08/27/20 DLG FB NOTE... 501(c)(3) Status... Informative and Important 07/10/10

08/27/20 DLG FB NOTE... 501(c)(3) Status... Informative and Important 07/10/10

I hope this article concerning the 501(c)(3) status is informative and helpful. I looked into the IRS 501(c)(3) status for our church ministry around 1979 and decided against it because it gives the State authority over the churches that accept this status, rather than keeping Christ as the Head of the local church.

There are many well intentioned believers who have unknowingly relinquished the Lordship of their local churches into the hands of the State. Thinking that they were doing the right thing, they have actually empowered the State to persecute and/or control local churches and ultimately to make the true Church in America illegal. This article gives info, without attacking those who have fallen victim to this attack on the Church.

I realize everyone will not agree with this NOTE. I am posting this for information purposes, not to attack individuals. I am not interested in defending this NOTE, but if this causes anyone to have honest questions, I will try to respond. This is not intended to be an exhaustive presentation.

The following article was taken from the writings of Jack Kinsella, who is the Publisher and Editor of The Omega Letter.

(DLG... My reference to Kinsella and The Omega Leter relates only to the article on 501c3 status, since I am not familiar with any other issues he addresses.)

By Jack Kinsella
The Omega Letter

On December 16th, 1773, “radicals” from Boston, Massachusetts, members of a secret organization of American Patriots called Sons of Liberty, boarded three East India Company ships and threw into Boston Harbor 342 chests of tea.

In response to the rebellion, the British enacted additional punitive measures, labeled the “Intolerable Acts,” in hopes of suppressing the insurrection. Far from accomplishing that outcome, the Crown's countermeasures led Colonists to convene the First Continental Congress on September 5th, 1774 in Philadelphia.

The Boston Tea Party eventually led to America’s Declaration of Independence which cited the “Laws of Nature and Nature’s God” saying that all men are “endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.”

Certain of the Founders were uncomfortable with the Constitution and demanded extra guarantees that would prevent the federal government from growing too powerful. These extra guarantees are embodied by the first ten Amendments to the Constitution known as the “Bill of Rights.”

They were introduced by James Madison to the First United States Congress in 1789 as a series of articles, and came into effect on December 15, 1791, when they had been ratified by three-fourths of the States.

Briefly, the Bill of Rights guarantees religious freedom by prohibiting Congress from passing laws respecting religion or ‘prohibiting the free exercise thereof.’ The 1st Amendment prohibits the government from licensing or taxing churches and ministers.

The government found a way around that by introducing charitable tax-exempt status to ministries. Ministries that accept that 501(c)(3) status inadvertently surrender much of their 1st Amendment freedoms.

In 1954, churches were added to section501(c)(3)of the tax code, making those who register, tax-exempt. Technically, churches, who were already tax exempt, registered so they could be tax exempt.

According to the IRS, "churches are automatically tax-exempt and tax-deductible" without having to apply for tax-exempt status. A 501(c)(3) classification from the State cannot grant permission to function as a church because the Constitution has already done that.

A 501(c)(3)simply is a legal document that registers the church and brings it under the authority of the State. because when anyone incorporates, they become a creature of the State. The State is sovereign over all corporations and dictates how corporations will conduct business.

By filing corporate papers, the church becomes subordinate with the State. They sign an agreement with the State regarding what they will and will not do or say. The church is allowed to exist so long as it abides by the rulings of the State.

For example, corporate law dictates a mandatory governing hierarchy that every 501(c)(3) organization establishes, President, Secretary, Treasurer, etc.

A yearly corporate tax is paid to the State, which grants the incorporated church the right to function as a church within the State. All in violation of the Constitution.

Here’s how it all works in practice. Suppose a ministry has enjoyed tax-exempt status for years under IRS rules that forbid 501(c)(3) organizations from making political statements.

Then along comes a politician whose policies are so at odds with their religious conscience that the minister feels compelled to warn those whom God has placed under their authority and for whom God has made them responsible.

Violating IRS rules can result in the revocation of a ministry's tax-exempt charitable status. The revocation of tax-exempt status makes both the minister and the ministry liable for unpaid taxes. Speaking out could spell the end of that ministry and all the other good it might otherwise be capable of doing.

So it isn't that hard to justify self-censorship in order to accomplish the greater good.

The IRS even tells the church how it will perform charitable acts within the community. For example, a 501(c)(3) is allowed to give food, shelter, clothing and emergency services. But 501(c)(3) churches are not allowed to give money directly to someone in need.

A 501(c)(3) church is not allowed to make any cash transactions. Every penny must be recorded. The money trail must be exhaustively documented and reported.

And once a church or ministry has registered with the IRS it is like joining the Mafia. Opting out is not an option. Once in the system, there is no escaping it.

The irony here is found in the fact that the entire 501(c)(3) registration is entirely unnecessary.

In order to be considered for tax-exempt status by the IRS an organization must fill out and submit IRS Form 1023 and 1024. However, note what the IRS says regarding churches and church ministries, in Publication 557:
“Some organizations are not required to file Form 1023. These include: Churches, interchurch organizations of local units of a church, conventions or associations of churches, or integrated auxiliaries of a church, such as a men’s or women’s organization, religious school, mission society, or youth group. These organizations are exempt automatically if they meet the requirements of section 501(c)(3).”
The IRS tax-exemption status is the most powerful tool the federal government has in its arsenal against domestic opponents of its policies. Once it became accepted practice for the federal government to ‘license’ ministry through the IRS in violation of the 1st Amendment, the 1st Amendment began to lose any semblance of its original meaning.

So why would any Christian organization even consider it? In a word, money. Under 501(c)(3) rules, a person can write a check to them instead of the IRS. They have to pay it to somebody - and it feels better to tithe to ministry when one is tithing money that they don't get to keep anyway.

(Mr. Kinsella went on to say,)

I have many friends in ministry that head 501(c)(3) organizations. I don’t fault them for it - for the most part, it is a trap that, as noted earlier, once in, becomes nearly impossible to escape.

They didn’t apply for tax exempt status out of greed or some nefarious ulterior motive. Ministries are expensive to run and most seminaries spend as much time teaching business administration as they do teaching doctrine - including how to maximize their tax-exempt status as a way of expanding their ministry outreach.