Romans chapter 13 --- you just have to let some people stay delusional
On Feb 2, 10:47 pm, MJ <[email protected]> wrote: > State-Owned Churches are Killing AmericaBy Chuck Baldwin > February 3, 2011 > NewsWithViews.com > America was birthed in the spirit of liberty and baptized in the blood of > patriots and tyrants. Leading the charge in America's fight for independence > was a courageous group of patriot-preachers that came to be known as the > "Black Regiment." I have written several columns on this subject. Suffice it > to say here that I invite readers to take a look at my Black Regiment web > page to learn more about this early American phenomenon. There is little > doubt that without these stalwart Christian pastors, this country would not > have come into existence. (I extended this call for a modern-day Black > Regiment 5 years before Glenn Beck ever mentioned it.) > See myBlack Regiment page here. > Plus, to read my column regarding the Black Regiment that was published in > The New American magazine in 2009,click here. > So, what did these colonial preachers have that today's preachers don't? The > better question might be: what did these colonial preachers NOT have that > today's preachers do? The answer? Two things: 1) an IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt > corporation status, and 2) a 50-year misinterpretation of Romans chapter 13. > The now infamous 501(c)(3) section of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) goes > back to 1936 (the seeds of this Venus Fly Trap date back to 1872). But > then-Senator Lyndon Johnson was the Dr. Frankenstein who, in 1954, unleashed > this monster upon America. His motivation was: he did not like the way > pastors and churches were opposing his liberal agenda, and he wanted to use > the power of law to silence them. He, therefore, introduced verbiage to the > IRC that churches were prohibited from influencing political legislation and > supporting political campaigns, or risk losing their tax-exempt status. > Of course, colonial pastors didn't have to worry about their churches being > "incorporated" as State-created (and controlled) entities, or about IRS > agents intimidating them regarding what they could or could not say. In early > America, preachers were free men; they could say whatever they darned well > pleased. Gasp! Beyond that, virtually everyone regarded preachers as being > "God's men," not the "servants of men." > Today, however, the average pastor has become the servant of the State and > the church he pastors, more often than not, has become a creature of the > State. It is an absolute fact that State-owned churches are killing America! > Dick Greb of the Save-A-Patriot Fellowship in Westminster, Maryland, wrote: > "Many Americans find it disturbing that some of our churches today are little > more than milquetoast corporations that fear our federal government more than > the great I AM. Moreover, it can even be said that some preachers have the > appearance of cringing, 'politically correct' cowards, rather than committed > Godly men of fortitude with backbone, such as those we read of in the Bible." > (Source: Greb, Dick. "The 501(c)(3) Hallucination: A Bane to Liberty." > Reasonable Action Issue #244 Winter 2003.) > Dear reader, you can take this to the bank: the vast majority of pastors and > board members of these 501(c)(3) corporations, when push comes to shove (and > it always does), will demonstrate unconditional loyalty to the State. Plus, > they will compromise or sacrifice any and every Bible doctrine or principle > in order to preserve their tax-exempt status and stay on the smiley side of > the IRC. They will also throw anyone under the old proverbial bus who might > risk them falling out of favor with the IRS. (I can give painful and personal > testimony to that fact!) Greb is right! Many, or most, of today's pastors and > church officers fear the federal government far more than they fear God. > Not only did colonial preachers not have to contend with putting their > churches under some State-controlled corporation, they would never have > allowed it to happen! Can one imagine John Leland, Jonas Clark, or John > Witherspoon being told by any State official what he could or could not say, > or what his church could or could not do? What a joke! These men were willing > to go to prison or even the grave in order to remain faithful to their > spiritual calling and to their political and moral convictions! > The other thing that colonial preachers did not suffer from was a 50-year > indoctrination of a misinterpretation of Romans 13. > This "Submit-to-the-government-no-matter-what" doctrine (using Romans 13 as > the pretext) is a satanically inspired lie designed to turn free men and > women into slaves of the state! Students of history know that Adolf Hitler > encouraged German pastors and churches to promote this same fallacious > philosophy among the German people. Gee! I wonder why? And according to Erwin > Lutzer's book, "Hitler's Cross" (must reading, I might add), out of the more > than 14,000 evangelical churches and pastors in Germany at the time, only > about 800 remained faithful to Scripture and opposed Hitler's brand of state > worship. If my math is correct, that's about 5%. And it would not surprise me > if 5% is about the percentage of pastors and churches in America today that > are opposing this modern-day worship of the state. > At this point, instead of embellishing upon Romans 13, I am going to insert a > commercial. I began a series of messages on Romans 13 last Sunday at Liberty > Fellowship in Kalispell, Montana. In fact, by the time you read this, Part 1 > of my message on Romans 13 will be available online. > To view my message, "The Truth About Romans 13, Part 1,"click here. > I will continue my series on Romans 13 this Sunday, February 6, 2011. I > invite readers to watch this address live on the Internet. Viewthis > livestreaming broadcast, here. > "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." > So said Edmund Burke. And, unfortunately, the good men that are mostly doing > nothing and allowing evil to triumph in our land are the good men (and women) > of America's churches who have either been intimidated by the 501(c)(3) > tax-exempt corporation status, or who have been put into a sheepish, servile, > Satan-induced coma from an overdose of misapplied Romans 13 poison. > To quote the famous Bible commentator, Matthew Henry, "It is the devil that > stirs up his instruments, wicked men [in government or without], to persecute > the people of God; tyrants and persecutors are the devil's tools, though they > gratify their own sinful malignity, and know not that they are actuated by a > diabolical malice." (Source: Matthew Henry's Commentaries on the Bible, notes > on Revelation 2:10) > Yes, the Black Regiment preachers of colonial America helped lead America's > fight for freedom and independence. But, they did not have their hands out to > the IRS, or their minds and hearts numbed into apathy and indifference by > decades of misuse and abuse of Romans chapter 13. > P.S. My son, Timothy Baldwin, who is a historian, author, and constitutional > attorney, is in the process of publishing a new book entitled, "Romans 13, > The True Meaning of Submission." I have read it. In the similitude of Tim's > first book, "Freedom For A Change," this book is an absolutely brilliant and > scholarly presentation of the true meaning of Romans 13. Watch my web site, > or Tim's web site, for information regarding this new book's release. > Myweb site. > Tim'sweb site. > And, if you have not yet ordered Tim's book, "Freedom For A Change," I > enthusiastically recommend it to you.Order it here.*If you appreciate this > column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an > ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by credit card, check, or > Money Order.Use this link.http://www.newswithviews.com/baldwin/baldwin635.htm -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
