People seem to remember things if told in story form and perhaps that's another reason Christ taught in parables. So today I want to take everyone back to the roaring 20's.

We will assume that we are enterprising people who are trying to get ahead and that we have decided to purchase a small apartment complex and reap the harvest therefrom in the form of rent.

Well we purchase the apartments, accomplish the necessary renovations, and have all of our apartments rented and are happy collecting rent. But what makes this kind of success possible?

Well the main reason is because we have the capacity to own land and the buildings thereon. If we did not own the land, then obviously we could not charge rent. But since we own the land, we can make improvements or even burn the place down if we want to. But we have decided to rent out the apartments and things are going along smoothly.

Then one day along comes some slickly boys all dressed up in fancy suits and shoes and they tell us that we are going to have to pay a percentage of our income to the mob as they are going to provide us with protection. We thank them but tell them that we do not want, or need their protection. Then they turn up the heat a little by telling us that we really do need the protection because without it, something drastic might happen to us or our property. We argue about it for some time and finally they leave.

However, that night someone drives by and riddles our apartments with machine gun fire. The next day the slickly boys return and tell us if we had paid for protection such a thing would not have happened. Well we have finally gotten the message and paid the extortion and increased the rents accordingly.

But what has really happened? We thought we owned the land and could use it as we saw fit, but now someone has come along who did not own the land and has profited from our ownership of the land. The mob collects rents without having to buy or make improvements on the land, and every tine the rents go up, their percentage of the take increases. This is a pretty good deal -- for the mob.

The bottom line is that while we own the land, we do not have absolute control over it. Someone having more power than we do has a superior right to the proceeds from the land. Therefore, the mob, while it does not hold title to the land, has a superior right of ownership. And if we fail to perform the mob will continue to fill it full of holes until no one will rent from us, or perhaps they will even burn the place to the ground and there is nothing we can do about it.

Now let's look at this another way. Today we buy a home and live in it and think that we own it and the land it sits on. But lo and behold, along comes the county and assesses the land and sends us a bill based upon a percentage of the value of the land. They call this a property tax but they do this every year and so it becomes a form of rent -- or a feudal fee. And if we don't like the rent, we can complain to the country commissioners, the courts, and all will fall on deaf ears. And if we decide not to pay this annual rent, the county will simply sell the land on the court house steps to some feudal serf willing to pay the annual rent.

Therefore, the country like the mob, does not hold title to the land, but they have a superior right of ownership over our land. Otherwise they would not be able to take our land from us and sell it. The bottom line is that while we may hold a deed to the land, we do not have the superior right of ownership.

Now, we need to ask ourselves, is there any difference between the mob of the 20's and the county? No, not really, the only difference is that the mob worked outside the law and the county works under color of law. But both the mob and the county are criminals in the sight of God.

You see, according to Biblical law, the right to tax real property is specifically denied to the state, because the state has no land to tax. Psalm 24:1 tells us: "The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof;"

Remember now, as the owner of land we have the right to charge rent for land, and since "The earth is the Lord's" only God can tax the earth, and so He does, as the Bible provides a godly social order through the law of the tithe.

But for the state to come along and claim the right to tax the earth is for the state to make itself the god and creator of the earth. While the county may not claim to be God or to have created the land, one thing is for certain -- they can remove you from the land if you fail to pay your rent, and therefore you need to understand that the county has a superior right to the ownership of your land.

From a biblical perspective, the immunity of land from taxation by the state means liberty, as only then can a man be secure on the land without threat of being dispossessed. Yes, only under God's law does man have security in owning property. For if all else fails he can grow crops on his land and survive, as no one can dispossess him of his land.

Howard Rand, in his book entitled "Digest of Divine Law," stated that under Bible law:

"It was impossible to dispossess men of their inheritance under the law of the Lord as no taxes were levied against land."

Something else you need to understand is that the tithe is not a gift to God; it is God's tax for the use of the earth, which is at all times under God's law and His jurisdiction. It is only when your payments to the Lord exceed ten percent can they be called a gift and a then they are called "free-will offerings."

Going back into history, the tithe was legally collected for centuries. That is, the state provided the legal requirement that tithes be paid to the church even in the United States. For example, when the state of Virginia repealed its law which made payment of the tithe mandatory, George Washington expressed his disapproval in a letter to George Mason, October 3, 1785. George said he believed in: "...making people pay toward the support of that which they profess."

History also tells us that in medieval and Reformation Europe, broad governmental functions belonged to the church and were supported by the tithe. The role of the state, in those days, was quite limited because of a general lack of distrust for the state - - and for good reason as we can attest to in this day and age.

But in those days, schools, hospitals, houses for lepers, charity to orphans, widows, strangers, and the poor, all this and more was paid for by the tithe to the church. Granted, there was corruption in the medieval church, yet that corruption was far less than the degenerate, extravagant, and wasteful modern day state.

So from the 4th century on, civil governments began to require the tithe, because it was believed that a country could only deny God His tax at its peril. From the end of the 18th century, and especially in recent years, such laws have disappeared under the impact of anti-Christian movements.

In abolishing the tithe, instead of freeing men from what some considered an "oppressive" tax, today's governments have opened the way for truly oppressive taxation by the state, having now assumed the social responsibilities once maintained by tithe money.

You see, ladies and gentlemen, Basic social functions must and will be paid for. If they are not paid by a responsible, tithing Christian people, they will be paid for by a tyrant state which will use their socialistic welfare programs and education systems as stepping-stones to totalitarian power.

In conclusion, let me once again tell you that you do not have the superior right of ownership of your home, and even your vehicles for that matter.

If you do not believe me, do not pay the feudal rental fee for your property and see what happens. It will take about three years, depending upon the state, but the county will take your land from you, and they will sell it on the courthouse steps to some slave who will pay their feudal fee.

And as for your vehicles, try, just try not renewing your registration next time it comes due. This is just another feudal rental fee. Better yet, remove the VIN number and let the state find out, and see what happens. That vehicle will be taken from you so fast it will make your head spin. But you will have plenty of time to think things over, because you will be in jail