Is ecumenism the unity that Jesus prayed for?
10 min read
Ecumenism, which is also called interdenominationalism or ecumenicalism, is the principle of promoting unity among all the Christian churches in the world.
Ecumenism states that Christians who belong to different denominations should unite in order to promote Christian unity. Ecumenism sounds nice. It seems to be about unity, peace, and love. Who wouldn't want that? However, is Ecumenism biblical? Is Ecumenism the unity that Jesus prayed for (John 17:21)?
Unity with Christian cults?
Pastor Domenic Ruso of the180 Church in Laval, Quebec stated that he believes in pursuing unity with the Catholic Church.
To support his point of view, pastor Domenic Ruso shared the following link, which is a highly subjective and opinionated article by Andrew Walker about evangelicals and catholics uniting.
Pursuing unity with any group that calls itself "Christian" is not biblical. The Catholic Church, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Mormon church all consider themselves "Christian". However, the gospel that each one of these groups teaches and believes in is not the biblical gospel of Jesus Christ. They each teach a different gospel, a false gospel.
Jesus would not want us to unite with cults that teach a false gospel. Jesus would not want us to compromise on biblical truth just for the sake of appearing "united". There can be no true unity between truth and error.
Uniting with Protestant groups that trust in the biblical gospel would be a healthy example of true unity - as long as they do not hold fast to any false teachings.
During his sermon on Christian unity, Pastor Domenic Ruso mentioned that he and his church are committed to the non-negotiable and essential teachings of the Bible. However, if Domenic Ruso is ready and willing to unite and partner with Catholic churches, that commitment is not actually true. How can you be committed to the non-negotiable teachings of the Bible if you have no problem with compromising on biblical truth just for the sake of "unity"?
One who is truly committed to the non-negotiable teachings of the Bible should not partner with groups that contradict and oppose the biblical gospel, such as the Catholic Church.
Pastor Domenic Ruso has a PhD in Theology and years of pastoral experience. Even with all that, he has slid into error here and is spreading a false teaching that misleads others.
False gospels
The gospels taught by the Catholic Church, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Mormon church are all different. None of the three are alike. They are only alike in that they are not the Biblical gospel.
Even if these cults call Jesus "Lord" and "Savior", it doesn't automatically mean that their gospel is the true biblical gospel. In Matthew 7:21, Jesus says that many will call him "Lord" and yet not do the will of his father in heaven.
The false gospel of the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church may say that they follow the Bible, but they also follow their own canons, which are books that contain the beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church may even say that they believe the gospel. However, is the Catholic gospel the true, biblical gospel?
In Catholicism, there a lot of things that you must do to be forgiven of your sins. According to the Catholic Church, if you want to be saved, you must become a member of the Catholic Church, receive all the sacraments, go to penance, serve and give witness to the faith, keep the ten commandments, and live a life detached from riches.
In creating this list of requirements to be saved, the Catholic Church adds works to salvation. The Catholic Church denies that we are justified by faith alone, and in Christ alone. It adds sacraments, baptism, penance, and the works of the Law (commandments) as necessary for salvation.
The Bible teaches that keeping the commandments can not save us. Whoever breaks even one commandment, is guilty of breaking the whole law of God. We've broken the entire law. Therefore, how can we now be justified by pretending to obey commandments that we'll continually fail to obey due to sin?
Romans 3:28 says that we are justified by by faith apart from works of the law. Romans 4:5 says that the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. Ephesians 2:8 says that by grace we have been saved through faith. It's not our own doing; it is the gift of God.
In the gospel of the Catholic Church, Jesus is not a redeemer who is mighty enough to save. The Catholic Church presents the need for a co-redemtrix, Mary. As a result, Catholics devote themselves to Mary, pray to Mary, worship Mary - even more than Jesus Christ. This is idolatry. In John 14:6, Jesus said that he is the way, the truth, the life, and that no one can come to the Father except through him - not Mary.
In Acts 4:12, Peter boldly proclaimed that there is salvation in no one else but Jesus.
Catholicism preaches another Jesus (2 Cor 11:4) and another gospel (Gal 1:6-8). As a result, Catholicism is unable to serve the true Jesus, glorify the true Jesus, or make the true Jesus known.
The false gospel of Jehovah's Witnesses
The Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs) preach a false gospel. They deny the deity of Jesus Christ. They do not believe that Jesus is "God with us" (Matthew 1:23) or that Jesus, the Word, "was God" (John 1:11).
The Jehovah's Witnesses teach that "the Word was a powerful godlike one" (The Truth That Leads To Eternal Life, p. 24), but deny that He was God. They teach that Jesus is a created being that does not have the same deity as God the Father.
If they do not believe that Jesus is God, then they do not believe Jesus, because he made the claim to be God several times (John 8:58, John 10:30). How can the Jehovah's Witnesses preach the true gospel if they refuse to believe the very words of Jesus?
The false gospel of Mormons
The Mormon faith preaches a false gospel. Mormons claim they are the only true Christian faith, having rediscovered the true Gospel that was previously lost. Any groups that lays claim to "rediscovering" truth to the exclusion of all else is displaying cult-like tendencies.
Mormons claim they obtained a new and better view of the Gospel through Joseph Smith, their leader. The Mormon gospel is full of lies. It distorts biblical truth, claiming that Jesus was just a man who became a god through good works. The false teachings don't end there. Mormons also teach that all good Mormons can become gods (just like their Jesus) through good works. This lie of "becoming a god" is the same lie that the devil told Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:5).
Protestant and Catholic unity?
In the Andrew Walker article that pastor Domenic Ruso shared about evangelicals and catholics uniting, he makes the argument that Catholics and Protestants are striving after the same end. That end is a just and ethical society where all can thrive.
It sounds very tempting to want that. Who wouldn't want a society where everyone lives a good life? Does Andrew really expect us to believe that uniting with the Catholic Church is the missing ingredient for a thriving society? It's absurd.
Just take a look at the fruits manifested by the Catholic Church in recent decades. It's nothing but sexual abuse scandals and countless murders of indigenous children. Where is this justice and ethics that Andrew Walker speaks of? Jesus said that we will know them by their fruits (Matthew 7:16), and all that we see from the Catholic Church is a lot of bad fruits.
Catholics and Protestants are not striving after the same end. Our end is a society where Jesus Christ is glorified, no matter the cost. We want Jesus Christ to be known, manifested, and glorified, more than we want comfort or justice in this life.
We do not need Catholicism to help us advance the gospel of Christ. Catholicism by itself does not even advance the gospel of Christ. The leaders of Catholicism advance their own religion and their own false gospel. We must rely upon Christ alone to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ in this generation.
In his article, Andrew Walker says that the Protestant Reformation was only about ecclesiology, not ethics. This is false. It's a shame that Andrew Walker's view on ethics is limited to a merely human ethics. What about obedience toward God? Is that not ethical?
The Protestant Reformation was all about ethics - godly ethics that have to do with obedience to the revelation of Scripture.
A major theme throughout the Reformation was Sola scriptura. Sola scriptura points to the Bible as the sole infallible source of authority for faith and life, not the canons of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church refused to surrender to Sola scriptura during the Reformation, and they still refuse to surrender to Sola scriptura today.
Do not unite with another gospel
Galatians 1:8 says that if anyone, even an angel from heaven, preaches another gospel other than the gospel of Christ, they are accursed. I don't think Jesus would have prayed for us to be united with the accursed.
In 2 John 9-10, we learn that if someone comes to us with a false gospel and denies the true gospel of Christ, we must not even receive or greet them. How then can we justify partnering with the Catholic Church without disobeying Scripture and compromising on truth?
The true gospel is exclusive
We live in an inclusive age, where in the name of tolerance and diversity, people want to unite everything. When you mix the true gospel with false gospels, you end up watering down the true gospel and losing the truth.
We must preach an exclusive Christ in an inclusive age. The true, biblical gospel that saves is exclusive, teaching that salvation is in Jesus Christ alone, by grace alone, and through faith alone.
We must be on guard against the at-all-costs inclusivity promoted by the world. Colossians 2:8 says that we must not be taken captive by anything but Christ. The forces of evil behind this at-all-costs inclusivity want to water down the true gospel because it is the only power of God for salvation that we have (Romans 1:16).
We must be ready to be persecuted by the world for being "narrow-minded" and "intolerant". This is what the early church experienced. We should not expect anything different for ourselves today if we stand for the same exclusive truth that they did. If we are no longer persecuted for the exclusivity of the gospel like the early church was, then maybe we've compromised and are no longer standing for that same exclusive truth.
Conclusion
Ecumenism that requires compromising on biblical truth is a false unity. This is surely not the unity that Jesus prayed for in John 17. True unity is founded upon biblical truth.