Just before last year’s presidential election, my church bought full-page ads in USA Today and the Washington Times. In them we warned Christians of what we thought were the dangers of voting for a presidential candidate who supports homosexual rights, lifting regulations on abortion, and distributing condoms in public schools.
Not long afterward, we heard from the Internal Revenue Service. These matters are political, the IRS explained, and the church must be silent on them. Speaking out on them violates IRS code on tax-exempt organizations.
The IRS proceeded to ask us for a mountain of information, including the names and addresses of financial supporters, so it could determine if a “church inquiry” was called for. While in good conscience we could not respond to all of their requests, we did supply several pages of Bible-based explanations of the church’s identity and role. At press time, our response was still under review.
When CHRISTIANITY TODAY covered the incident (Dec. 14, 1992, p. 64) it used the headline “Church Tests Political Limits.” The magazine should have called the story “Government Tests Limits of the Church.”
Has tax exemption become a means for government to control the church? Evidently the government thinks so. And by their meticulous compliance, many pastors, church boards, and Christian leaders seem to support that position.
Some of God’s watchmen bear powerful oracles of warning that should be delivered clearly and unapologetically. Yet, just as Judah relied on the “broken reed” of Egypt’s protection (Isa. 36:6), those watchmen hold back for fear of losing tax-exempt status.
Too often, reproving the works of darkness or warning the saints is no longer a matter of “What saith the Scriptures,” but “What ...
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