What is a "church"?

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matt 16:18)

What is a church? Regardless of your theological perspective, whatever your answer is, it is wrong. A church is a 501(c)3 corporation registered with the state. It’s an organization that is tax exempt and can provide receipts for contributions when no goods or services are provided in return. We have allowed the state to define a church for us.

Can you imagine John Bunyan’s opinion of the “church” in America? John Bunyan was imprisoned for preaching without a license. Can you imagine that…”OK, Mister Bunyan, we understand you want to preach. All you need to do is simply receive a license from the state and you will then be free to preach.” Or maybe…”We really want you to be able to preach, Mr. Bunyan; however, you must first obtain a license from the state.”

Ever wonder what Bunyan might have done in the 21st Century? “OK, Mr. Bunyan, you cannot provide that food and shelter for that family and later provide them with any receipts for contributions. You will lose your tax exempt status.” Mr. Bunyan might want to allow some input from the Federal Government and take some funds to assist with “faith-based ministries.” Of course Mr. Bunyan might have to hire some unwanted church administrators and assistants simply to meet some arbitrary standard of diversity if he chooses to receive government funds.

The IRS can now locate all the 501(c)3 “churches” and if necessary monitor ministry activity. And let’s not forget that politics and religion don’t mix when it comes to saying things from the pulpit; that is, Mr. Bunyan cannot preach to persuade his entire church to endorse any political candidate. There’s even debate over whether or not a pastor can speak on major political issues at all. And of course with the threat of “hate crime” legislation on the horizon, pastors will be under even tighter scrutiny in the near future.

So, what is the definition of a church again?

Blind Leaders of the Blind

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (Jn 3:3).

"He cannot see" sounds like blindness. Even if it's not a type of blindness, it still seems to imply that a man can search and search and look and look and hunt and hunt til the cows come home, and he still cannot, will not, be able to find what he's looking for when it comes to the Kingdom of God. If he's not blind, he might as well be because unless he's born again, "he cannot see the kingdom of God." This is the essence of spiritual blindness; that is, the things that matter for eternity are simply not visible to the naked eye of an unregenerate (un-born-again) man.

Who made it this way? The God of Isaiah...the God of Isaiah 45:7...the God who controls all things, even whether or not a man can see or not see the Kingdom of God. (See my Isaiah 45:7 blog)

The one who's "born again" can see the Kingdom of God and a whole lot more. Much like the "children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times..." born again believers can often discern the bigger picture, the larger vision, the effect on the times. Could it be possible, that just maybe, this is the reason why so many fail to see the real nature of the so-called "War on Terror"?

Terror, per se, is a tactic. Slash and burn is a tactic. Blitzkrieg is a tactic, it was a highly mobile form of mechanized warfare used by the Germans in WWII. Terror has been used by leaders to maintain control. It's now being used to harass and weaken the victims of terror.

The question is "Who is using TERROR tactics?" Answer: "terrorists" No way! Wrong answer or at least an incomplete answer. Terrorists are people. What kind of people? Who are they? If we had some "children of Issachar" living among us today, would they not answer: Muslims.

Maybe the leaders of the U.S.A., Great Britain, France, Germany, Holland, and several others just simply are blind to the fact that Muslims are conducting assaults in a joint effort worldwide to over throw the West. Could it be that they refuse to see the assault on the Kingdom of God by the Muslim infidels? And most likely it is their own personal blindness to the truth of the Gospel because they are not born again and therefore cannot see these things in the true spiritual perspective. They do not understand, they do not know, they do not believe that they have been given a charge from God to wield His sword for righteousness' sake (Romans 13). They are to serve and protect the people and the land according to God's Word.

Right about now you fear I am advocating a "Theocracy." You fear I want the Church to rule the State. No, that's not what I want. I want the State to do it's God ordained job and rule according to righteousness. The Church is not responsible to run the State; God did not ordain that to be so. God ordained a State with magistrates who are to run the civil government of the nation. Our own government has a law that was drawn up by men who "understood the times." Our U.S. Constitution is a model of what responsible Government leaders can and should do when governing according to principles they have learned by studying God's Word.

Until our socialist leaders in Washington D.C. bow the knee to the King of kings, we will continue to be plagued with more and more threats of Islamo-facist terror attacks. Until our socialist leaders understand that there is a bigger spiritual picture they cannot see without first being born again, we will continue to slide toward Sodom and Gomorrha.

ISAIAH 45:7

"I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things."


Do you believe that God is in control of everything? Yes, everything, like even the pixels on your screen forming this post. Is God truly in sovereign control of all events we experience or witness or read and hear about in the news?

Could it be that God is still moving and shaping nations just as He did in the days of Isaiah and Jeremiah? Is there a real purpose for the War on Terror? Is God to be glorified or ignored in what we call "world affairs"?

Does God's sovereignty make us robots? Or could it be that maybe we just don't understand just how enslaved we are to sin. Could it be that we think we are free, but in reality we are in bondage to our wills that are corrupted by sin? Is there really such a thing as a human nature that is totally depraved?

It would seem that the total inability of man is at the root of all the problems of the world. Sin is universal. All men everywhere have been affected since Adam. All men refuse to believe that God is truly in control of everything. All men refuse to bow in total submission to the one true King of Kings, the Creator of the universe, the only God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.