Let's look up the number one definition of secular. It's very important. Secular - "of or relating to worldly things as distinguished from things relating to church and religion; not sacred or religious; temporal, worldly." (Webster's New World Dictionary, copyright 1970)
Jesus
warned us not to be of the world. The "world" is in opposition to
Christ and Christ is in opposition to the world. Those who become
friends with the world become enemies of God (James 4:4).
By its very definition, the U.S. is secular. All the taxing programs, courts, and schools are all secular. They are all of and for the world. How can anyone think the U.S. is a Christian nation? They do nothing in Christ's name.
Secularism is defined as "worldly spirit, views, or the like; especially a system of doctrines and practices that disregards or rejects any form of religious faith and worship." "Worldly spirit" is certainly not Christ's spirit. The secular spirit has even infiltrated your "church." Wolves have overtaken the Body of Christ and secularized it. They've made it part of the world through State incorporation. If you think you are a Christian and your church is incorporated under the State, you're a "Secular Christian." That's an oxymoron. You stand for two opposite doctrines. You are trying to go in two directions at the same time. It is tearing you apart!
What is the definition of secularize? "To change from religious to civil ownership or use." Whoa! This should be shaking you up. I know it's upsetting me. That's what they did to the church. That is what they have done to the Christians. They have changed them over to secular use. Why? Because "Secularism" and "Christianity" are completely opposite ends of the spectrum. They cannot walk together. The Church and the State must be separate.
The second definition of "secularize" is "to change to status of secular clergyman." When you think of a "clergyman," what do you imagine? I think of someone who wears the ecclesiastical cloth, maybe a minister or priest.
Who
would you think of as "secular clergymen"? There are lots of them. Go
visit your local jail. Ask for the "secular clergyman." They will
probably understand you. He is known as the "chaplain." He represents
Jesus Christ on the "outside of the cup," but the jail is the "inside
of the cup." Inside the cup are "dead men's bones." (Matthew 23:25-28)
What do the "dead men's bones" do? They put on the office of "secular
clergyman" and by outward appearances they look like their acts are
Christian.
Where else can you find "secular clergymen"? How about the chaplain in the army? I remember being very confused about this office when I was on the army base. Here was a man of the cloth who wasn't really a Catholic. He wasn't really Protestant. He wasn't any particular denomination. He was just a "secular clergyman."
On
the outside of the cup he makes mention of Jesus Christ and the Bible.
He makes the army smell good and appear to be righteous. But if you
look inside the cup, there are dead men's bones. The army is training
men to kill, not love one another. When the poor recruit's conscience
is aroused, he goes to the chaplain. And the chaplain's job is to
reassure him that it is okay with God if you kill one another.
There is another group of "secular clergymen" which are far more numerous. Your town is probably loaded with them. Let's "go to church" and find one. He may go by the title of "minister," "pastor," "priest," or "father." But by definition, he is a secular clergyman. He is part of the secularized church. His congregation is made up of secular Christians who no longer have Jesus Christ as their head. Their right-hand man isn't Jesus Christ, it's a secular attorney.
Let's look at 2 Corinthians 11:13-15. This refers to the false clergymen:
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
Think about it. If you were Satan and you wanted to deceive the entire world and take over the Kingdom of Heaven, how would you do it? You would put forth your "false apostles and deceitful workers, who transform themselves into the apostles of Christ." And that's what has happened.
The devil's own men are holding the offices of deacon, elder and pastor and they have infiltrated the inner circle of the "church." We should not marvel at this. Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light and will deceive even the very elect, if that be possible.
How can you find out if your church has had a secular takeover? Ask about the paperwork that has been filed. Is the Church incorporated with the State? Does the church have a 501(c)(3) relationship with the IRS? If the answer is "yes," then Jesus Christ has been overthrown as the head of that "church." By law, the State attorney general is its head.
There are offices inside that secularized church. They may go by the name of "elder" "senior pastor" or "deacon," but in reality they are State offices. They are created to fulfill the requirements of the State corporation.
Somebody created those offices, and it was not Jesus Christ. Some unbelieving, unregenerated person created those secular offices. Then, through deceitful methods, men were persuaded to fill the offices. Some of these men might be outstanding, moral individuals. But it does not matter if they have a godly character. They must act in compliance with the duties of the office. The office controls the man.
The office has already been created by some pervert who has gotten into the church and secularized it. Now these offices do the State's business.
You don't believe me? Take a look at the wedding ceremony. Marriage is God's institution. But does the secular preacher act in the name of Jesus Christ? Absolutely not. He marries people by the authority vested in him by the State. He is conducting State business in a secular "church." Then he makes sure all the paperwork is properly signed, witnessed and filed with the county. This procedure is not done in obedience to Christ. It is done in compliance with the demands of the State god.
Why has the church sold out to the State? Mostly for financial gain. The State made them an offer they couldn't refuse.
The church has been shown special favor. It is allowed "tax exempt" status. And members can deduct contributions from their tax bill.
The State is such a benevolent god. If all the proper paperwork is approved, the "church" is allowed a teeny, tiny spot where they can put up a building and "go to church." Inside, they can make a pretense of worshiping their God and talking in tidbits about Jesus Christ. The State doesn't care. They are the conquerors. They control the entire secular church. Not just the buildings, but the entire body. All the members have been secularized and do the State's bidding.
In fact, when a secular Christian says he is "going to church," what he actually means is that he is "going to State." His "church" is just another branch of the State.
One day I was having an intense discussion with a secular pastor. I saw a Bible tucked in his shirt pocket and I instinctively grabbed it to read a passage to him. Whoa, was I surprised. The book was an IRS Record Keeping manual.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I just assumed that was a Bible sticking out of your pocket."
The preacher blushed because we had just been talking about how the IRS controls the church.
"Let
me just throw it away for you," I teased. But he grabbed it back. "I
don't want any trouble from the IRS. I need to keep these time logs."
"Why are you reporting to them? What is your relationship to the IRS? Is the IRS part of the church? Who does your church belong to, anyway? Is it part of the body of Christ or is it something that Jesus would take a whip to because you have turned His Father's house into a house of merchandise?"
If my friend digs a little deeper, he will find that the paperwork shows that his church, his buildings, and his congregation belong to the State. It was created by the State to promote the State's agenda.
The U.S. Supreme Court said in the case of Bob Jones University in 1981, "The primary function of a tax-exempt organization is to act on behalf of the Government in carrying out governmentally approved policies." "Let's go to church." Throw that phrase out of your vocabulary. It makes the True Church something less than what it is. The Church is not a location. It is not a place. It is everywhere and it fills all and is in all.
Let's take a look at Ephesians 1:19-23:
And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
If you study these verses, you will know that we as Christians have no secular life at all. We, as reborn, baptized Christians are dead to the world.
Remember the definition of secular? "Of, or relating to worldly things as distinguished from things relating to Church or religion. Not sacred or religious. Temporal. Worldly."
As a Christian, you are not part of the world anymore. You have died and been set free from the world. You are no longer under its rules and regulations (Colossians 2:20-22). You cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). You are now in Christ and Christ is your all and all.
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: . . . And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:12, 13, 18)
Let's face it. We've been programmed from birth to be a secular Christian. If you ever responded to the Christian faith, you were deceived. The elders drew you away from Christ and under the secular forces. It's awful, isn't it?
Do you remember the last time you went to your preacher and said, "I'm having some trouble and I need some counsel." Did that preacher really give you Godly counsel, or did he send you down to the State "shrink?" Or did he recommend a lawyer? Did he recognize the State's granting of divorce and counsel you that you were free to marry? Did he urge you to pay your taxes and get right with the State? Wherever he sends you, it is always to the secular forces, isn't it? Why isn't the Church providing people and resources to meet these needs? Because the church has been bought off.
Secular clergymen are all over the place. They are not just chaplains for the jail or military. They hold office in all the denominations. And what do they represent? They are Satan's agents in the cloth of Christ. Their function and purpose are to be the outside of the cup. You find them in their echo chambers on Saturday or Sunday leading their congregation through the motions of praying to this awesome God. Everyone is looking toward the heavens waiting for that sweet by and by. And all the time, the Kingdom of Heaven is within.
What have these deceivers done? They have taken you from Christ. The beautiful outside of the cup is just for a show of men. They say, "Come to Jesus." But it ain't Jesus. And what's inside the cup? Literally dead men's bones. Attorneys. Black robed priests. Judges. Bailiffs. Guards. Police. Legislators. Presidents. Governors. They are wicked to the core. They are the power of darkness. Yet many of them put on an outside covering of Christ.
They make you believe there is a little teeny, itsy-bitsy place for you as a Christian. And if you get outside this little teeny, itsy-bitsy place, you are in trouble! Get back inside!
I'm not talking about individuals. I'm talking about the offices and jobs these people are required to do.
One
day a sympathetic man who held the office of attorney tried to explain
to me the relationship of the church in the world. He drew a big
circle on a piece of paper. "This circle represents the secular forces
- the United States, the State of Oregon and its political
subdivisions," he explained.
Then he drew a tiny circle inside the large circle. "This little spot represents the church. While you are in the world, your Jesus has got to stay inside this teeny circle. If He gets out of there, you're going to be in for trouble."
And he was absolutely right. As soon as I started acting outside that tiny circle, I began to feel the persecution. Jail, harassment, loss of property. And there are many others who are stepping outside that circle and suffering persecution. I am praying that you also wake up and venture outside.
Do you know why you are not being persecuted? It is because you are a secular Christian. You are under the covering of the State. They are protecting you as long as you continue to obey them. They are your master, not Jesus Christ.
We were talking to our dentist about this and he said. "Sure there is freedom of religion in America, as long as it is their religion." He understands.
The scripture calls secular Christianity "harlotry." It is the church going to bed with false gods. Today in America the Bride of Christ has turned to the dark side and is sleeping with the Beast.
The State understands what the Church is all about and they have made a counterfeit model with the attorney general as its head. As soon as you remove Jesus Christ from the Head, you don't have the Church. You have secularism. You have the World. That is what you find today masquerading as the Church.
Their "church" is at specific locations. They want you to go hunt for it. But Jesus warns us not to go looking for Him in the desert. If you've got to "go somewhere" to see the Kingdom of Heaven, you won't find it. For the kingdom of heaven is within.
Most people, unless they are born again, can't see the Kingdom of Heaven. To them it is foolishness. When they hear about these things they say, "Oh, he's a bunch of hot air!" That is the only thing they can say. They can't see the Kingdom of Heaven. They have not been born again. They haven't been given the gift.
If you truly are born again, then you must leave the secular forces and their counterfeit church. You must enter Christ. Enter the Church, the "nation of God." (1 Peter 2:9)
Start thinking about getting out. Get out of the secular forces and into Jesus Christ. "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." (Colossians 3:17)