The good, the bad

& the ungodly

-5-

 choosing the lord’s side in the current christian civil war

 

Since our last meeting, I gather that I’ve been coming in rather hot, or so I’ve been told. I will not apologise. I am not afraid, nor am I ashamed of anything that I have said & just so y’know, I’m about to say more. To quote the words of that great theologian Pontius Pilate; ‘..what I have written, I have written.’. There are some who would twist the words of The Lord Jesus & His Apostles, to give The Church at large the impression that all bets are off, all barriers are down & all boundaries have been removed in order to facilitate the greatest move of God since…. Well, you’ve heard it all before. The unity that is being prophesied, preached & promoted today has to be biblical, not philosophical or ideological. Again, When The Lord prayed His prayer, as we have it in John 17, there weren’t the denominations that we have now or any of its derivative cults. At the time of Christ there were Jewish sects with differing beliefs & practices, while they still claimed to be the children of Abraham. There were the Scribes; the Pharisees; the Sadducees; the Zealots; the Sicarii; the Herodians; the Essenes & of course, the Samaritans. What we are hearing today is tantamount to the following. Pharisees maintaining their tradition & legalism. Scribes keeping to their intellectual snobbery & subjective interpretation of The Law. Sadducees upholding their powerless, nominal lip service & denial of the supernatural. Herodians continuing to wallow in their worldliness & flirtations with politics. Zealots pursuing their blind fundamentalism with heart & soul. Sicarii ever poised to strike out with murderous intentions. Samaritans drowning in half truths. All the while declaring their supposed validity over & against others. Does any of this sound vaguely familiar? Look at our situation today. It has not improved. This is to say nothing of the enormous financial resources, land & chattels at the disposal those oh so devout pretenders, at the heads of their state placating organisations, which are nothing more than massive property portfolios & minister’s pension funds. Anyway, I digress. It would have been impossible for those groups to come together, unless…no, but…well ok, unless they laid their principles down, put their doctrines aside & threw their conviction away. Then, they could be driven by a set of core values & guiding principles ..like love. Cue birdsong, kittens & butterflies. Excuse me, while I dab the sceptical tears from the corners of my cynical eyes.

Look at The Lord’s interactions with those sects. He constantly argued these rebels into a cocked hat. His emphasis was their need to believe in Him & He who sent Him. They openly hated Christ, while they claimed a love of God.

They tested Him, just as they had tested YHWH in the wilderness. They murmured against Him, just as they had against Moshe Rabbeinu. They sought to kill him, just as they had murdered the prophets. They profaned His Name, just as they had in their historical rebellions. They rejected His doctrine, just as they had rejected true meaning of Torah.

They demonised the source of His miraculous power. They doubted His deity. They rejected His Messiahship. They denied He was their king. They refused to come to Him so that He could give them life. Nothing has changed brethren. Nothing. Has. Changed. Is The Church at large any better? Remember the words of The Lord Jesus:

³⁷ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! ³⁸ Behold, your house is left unto you desolate (Matthew 23:37-38). 

Just out of ecumenical interest, who will go first? Which group is willing to dismantle their operation, cash in their chips & say, ‘..brethren, because division is diabolical but diversity is divine, we’re going to scrap our history, admit we are wrong & cross our denomination off the list in an effort to keep the unity of The Spirit in the bond of peace..’. No one is going to do that because everybody wants to be the head honcho ..& what about all that money sloshing around in the bank?

Like liquid in its weakness, they follow the path of least resistance. They downplay doctrine. They ignore essentials. They discount error.

If that is not the case in fact, then riddle me this, you ecu-men: why do leaders who promote this, only do half a job? They talk about unity, but do not take their followers through The Scriptures to prove their point? Why not? Because they can’t! Do not forget Who the Head of The Church is & what He taught. The Lord Jesus Christ is a divisive figure & was so from His birth, right through to his death.

³⁴ And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; ³⁵ (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed (Luke 2:34-35).

¹⁹ When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him (Matthew 27:19).

⁴³ So there was a division among the people because of him (John 7:43).

¹⁹ There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings (John 10:19).

³⁴ Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. ³⁶ And a man's foes shall be they of his own household (Matthew 10:34-36).

⁵¹ Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: ⁵² For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. ⁵³ The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law (Luke 12:51-53). 

Well, what happened to peace on earth & good will to all men? (Luke 2:13-14). Wasn’t that the announcement made by the angels to the shepherds? Isn’t this also one of the ecumenicists favourite places to go? Let’s ignore the above passages or at least attempt to spiritualise them, because they’re a little close to the bone. I’m afraid we can’t do that. If we did, we’d also have to tear out Micah 7.

⁵ Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. ⁶ For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.  ⁷ Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. ⁸ Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me. (Micah 7:5-8).

This is not language that promotes holding hands, linking arms & embracing others of an aberrant doctrine, theology or Christology. This is the divisive language that demands to know who is on The Lord’s side (Exodus 32:26). Of course, the ecumenical agenda side steps this in its curious dance around the real issues. The Lord Jesus never, ever promoted anything other than  belief in Him & in He Who sent Him. Those are they who are on His side. That is the standard. Those who point these things out again & again & again & yet again, will be the ones vilified as discordant & unloving trouble-makers.

¹⁷ Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them (Romans 16:17). Did you get that?

³ For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? (1^st Corinthians 3:3). Did you get that?

¹¹ Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you (2^nd Corinthians 13:11). Did you get that?

Notice, Paul refers to the recipients as brethren. These are believers in Christ who have accepted Him & His Gospel. He is not speaking to unconverted members or unbelieving clergy. If you are not born again, you don’t qualify. You don’t. The above verses are often quoted to me, by the smug. They’re great verses, in their contexts. Someone even cited part of a speech delivered by Ravi Zacharias to somehow prove their point.

‘I'm very aware that there are differences in our belief systems and some of them are pretty deep. But you know we find the common ground on which to meet and talk because conviction that is not undergirded by love makes the possessor of that conviction obnoxious and the dogma possessed becomes repulsive and so whatever our differences may be, it is wonderful that in a world torn by strife and so on that we can come together, especially on a subject so vast that at the end of it we are bound to walk away and say we know almost nothing of this because we are dealing with the loftiest of all personages our very own Lord Jesus Christ whom we follow and before whom sone day every knee shall bow.’. Wow.

At face value, if he were speaking to folk who have the same core doctrinal beliefs & Christology, I wouldn’t have as much of a problem. But he wasn’t. There isn’t enough vinegarette in the world to dress that word salad. Mr. Zacharias was addressing the Latter Day Saints, at their Mormon tabernacle. This is where ecumenicalism leads.

I remind my detractors of the fact that the word smug is an anagram of mugs, because only mugs would ignore the doctrine of Christ, sideline the teaching of the Apostles & readily fall for ecumenical lies.

Don’t forget that context is king, but we can get into that another time. Before we delve into 2^nd Corinthians, let’s have a look at Paul says in 1^st Corinthians. ‘Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you (1^st Corinthians 11:17-19).

If division is so diabolical, why does it reveal those who are approved or genuine? Paul accepts the inevitability of factions. They’re going to occur. But they shouldn’t happen for the petty reasons that some cling to & blame The Lord for. Separate because of doctrinal deviation & hold that line. Split because of unrepentant, continual sin & hold that line. While these righteous divisions remain; hold that line. Hold. That. Line.

Of course, if we do this as true believers, it will be us & not they who will be accused of being sectarian. So what. We defend our position from The Scriptures, with clear consciences. Never, never, never, ever violate your conscience in order to accommodate falsehood brethren, because at some point, you will have to take up the sword of The Word against it & there will be casualties.

 

 

 

 

copyright © by david Samuel Parkins mmxxvi all rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is presented & without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

 

 

The good, the bad

& the ungodly

-4-

 choosing the lord’s side in the current christian civil war

What I say here in this context, relates primarily to our relationship with The Lord & not our connection to a particular denomination. That is secondary. We can do without one, but we cannot do without the other. In our last meeting we began looking at the mechanics of ecumenicism in the light of John 17. I see no need to go to any particular length or depth examining the claims of ecumenicists, because when the foundation is rotten, anything built upon it is doomed to collapse…& yet they build. I am not saying that The Lord Jesus didn’t know exactly what was going to happen where His Church was concerned. He did. But the prayer He prayed shortly before His crucifixion was not an elongated come-by-yah. His High Priestly intercession was for the absolute oneness of His disciples, as a reflection of the complete unity of The Godhead, the proclamation of His Messiahship to the nation of Israel first & for those who would come to believe in Him, on His terms. That is the sanctifying element of the truth of God’s Word, concerning Christ. True, biblical unity must be based around the truth of Who The Lord Jesus Christ is. Not tradition. Not history. Not convention. It must have an orthodox Christology at its centre. Christ alone. Somehow or other, The Church at large has forgotten this, at best. At worst, it has been completely ignored. The Church needs to make a choice & make it quickly, because while men sleep, the enemy sows tares among the wheat (Matthew 13:25).

The softly worded proposals of modern ecumenicalism are enough to get church leaders to sit around the same table. But to what end & for what purpose? There’s only so much stewed tea & cheap biscuits folk can comfortably consume. The nothingers simply peer in through the windows, awaiting the results, but knowing deep down that evil communications corrupt good manners (1^st Corinthians 15:33). Don’t be deceived.

¹⁹ Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint (Proverbs 25:19).

So, they’re trying to tell us that Baptists & Methodists & Anglicans & Lutherans & Presbyterians & Roman Catholics & Pentecostals & Charismatics & all of the other numerous Non Doms, et cetera, want to maintain their traditional, historical & conventional distinctiveness, but at the same time claim that they are not divided. This is a very badly disguised hypocrisy. Well, the simplistic answer I’ve been given is this; we’re all christians, therefore we ought to show the love Jesus said would mark His disciples in John 13 & be one as He prayed in John 17. That’s what they’re trying to tell us, while they sing their theme tune; ‘..division is diabolical but diversity is divine..’. Give me a break. That is complete & utter unbiblical hogwash.

What about the fundamental doctrinal differences? What about the predominant heretical disparities? What about the blatantly pagan influences? Just Who & what are they seeking to be unified around?

Given the kerfuffle of recent times, one might be forgiven for thinking that The Lord has been working feverishly with heavenly sandpaper, in order to even out differences between denominations, under the pretext  of peace & reconciliation. He has not. His position has been clear for over two millennia. He is The Lord. He changeth not. If we go back to the Apostolic root that we spring from & receive our instruction from there, we avoid the tensions that have boiled over within The Church at large. It stinks, like burning milk. If, as it has been suggested, The Lord is going to sort our doctrines out upstairs, just what, pray tell, is the point of Him giving them to us in The Canon of Scripture down here? Pah!

What we are in fact being asked to do is this; thumb our noses at the teaching of The Lord Jesus Christ; ignore the doctrine of His apostles; spit in the faces of those reformers who laid their lives down in earnest contention for the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3). No, I am not being overly dramatic. I say these things in the framework of a defence of The Gospel from adversaries within The Church at large. Yes; from within The Church.

Wake up brethren. If we think that this Christian life will be flowers, popcorn, puppies, hot chocolate & rainbow smiles, we will be gravely disappointed. There is a very real fight on. If you don’t believe me, just look at how exercised the ecumenical become when you accidentally step on their toes, deliberately.

Of course, there are classic responses to objections & I have heard them for over 40 years. Let’s look at some of my personal favourites.

³⁶ And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, ³⁷ Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me. ³⁸ And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. ³⁹ But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. ⁴⁰ For he that is not against us is on our part (Mark 9:36-40). 

⁴⁶ Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest. ⁴⁷ And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him, ⁴⁸ And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great. ⁴⁹ And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. ⁵⁰ And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us. (Luke 9:46-49).

I’ll be honest. In my opinion only a raving ignoramus, a stinking liberal or the biblically illiterate would take these words of The Lord & twist them to justify the actions of The Church at large in its ecumenical agenda. Read the context. Read. The. Context.

Jesus begins by taking a child, considered the least in society, as an example. He goes on to state that receiving one who believes in Him is receiving The One Who sent Him. Orthodoxy always precedes Orthopraxy. This is the being one as Christ & The Father are one in Divine alignment. Our doctrine has to be straight! John then makes the point that ecumenicists twist & latch onto; ‘..we saw a bloke casting out devils in your name & we stopped him, because he wasn’t a member of our church, didn’t believe the exact same traditions as us or use the King James Version exclusively..’.

Jesus then famously says, ‘..Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part.’ (Mark 9:39-40).

There ‘..you see..’, they cry, ‘..if The Lord Jesus wasn’t bothered about someone else in another group acting in His name & if He didn’t even mention doctrine; what’s your problem?’. Well I have to confess, one of the biggest problems I have is the fact that I can read. In both Mark 9 & Luke 9, John states that the one casting out devils didn’t follow them. Whereas Christ’s emphasis was on whether they believed in Him & He Who sent Him. Ecumenicists, read your Bibles, if in fact you are believers at all! To the soft-handed-limp-wristed-lily-livered-pansy-waisted dirty liberals, with little or no stomach to fight for what constitutes real biblical unity, the Apostle Paul says the following.

¹⁰ Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. ¹¹ For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. ¹² Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. ¹³ Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? (1^st Corinthians 1:10-13). 

Paul takes his lead from his Rabbi, Yeshua. Those of us who are truly born again, blood washed believers in Jesus Christ must eliminate any pettiness among us because This was the exhortation of Christ to His disciples. Who is the greatest? A child, whose doctrine is straight & whose Christology is on point. Again, The Lord prayed, ‘That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.’ (John 17:21). A true oneness that reflects the watertight unity of The Godhead. Paul reiterates Christ’s sentiment to Corinth; speak the same thing; have no division among you; be perfectly joined together; have the same mind; have the same judgement!

For those of you who aren’t yet offended to the core, there is more. We cannot talk about Mark 9 & Luke 9, without also going to Matthew 7. Jesus says, ‘Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Matthew 7:22-23). 

So, riddle me this ecumenicists; if John 17, Mark 9 & Luke 9 mean what you say they mean, where does the gem from the lips of The Lord Jesus in Matthew 7 belong? The one the disciples forbade was casting out devils in Christ’s Name, but Jesus instructs them to leave him alone. Where will this one be in that day? Is The Lord saying that prophecy, exorcism & wonderful works in His Name are equal to iniquity? No, He’s not saying that. He’s saying this; He is the ultimate judge into Whose hands God has committed all judgement & He will not countenance lawlessness. In Matthew 7, The Lord quotes David; ‘Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping.’ (Psalms 6:8) & ‘Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.’ (Psalms 119:115).

If you ever have the time or the inclination, go through The Scriptures & look at the phrase workers of iniquity. It’s quite a thing.

Those who cite Mark 9 & Luke 9 to support their insidious mischief, overlook an important & essential detail; the one casting out devils was doing the same thing as the disciples. That was not their point of contention. Their noses were out of joint because he did not follow them. However, it is clear from the context of Jesus’ object lesson using the child, that belief in Him is first & foremost. Therefore, ‘..there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.’.

Orthodoxy & Orthopraxy go together. Paul says, ‘But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.’ (Romans 8:9) & ‘But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus.’ (Ephesians 4:20-21). If so be. If it is indeed the case.

We can only hold the hands of, link arms with & embrace as brethren those who have received Christ & He Who sent Him.

I don’t care if you go to church. The question is, are you a true believer? Is your doctrine straight? Is your Christology on point? Again, I say these things in the framework of a defence of The Gospel from adversaries within The Church at large. It doesn’t seem to matter what you believe or what you do; just get on board because Jesus prayed we would all be one. No thanks. The aim of wider ecumenicism is the systemic removal & the systematic replacement of fundamental doctrine, in favour of shared core values.

The purpose of true biblical unity is the bold declaration of The Gospel, its advancement in the world & its defence against its enemies, whether they be foreign or domestic. This is to be accomplished in The Lord’s way & on His terms. He is The Lord. He is The Head of The Church. I dare anyone to offer Him the ecumenical theme tune; ‘..division is diabolical but diversity is divine..’.

 

 

copyright © by david Samuel Parkins mmxxvi all rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is presented & without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

 

The good, the bad

& the ungodly 

-3-

 choosing the lord’s side in the current christian civil war

 

There is a cry for unity within The Church. There is a shout for harmony amid the saints. There is a call for one accord among the brethren. Many have asked why the different factions within The Church at large cannot simply coexist. If the criterion for this concord is simply believing in Christ or acting in His name, we can be off to the races. Slam dunk. Case closed. Polly, put the kettle on. However, the issue is more involved than that & those who kick up a significant amount of the dust concerning the matter, know this without a doubt. First, there is a systematic throwing up of hands, identifying denominationalism as the obstacle. Or there is a stubborn folding of the arms across puffed out chests, blaming doctrine for the schisms. After that, there is a furrowing of prayer hardened brows, accusing the devil of deceiving all concerned. No one seems willing or prepared to consider the fact that The Lord Himself makes a difference between those who are His & those who are not. Ignoring this fact, there are still those tacit accepters, who wring their soft hands & humbly ask; ‘..can’t we all, just get along?’, before quoting Psalms 133. No mate. We can’t. Not if you’re asking & expecting those who are on The Lord’s side to relax the grip they have on their swords & cozy up to heretics, idolators, perverters of truth,  liars & thieves. Why is The believing Church at large so eagerly lowering the bar to such an extent that all & sundry can skate across the line with relative ease, while whispering peace, unity & solidarity as if they were secret passwords? Since when did The Church refuse to stand up for doctrinal purity & against blasphemous heresies & questionable practices? What do we realistically expect from those whose hands are on their hips, instead of on their hilts? The Lord Jesus Christ is not handing out sweeties to excited children. He is delivering Divine instruction to His Church for the days in which we live. Like Moses, He demands to know who is on His side, rallying the remnant. Like David, He is receiving His disciplined, mighty fighting men, imbued with an inspired understanding of the times & a knowledge of what to do. They are the ones to whom I write. The nothingers.

¹¹ And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are… ¹⁷ Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. ¹⁸ As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. ²⁰ Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; ²¹ That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. ²² And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: ²³ I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me (John 17:11 & 7-23).

Before you go any further, take some time to read John 17 in its entirety. This is paramount in its importance, because many have abused the words of The Lord Jesus in this passage. Christ is preparing Himself to go to the cross. To suffer painfully. To bleed agonizingly. To die horrifically. Don’t you think He was conscious of the fact that whatever He said & did was significant & specific? Yet this seems lost on those who are pushing their own version of unity, harmony & accord, otherwise known by its pet name; ecumenicism. Cute, isn’t it?

When The Lord prayed this prayer, there weren’t the denominations that we have today or any of its derivative cults. There were Israelis & there were Gentiles. Among the Jews there were the Scribes; the Pharisees; the Sadducees; the Zealots; the Sicarii; the Herodians; the Essenes & of course, the Samaritans. Quite a thing.

If the ecumenical agenda that is being pushed today claims its foundation in the words Jesus spoke back then & from the subsequent teaching of His Apostles, surely it would follow that those words were equally applicable to those groups during The Church’s early ministry too. Surely? Unless…no it couldn’t be…but…no, no, no. Well, I may as well say it. Unless the ecumenists are telling porkies. Just sayin’. If they are right, we ought to fall in step with the wishes of The Head of The Church. However, if they are wrong, then the disgust, frustration & sense of betrayal felt by the faithful few is justified.

Was Jesus praying that those differing sects within Judaism would forget their differences, reach across the aisles in the temple & form one organised cooperative? Was Jesus praying that the various Gentile denominations within The Church at large would relegate the importance & essential nature of core beliefs & biblical convictions in order to embrace miscellany? Afterall, it has been said, ‘..diversity is divine but division is diabolical..it’s the glory that glues us together, not the doctrines.’. Don’t take my word for it. Just ask Bishop Tony Palmer.

The reasoning of ecumenicalism is logical, but what have we said about that previously? Just because an argument is logically sound does not necessarily mean that it’s theo-logically sound. It isn’t enough for a teaching to make sense. It has to be TRUE. It has to be SO (Acts 17:11).

The Lord defined His terms clearly in His prayer. Believers are to be unified in the same manner that the Godhead are. Take that in. There is no division between their persons. No diversity. They are one (Deuteronomy 6:4). Believers are sanctified or separated by & to the truth. The truth of His Word. No divisive doctrine. Just the truth of The Gospel. Paul says, ‘Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.’ (Philippians 1:27). The Gospel.

Before there can be any real cohesion between various groups which name The Name of Christ, we need to examine why they exist. Why the divisions? Why the splits? Why the numerous  denominations? The Lord Jesus Christ set the Gospel template Himself. The Apostles taught His doctrine. The Church continued in their teachings. The unity, harmony & accord we hear of today, is not the same thing that The Lord prayed for, before He went to Calvary. However, viewed in ecumenical isolation one would be forgiven for thinking that it is.

If diversity is genuinely divine & if doctrine is truly divisive, Jesus, the Apostles & The Scriptures have lied to us all. Our fidelity, loyalty & faithfulness to The Gospel of Christ & to The Christ of The Gospel have been misplaced & misapplied. But if Jesus, the Apostles & The Scriptures tell us otherwise, it means that our resistance is justified & that our allegiance isn’t blind. It is armed. Who is on The Lord’s side?

It is supremely ignorant & contemptuously arrogant of The Church at large to take the words of Christ & apply them solely to itself, without considering that The Gospel is to the Jew first. The Scriptures are replete with examples of what The Lord was praying for in John 17. Examples that have been ignored by those keen to push their own surreptitious agenda.

Any Jew hearing Christ’s words would not have thought of a Gentile Church. It wasn’t a thing. Neither would they have considered the epistles. They hadn’t been written yet. So what would possibly have sprung to mind?

¹¹ For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. ¹² As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day… ¹⁶ I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment… ²³ And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. ²⁴ And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it… ³⁰ Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD. ³¹ And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD (Ezekiel 34:11-12; 16; 23-24; 30-31). 

¹⁶ Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: ¹⁷ And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. ¹⁸ And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? ¹⁹ Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. ²⁰ And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. ²¹ And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: ²² And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: ²³ Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. ²⁴ And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. ²⁵ And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. ²⁶ Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. ²⁷ My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ²⁸ And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore (Ezekiel 37:16-28). 

Go back to John 17 & read the words of The Lord Jesus again. Before The Gospel & the witness of The Apostles reached the Gentiles, it went first to Israel. As a people, they waited for their Messiah. Here He was. They were to truly be one nation under God. Jesus says, ‘I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. (John 10:14-16). Those who heard these words of Christ, knew exactly what He was alluding to. Ezekiel 34 & 37. 

⁴⁹ And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, ⁵⁰ Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. ⁵¹ And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; ⁵² And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad (John 11:49-52).

¹⁴ Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people (John 18:14).

My point is simply this; John 17 is not a foundation for ecumenicism. It is the culmination of YHWH’s promise to unite Israel just as He is one in Himself, under the Kingship of Messiah & the truth of God’s Word. That is the ultimate cohesion. It is watertight. The Lord Jesus Christ was not praying that the various Jewish sects would get along, any more than He was praying that Gentile denominations would magically come together, hold hands & be willing to sacrifice doctrine in order to present a united front to the world. Why bother? The Church at large is comfortably in bed with the world anyway!

He set the template. He set the standard. He is Messiah, Lord & Christ. His bat. His ball. His game. His rules. Anyone who cannot or will not accept, serve or worship Christ as He is, will find that their quest for ecumenical union is the only thing they have, because Jesus doesn’t recognise or acknowledge it.

 

 

 

 

  copyright © by david Samuel Parkins mmxxvi all rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is presented & without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser