Dear FGBC Brethren,

During a recent visit to our national FGBC website I discerned that I needed to cancel our Reformation Celebration scheduled for Oct 31^st. You will find the article that led me to this conclusion, One Evangelical's Gratitude for John Paul II, at

(http://fgbc-world.blogspot.com/2005_04_01_fgbc-world_archive.html). As I read Dr. Don Shoemaker’s article written in response to the death of John Paul II, great sorrow filled my heart and many questions filled my mind. How is it that a fellow pastor in the FGBC is so far from the truth regarding John Paul II and the false gospel of Roman Catholicism? How is it that the leadership of our fellowship have upheld this article as worthy of our FGBC website for well over a year? Why hasn’t our erring brother been called to recant what he has written publicly? What led us to stop being “suspicious” of Rome? How “courageous and humble” was it for John Paul II to sit on the throne of Christ with the titles of Christ and to claim to have the power of Christ to open and shut the kingdom of heaven? How do “good” social works equate to “taking up the cross?” The Lord Jesus said:

Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels. (Mark 8:34-38)

The cross that we are to take up is Jesus and His Gospel. John Paul II denied Jesus and His Gospel.

As member churches and pastors of the FGBC we are accountable for what our website is communicating globally, day and night. We are telling Christians and nonbelievers that the pope “personified the call of Jesus to take up the cross and follow Him.” We have upheld an enemy of Christ in the most glowing of terms as the premier example of Christian living and witness. We have called a servant of Satan “a powerful spiritual leader” in the most positive sense. We are telling the world that “we saw in John Paul the spiritual power of the cross and the GOSPEL at work emancipating human souls from misery.” Let me say that the “we” doesn’t include me or any other evangelical with a heart that beats for the true Gospel and one billion lost Catholic souls. He did not emancipate souls; he bound them up under sacraments, priests, saints, Mary, and other doctrines of demons.

We are saying, “Some conservative denominations still pronounce that the papacy is the Antichrist.” I was under the delusion that I was in a “conservative denomination [fellowship].” Until the Antichrist of prophecy comes upon the seen, YES, the pope is the antichrist. He is against Christ and His Gospel.

We have indicted anyone who has not called off the Reformation as ignorant, in saying, “Obsolete attitudes and teachings are readily found among Evangelicals, as if the Second Vatican Council never happened.” You must forgive me, I didn’t get the memo on the Reformation being “obsolete.”

*WHAT WERE THE DOCTRINES OF JOHN PAUL II? WHAT IS THE CURRENT DOCTRINE OF CATHOLICISM?

The following is a reference to the Mass in Pope John Paul II’s best-seller, Crossing the Threshold of Hope:

“the Church is the instrument of man’s salvation. It both contains and continually draws upon the mystery of Christ’s redemptive sacrifice. Through the shedding of His own blood, Jesus Christ constantly "enters into God’s sanctuary thus obtaining eternal redemption" (cf. Hebrews 9:12). (Pope John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, p. 139, emphasis mine)

“It is indeed the priest alone, who, acting in the person of Christ, consecrates the bread and wine, but the role of the faithful in the Eucharist is to recall the passion, resurrection and glorification of the Lord, to give thanks to God, and to offer the immaculate victim not only through the hands of the priest, but also together with him; and finally, by receiving the Body of the Lord, to perfect that communion with God and among themselves which should be the product of participation in the sacrifice of the Mass.” (Second Vatican Council, "Sacred Liturgy," Second Instruction on the Proper Implementation of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, no. 12., emphasis mine)

“In the mystery of the eucharistic sacrifice, in which priests fulfil their principal function, the work of our redemption is continually carried out.” (Second Vatican Council, "Life of Priests," no. 13.)

"By the consecration the TRANSUBSTANTIATION of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is brought about. Under the consecrated species of bread and wine Christ himself, living and glorious, is present in a true, real, and substantial manner: his Body and his Blood, with his soul and his divinity [cf. Council of Trent: DS 1640; 1651.]." (1413, Catechism of the Catholic Church)

“the Eucharist is a sacrament which really, truly, and substantially contains the body and blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ under the appearances of bread and wine. It is the great sacrament of God’s love in which Christ is eaten, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge is given to us of future glory.” (1214, Question & Answer Catholic Catechism )

“The Eucharist is necessary for salvation.” (1217, Q&A Catechism)

*JOHN PAUL II’S ECUMENICAL BLASPHEMY -the following is a quote of pope John Paul II's statement in English to 30,000 faithful Catholic pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's square on Wednesday, December 6th, 2000, in which he briefly summarized his message of the day, "FOR US, THE KINGDOM IS GRACE": "Dear brothers and sisters, the theme of Our general audience during this great Jubilee year, has been the glory of the Trinity, and today we ask what we must do to ensure that the glory of the Trinity shines forth more fully in the world. In essence we are called to be converted and to believe in the Gospel. We are to accept the kingdom of God in our hearts, and to bear witness to it by word and deed. The kingdom indicates the loving presence and activity of God in the world and should be a source of serenity and confidence to our lives. The Gospel teaches us that those who live in accordance with the beatitudes: the poor in spirit; the pure in heart; those who will lovingly [endure] the sufferings of life; will enter God's kingdom. All who seek God with a sincere heart, INCLUDING THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH, contribute under the influence of grace, to the building of this kingdom. In the Lord's prayer we say 'Thy kingdom come'. May this be the hope that sustains us and inspires our Christian life and world." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominus_Iesus, emphasis mine)

*ROMAN CATHOLICISM’S ONGOING ECUMENICAL BLASPHEMY -sections 839-847 of the current Catechism of the Catholic Church blatantly deny the narrow path of salvation through repentance of sin (including all false religion & religious works) and confession of Jesus Christ as Lord:

839 "Those who have not yet received the Gospel are related to the People of God in various ways."³²⁵ The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People. When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People,³²⁶ "the first to hear the Word of God."³²⁷ The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God's revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews "belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ",³²⁸ "for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable."³²⁹

840 And when one considers the future, God's People of the Old Covenant and the new People of God tend towards similar goals: expectation of the coming (or the return) of the Messiah. But one awaits the return of the Messiah who died and rose from the dead and is recognized as Lord and Son of God; the other awaits the coming of a Messiah, whose features remain hidden till the end of time; and the latter waiting is accompanied by the drama of not knowing or of misunderstanding Christ Jesus.

841 The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."³³⁰

842 The Church's bond with non-Christian religions is in the first place the common origin and end of the human race: All nations form but one community. This is so because all stem from the one stock which God created to people the entire earth, and also because all share a common destiny, namely God. His providence, evident goodness, and saving designs extend to all against the day when the elect are gathered together in the holy city. . .³³¹

843 The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as "a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life."³³²

844 In their religious behavior, however, men also display the limits and errors that disfigure the image of God in them: Very often, deceived by the Evil One, men have become vain in their reasonings, and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and served the creature rather than the Creator. Or else, living and dying in this world without God, they are exposed to ultimate despair.³³³

845 To reunite all his children, scattered and led astray by sin, the Father willed to call the whole of humanity together into his Son's Church. The Church is the place where humanity must rediscover its unity and salvation. The Church is "the world reconciled." She is that bark which "in the full sail of the Lord's cross, by the breath of the Holy Spirit, navigates safely in this world." According to another image dear to the Church Fathers, she is prefigured by Noah's ark, which alone saves from the flood.³³⁴

846 "Outside the Church there is no salvation" How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers?³³⁵ Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:

Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.³³⁶

847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church: Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation.³³⁷

*THE LORD JESUS SPEAKS DIRECTLY TO THESE “BROAD” ROAD ECUMENICAL BLASPHEMIES IN MATT 7:13-15:

Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. 15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

*THE GREAT FIGURES OF CHURCH HISTORY STAND UNITED AGAINST THE POPE, THE CHURCH OF ROME, AND THE ECUMENICAL GOSPEL COMPROMISERS OF OUR DAY. THEY WOULD MARVEL INDEED TO READ THE FGBC WEBSITE FULL OF PRAISE FOR POPE JOHN PAUL II.

Martin Luther
(1483-1546) (Lutheran)
"We here are of the conviction that the papacy is the seat of the true and real Antichrist...personally I declare that I owe the Pope no other obedience than that to Antichrist." (Aug. 18, 1520) Taken from "The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers," Vol. 2, pg. 121 by Froom.

John Calvin
(1509-1564) (Presbyterian)
"Some persons think us too severe and censorious when we call the Roman pontiff Antichrist. But those who are of this opinion do not consider that they bring the same charge of presumption against Paul himself, after whom we speak and whose language we adopt...I shall briefly show that (Paul's words in 2 Thess. 2) are not capable of any other interpretation than that which applies them to the Papacy." Taken from "Institutes" by John Calvin.

Thomas Cranmer
(1489-1556) (Anglican)
"Whereof it followeth Rome to be the seat of antichrist, and the pope to be very antichrist himself. I could prove the same by many other scriptures, old writers, and strong reasons." (Referring to the prophecies in Revelation and Daniel.) Taken from "Works" by Cranmer, Vol. 1, pp. 6-7.

John Knox
(1505-1572) (Scotish Presbyterian)
Knox wrote to abolish "that tyranny which the pope himself has for so many ages exercised over the church" and that the pope should be recognized as "the very antichrist, and son of perdition, of whom Paul speaks." Taken from "The Zurich Letters" pg. 199 by John Knox.

Roger Williams
(1603-1683) (First Baptist Pastor in America)
He spoke of the Pope as "the pretended Vicar of Christ on earth, who sits as God over the Temple of God, exalting himself not only above all that is called God, but over the souls and consciences of all his vessals, yea over the Spirit of Christ, over the Holy Spirit, yea, and God himself...speaking against the God of heaven, thinking to changed times and laws: but he is the son of perdition (II Thess. 2)." Taken from "The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers" by Froom, Vol. 3, pg. 52.

Cotton Mather
(1663-1728) (Congregational Theologian)
"The oracles of God foretold the rising of an Antichrist in the Christian Church; and in the Pope of Rome, all the characteristics of that Antichrist are so marvelously answered that if any who read the Scriptures do not see it, there is a marvelous blindness upon them." Taken from "The Fall of Babylon" by Cotton Mather in Froom's book "The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers," Vol. 3, pg. 113.

John Wesley
(1703-1791) (Methodist)
Speaking of the Papacy he said, "He is in an emphatical sense, the Man of Sin, as he increases all manner of sin above measure. And he is, too, properly styled the Son of Perdition, as he has caused the death of numberless multitudes, both of his opposers and followers...He it is...that exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped...claiming the highest power, and highest honor...claiming the prerogatives which belong to God alone." Taken from "Antichrist and His Ten Kingdoms" by John Wesley, pg. 110.

Westminster Confession of Faith:
"There is no other head of the Church but the Lord Jesus Christ. Nor can the Pope of Rome, in any sense, be head thereof; but is that Antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition, that exalts himself, in the Church, against Christ and all that is called God." (The Westminster Confession of Faith, 1646, Chapter 25, 6)

Charles Spurgeon:
"False gods, attempts to represent the true God, and indeed, all material things which are worshipped, are so much filth upon the face of the earth, whether they be crosses, crucifixes, virgins, wafers, relics, or even the Pope himself. We are by far too mealy mouthed about these infamous abominations: God abhors them, and so should we. To renounce the glory of spiritual worship for outward pomp and show is the height of folly, and deserves to be treated as such." (Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Psalm 106:20)

Where our elder brothers in the faith stood tall, we have fallen. We need a revival of the Reformation principles of Scripture alone, Grace alone, Faith alone, Christ alone, for God’s Glory alone! We need to defend the Gospel against its attackers who come with the message of “peace, peace when there is no peace.” They come in the form of ecumenical meetings, declarations, letters to the editor, website articles, blogs, and sermons. We need to guard our denominations, fellowships, churches, and the sheep of the Lord’s fold from wolves who come in sheep’s clothing with a false gospel, false doctrines, and false methodologies that flow out of false gospels and false doctrines.

I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. (Gal 1:6-9)

Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; 12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.

14 But when I saw that they were NOT STRAIGHTFORWARD ABOUT THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL, I said to Peter before them all,"If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? 15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. (Gal 2:11-16)

Sincerely,

Chuck O'Neal

PS. I have included a copy of the ecumenical article currently posted on our FGBC website.

Here is the link to our Oct 29^th message called “Reformation Battle!” in which we call the church and the FGBC to repent of their ecumenical compromise and to return to the reforming ministry of Jeremiah.

(http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sermonid=11106111520)

This link will connect you with our response to the death of John Paul II in sermon form.

(http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=41505175837)

One Evangelical's Gratitude for John Paul II

Dr. Donald Shoemaker is senior pastor of the Grace Brethren Church of Seal Beach, California, and is the chair of the FGBC's Social Concerns Committee. This guest editorial by him appeared this weekend in the Long Beach (CA) Press Telegram newspaper:

In the conservative Protestant environment of my upbringing just about anything that came from Rome was suspicious.

The Roman Catholic Church was, so we were taught, the "scarlet harlot" of the Book of Revelation, chapter 17 — clearly identified by her vestments of purple and scarlet, her gold, silver and jewels, and the golden chalice in her hand. She was destined to align herself with the Antichrist, the Devil's ruler of the End Times, until he tired of her domination and tossed her aside and ruled supreme until his defeat by the king of kings.

To us Catholicism was as Winston Churchill characterized the Kremlin, "A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma." Church rituals with their beads and vestments and Latin were a world away from our simple message and revivalist enthusiasm.

A more historically informed approach to biblical interpretation has led to a better look at the Book of Revelation. But what really affected our thought was a courageous and humble man who came out of nowhere to become John Paul II.

John Paul was a human face with which we could easily connect, not a lofty anachronism from the Middle Ages. Coming through the crucible of suffering under two totalitarian systems and being willing to return to Poland to suffer with his people if events so summoned him, he personified the call of Jesus to take up the cross and follow Him.

We saw him as a powerful spiritual leader who in God's providence, though not single-handedly, brought on the collapse of the Communist evil in Eastern Europe. Though Josef Stalin mocked the pope in 1935 with "How many divisions has he?" we saw in John Paul the spiritual power of the cross and the GOSPEL at work emancipating human souls from misery.

We appreciated the unabashed orthodoxy that John Paul represented. His resolute support of pro-life issues resonated with us. Opposition to abortion on demand is the one moral position that unites Evangelical Protestants whether their politics are right, left or center.

Significant issues remain on both sides. Some conservative denominations still pronounce that the papacy is the Antichrist. Obsolete attitudes and teachings are readily found among Evangelicals, as if the Second Vatican Council never happened.

Pragmatists that we are, Evangelicals cannot see any compelling reason to withhold the option of marriage from priests and we can give many reasons for this option. We are solidly in the Reformation commitment to the authority of Scripture alone, not Scripture and tradition. We don't like to hear Cardinal Joseph Ratsinger say that our communities of the faithful are not truly "the church."

We see true "apostolic succession" as fidelity to apostolic doctrine more than as a continuity of bishops. We are not comfortable with the veneration rendered to the Virgin Mary, though we are chastened that we have not honored the spirit of her words in the Magnificat, "All generations shall call me blessed," for she should indeed be our model of devotion and discipleship.

What would many Evangelical Protestants hope to see emerge from the upcoming Conclave? I speak for myself, but I think I have the pulse of much of our movement.

We want to see a pope emerge who would forge a strong confessional relationship with theologically conservative Protestants. We are one in heart with Catholics who can confess the Ecumenical Creeds without crossing their fingers behind their backs.

We would delight in a pope who comes from the Southern Hemisphere, where Christianity is vibrant and growing and orthodox. We want this to be the wave of the future.

Finally, we want to see a pope who continues John Paul's ministries of being a shepherd to his people and a prophetic voice to the world. News analysis presently abounds with bobbing heads complaining that John Paul did not bring strong administrative skills to the Vatican and they hope the new pope will.

God forbid! In the earliest days of Christian history the infant church carefully and wisely separated the apostolic role of teaching and prayer from the administrative role that others should do (chapter six of the Book of Acts).

I dread to ponder the outcome had John Paul devoted himself to management instead of pastoral and prophetic ministry. We might have the Vatican well oiled and Eastern Europe still in chains.

# posted by Terry White @ 2:16 PM 2 comments