Fundamental
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©FOUNDATION
A MAGAZINE OF BIBLICAL FUNDAMENTALISM
Dennis W. Costella, Editor; Karel Beyer, Production Manager; Matt
Costella,
Copy Editor
M.H. Reynolds, Jr. (1919-1997), Founding Editor
Should
We All Get
Together? |
|
By Dennis W. Costella
©FOUNDATION Magazine, January -February 2000
The prevailing cry for "Unity" today must be
answered by the Bible-believing, obedient Christian
TO CONSIDER WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS about true,
Christian unity is necessary for all who seek to honor the Lord and obey His Word,
especially in a day when so many religious leaders are propagating much false teaching
concerning unity. Is it God's will for all who "name the name of Christ,"
whether individuals, churches or denominations, to endeavor to unite under the banner of
evangelism, Christian ministry or social reform? Is the ecumenical movement, which seeks
to join together those from various backgrounds, traditions and theologies for common
witness, a Biblical movement?
Such a consideration is important because the
vast majority of those who bear the name "Christian" today claim without
equivocation that it is indeed God's will for all Christians to come together in a common
witness before the world. Believers are told to forget their denominational or, in other
words, their doctrinal differences and join together in a public display of their
"oneness in Christ. " Unity is now "politically correct, " and the
old-fashioned, Bible-believing Fundamentalist who suggests otherwise is roundly scorned as
an un-Christlike -and even dangerous-radical by the religious and non-religious alike.
Is the unity for which the ecumenists strive
authored by the Holy Spirit and in accordance with the Word of God, or not? When
considered in the light of Scripture, the movement to unite all denominations and any who
"call Jesus 'Lord "' clearly contradicts God's Standards for both unity and
purity. Unity at the expense of purity is a concept diametrically opposed to the
Bible-based position of Fundamentalist Christians.
A Bible-believing Fundamentalist, in the
historic definition of the term, is one who not only possesses a Spirit-wrought conviction
about the inerrancy and the absolute authority of the Bible but also earnestly contends
for that Faith once delivered to the saints. The Fundamentalist separates from any who
deny, disregard or flagrantly disobey God's infallible Word. Heeding the doctrine of
separation from error is essential for the believer who desires to be a clean vessel for
the Lord's use (2 Timothy 2:15-2 1). A true Fundamentalist is rare, and sadly becoming
more so with each passing day, but God demands a militant stand for the Faith from His
allegiant servants and soldiers of Jesus Christ.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the
National Council of Christian Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) are the more traditional
proponents of visible unity among "all of God's children." But more recently,
the Promise Keepers, the interfaith and interdenominational prayer movements, the
ecumenical programs of the Roman Catholic Church, the Charismatic movement and most
evangelical groups likewise parrot the need to tear down denominational and traditional
walls and come together in unity. The old fashioned, Bible-believing Fundamentalist is
becoming more and more a lone voice in saying, "Wait a minute! All churches and
denominations joining together may sound good, but God's Word says that He only authors a
unity based upon Truth." What a church or denomination believes concerning the Bible
Itself, Its requirements for salvation, Its teachings concerning the church and its
ministry in the world today and the accuracy of Its record from the creation in Genesis to
the prophecies in the final book of Revelation DO MATTER. God's children cannot set aside
and label these doctrines as of less importance so that all Christians can come together
to "worship Jesus" or "pray for our country" or even to
"evangelize the world."
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