Bein' a Berean
…outside the box but inside God's Word...
"Who are you to judge the servant of another?" (Romans 14:4 NASB unless noted)
This verse portrays a spiritual principle—you don't interfere with the life/activities/directives of someone else's servant, i.e. property.
In context, the verse from Romans above is used to show that everyone must determine, before God, what is right for themselves with respect to food, drink, special days, etc. In particular, Paul is using it within the Body of Christ.
What about as a general principle?
The following maxim—a principle in law that is common to man—that is derived from the verse above states:
It is a fault to meddle with what does not belong to or does not concern you.
When Satan offered Yeshua the world if He would just "fall down and worship" him, Yeshua did not contest Satan's claim that the world was his to give.
Because we have given our lives to Yeshua in exchange for his death, he has the right to interfere with our day-to-day activities. What we know of him assures us that he always acts for our good.
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)
Although He would love to do so, I do not believe He would meddle in the lives/activities of those not his by their choice.
Yeshua told the disciples that He would build His "ekklesia" (read The Mysterious Word Church). I do not think that Yeshua would work to build an "ekklesia" of a leader antagonistic to his cause. That seems to be a given.
Today, most, if not all, churches are corporations incorporated under the authority of government as 501C3 or a Not-for-Profit Corporation. This approach was sold to the Body under the guise of being for tax (money, mammon) purposes; however, those who came up with the plan had more far-reaching reasons for the offering.
CORPORATION. An artificial person or legal entity created by or under the authority of the laws of a state or nation,…acting as a unit or single individual in matters relating to the common purpose of the association, within the scope of the powers and authorities conferred upon such bodies by law. Black's Law Dictionary.
We've traded God's promise, "to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed,"1 for a paltry 17% or thereabouts? Are we of such little faith? Read Real New Testament Giving.
The argument that incorporating a business protects the owner's assets is a ploy to place the newly formed legal entity under the secular government's authority so that it can control its activities through its statutes.
Those who were at one time "ekklesia" under the authority of Yeshua contracted themselves under the headship of secular government.
"It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1)
In fact, knowingly or unknowingly, we "exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man" (Romans 1:23). A corporation is an image, a legal fiction, having no form or resemblance of the glorious and potent Body that Christ intended and was building—in those who remain under His headship.
'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. (Revelation 3:20)
Yeshua spoke these words to the seventh of the seven churches, the body of believers in Laodicea, a name that means 'the people rule' or 'the justice of the people.'
Yeshua is outside the door of the church of the Western world, knocking, hoping the door will be opened and that He be invited back in. If He were to barge in, He would be trespassing on the property of another.
We would do well to remove ourselves from the corporate entity and return to Yeshua's "ekklesia," where power flows in abundance.
