Government Churches in America.

Usually, when Americans think of a government church, they think oppressive foreign governments like Communist China, perhaps Russia, or certain countries in Africa, where Christians face imprisonment or death for not giving in to government control of their local churches. A large portion of American Christians send these persecuted Christians aid in any way they can. After all, this is a very important issue. The nature and government of Christ’s Church is a cornerstone of the Christian faith.

There are a number of things that define a New Testament church. These include:

•     The Church is created by Christ
•     The Church answers to Christ.
•     The Bible is the sole rule book, and no other book rules its faith or practice.
•     Its members are those that are saved ( 1 Peter 2:5 )

Oppressive governments around the world seek to compromise the churches in the following ways:

•     Creating the churches themselves so that the state has ownership.
•     Making the churches answer to the government as its authority.
•     Applying government laws to the faith and practice of the church body
•     Letting churches exist only as long as they have the approval of the state.

Needless to say, these things government churches undergo are directly contrary to God’s plan for the churches. For two thousand years Christians have died over these issues. And I applaud those that are still taking a stand today. These persecuted churches all over the world need our help. And now that includes churches in America.

It is true: as friendly as America has been to churches for most of its history, it has begun to slip into the ways of more oppressive governments. Currently, America is requiring the churches to meet increasingly oppressive regulations. Only this government disguises it just enough to deceive the more ignorant portion of the population. Disguised as handouts in the form of tax breaks, government approval, and corporate status, the government has imposed the following regulations on churches:

•     These churches are created only with the authority and approval of the state
•     It is empowered to function under the state’s courts and legal system.
•     It is governed purely by corporate law.
•     It is answerable to the state’s laws in all things.

These are general overview of a few of the regulations that America’s registered churches have, so far, willingly submitted to. As this is an issue that Christians have given their lives for, it is a puzzle why America’s churches are now submitting to the ruler-ship of  Caesar rather than the headship of Christ. This is puzzling because currently there is no law that requires any church in America to submit to government registration, yet they have done so voluntarily. Perhaps it was the tax benefits that was the deciding factor, or a desire to be popular or excepted. Whatever, the reason, it is not a good enough reason for me. It should be quite apparent that government churches and the biblical New Testament church have nothing in common: one can’t be both at the same time. As America’s churches are waking up to this fact, many churches are deciding to follow the Bible rather than being a corporation. What are you a part of: a church, or a corporation?

Many local churches, wrongly believing that they must incorporate to be a real “church” are committing a grave error. If you are part of something that is created by the state, then it is not created God and is not a church. It might be a social club or a business, but not a church in the biblical sense.