Matthew 22:21 (KJV) (also Mark 12:17,
Luke 20:25) They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto
Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.
A worsening problem continues to
develop here in America relative to the issue of church versus government. Churches are realizing
that the control of government over them seriously threatens their autonomy. Fines and penalties are
being incurred and losses of buildings are being realized.
Unfortunately, because of human tradition
this is happening based upon a false biblical premise. Because of this, things are being rendered and
surrendered to Caesar that were never God’s intention.
The word “church” is used
today within the traditional social, economic and political sense read into it of the past 1,700 years.
“Church” today, has nothing to do with the “ekklesia” of Jesus
Christ. Another problem is with the word
“minister” which usage has also been perverted through tradition.
This product of human desire was clearly
explained by God to Samuel in 1 Samuel 8. God clearly told Samuel that Israel had rejected Him as
king over them, and He solemnly warned them of the consequences of a human king reigning and
ruling over them.
Among those consequences were that
their sons would be appointed to run before his chariots and to be his horsemen. He also said the
king would appoint them as his commanders, and to plow his ground, reap his harvest and make his
implements of war and equipment for his chariots.
Their daughters would be perfumers,
cooks and bakers to the king.
The king would take their fields,
vineyards and olive orchards—the best of them—and give them to his servants. And he
would take a tenth of their grain and vineyards to give to his officers and servants.
He would take their men and women
servants, and the best of their cattle and donkeys to do his menial work. He would also take the tenth
of their flocks and they would be his slaves.
God also said that when they cry out to
Him about this king that they have chosen for themselves that he will not hear them.
In summary:
1. Their offspring would be forced into
menial labor for the king.
2. The best part of their property would
be taken from them (fields, vineyards, and olive orchards would be given to the kings servants, the
cattle and donkeys put to the kings work), and they would pay a tenth (a tithe) of their grain and
vineyards and flocks for the king and his employees and servants.
3. The king would take their servants
from them for himself and they would then become slaves of the king.
4. God would not hear them when they
cried out about their king.
Samuel explained all this, but the people
insisted they wanted a human king to govern them and to fight their battles for them. Samuel told
God what the people said and God said to hearken to their voice and appoint them a king to rule over
them.
We see the results of this in todays
institutional church:
1. We have lost our spiritual fruit, our
offspring, both natural and supernatural. Look at the state of today’s youth and the lack of true
disciples springing from today’s “evangelistic” activities.
2. The institutional church wants our
money in the form of a pseudo-tithe.
3. They want additional money in the
form of offerings, and they want our time to do their work for them and they want our talents to help
build their personal kingdom.
4. Use of manipulation and intimidation
for control keeps the average institutional church goer in perpetual bondage.
Jesus said He would build “His
church”, i.e., His ekklesia. The institutional churches today won’t permit that
and so retain their position as king and lord over their institutional churches. Those who place
themselves in charge falsely call themselves “ministers” with a “ministry.”
Somehow the translation of the Greek word for minister as a servant has been buried by traditional
usage.
And so today’s institutional church
goer remains in bondage and servitude to their pastor-king because of fear that not paying a
“tithe” will cause God to curse them. And without the “covering” of their
pastor-king and his organization the “devil will get them.” If they don’t
“assemble yourselves” they are disobedient. And they must “obey your
leaders” mindlessly, or they are in rebellion.
We can see from this that fear, not love
motivates the perpetuation of the institutional church.
Why this sad state of affairs? God says
“... my people love to have it so ...”
Jeremiah 5:26-31 (New International
Version):
26 “Among my people are wicked
men who lie in wait like men who snare birds and like those who set traps to catch men.
27 Like cages full of birds, their houses
are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful
28 and have grown fat and sleek. Their
evil deeds have no limit; they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it, they do not defend the
rights of the poor.
29 Should I not punish them for
this?” declares the LORD. “Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?
30 “A horrible and shocking thing
has happened in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy lies, the priests
rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?
You cannot explain to these people that
the tithe is not applicable to the New Testament church, or that there is no such thing as a
“covering” as taught today, or that the purpose of “assembling of
ourselves” (a phrase taken out of context of Hebrews 10:23-26) is to “consider one
another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,
as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day
approaching.” How do you provoke unto love and to good works and exhort one another
staring at the back of someone’s neck for two hours? (Note that we should be provoking unto
love and good works and exhorting one another as a priority because we should be able to “see
the day approaching.”)
The “obey your leaders”
phrase is a traditional carryover translation that was put in there by the head of the Church of
England (King James) to maintain the traditional false leadership of said church. What Hebrews
13:7,17,24 really says is to allow yourself to be persuaded by the lifestyle of those who stand before
you as to whether you want to imitate their faith. This is clear in the original language. It should be
tacitly understood that if their lifestyle doesn’t measure up to the fullness of Christ, then
don’t imitate their lifestyle.
Try to explain to them these things and
they look at you like you have lost your mind.
Why is this? Because God said that if you
don’t have a love for the truth then He will send a strong delusion. The age old question that
plagued Pilate is still with us: What is truth? And failure to recognize the truth when He’s
standing right in front of you. Just as today’s institutional church fails to recognize the truth
of the Bible as stated in the original language, before the traditions of men became a part of it in
order to make the word of God of none effect.
If the ekklesia of Jesus were
followng the New Testament examples of meeting in homes and assembling as the local expression
of the universal corporate body of Jesus Christ in their community, each and every member
expressing their part and exercising their anointings and gifts, there would be no problem with
government involvement.
And if the elders were raised up according
to Holy Spirit instructions in order to oversee the flock as shepherds, feeding and protecting the
flock, there would be no such thing as “ministers” for the government to be concerned
with.
Instead, there would be a plurality of
mature elders, functioning as overseers and shepherding the local flock of God according to their
gifts and/or anointings, who received their income by holding down a real job in order to support
themselves.
Any offerings taken up would be to
relieve the poorer saints among them, or among another local ekklesia in another community.
If the ekklesia the elders oversaw and shepherded were moved upon by the Holy Spirit, they
would reward those elders by gifts from the ekklesia which would supplement their
income.
If the truth of scripture were believed and
followed, then there would be unity in the ekklesia —unity which would polarize
around the truth of scripture. As a result of that unity polarized around the truth of scripture, love
would grow and abound among the ekklesia. Out of that love would come true biblical
fellowship—sharing, socializing and supporting—and out of that fellowship would emerge
the eternal purpose of God.
Truth will out, it will triumph. Truth
cannot be suppressed forever. The time is upon us when the truth of God’s word will be
obvious to those who will discern it. And there will be a polarization of unity based upon that truth,
not ecumenical councils. And love—life giving love, love which faithfully reproduces image
and likeness—will grow and cause true biblical fellowship of sharing, socializing and
supporting. And that fellowship will grow and increase and expand to the point that all things in
heaven and earth will be brought together in one, summed up in Christ. And God’s manifold
wisdom will be manifested, through the ekklesia of Jesus Christ, to all the principalities and
powers in heavenly places.
And God’s remnant saints, the
overcomers, the true citizens of the kingdom of God, will rule and reign with Christ, as kings, priests
and prophets throughout all of eternity in the new heavens and the new earth (probably starting in
the millenium).
Since that is God’s eternal purpose
and we, as the body of Christ here on this earth, are to be part of and express that purpose, then why
don’t we start, now, to practice our eternal role in God’s economy?
Why? Because the masses want their
pastor-king, a human, visible person, instead of the Lordship of Jesus Christ as the head of His
church, through His Holy Spirit.
Instead of Godly truth we have human
wisdom—which James calls earthly, sensual and demonic. Instead of unity we have division.
Instead of love we have selfishness. Instead of fellowship we have become comfortable with mere
superficial socializing and instead of the eternal purpose of a holy, righteous and just God being
fulfilled, we pursue the temporal purpose of sinful man.
Today’s institutional church,
guided by earthly, sensual and demonic human wisdom, has become a divided, selfish, superficially
socializing organization pursuing the temporal purpose of those who falsely call themselves
“pastor,” i.e., shepherd, a title reserved in the New Testament only for Jesus Christ
Himself. Jesus is The Shepherd, the gift and anointings of a shepherd are to be
exercised in plurality, as scripture clearly tells us, and describe the function of this plural group. (All
of the gifts of the doma ascension gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd and teacher
are a description of the function of the recipient of the gift. They are not titles).
Jeremiah the prophet said in Jermiah
23:20: “... in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.” Consider also the
admonitions pertaining to the lying and false prophets. This prophetic word is being fullfilled even
moment by moment in this, the latter days:
Jeremiah Chapter 23 (New International
Version):
1 “Woe to the shepherds who are
destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD.
2 Therefore this is what the LORD, the
God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my
flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you
for the evil you have done,” declares the LORD.
3 “I myself will gather the remnant
of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their
pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number.
4 I will place shepherds over them who
will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares
the LORD.
5 “The days are coming,”
declares the LORD, “when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign
wisely and do what is just and right in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved and
Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our
Righteousness.
7 “So then, the days are
coming,” declares the LORD, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the
LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’
8 but they will say, ‘As surely as
the LORD lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all
the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”
9 Concerning the prophets: My heart is
broken within me; all my bones tremble. I am like a drunken man, like a man overcome by wine,
because of the LORD and his holy words.
10 The land is full of adulterers; because
of the curse the land lies parched and the pastures in the desert are withered. The [prophets] follow
an evil course and use their power unjustly.
11 “Both prophet and priest are
godless; even in my temple I find their wickedness,” declares the LORD.
12 “Therefore their path will
become slippery; they will be banished to darkness and there they will fall. I will bring disaster on
them in the year they are punished,” declares the LORD.
13 “Among the prophets of Samaria
I saw this repulsive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray.
14 And among the prophets of Jerusalem
I have seen something horrible: They commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the hands of
evildoers, so that no one turns from his wickedness. They are all like Sodom to me; the people of
Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”
15 Therefore, this is what the LORD
Almighty says concerning the prophets: “I will make them eat bitter food and drink poisoned
water, because from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the
land.”
16 This is what the LORD Almighty says:
“Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.
17 They keep saying to those who despise
me, ‘The LORD says: You will have peace.’ And to all who follow the stubbornness
of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’
18 But which of them has stood in the
council of the LORD to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word?
19 See, the storm of the LORD will burst
out in wrath, a whirlwind swirling down on the heads of the wicked.
20 The anger of the LORD will not turn
back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart. In days to come you will understand it
clearly.
21 I did not send these prophets, yet they
have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council,
they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil
ways and from their evil deeds.
23 “Am I only a God nearby,”
declares the LORD, “and not a God far away?
24 Can anyone hide in secret places so that
I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares
the LORD.
25 “I have heard what the prophets
say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’
26 How long will this continue in the
hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds?
27 They think the dreams they tell one
another will make my people forget my name, just as their fathers forgot my name through Baal
worship.
28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell
his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with
grain?” declares the LORD.
29 “Is not my word like fire,”
declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
30 “Therefore,” declares the
LORD, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from
me.
31 Yes,” declares the LORD,
“I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The LORD
declares.’
32 Indeed, I am against those who
prophesy false dreams,” declares the LORD. “They tell them and lead my people astray
with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the
least,” declares the LORD.
33 “When these people, or a prophet
or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the oracle of the LORD?’ say to them, ‘What
oracle? I will forsake you, declares the LORD.’
34 If a prophet or a priest or anyone else
claims, ‘This is the oracle of the LORD,’ I will punish that man and his household.
35 This is what each of you keeps on
saying to his friend or relative: ‘What is the LORD’s answer?’ or ‘What
has the LORD spoken?’
36 But you must not mention ‘the
oracle of the LORD’ again, because every man’s own word becomes his oracle and so
you distort the words of the living God, the LORD Almighty, our God.
37 This is what you keep saying to a
prophet: ‘What is the LORD’s answer to you?’ or ‘What has the LORD
spoken?’
38 Although you claim, ‘This is the
oracle of the LORD,’ this is what the LORD says: You used the words, ‘This is the
oracle of the LORD,’ even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is the
oracle of the LORD.’
39 Therefore, I will surely forget you and
cast you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your fathers.
40 I will bring upon you everlasting
disgrace-- everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”
Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-29:
Matthew 7:15-29 (KJV):
15 Beware of false prophets, which come
to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do
men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth
good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil
fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good
fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know
them.
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in
heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name
done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I
never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these
sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a
rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods
came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a
rock.
26 And every one that heareth these
sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon
the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods
came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had
ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one having
authority, and not as the scribes.
Who will enter the kingdom of heaven?
Those “that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” What is the will of the
Father? To accomplish His eternal purpose.
But whose will and purpose is being
accomplished today by the institutional church?
We are to “... Render therefore unto
Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are
God’s.”
Instead, the institutional church is
rendering unto Caesar the things which are God’s. Need I add that we are also rendering unto
God the things which are Caesar’s?
When the ekklesia of Jesus Christ
pursues the plan and purpose of its God to “gather together in one all things in Christ, both
which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:” ... “To the intent that now
unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold
wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In
whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him” (Ephesians 1:10;
3:10-12), it will be blessed, not cursed, despite tremendous opposition from every quarter.
And the eternal purpose of God will be
realized, with increase and expansion of the ekklesia in true biblical fellowship, bringing life,
and life more abundantly through Godly love, polarized in unity around the triumphant truth of
God’s word.
