The RADEN Report                                            August 24, 2002

Rome And Daughters Ecumenical News

 

The third document produced by Charles Colson and Richard Neuhaus’ Evangelicals and Catholics Together Alliance would be hardly worth mentioning except for the fact that it demonstrates the continuing danger of the influence of various ecumenically-minded “evangelical” leaders.

 After reading the document several times, looking for something new or significant, I can’t help but think this thing has been to the dentist many times… so much so as to leave it nearly toothless, practically boring to read. It’s not that there isn’t the usual ecumenical heresy to point out; there’s certainly plenty of that. But there’s nothing new here at all; just men verbally wandering on and on, saying the same things that have been said many times before. Apparently, these men think that rephrasing or simply overlooking an old heresy will somehow make it agreeable with the standard of Scripture.

I Your Word Is Truth???

God’s Word is indeed truth, but by ignoring the truth, ECT leaders continue to promote the ecumenical deception that those faithful to the biblical Gospel and those faithful to the Roman Catholic system of sacramental faith are somehow united in Christ.

>> To be sure, apples and oranges do have similarities. But regardless of how nicely they may be arranged in the same bowl, apples and oranges are not and never can be the same thing. The biblical Gospel and Rome ’s sacramental gospel are not the same thing. There are some common elements, but in the overall analysis these are two distinctly different gospels which are utterly opposed to one another. Of course, to say this is nothing new either. The Scriptures plainly warn that adding religious works onto the Gospel makes it “no gospel at all.” Throughout history, Bible-believing Christians have warned that sacramental faith –the addition of necessary religious works- is a dangerous perversion of the biblical Gospel. <<

I Avoiding publicity this time around

The two previous ECT documents, ECT-I in 1994 and ECT-II in 1997, were purposefully trumpeted far and wide in the public media. By comparison, this third ECT document has been released in near secrecy, as if its authors do not wish to have public attention drawn to themselves or to their document. In fact, after nearly five years in production, this document was quietly released last month in a book of essays entitled “Evangelicals and Catholics Together: Your Word is Truth”. As far as I am aware, to this point the only public media to announce its release or comment on its contents has been the August/September edition of Richard Neuhaus’ FIRST THINGS magazine.

In his introduction to the document, Roman Catholic priest Richard Neuhaus urges all who might criticize the statement to first consult the 178 pages of related “scholarly papers prepared for their deliberation and to be found in the book (published by Eerdmans).” After having read this rather boring ecumenical statement, and in view of the book’s $20.00 price tag, I think it is practically guaranteed that few will investigate the ECT-III. Perhaps this is the whole idea anyway.

But you may ask, “Why would a group of people publish a statement and then not wish for its widest circulation?” Consider that previous ECT statements have caused a great deal of controversy and, in fact, have helped to awaken many Bible-believing individuals to the dangers of ecumenism. Here in the United States , negative reaction to the ECT has actually hindered ecumenism’s agenda. This agenda is spelled out in Vatican II’s mandate to gradually draw all the so-called “separated brethren” under the domination of the Roman hierarchy. (1)

Nowhere can this hindrance to ecumenism be seen more clearly than in the Southern Baptist Convention where negative reaction to the ECT has helped to turn around thirty years of ecumenical advancement sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. (http://www.usccb.org/seia/dialogues.htm)

Also consider that the method of ecumenism is to take small steps that are not perceived as threatening. Ecumenists do not want their efforts to create big splashes with radical changes all at once. It is the established practice among ecumenical strategists to work behind the scenes over long periods of time so as not to alarm people to what is really happening (to verify this, one needs only to read the 1995 Vatican document “Ut Unum Sint”). So, to accomplish its goals, the ECT Alliance will likely continue their work behind the scenes and periodically publish statements with only a moderate amount of news coverage.

I Mr. Neuhaus’ suggestion notwithstanding…

The document has been published and endorsed as it is, standing by itself as a report from the continuing ECT dialogue. Individuals who publicly claim to be speaking the truth regarding theological issues must be held accountable for the statements they make. We will look at the book of essays later, but for now, here’s the initial RADEN Report on the third ECT document, “Your Word is Truth”…

(the text of the document may be found on our website at www.azi.com/ect/ect3)

First: The foundational premise at the heart of the ECT Alliance

Each succeeding ECT statement is firmly positioned upon ONE FOUNDATIONAL PREMISE. Because this premise is flawed, each ECT statement is built upon a corrupt foundation. So, to be able to understand the problem with this new statement, we must consider the foundational error of the ECT Alliance. To illustrate, I will quote from each of the three ECT statements:

ECT-I  “Evangelicals and Catholics are brothers and sisters in Christ.”

ECT-II  “We give thanks to God that in recent years many Evangelicals and Catholics, ourselves among them, have been able to express a common faith in Christ and so to acknowledge one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.”

ECT-III  “Among the many blessings resulting from this cooperative effort, we note especially our common affirmation of the most central truths of Christian faith, including justification by faith, in the 1997 statement, ‘The Gift of Salvation.’ ”

Therefore, at the heart of the ECT Alliance is the foundational premise that those who profess to be Christians are to be considered “brothers and sisters in Christ,” regardless of whether they trust in a sacramental system of grace + works or trust in the biblical Gospel that is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. (Remember, ECT stands for evangelicals and Catholics TOGETHER) As Mr. Colson has said, “True believers must reach across theological divides and embrace one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.”(2) In spite of what Mr. Colson may believe are his benevolent intentions, his teaching in this important area is completely contrary to God’s Word. On one hand he states, “the only unity among Christians that can be pleasing to God is unity in truth,”(3) and on the other hand he calls upon all Christians to set aside fundamental theological differences (“reach across theological divides”) in order to declare a unity apart from the truth.

Again, sacramental faith is absolutely contrary to biblical faith. And no matter how nicely Mr. Colson and Mr. Neuhaus may repeat their claim to it, these men do not have a “unity in the truth.” They are simply “reaching across theological divides,” claiming a unity that does not exist.

 I Not everyone who says to me “Lord, Lord”…

ECT leaders Richard Neuhaus and Charles Colson seem to be fully convinced they have discovered a great truth that has somehow been overlooked for centuries. They boldly claim,

“All who truly believe in Jesus Christ are brothers and sisters in the Lord and must not allow their differences, however important, to undermine this great truth, or to deflect them from bearing witness together to God’s gift of salvation in Christ.” (ECT-II, The Gift of Salvation)

Let’s examine this statement a little: It sounds gracious and kind, but is it biblical? There are millions today who say they “truly believe in Jesus Christ,” but when we consider how some of them interpret “believing in Jesus” we necessarily separate ourselves from cooperating with them in evangelistic efforts. For instance, Mormons say they believe in Jesus, Jehovah’s Witnesses say they believe in Jesus, New-Age proponents say they believe in Jesus, even many Muslims say they believe in Jesus. But we do not enter into evangelistic efforts with these groups because we disagree with them on what it means to “believe in Jesus.”

And then to consider the area of morality, there are those who claim to truly believe in Jesus while at the same time they promote homosexuality as a valid lifestyle for a Christian. Certainly, we do not join with these in “bearing witness together of God’s gift of Salvation in Christ”! Amazingly, these theological contortionists claim to have absolutely NO disagreement with us regarding fundamental elements of the Faith.

”All who truly believe in Jesus Christ are brothers and sisters in the Lord” is indeed a true statement if it stands alone, but to then add that all professing Christians ”must not allow their differences, however important, to undermine this great truth” is to join together truth and error, creating a dangerously misleading statement. You see, if the differences we have with other professing Christians have to do with serious perversions of doctrine or practice, then we are commanded by God’s Word to make judgments and place limitations regarding our fellowship and cooperation with these individuals or groups. According to Scripture, we are NOT at liberty to assume a person is a Christian simply because he may profess to “believe in Jesus.” (Yes, of course this runs against the grain of what is politically or culturally correct in a fallen world.)

It seems Mr. Neushaus and Mr. Colson would have us ignore the very words of Jesus, who said, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves…. Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven .”(Matthew 7:15-23) Should we listen to these men who claim that the Holy Spirit is leading them, or, having recognized prohibiting theological differences, should we not say with the apostle Paul, “What fellowship can light have with darkness?.... What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

And then to add error upon error, these ecumenists insist that evangelical believers and Roman Catholics MUST not allow fundamental differences of doctrine “to deflect them from bearing witness together to God’s gift of salvation in Christ.” What an incredibly contorted idea! Can you imagine taking your local Roman Catholic priest along with you to visit a man who has been inquiring about how he may be saved? When the two of you sit down with this seeking man to share your “common faith in Christ,” just which gospel will you give to this man? …the Gospel of faith in Christ alone, completely apart from religious works, or the gospel of faith in Christ dispensed through religious works required by the Roman Catholic Church? It seems Mr. Colson and Mr. Neuhaus would have you to each share your different versions of the Gospel with this man and then tell him it doesn’t really matter which gospel he may choose, since both are actually the same. Such a gross mixture of truth and error would certainly bring a greater confusion to anyone seeking the Truth.

ECT proponents try to hide behind the pretext that “bearing witness together” has to do with co-belligerence in “the face of a society marked by unbelieving ideologies and the culture of death,”(4) about contending together for morality and against abortion, etc. Time and again this has been an effective method employed by ECT leaders to deflect criticism. But the TRUTH is that these same ECT leaders have at other times admitted each of their documents have to do with theological considerations, not simply moral/social issues. Indeed, early on in his work to establish the ECT Alliance, Mr. Colson said, “This is a theologically rooted alliance…. This is the origin of and justification for ‘Evangelicals and Catholics Together.’ ”(5)

I If you don’t agree, then it’s dishonest to claim “agreement”!

According to ECT co-founder Charles Colson, “Catholic, Orthodox, fifty-seven varieties of Protestantism…we understand our faith in different ways, but basically we agree on the fundamentals of the Christian faith.”(6) This statement is utterly false, utterly deceptive, and carries the potential for eternal harm. Yes, we do agree on some fundamental elements of the faith, but the very nature of a “fundamental” element is that EACH element is absolutely essential for the whole to be complete… and WE DO NOT AGREE on each fundamental element of the Gospel. For instance…

In his introduction to the ECT-III, as it appears in FIRST THINGS magazine, Richard Neuhaus claims that the second ECT document produced “firm agreement on the meaning of salvation, and especially the doctrine of justification.” Now, for such a statement to be reality rather than deception, it would first be necessary for Roman Catholic ECT participants to refute official Roman Catholic teaching pertaining to merited grace (grace assisted by works). Instead, the ECT-II very plainly states that participants have NOT come to agreement regarding

“the meaning of baptismal regeneration, the Eucharist, and sacramental grace; the historic uses of the language of justification as it relates to imputed and transformative righteousness; the normative status of justification in relation to all Christian doctrine; the assertion that while justification is by faith alone, the faith that receives salvation is never alone; diverse understandings of merit, reward, purgatory, and indulgences; Marian devotion and the assistance of the saints in the life of salvation; and the possibility of salvation for those who have not been evangelized.” (ECT-II: The Gift of Salvation)

Regarding this ECT double-talk, Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr., President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville , Ky. , has said, "Justification by faith alone, if genuinely affirmed by Catholics and evangelicals, would require repudiation of baptismal regeneration, purgatory, indulgences and many other issues presently affirmed by Roman Catholic doctrine…. Regretfully, I must conclude that the Catholics and evangelicals really do not define faith the same."(7)

Certainly, the biblical teaching of justification in Christ Jesus leaves no room for the possibility of merited grace, yet merited grace is the cornerstone of the Roman Catholic sacramental system. If one believes in the possibility of merited grace, then one can also believe in the possibility of salvation for moral individuals who have not received the Gospel. As alluded to in the aforementioned quote from ECT-II, and as affirmed in the Vatican ’s 2000 “Dominus Iesus” document, Roman Catholicism clearly teaches the possibility of salvation for some particularly moral individuals even though they may not acknowledge Jesus Christ as the unique Son of God. Yet, to be true to Scripture, if the grace of salvation may be merited by ANYONE, at any time, to any degree, then as Paul said, “Christ died for nothing.” (Galatians 2:21)

I And yet more twisting of the truth…

I am sure you have noticed that I’ve spent considerable time talking about the corrupt foundation of the ECT dialogue, but I’ve yet to speak much about the text of this particular document. Honestly, it’s just hard to get past the initial problem… I mean, how is it that these who so loudly proclaim two distinctly different gospels as the same… how is it that such individuals have any credibility at all among Bible-believing Christians? Those involved in this ecumenical deception boldly claim they are being led by the Holy Spirit. They take it upon themselves to speak to the Lord’s people regarding theological matters, and yet gross theological error is at the very foundation of what they have to say. Thus, how can they be trusted regarding such important matters of theology? In fact, ECT leaders have been confronted repeatedly about their error, yet without repentance. Biblically, aren’t leaders in the Lord’s Church commanded to confront such error and warn God’s people against such dangerous teaching? (see Galatians 1-2; Titus 1:9-16; Jude 1:3; 1 Timothy 5:20; etc.) So, where is the outcry against this ECT ecumenical deception?

I Does Jesus need the Church’s help to save anyone?

I will leave it for others to labor over and comment on every sentence of this new ECT document. For now, I’ll briefly illustrate the dangerous nature of this document with just two excerpts from the text.

(1) After declaring their supposed “common affirmation of the most central truths of the Christian faith,” referencing dozens of verses of Scripture easily agreed upon by all, the authors of this document turn their attention to the various beliefs of evangelicals and Roman Catholics regarding the nature of the Church. Since they have already established their premise that evangelicals and Catholics are all brothers and sisters in Christ and thus are members of the Church, they write…

“Catholics hold that the Church is the body of Christ, a sacramental and mystical communion in which Christ is truly and effectually present and through which his justifying and sanctifying grace is mediated.”

This, of course, is a correct statement of Roman Catholic belief. Roman Catholicism teaches that the Roman church mediates the grace of salvation through its system of sacramental religious works. The Roman church looks to its many years of accumulated and evolved traditions as the basis for this extra-biblical belief.

But this statement is also utterly contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You see, the Scriptures do not teach that the Church is a sacramental communion through which Christ’s justifying and sanctifying grace is mediated. Rather, the Scriptures teach that Jesus Christ Himself is the one mediator who has already, at one point in time, completely paid the price for the forgiveness of sins and the salvation of men. The Church of Jesus Christ is not in a position to mediate salvation. Although Christians are commanded to bear witness to the Gospel, Jesus does not need the Church in order to save souls. There is no need for a single religious work of the Church in order to gain salvation for anyone. And to say that such sacramental religious work is necessary is to deny the completed work of Jesus on the cross. What is being presented here by these ecumenists - as if it is some debatable matter of secondary importance - is in fact a completely other gospel, an abrogation of the true Gospel, and a perversion of the biblical teaching related to the Lord’s Church.

(2) OK, here’s another illustration of the dangerous twisting of truth found in this document… “Among the Catholic teachings that Evangelicals believe are not biblically warranted are the eucharistic sacrifice and transubstantiation of the elements, the doctrine of purgatory….” And then at the end of the document we read, “We earnestly invoke the Holy Spirit’s continuing guidance in further establishing and making manifest our unity in the truth of Jesus Christ….”

To say that evangelicals find Rome ’s eucharistic sacrifice “not biblically warranted” is to GROSSLY understate the gravity of this issue. The problem is that the Roman Catholic teaching regarding the eucharistic sacrifice is a perversion of the biblical Gospel of Jesus Christ. Roman Catholic teaching regarding the necessity of the “Sacrament of the Eucharist” in order to dispense grace is in direct contradiction to the biblical teaching that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross was sufficient. This religious work flies in the face of the truth that Jesus, at that moment in history, with the shedding of His own blood and the sacrificing of His own life, completely and utterly finished His work of purchasing salvation for every person. And thus, Jesus’ sacrifice can never be repeated. Even so, in spite of what the Scriptures clearly teach, the Roman Catholic Church teaches…

>> 1367 The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice: "The victim is one and the same: the same now offers through the ministry of priests, who then offered himself on the cross; only the manner of offering is different." "And since in this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner. . . this sacrifice is truly propitiatory."^{188 (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994)} <<

It is an obvious perversion of truth for these ECT “theologians” to simply “reach across” this grave fundamental error, this “theological divide,” to claim that they have been led by the Holy Spirit in producing this ecumenical document, and that they have a ”unity in the truth of Jesus Christ.”

Perhaps we can say these individuals do indeed have a unity, but it is not a unity in the truth of Jesus Christ… theirs is a unity in the accommodation of theological error.

I Stay tuned, there’s more ECT to come!

According to Roman Catholic priest Richard Neuhaus, “The ECT project continues and is currently studying Roman Catholic and evangelical Protestant understanding of ‘the communion of saints’ (communion sanctorum).” As Mr. Colson and Mr. Neuhaus have said all along, the Evangelicals and Catholics Together project is an ongoing ecumenical dialogue. Mr. Neuhaus considers the work of the ECT as even more important now that Southern Baptist leaders have shut down the official RCC/SBC Conversation-Dialogue.(8)

I ECT ecumenism around the world

Mr. Neuhaus also reports that there are now ECT initiatives in Central and South America , as well as in Ireland . Charles Colson joyfully announces ecumenical progress in Central Europe . Another ECT leader, Dr. Timothy George, boasts that the second ECT document “continues to have an impact around the world. It has served as the basis for an important Catholic-Protestant reconciliation initiative in Ireland , and was recently translated into Chinese by a Catholic ecumenical worker in Hong Kong .”(9)

I Is there anything we can do?

As followers of Jesus Christ, we already have our standing orders. God’s Word, which is indeed TRUTH, commands us to contend for the Faith! Ask the Lord what you can do to become informed and actively involved in contending for the Faith. That’s what we have done, and that’s why we publish this RADEN Report.

 

-  Jerry Moser, editor

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If you are a new reader and would like more information about the ECT, several past issues of RADEN deal with this ongoing ecumenical dialogue. Past issues of the RADEN Report are available on our church website at www.azi.com/ect

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The RADEN Report is a news and commentary service purposed to inform and educate the body of Christ regarding the dangers of ecumenism. For our purposes, ecumenism is defined as cooperative ventures of an evangelistic nature with individuals and/or groups, which promote errant doctrine. Much of the New Testament was written to oppose the false doctrines of men who claimed to be Christian teachers, yet were bringing in "destructive heresies." According to Jude we are to "earnestly contend for the Faith that was once for all delivered unto the saints." This we aim to do and to encourage others in this part of God's work. If we can be of assistance to you in this way, please let us know.

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RADEN is compiled and edited by Jerry Moser, and is a part of the ministry of the Bayou DuLarge Baptist Church . To receive this FREE service simply request it by mail, phone, or e-mail.

Mail: RADEN, 2567 Bayou DuLarge Road , Theriot , LA , 70397

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Website: www.azi.com/ect

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