Ecumenism: "Why Can't We Be Friends?"

[frienduff thaylorde]

JUDAS betrayed Christ as one within  .    well many  today are betraying JESUS with subtile messages sent to deceive the last few standing .

I mean the serpent knows how to deicieve .    IF at first you cant overcome them from the outside ,   YOU come in as one amongst them as one of their own

and you destroy FROM WITHIN and that church will collapse and fall prey to their way .

THEN after you have got all who are coming ,   The serpent will no longer allure ,   OH its shows ITS DRAGON SIDE THEN , and comes with BLADE against those who rejected its lie .

DO NOT keep company with wrong mindsets , error will beget only more error .  

All we need do is preach truth and win souls and exhort daily to contend for the true faith and build one another up with sound doctrine

IF the early church was big on marking those who preach things contrary to sound doctrine ,   THEN HOW ON EARTH can we just put aside our differences for UNITY .

I mean paul did warn the church about one says he is of appollos , one says he is of Christ , anoher says he is of appollos.

BUT did paul then turn around and say ,   BUT YOU ALL NEED TO COME TOGETHER AND CELEBRATE YOUR DIFFERENCE and JOIN WITH THEM .   NO

HE WARNED REPENT OF THAT .      but see how cleverly FIDIE forgot to MENTION THAT PART .   

[frienduff thaylorde]

Today its all getting taken out of text to support a wrong kind of unity .    AND THAT IS THE PROBLEM .    

PAUL preached be ye of ONE MIND ,  but that mind WAS TO BE OF CHRIST .   till men repent of their errors , all we can do is warn repent , but we cannot keep unity

in hopes they do repent .    that was not JESUS PATTERN .   the pattern is correct , NOT JOIN , correct , then if one repents we have UNITY .

BUT I don't hear that in THIS UNITY , I hear lets focus more ON UNITY and our differences aint no big deal .  BUT THEY ARE A BIG DEAL .

can we gather with those who claim to be a brother or sister , IF Such are idolartors , OR DID paul say sepereate them out , and keep no company .

YET how many denominations HONOR IDOLARTY to images , pray to saints , pray to angels , and how many teach error that begets only more error.

NO UNITY .     NO UNITY or you do fall away .  WE correct ,  if they receive the correction THEN have fellowhisp and unity , NOT BEFORE ,  AFTER THEY REPENT .

but again I don't even hear that in this unity message .  the idea of putting down differences is a sham.    even if they use partial truths .

see they use partial truths to break down the churches into accepting this , when really its way bigger than meets the eye .

[seeking the lost]

2 hours ago, Heleadethme said:

Stop and think a minute......where is the word catholic ever mentioned in the bible?  It is a contrivance of minds of flesh.  Beware of extra-biblical terminology, it almost always adds to His word.  Following Jesus and being His disciples is not a religion, it is SIMPLY a WAY of life, of SIMPLE obedience to Him.  He did not come to invent a new religion....but HE is the WAY.....AND THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE and He came to show us the WAY..

2Co 11:3

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the SIMPLICITY THAT IS IN CHRIST.

2Co 10:5

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we TAKE CAPTIVE EVERY THOUGHT TO MAKE IT OBEDIENT TO CHRIST.

It seems that by bible you mean the cannon.  If that is true then you are accepting the work of Catholic priest who met together to examine what writings should be accepted for public reading and teaching.  This work was by no means to shut off revelation.  There are many things that are not in the bible that are not evil and mentioning these things are not adding to the revelation.  The words Lutheran, Methodist, Protestant, are not found in the bible, are these contrivance of minds of flesh? 

Deuteronomy 4: 1 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you.

2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

If the command is not to receive further revelation then the cannon is closed at Deuteronomy 4.

In all expressions of faith there are good things and things that are not so good and maybe even evil.  Our task is to find our own way on this journey always seek the truth and try not to kill everyone who does not agree with us. 

[Christine]

'I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, 
beseech you that ye walk worthy 
of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
With all lowliness and meekness, 
with longsuffering, 
forbearing one another in love;
Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit 
in the bond of peace.
There is -
one body, and 
one Spirit, even as ye are called in 
one hope of your calling;
One Lord, 
one faith, 
one baptism,
One God and Father of all, 
Who is above all, 
and through all, 
and in you all.'
(Eph 4:1-6) 

* This is the Holy Spirit's unity, which we are to 'keep', within the the bond of peace, secured for us, by Christ Himself, peace with God and with one another, in Him.

'And you, being dead in your sins 
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, 
hath He quickened together with Him, 
having forgiven you all trespasses; 
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances 
that was against us, which was contrary to us, 
and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross; 
And having spoiled principalities and powers, 
He made a shew of them openly, 
triumphing over them in it. '
(Col. 2:13-15)

In Christ Jesus

Chris 

[Christine]

'Let no man therefore judge you 
in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, 
or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
Which are a shadow of things to come; 
but the body is of Christ.
Let no man beguile you of your reward 
in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, 
intruding into those things which he hath not seen, 
vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
And not holding the Head, 
from which all the body 
by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, 
and knit together, 
increaseth with the increase of God.
Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ 
from the rudiments of the world, 
why, as though living in the world, 
are ye subject to ordinances, 
(Touch not; taste not; handle not;
Which all are to perish with the using;) 
after the commandments and doctrines of men?
Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, 
and humility, and neglecting of the body; 
not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.'
(Col.2:16-23)

[Fidei Defensor]

7 hours ago, Marilyn C said:

Hi Fidei Defensor,

I believe you are equating man`s organisations with the Body of Christ. They are two different things.

Man`s religious organisations that put on public meetings are becoming more and more controlled by the world system. This is because it is a `business.` It is in the business of running public meetings. And for that - public, you need insurance, rules, legislations etc under man`s governmental values and laws.

The Body of Christ however is a spiritual organism, with each member set in place by the Holy Spirit. some have gone to be with Christ however, we are all still `one` body in Christ and will be physically connected one day. The maturing of the Body of Christ is by the Holy Spirit and will not be seen until that day. Man`s `unity` will come under the false prophet etc - a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.

regards, Marilyn.

 

 

Humbly, I beg to differ. 

Min those organizations are devout Christians of every denomination. They love Christ but have chosen which church they best learn and thrive in. In China there are many Christians in house churches of different denoms being forced right now by the govt. to apostasize (fall away) and yet they stand. In North Korea there of brothers in concentration camps, 300,000 souls who are suffering because they believe in Jesus Christ  and they come from different denoms. In Iran a million Muslims got saved and are part of different denoms. 

The denominations are divisions, but most of the time it’s due to preference in worship, how often communion is taken, the sermon and ultimately if the person feels their faith edified there. I argue it is possible to have unity without leaving your denomination; it has happened before. The Charismatic Catholics proved this by the fact that they remain Catholic but Spirit Filled and have abandoned Roman Catholic teaching on Mary and the saints.  

[Fidei Defensor]

4 hours ago, Heleadethme said:

You must really love your mind, because you keep bringing it's thoughts.  God's word does not say anywhere that we are to respect our differences.  As someone already reminded us, how can two walk together except they be agreed.  And that Jesus came not to bring peace but a sword....our enemies will be those of our own household, and that means also the household of God in type.  Contrived unity is not of the Holy Spirit but of the flesh.  We must let the word of God CORRECT OUR THOUGHTS AND BRING THEM INTO CAPTIVITY TO HIS WORD.   Love the truth more than ourselves, more than our own thoughts.  His word is for the purpose of transforming our sorry minds and thoughts of flesh.....washing and correcting them if we are willing to submit our thoughts to His word.  I hope you will think on these things prayerfully and perhaps God will give you wisdom to understand.  Those who love not the truth in these days are in great peril....God is sending a STRONG DELUSION to those who do not love the truth.

God’s word does say respect differences and even urges us to be at peace with those who differ with us m: 

“Accept the one whose faith is weak,without quarreling over disputable matters.2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them.4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God;and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written:

“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
    every tongue will acknowledge God.’”[b]

12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

13 Therefore let us stop passing judgmenton one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peaceand joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.

19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean,but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.

22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemnhimself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:1-23).

[Fidei Defensor]

5 hours ago, Heleadethme said:

Amen, right on the mark.  Strait is the WAY and few there be that find it.........so why do we need to be in some sort of contrived unity with the majority inside the denominations who are not on that WAY?  We already have unity and fellowship with one another, who are on that narrow way.....our unity and fellowship is IN CHRIST as we grow up into Him.

I would kindly recommend we all not judge who is in majority or minority that are on or not on the Way: 

“Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;” (Romans 14:10)

We don’t know the secrets of peolle’s Hearts: 

”This will come to pass on that day when God will judge men's secrets through Christ Jesus, as proclaimed by my gospel.” (Romans 2:16)

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:2-3). 

[Fidei Defensor]

2 hours ago, seeking the lost said:

It seems that by bible you mean the cannon.  If that is true then you are accepting the work of Catholic priest who met together to examine what writings should be accepted for public reading and teaching.  This work was by no means to shut off revelation.  There are many things that are not in the bible that are not evil and mentioning these things are not adding to the revelation.  The words Lutheran, Methodist, Protestant, are not found in the bible, are these contrivance of minds of flesh? 

Deuteronomy 4: 1 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you.

2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

If the command is not to receive further revelation then the cannon is closed at Deuteronomy 4.

In all expressions of faith there are good things and things that are not so good and maybe even evil.  Our task is to find our own way on this journey always seek the truth and try not to kill everyone who does not agree with us. 

Nice one. It is the paradox of us Protestants, the canon of Scripture was decided by Catholic Clergy and it was Catholics that saved all of Christendom both Catholic and Protestant at the battles of Lepanto, Malta, Rhodes, and the Hasburg Wars. As I often say, we are Protestants because Catholics fought and died for our freedom of religion in those wars. 

[Fidei Defensor]

8 hours ago, Small Fish said:

The unity I speak of is what the Scripture speaks of. Why take a substitude when there is a real?

Here is what I feel people arn’t hearing me. Unity must come from the Lord, but we can begin His work by building friendships and understanding with one another (though not agreeing on everything). If we respond to those we don’t agree with with words that their church and Way is heretical and deceived then unity is dead in water; would you like someone saying your Solae Scriptura and Spirit Filled way is heretical or call you “deceived” for using gifts of the spirit or shortsighted for trusting only Scripture? No, it would be insulting wouldn’t it?, it would shatter all hope of you having any friendship with a person who would say such cruel and unprovoked words, and yet should we be doing the same to them? Should we call others in Christ’s Church whom we don’t agree with names and labels when we can’t tolerate such treatment ourselves? 

“For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:2)

Edited August 29, 2018 by Fidei Defensor