Part of this pact is the agreement that once "created" or incorporated, the State has authority and jurisdiction over what it created. There are benefits to incorporating, but the benefits do not justify the compromise these churches commit by bringing their local church under the jurisdiction and control of the State. The State takes care of its own, at least for a time.
Many pastors will shrug articles like this off with hardly a thought. But I have a question for you and for these pastors. What does Jesus Christ think about His Bride being "created" by, joined with, and presided over by the State?
The Bible says the head of the Church is Christ (Ephesians 5:23). It means that no one can serve two masters. (Matthew 6:24). God says to have no other gods before Him. (Exodus 20:3)
While the State has a Biblical role in punishing evildoers, evil being defined as the violation of the Law of God (1 John 3:4), the State does not have authority or jurisdiction over the Church of Jesus Christ. In other words, the State does not have Biblical authority to dictate what the Church does or doesn't do or say. The First Amendment recognizes this Biblical principle.
It is sad how the Church in America has compromised the Body of Christ's status and wed the Bride to the State through incorporation. It is more than sorry. It is, in my opinion, the foundational sin in America today. The Church cannot and will not have any voice to fight the spirit of this age as She fornicates with the State through incorporation.
It is sad also to see how pastors appear to be so brave standing up against the State during COVID-19 by continuing to meet, sing, pray, worship God and do what the Bride of Christ is supposed to be doing during such a confusing and deceptive time as this.
Pastors, if you want to do the right thing, don't just defy the State by doing what the Church is called to do anyway.
Get on your knees and repent of the unholy and ungodly wedding between your church and the State through incorporation. Stop being a business man or woman and start acting like the pastors of old who protected and defended the Bride, even if it costs you your life.
Until then, stop disobeying your sovereign head, the State, and do what your Husband tells you to do!
We find the Dominion Mandate for Bible-believing Christians in Genesis 1:26-28:
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
For Christians, this means that God has given us the responsibility to take dominion over the entire world. We have God's approval and authority to "fill the earth and subdue it." Add to this Christ's call in Matthew 28:19+20 to:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
And 2 Corinthians 10:3-6:
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
While God called Christians to be separate from the world in holiness, He doesn't give us the option to isolate ourselves from the world physically. As Jesus said:
I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. John 17:14-15
Because of false piety and a lack of understanding of these and other Dominion affirming Biblical texts, Christians far too often vacate the world, leaving an "influence vacuum." As the old saying goes, "nature abhors a vacuum." Because of this, instead of taking Dominion over the arts, sciences, court systems, political offices, universities, and so on, Christians withdraw into isolated communities only to leave the world unoccupied.
As a result, anti-Christ people and philosophies have readily taken over virtually every facet of life. The greatest antithesis to Biblical Christianity has understood and intentionally implemented the Dominion Mandate for their own sinister ends.
The most dangerous of all are those espousing Cultural Marxism. Briefly, Cultural Marxism is an expansion of Classical Marxism, which focuses primarily on the economic philosophy of Karl Marx. Cultural Marxism is much more all-encompassing than Classical Marxism.
Ultimately, Cultural Marxism is about liberating humanity from the moral constraints of Biblical Christianity. The Bible prohibits same-sex intimacy, adultery in all forms, polygamy, bigamy, bestiality, pedophilia, and so on. God created man and woman in His image and commanded them to be fruitful and multiply; the Dominion Mandate!
The method Cultural Marxism employs to propagate its insidious agenda is through applying the Biblical Mandate. The plan has been and continues to be for those who oppose Biblical Christianity to infiltrate and dominate every known sphere of influence. As Voddie Bachem pointed out, their strategy is to take over the "robes" of society; professors, pastors, and judges, for example.
R.J. Rushdoony and the Christian Reconstructionists proposed the same tactic, taking over the "robes" of society. However, instead of a great "Amen" from the rest of the Church, Christian Reconstructionism has been vilified as patriarchal, extreme, and misguided.
In the meantime, Cultural Marxism is dominating the universities, media, churches, courts, arts, etc. They are putting Christians and Christianity to shame by their ardent intentionality to dominate the world for Self.
As the degeneration of our culture continues, so will the hostility toward Biblical Christianity. And just as Marxism tried to destroy Biblical Christianity through the reign of terror in anti-Christ regimes like the Soviet Union and Communist China, modern Marxists will not rest until Biblical Christianity is destroyed.
The good news, however, is the promise of Jesus Christ. He said that the "gates of hell" will not prevail against the Church. (Matthew 16:18) The image Christ was giving was not a Church that was cowering in the corner, battening down the hatches until the storm of hell subsided. Just the opposite. Hell is under attack, and its filthy gates are no match for the power and glory of the Risen Christ and His Bride.
Christians can no longer cower in corners. It is time for us to take up the battle cry and assault Cultural Marxism and any other "high place" (2 Corinthians 10:3-6) that dares to raise itself against the knowledge of God. Our weapons are not of the flesh (Ephesians 6), but they are weapons nonetheless and are worthless if left unused.
It is time for Christians to take back our country, our world for Christ. We must do it according to the means and methods of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom, which means we must take Dominion and occupy all walks of life for the glory of the crown rights of Jesus Christ.
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