always has been the practice in the Roman Church and it is becoming increasingly so in Protestantism. The holy and royal priesthood according to Scripture is the true priesthood of all believers. Because of his rela tion to Jesus Christ the High Priest, every child of God is therefore a priest. Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacri fices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5). But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen (Revelation 1:6). Every saved person in this present dispensation is a priest unto God. First he offers himself to God (Romans 12:1), then he offers praise and spiritual sacrifices to God (Hebrews 13:15). As the priest in the Old Testament was the people’s representative before God, even so all true believers have access to Him to pray in behalf of others. The ministry of intercession is the right of every one who is truly Christian. The Roman Catholic Church refuses to recognize this fact, thereby limiting the access of Roman Catholics to God through men whom they have designated as priests, or else through Mary whom the church has appointed as mediatrix. And some branches of Protestantism are following closely enough to the Roman system so as to make any saved person adverse to the whole ecumenical movement. TRUE CHR ISTIAN ECUMEN ICALISM The major purpose of Christ’s coming into the world is to save sinners (Matthew 1:21; Luke 2:11; 19:10; 1 Timothy 1:15). Sinners are always saved one by one, never en masse. Now, whenever a sinner is saved he like wise becomes united to Jesus Christ, His Saviour. Since all saved persons are related to Jesus Christ, it follows that they all have a relation to each other. There is there fore a society of believers, and among the several terms in the New Testament used to designate this society of saved sinners, the word “ Church” is most significant. The true Church ( ekklesia) is Christ’s assembly of called-out ones. God is not now saving the world as the testimony of James at the Jerusalem Council shows. And after they had held their peace, James an swered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name (Acts 15:13,14). God is summoning out from the nations of the world this company of believing sinners, and one by one they are being added to the true Church. “ It is Christ who places us in the Church, not the church that places us in Christ.” For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free: and have been all made to drink into one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:12,13). The Church is Christ’s and the entire enterprise of build ing it is His. He alone does the calling out, saving and perfecting of His Church. He said, And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). (Concluded on Next Page)
ernism, because I believe that is where it belongs. Men like Emil Brunner and Karl Barth have been most outspoken in their refusal to identify the Bible with the actual Word of God. They tell us that the words of the Bible are not themselves the Word of God, but rather a framework or sign by means of which the Word of God is conveyed to the reader or hearer. This more modem modernism would have us all believe that the Bible is not then as such the Word of God, nor does it become such until it is accepted and appropriated by the believer. But does the Bible become the Word of God only when I recognize it as such? Is the Bible merely a witness to the Word, a word about the Word? Does' the Bible merely become the Word of God when it overpowers us and gains the mastery over us? It is the duty of everyone who loves the Lord Jesus Christ, and is not ashamed of Him, to protest against this heretical separation between the Bible and the Word of God. The reformers spoke out against any attack upon the Holy Scriptures. Calvin and Luther had much to say and both were in agreement that “ to hear or to read the Scriptures is nothing else than to hear God.” The neo orthodox view of revelation and inspiration is subjectivism of an offensive and obstmsive kind. From such turn away. The ecumenicity of the World Council of Churches is not based on the true ecumenical doctrine of the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. Third, Christians cannot fraternize with “ one-worlders” because of the Scriptural teaching on the subject of separ ation. I do not doubt that there are some men in the ecumenical movement who are truly saved and love Christ and His Word, but because the ecumenicity of the World Council compromises the distinctly evangelical character of Christ’s true Church, true believers should not affiliate with it. Read the contexts in which the follow ing Scriptural quotations appear and you will be con vinced, I feel certain, that the principle of separation applies to the proposed ecumenical church. Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned;’ and avoid them (Romans 16:17). Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbeliev ers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14). And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them (Eph. 5:11). Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godli ness: from such withdraw thyself (1 Timothy 6:5). Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away (2 Timothy 3:5). Mark well the statements, “ avoid them,” “ be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers,” “have no fellowship with them,” “ from such withdraw thyself,” “ from such turn away.” I have not lifted these exhorta tions out from their context wrongfully to make them apply to Pope John’s proposed ecumenical church or to Protestantism’s world church. Please read for yourself those sections in the Bible where these statements appear and allow the Holy Spirit to instruct you as He will. I am merely passing on to you my convictions as the result of a personal study of my subject. Fourth, no child of God should, in this writer’s opinion, associate himself with man’s ecumenical church because, in its passion for rule and recognition, it tends to hide from view the true priesthood of all believers, thereby silencing the voice of its so-called lay members. This
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