"For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." Ephesians 5:8-11

As some long-time listeners of our ministry are already aware, we published a popular article called "501c3: The Devil's Church" in which we expose the truth about the denial of Christ by those church buildings, elders, and pastors who sign the corporate contract with the IRS. This is why most people will be confused about the title to this article, and I was deeply convicted to try my best to explain to Christians what many of them still seem not to understand, which is that 501c3 is NOT the cause of leaven in the church, it is the SYMPTOM of the underlying cause.

Let's begin by quoting Donald Trump in a speech he gave during a presidential rally in Janesville, Wisconsin in March of 2016:

TRUMP: "I probably had 50 of the ministers and pastors, different folks, came up to my office, and they're really under tremendous pressure because they don't want to have their tax-exempt status taken away. This happened during the Lyndon Johnson presidency, and I said, 'Why is it that you folks are pushed around so much?' Christianity: These are the pastors, and these are strong people; these are really strong people. 'Why do you allow them, why aren't you more forceful?' And somebody said, 'Well, we have to be careful about our tax-exempt status.' I said, 'When did that happen actually?' It was during the Johnson [presidency]. Well, we're going to try getting rid of that, okay? Because that's really terrible. We're going to try getting rid of it, and I've said that to a lot of people in general; there's a lot of great Christians. We're going to try getting rid of it. It sort of means somebody walking down the street has more power than somebody of religion, of Christianity, somebody that's an evangelical; you take anybody, they have more power because these people are powerless. They've actually taken their right of free speech away... You saw what was happening with the IRS and you saw what was taking place with regard to certain groups, so we are going to try and--usually when I say try, that means I'm going to get it done."

(See Richard Reeves, "Trump Exposes Government Controlled Churches," Infowars, Mar 30, 2016, retrieved Nov 3, 2016, [infowars.com/trump-exposes-government-controlled-churches])

The Christian Post reported:
"Trump vowed to end a ban enacted in the Johnson Amendment of 1954 that punishes churches and other 501(c) tax-exempt nonprofit organizations by stripping them of their tax-exempt status if they engage in political activities or endorse candidates for public office. 'I think maybe that will be my greatest contribution to Christianity — and other religions — is to allow you, when you talk religious liberty, to go and speak openly, and if you like somebody or want somebody to represent you, you should have the right to do it,' the Washington Post quoted Trump as saying."
-Samuel Smith, "Donald Trump Tells Evangelical Leaders He Will End Decades-Old Ban on Church Politicking," The Christian Post, June 22, 2016, retrieved Nov 14, 2016, [http://bit.ly/2g6Sbtx]

There is a lot wrong with this, and I'm fully aware that almost no one is going to listen to me and heed my warnings. I can only hope that the few of the sanctified remnant of Chirst will hear me out and consider the matter. In the end, the love of money, respect, and tradition are the reasons these pastors and elders signed up for 501c3 in the first place.

What Trump doesn't understand is that these "evangelicals" had just as much freedom of speech as "somebody walking down the street" BEFORE they signed their 501c3 contract. These church-goers have a choice; it's not like they were held at gunpoint by the government and forced into silence. These pastors only lost their freedom of speech after they signed the contract, and what most people foolishly keep focusing on is this question: "What do we need to do to give them their rights back?" However, the born-again Christian should be asking, "Why did they give up liberty and denounce Christ in exchange for cash?"

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
-1 Timothy 6:10

I want readers to stop and think for a moment: If you started up a Christian ministry, and someone offered you extra money if you would agree not to talk about certain subjects, would you take it? Of course, on the surface, in face-to-face conversation, the answer the average church-goer would say "no" almost automatically, but how many church-goers, elders, and pastors have done it through their 501c3 contract?

The defensive excuse that I almost always hear from church-goers trying to defend their pastor is this: "Well, he didn't know what he was getting into." I usually laugh and shake my head when I hear this response because that doesn't make the situation better. That excuse actually makes what the pastor did worse because this means church-goers are putting their trust in (and learning every week from) a man who, in his blissful ignorance, doesn't even bother to think about or look into what he's doing before he does it. (Do you honestly think it's a wise idea to let your children and family learn from such a man?)

Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
-Mark 7:13

Through the many hundreds of letters I've received over the years, by the conversations I've had with pastors and evangelists, and through the many excuses I've read on numerous websites, these pastors and elders, for the most part, knew EXACTLY what they were signing, and they simply did not care. I've previously taught that I believed most pastors were ignorant, but that was before I got all the facts, and before I stopped putting my trust into men simply because they held a pastoral title. The bottom line is the grand majority of THESE MEN MADE A CONSCIOUS DECISION, without any discernment or remorse, to give up the liberty to teach the truth in exchange for the ability to obtain tax-deductable cash gifts.

A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.
-Proverbs 17:23

The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.
-Proverbs 29:4

Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
-Isaiah 1:23

This isn't an issue where there's an elephant in the room that no one is talking about; it's actually far worse. This is an issue where there's an elephant in the room, and church-goers deny that there's an elephant in the room, refusing to even look in the elephant's general direction, so they can remain willingly ignorant of the elephant's presence, and claim there is no elephant.

When a pastor or elder has fallen into covetousness, eventually, his choices will reflect the covetousness in his heart. Don't be fooled; none of them will ever outloud, directly say "Yes, I'm man given to covetousness," because that would hurt his current standing. In order to live with himself as hypocrite, preaching the Biblical doctrine against covetousness while acting out the covetousness in his heart, he has to convince himself and others that his decisions are not evil, and that's the reason we see so many excuses when it comes to 501c3 contracts.

And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
-Luke 16:15

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
-Jeremiah 17:9

He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.
-Proverbs 28:26

For example, mold (fungi) growing in your home is bad because when you breathe in the particles it puts into the air, it can cause allergies and infections, so you either clean it up or move out. However, mold is also good because it only grows under extreme moisture conditions, and so it becomes a clear, outward sign that there is an underlying problem, like a leaky roof or plumbling issues.

Mold is both good and bad at the same time for different reasons, but we need to keep in mind that if mold didn't appear as a clear sign when there was a problem, a wall could collapse from rot before the resident even knew there was a problem. Likewise, what Trump is about to do is remove a clear, outward sign of a wicked church with wicked leaders, which will make things much harder for Christians to discern the good from the evil.

Removing 501c3 does NOT remove the wickedness from a pastor's heart.

To put it another way, 501c3 is like the top of the iceberg in cold waters that looks relatively small, but what sinks a ship is not the top of the iceberg, but the huge problem underneath that they can't see on the surface. So many well-meaning folks have written me saying they are fighting the battle against 501c3 contracts in church buildings, but the major problem is that when Trump removes it, they're going to think the problem's been solved, and that all church buildings are suddenly good and unleavened again; THIS IS FOLLY. Even if you remove the top of the iceberg, all it does is make the danger harder to see, and even if you remove 501c3, all it does is make the leaven and wickedness of church buildings harder to see; the ship will still sink, and church-goers will still fall into the trap of leaven without proper discernment.

(Read "Did Christ Come to Bring Peace? here at creationliberty.com for more details on Biblical leaven and sanctification, which the average church building doesn't care or teach about.)

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
-Matthew 23:25

So with Trump's elimination of 501c3, he's helping these preachers to clean the outside of the cup and platter, but inside, they're still corrupt. They're still going to practice gathering tithes (which is against New Testament Scripture), they're still going to adopt unbiblical structures and systems for the church that they copied from Catholicism, they're still going to follow new-age scholarship (i.e. the scribes), they're still going to respect persons (i.e. sin) and expect everyone else to do so, and the list could go on. The bottom line is that they believe Trump can get some cleaning supplies and mop up the mess to make it good, when the fact is that the Lord God has NEVER in Scripture used evil and pagan things (i.e. traditions, cities, rituals, etc), and turned them around to use for His glory; the truth is anything that was an evil thing in the way, God had to destroy it completely and start from scratch.

The primary goal of the huge majority of "pastors" in this country is to get more people sitting in pews every week, and to make sure those anti-Christian tithes keep flowing into the church building's pocket. The hearts of these men need to be fixed first, and then the 501c3 issue will solve itself. 501c3 is not a threat to Christianity; the danger is coming from deceptive men who sign contracts denouncing Christ and then make excuses with fair speeches and flattering lips to the people who provide for their paychecks.

Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
-Psalm 12:1-2

The Lord God didn't tell us that these men are secretly really good people because they look good on the outside; they say one thing and they do another. They claim to be of Christ, but their actions (like signing a 501c3 contract) tell a different story, and the Lord God has said in His Word that these men are unstable in ALL their ways:

A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
-James 1:8

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
-James 4:8

This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
-Matthew 15:8

Yet, the masses of church-goers, who continually claim with their lips to be Christians, follow after these men, putting their full faith in pastors:

Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
-Jeremiah 17:5

I know that many of the people who read this article will flat-out reject what I'm saying, but that's because many of them have the same faith and mind as Donald Trump himself, likely because they're blindly following him rather than the Lord Jesus Christ. Donald Trump cannot understand the things I'm saying because he is NOT a Christian.

In a 2015 interview, Trump was questioned at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa:

INTERVIEWER: "You used the word 'Christian', have you ever asked God for forgiveness?" TRUMP: "That's a tough question. I don't think in terms of--I'm a religious person... [Trump then goes on for about 60 seconds to talk about his denominational background; as a typical politician will do when avoiding a question.]" INTERVIEWER: "But have you ever asked God for forgiveness?" TRUMP: "I'm not sure I have. I just go on and try and do a better job from there. I don't think so. If I do something wrong, I think I just try and make it right... I don't bring God into that picture."

-Donald Trump, "Donald Trump on God and Forgiveness," July 18, 2015, retrieved Nov 16, 2016, [youtube.com/watch?v=A3l0e6nS9oI]

Just like other "christian" cults out there (like Catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, etc), Trump is relying on his own good works to get him into heaven.

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
-Galatians 2:16

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
-Ephesians 2:9

He tries to make his wrongs right to the world; he is sorrowful of his wrongs to men and to the world, but not to God.

For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
-2 Corinthians 7:10

Trump also talked about how he was trained by Norman V. Peale, and Peale's book The Power of Positive Thinking. Peale's book and teachings are completely new-age, and they flat-out deny the doctrines of Jesus Christ by rejecting all the Bible's teachings on shame, humility, guilt, and repentance. These concepts are very easily accepted by the world, and so it is impossible for a natural man of the flesh to receive understand the things of the Spirit of God.
(Read "Is Repentance Part of Salvation" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
-1 Corinthians 2:14

Christians, please don't be fooled. Just as mold appears on a white wall and is clear to see, the Lord God has allowed us a quick and easy way (via 501c3 corporations) for us to tell if a church is leavened, but with its removal, it's only going to make the process of discerning leaven that much harder, and more new Christians will be deceived into thinking what is evil is good.

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
-Isaiah 5:20

Whatever happens, our job as the elect born-again in Christ, and sanctified unto His glory, is to continue in patience to instruct those who will listen, no matter how difficult it may get.

And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
-2 Timothy 2:24-26

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