Articles
The Ecumenical Movement (Part 3)
We ended our last article with the disturbing question of whether or not we are of the “few”: “Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matt. 7:14). If I answer, “yes,” then ...
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I open the door to charges of arrogance or self-righteousness. “Who do you think you are?” chides the critic. “Are you smarter than scholars who have doctorates in theology? How can you possibly think you are right and so many others are wrong?”
- Or I may harbor deep doubts my own declaration. “Am I sure I am living in perfect harmony with the truth? After all, I believe others die thinking that they are in fellowship with God but actually are in error.”
The ecumenical movement has simply declared that substantive differences between “Christian” groups are irrelevant. They boil down the basis of unity to a few facts: belief in Jesus as the Son of God; the reality of His incarnation; and His atoning death and subsequent resurrection and a couple of other details. Everything beyond this is open to “interpretation,” but we can enjoy full Christian fellowship on the basis of these few prerequisites. In other words, the “gate” to salvation is not as narrow as Jesus taught.
But faithfulness to the Lord is not merely an intellectual pursuit. It involves the intellect, true, but the ability to understand God’s word is not reserved for Rhoades scholars. Truth is revealed to those who genuinely love God’s will and wish to pattern their whole life around it. “If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority” (John 7:17). This humble pursuit of truth cannot always be recognized in another person; it is hard enough to recognize in ourselves. That is, others can “play the part” of being religious and still be spiritually deficient. So can we.
It seems then that some basic qualities must be in play in order to assure us that we are on the right track:
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Prayer: “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7). When we honestly peti-tion God for what He wants us to have, we will receive it. Does God want us to know the truth? “God our Savior … desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (I Tim. 2:3-4).
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Study: “Give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. ... Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (I Tim. 4:13, 16). Both our private studies and our public instruction is crucial to knowing the truth. It is not enough to adopt a position merely because it is the “orthodox” view. The warnings against false teachers in the New Testament should alert us to the danger of following someone’s ideas without thorough research.
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Practice: “For if these things [the previously listed qualities: faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, etc.] are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ... Be even more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble” (II Pet. 1:8, 10). Is there evidence in your actions, your “walk,” that you truly believe in Christ and want to do His will? Can you see growth within yourself, albeit slow or unsteady?
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God’s help: “But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the things we command you. Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ” (II Thess. 3:3-5). God is not looking on impassively to see if we will sink or swim. God is on our side! And He has promised to help us to overcome our human weaknesses.
We must neither wallow in fear nor seek an ecumenical truce and pretend like truth does not matter. We must “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” (Prov. 3:5). But we also must “be diligent to present yourself approved to God ... rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Tim 2:15). As long as we are putting forth a good-faith effort, God will not abandon us in our weakness. He will help us in a thousand ways to be saved in the end.
