Lack of unity among Christians is not only ‘openly contrary to the will of Christ,’ but is also ‘a scandal to the world and harms the most holy of causes: the preaching of the Gospel to every creature,’ said Pope Francis on June 21.
“Pope Francis landed in Geneva Thursday for a daytrip aimed at bolstering ecumenical relations, saying off the bat that division among Christians is borne from worldliness, and Christ must be prioritized over any differences that might get in the way of unity.”
The ecumenical movement is founded on the principle of a focus on the common points of doctrine between all Christians and the setting aside of all doctrinal differences, no matter how important from a biblical point of view. Even the biblical seventh-day Sabbath, enshrined in the Ten Commandments is laid aside in favor of a fake Sabbath otherwise known as Sunday observance. This false doctrine is at the foundation of the common teachings among most Christian denominations and is a core teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.
“In his first official speech after touching down, the Pope said Christians are called to walk together along the path of the Spirit, which means ‘rejecting worldliness’ and ‘opting for a mindset of service and growing in forgiveness,’ said Francis. “It means playing our part in history, but in God’s good time — not letting ourselves be caught up in the whirlwind of corruption, but advancing calmly on the way whose signpost is the one commandment: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Pope Francis is misquoting Christ by saying that loving your neighbor is “the one commandment.” Jesus said there are two commandments; “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” The Ten Commandments are summarized by this statement of Jesus.
Pope Francis misapplied Paul’s writings by saying “each of you says, ‘I belong to Paul,’ or ‘I belong to Apollos,’ or ‘I belong to Cephas,’ or ‘I belong to Christ.’ Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”
What modern Christians are asked to do, Francis said, is “to belong to Jesus before belonging to Apollos or Cephas; to belong to Christ before being ‘Jew or Greek’; to belong to the Lord before identifying with right or left; to choose, in the name of the Gospel, our brother or our sister over ourselves.”
“Pope Francis spoke to participants in an ecumenical prayer gathering during his June 21 visit to Geneva for the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches… Founded in 1948, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is a global fellowship of churches seeking to foster unity among different Christian confessions and has some 348 members worldwide. Members are present in 110 countries and represent more than 500 million Christians, including Orthodox, Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran and Methodist churches, as well as many Reformed, United and Independent churches.
“How difficult it is to overcome hard feelings and to foster communion! How hard it is to leave behind centuries-old disagreements and mutual recriminations!” he said. The fact that there are still considerable disagreements after more than 500 years since the Reformation is clear evidence that Bible truth is very powerful. The papal attempt to overcome Bible truth by the papal social agenda still faces resistance.
Speaking of the differences as a mere partisan distinction, Pope Francis said it is “more formidable to withstand the subtle temptation to join others, to walk together, but for the sake of satisfying some partisan interest.”
And turning Bible belief on its head, Pope Francis compared those who love Bible truth more than ecumenical unity to Judas. “However, this is not the mindset of an apostle, but is the attitude of Judas, who walked alongside Jesus, “but for his own purposes.”
In other words, those who do not join the ecumenical movement are to be condemned as Judas was.
Uniting with the ecumenical movement has stripped Protestants of their biblical voice of protest to the perversions and idolatry of the Roman Catholic Church.
“The wide diversity of belief in the Protestant churches is regarded by many as decisive proof that no effort to secure a forced uniformity can ever be made. But there has been for years, in churches of the Protestant faith, a strong and growing sentiment in favor of a union based upon common points of doctrine. To secure such a union, the discussion of subjects upon which all were not agreed—however important they might be from a Bible standpoint—must necessarily be waived.” The Great Controversy, page 444.
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